I am going in June of next year ... solid 21 days. Should be a blast, what shouldn't we miss (GF + myself)? I've done 'all' of Europe, these are the last 3 countries to conquer!
blackdogdeek - I haven't been to Florence so I can't comment. Have been to Rome. Stayed in Trastevere, beautiful little neighborhood with many cafes and shops that seemed a little less touristy. Rented a scooter and drove around the whole city pretty much late at night when no one was around, was cool to see the Colosseum, Vatican, etc at night. That would be my only and obvious suggestion - make sure to see all that, very cool...and Trevi Fountain.
Enjoy your trip!
I am going in June of next year ... solid 21 days. Should be a blast, what shouldn't we miss (GF + myself)? I've done 'all' of Europe, these are the last 3 countries to conquer!
don't get me wrong, i loved rome. i just liked florence even better.
So that leaves you with ~11 days for Italy and Greece. That gives you at max 4 locations to even begin to enjoy the areas. You already mentioned two key parts of Greece (Athens + an island), so pick two places in Italy and you are set. Seems like Venice is already on your list, so pick one more. Otherwise you'll be doing nothing but travelling and not enjoying your locations.Greece is where I am a bit at a lost ... probably see Athens + Santarini, but passed that I am unsure.
I am Croatian by blood, so i'll probably spend 10~ days over their on the coast...Italy should be a blast. Neither of us drink, so I hope we don't piss anyone off by denying ourselves from their wine, haha.
Is that set in stone? The cruise may be fun, but it is always quite a waste of precious vacation time to travel back to the same location. It is often cheaper/better selections to do an open jaw vacation (fly to one city from home and fly back from a different city). Plus you save the time and expense of travelling back to where you already were.We also plan to take a "cruise" from Greece back to Venice (we enter/leave from Venice)
Is that set in stone? The cruise may be fun, but it is always quite a waste of precious vacation time to travel back to the same location. It is often cheaper/better selections to do an open jaw vacation (fly to one city from home and fly back from a different city). Plus you save the time and expense of travelling back to where you already were.
Are you after the best food in the world? Or is there another reason to go to Bologna?When I go to Italy you can be sure a trip to Borgo Panigale will be on the agenda.
So that leaves you with ~11 days for Italy and Greece. That gives you at max 4 locations to even begin to enjoy the areas. You already mentioned two key parts of Greece (Athens + an island), so pick two places in Italy and you are set. Seems like Venice is already on your list, so pick one more. Otherwise you'll be doing nothing but travelling and not enjoying your locations.
Is that set in stone? The cruise may be fun, but it is always quite a waste of precious vacation time to travel back to the same location. It is often cheaper/better selections to do an open jaw vacation (fly to one city from home and fly back from a different city). Plus you save the time and expense of travelling back to where you already were.
Are you after the best food in the world? Or is there another reason to go to Bologna?
I've never found this to be the case. Usually 1-way plane tickets are outrageous (often more expensive than their round-trip equivalents). Whenever we've gone to Europe we've always booked round trip tickets and then taken a short flight back to the original destination.
No, don't get two 1-way tickets, get an open jaw round-trip ticket. http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/dullard/OpenJawTicket.JPGI've never found this to be the case. Usually 1-way plane tickets are outrageous (often more expensive than their round-trip equivalents). Whenever we've gone to Europe we've always booked round trip tickets and then taken a short flight back to the original destination.
My guess is the cruise is only 12~ hours, so travel + sight seeing on it should be helpful.
We're young, we like to pack in a lot, see a lot, do a lot. So fast passed is a-ok for us. We love to travel by plane/train/boat every time we go, so we make it a point to do it that way.
We MIGHT fly from greece -> croatia, boat from split -> venice and fly out, which would give us a much shorter boat ride.
No, don't get two 1-way tickets, get an open jaw round-trip ticket. http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/dullard/OpenJawTicket.JPG
Save the cost, hassle, and time of that short flight. Plus you get more selections in your main flights. For example it may be cheaper/better to fly into Venice and out of Athens. Or maybe it is cheaper/better to fly into Athens and out of Venice. It just depends on pricing at the moment and flight timings that fit your schedule. You simply get more options when you don't limit yourself to just one city.
We took a ferry from Split to Rijeka ~12 hrs (I don't think it was an option to get a boat all the way to Venice), then a cab from Rijeka to Trieste (the only cab I've ever taken through 3 countries - it would have been a 10 hour wait for the next bus), then a train from Trieste to Venice. Double check if you can get a boat all the way to Venice first.
http://www.korculainfo.com/ferries/rijeka-split-hvar-korcula-dubrovnik-bari-ferry-summer.html