Ireland to Italy Trip

Go straight to Italy and skip Ireland. It is a whole different trip. Add those days to Rome which is a minimum 4 day town.

It does sound awfully rushed to me. With 12 nights, you would do well to stick with just one country. Going to Ireland and only seeing Dublin, rather than taking in the beautiful natural areas, seems like a shame to me.

Is that really all you want to do in Ireland? It deserves it's own trip and if you just do Dublin you won't really get the flavor of Ireland. I would choose just one country and go back another time for the other. They both deserve their own trip.

Thanks everyone!

RE- Ireland - yes that is all we want to accomplish on this trip. We are not sure when we will be able to get back to Europe, so although it is short period of time - we are happy with what we can see/do during that time.

My main concern is in Italy - I want to make sure the places we do get to see we are able to enjoy. I am not sure if we should do Venice at all - or if we should add the days to Florence ( be able to see Tuscany)

Some people dislike Venice for some reason. Maybe its the crowds, the smells, the strangeness of a city without cars. Its one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with a fascinating history, architecture, art, and a unique culture. I wouldn't miss it, but some people just prefer something more familiar. But your itinerary os too rushed anyway. You will eat up most of a day just getting from one place to another. So 2 nights is really one day - no time to "see Tuscany". I'd at least cut the Positano part of it.

When you have been to Europe many times (as I am sure you will be doing), you will learn a simple thing: Travel days are not much good for sightseeing or activity. You lose at least 1/2 day, sometimes the whole day. On an 8 day trip, going from one country to the other is going to be disruptive.

You have 3 stops (maybe 4). That's a bunch. Consider getting it down to 2. Either Dublin and Rome OR Dublin and Florence OR Florence and Rome. You'll enjoy the trip more.

Dublin and the Cliffs of Moher ( near Ennis) are on opposite coasts of Ireland.

Dublin and the Cliffs of Moher ( near Ennis) are on opposite coasts of Ireland.
You can’t count on seeing the Blue Grotto on a visit to Capri. We were on Capri for four nights and boats only went out on our last day due to choppy seas.

You would be well served by sitting down and putting a day-to-day itinerary together. On arrival date, many people are tired, but you should still plan on doing something - going for a walk, whatever. Many people suggest 1 activity in the morning, 1 in the afternoon. You mention a round of golf - that's one afternoon. Have you looked at a tour book about "Things to do in Dublin"?

You have a long time to plan, and good plans would help. Rick Steves offers a paid consultation on the phone as well. Consider that to help you plan.

Since Ireland is important to you and your husband, I would go, but I would limit the number of cities that you go to in Italy. Paul is correct, you typically lose 1/2 day to travel. Here are something things to consider in your planning, especially since you have never been in Europe before. Just remember everything takes longer than you think it will, especially when you are changing countries, currency, and transport systems. I would get the RS travel planning map of Italy and map the locations you want to go to, what you want to see, the travel times (assuming you are taking a train). This always helps my husband I get realistic about how much time it really takes to travel and makes clear to us our trade-offs.

• Venice is a unique city, not only its architecture, but its food. It really deserves at least 2 nights, but is best with 3. In 2 nights and I assume 1.5 days you will be able to hit the highlights (St. Mark’s, Doge’s Palace, and gondola ride). Venice is best early in the morning or late at night when the tourist crowds have died down.
• Florence (with a cooking class) needs at least 3 days and 4 is better. A cooking class, especially if you take one in the countryside, will eat up at least 1/2 day. The major sites, Uffizi, David, Duomo, Bell Tower (I would climb the Dome instead) will take up 1 1/2 days. Florence has AMAZING food and wine, give yourself time to take a food tour.
• Rome & Postino: 2 nights in Rome you can only touch the surface of the city and you will need to be diligent with what you see. I had the same dilemma as you on my trip this summer and we opted to save Postino for another time and spend more time in Rome.

Good luck,
Sandy

Only two nights in Rome and of your limited time there you want to make sure you see the Trevi Fountain? I appreciate that we all have different tastes and interests but for me the Trevi Fountain is way down on the list of sights I want to see in Rome. If you're interested in the Colosseum then surely your interest extends to other ancient Roman sights such as The Forum or The Pantheon?

One day to see Tuscany? What is it that you hope to "see"? Tuscany is an area of 3900 square miles!

I've been to Rome more times than I can remember and I still haven't experienced it all. It's a captivating city and to truly appreciate and experience it requires more time than you're allowing. The beauty of the city is allowing yourself to be immersed in it and that means slowing down, taking time to eat, drink, meander, walk around and admiring the history everywhere you look. To go there, rush between tourist crushed sight after tourist crushed sight and then move on to the next city is doing the city and yourselves a huge disservice. This may be your first trip to Europe but don't go with the attitude that it might be your only one. Forget Ireland, go straight to Italy and spend your limited time there. I would split it between Rome and Florence with more days in Rome. Ireland has so much more to offer and Dublin really isn't the best part of it (or even close) so it is best experienced for a longer period of time or at the very least combined with a visit to the UK.

Agreeing with previous posters that you are planning to do too much in too little time. Re Ireland — Blarney Stone not worth your time. Dublin is not the highlight of Ireland — Other than seeing Kilmainham Gaol and the Book of Kells, Ireland is best served by enjoying the smaller cities, the beautiful scenery, the people and the music. Your three days will not allow you to do this, even without considering jet lag and at least half a day playing golf. Re Italy — Venice and Positano are quite a distance apart and traveling from one to the other and including time spent in Florence and Rome in between will not allow you to enjoy seeing anything. Cut out one or the other. Agreeing with others that just because you are in Positano and planning to see the blue grotto and Capri does not guarantee cooperative weather conditions, upon which your boat transport to Capri depends.

If you want to have a memorable 30th birthday trip, you need to sit down with a guidebook and a train schedule and work out how much actual time you will have in each place you plan to visit before you make your plans. While not high travel season, May will be busy in all the places you plan to visit, and you can expect everything to take more time and be more crowded than you think. You need more realistic plans.

Suggest eliminate Positano as it is so far out of the way, especially in light of your limited time. Add those days to your other stops, especially Rome.

Heard we could do without Venice?

Well, they obviously are NOT friends.

Everyone is giving advice on what they prefer or like. After reading your planned itinerary, the initial suggestion I'm going to give is to write it down and then look at travel times.

As an example, the driving time from Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher in your own car without traffic is just over three hours each way. Not including stops. And you will be driving on the other side of the road.

It's more than likely your flight to Europe will be overnight. That means arriving on Day 2. Since you don't know how well you will sleep on the plane nor how jet lag will affect you, planning a lot on arrival day is not a great idea.

Next suggestion......while the Amalfi coast is beautiful, I believe that Capri and the Blue Grotto are two of the most overrated, touristy places in Italy. I suggest skipping it for now and adding the time to either Venice, Florence or Rome. (And realize it takes about half a day to travel between Florence and Positano.)