Italy and France

How long are you talking about? What type of price range are you considering? Are you wondering about any particular part of the world...Europe, Asia, South America? What size group do you want? Have you checked the websites of any tour companies? There are dozens of answers to your very general question.
Please provide more information.

Four of the five tours on this page include both Italy and France:

https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/europe

Thx Thx Thx... yes I know vague but we want to maximize this trip. Want to see the touristy things. We'd look to be in the 9-12 day range. The closer we can keep the cost to 3-4k pp + airfare the better. Thx for your advice!

In "the 9-12 day range" is way too short to spend a lot of time changing locations - choose one country.

Nine 'days' is 3 locations - tops - connected by fast rail. With 12 you might stretch to 4 but 3 and possible day trips to explore is better. Changing countries is going to probably eat an entire day in travel and you don't have time for that.

It's easier to count nights on the ground rather than days. Keep in mind that 2 full nights somewhere is one full day bordered by days of packing, checking out, travel, checking in and unpacking and 3 nights is 2 full days etc.

I'd build some rough itineraries for each country and decide which one appeals more and then concentrate on that one.

Good planning always means making hard choices on what to leave out so you enjoy what you do see,
=Tod

If you want to maximize your trip, do it on your own. Tour companies are very expensive. For your first trip on your own, I would do a relatively easy one, just one country. For example, fly into Venice and out of Rome. 12 nights, Venice (4), Florence (4), Rome (4). Get from one city to the next by train (easy). Guide books (Rick, Fodor’s, Frommer’s) provide good guidance on the main attractions and how to do them on your own. Use Google flights to search for airfare. Use booking.com to search for hotels, avoid hotels with few reviews or below 8.0. Look for hotels in central locations. You should easily be able to find hotels averaging under $300 a night. If you can, it’s better to go in the spring or fall vs the summer (cooler weather, less crowds). After doing a first easy trip like that, you’ll get the hang of it and can get more creative for the next, and you’ll be able to travel much more.

I agree that adding a tour company just adds cost. With so little time, I'd pick two places. e.g. Into Paris and out of Rome splitting the time and use a budget airline in Europe to travel between the two. In each place you could book a day trip tour e.g. in Paris to the Loire to visit some Chateaux. And you could also do easy day trips on your own to vary the scene e.g in Paris you could go to Versailles, to Reims for the Champagne houses and tour one cellar and Giverny for Monet's house and garden -- all dead easy to do on your own.

In Rome, you could book a local tour to Tivoli and the ruins of Hadrian's estate and Ville d'Este; you could go to Ostia Antica an ancient Roman city much like Pompeii but on the outskirts of Rome and easily visited by local train on your own. You could do a day trip by train to Orvieto. But each of these cities has a huge number of interesting things to see and do.

There are other tour companies that offer multi country tours in your budget. For example Globus has a 9 day 3 country tour of France, Switzerland and Italy. But, to accomplish all this, you are only spending 1 or 2 nights in each city.

If you really want 3 countries in 9-12 days on your budget, do it yourself, but do it wisely. Choose destinations that are relatively close so your not spending your limited time sitting on buses and trains.

For example, consider France, Belgium and the Netherlands, easily connected by train. Paris to Brussels is 90 minutes. (Add another half hour if you want to base in Ghent) Brussels to Amsterdam is 2 hours.

Fly into Paris and home from Amsterdam or vice versa. Book hotels and trains far in advance for the best rates and avoid travel during the most expensive times (like during Paris fashion weeks).

Read a few guidebooks in addition to Rick Steves, budget for walking/museum tours to add to the experience. Come back to the forums and ask specific questions when you have a plan.

If you have to keep the days down to 9-12 and want to do a tour, I suggest Heart of Italy. It was my first Rick Steves tour and was perfect for my group of 5 which included 2 young adults who did not have much time off. Of course it does not include France and I recommend adding a night or two on at the beginning in Rome to allow for travel delays.

For 9-12 days if you want a DIY, an easy combo is London and Paris as they are connected by train. Fly in to London, take the train to Paris, fly home from Paris. Of course that doesn't get you Italy, lol.

When you have time and money....I did Rick's 21 Day Best of Europe early on in my tour "career", hahahaha! It was awesome! Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France. A perfect taster of a tour!

jtblong,
All the above posters have given excellent suggestions and advice. Even with 12 days, you are best with only 1 or 2 countries. That being said, Proximity is a big deal. France, Belgium and the Netherlands are a wise combo, as are London and Paris, with maybe Amsterdam at the end. The London to Paris day would be mostly given over to travel, so a day lost there. DIY will be cheaper, but perhaps a tour will work for you. Have you gone on the websites for all the major tour companies? (I am researching tours of Sicily right now, and there are so many to look at I have made spread sheet to compare the included nights, sights, meals, tips.)

The time of year or month of travel can make a big difference in price. When are you thinking of going? Do you have any flexibility regarding travel dates?