Cost: where your sterling actually goes further
In 2026 the Turkish lira remains favourable to the pound. A 4-bedroom luxury villa in Kalkan or Yalikavak costs £600–900/night in peak season; an equivalent in Mykonos or Santorini is £1,400–2,200. A two-course harbour dinner in Bodrum runs £35–50 per head; the same in Mykonos is £80–120. The maths is straightforward: Turkey gives you roughly 35–40% more property and 50% more dining for the same sterling outlay.
Charm and aesthetic: Greece's home advantage
The whitewashed cycladic village — Oia at sunset, Mykonos's narrow lanes, Naxos's fishing harbours — is the postcard of the eastern Mediterranean and Greece does it better than anywhere. Turkey has its own beauty (Bodrum's white amphitheatre town, Kalkan's harbour) but if visual fairy-tale is your priority, Greece wins. Conversely, if you want history density — Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman in the same square mile — Turkey is unbeatable.
Food: variety vs simplicity
Greek food is a small number of dishes done extremely well: feta, olives, grilled fish, lamb, ouzo. Turkish food is a vast vocabulary: meze (50+ varieties), regional grills, Ottoman court cuisine, fish stews, breakfast culture, chef-led modern restaurants. If you eat out twice a day for a week, Turkey gives you more range. If you want six perfect plates of grilled red mullet, Greece gives you six perfect plates.
Service standards and infrastructure
Turkey's service standards are noticeably higher than the Greek islands at every price point. Hotels are newer, marina infrastructure is more developed, English is more widely spoken in the tourist trade, and customer service in restaurants leans more attentive. Greek hospitality has a different — warmer, more chaotic — character that some travellers prefer.
Combine them: ferry between
You don't have to choose. Bodrum to Kos: 25 minutes by fast ferry, daily. Kas to Meis (Kastellorizo): 25 minutes, daily. Marmaris to Rhodes: 50 minutes, daily. We routinely build itineraries that spend a week on the Turkish coast and three nights on a Greek island, and they tend to be our most enthusiastic returning clients.