Flights between the islands and Athens are convenient and cheap. We took ferries from Athens through several islands for a couple of weeks to Samos ( so we could go to Ephesus) and then flew from Samos back to Athens in 1 hr and for about $50. I had considered going to Istanbul but the flights from there to London were very expensive. We used EasyJet to return to London from Athens and it was relatively inexpensive.

Regards, Dolores St. John's, Newfoundland