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Please review travel plans Fall 2016: England, France, Italy and Greece.

Posted by (Medford, Oregon) on

I am planning a solo trip in 2016 and starting to sketch out my trip. I have been reading Rick’s books, Lonely Planet, and reading forums, blogs and just about anything I can get my hands or Kindle on (i.e. Man in Seat 61). Here is my rough plan so far. It is too early to plan hotels etc. but I’ve put down my ideas for the areas. I’m more interested in feedback of the length of stays in each area and if the plan looks feasible. My time is flexible until the October 3rd guided tour from Athens (friend will be flying out to meet up with me in Athens). For information – I’m retired so time mostly not an issue. I am well-traveled in South America and the South Pacific area. I pack light and travel only with backpack (Love doing laundry in areas I visit! Made many good friends in sweaty laundry rooms). This will be my first trip to Europe, but not my last, so trying to hit the highlights in these four countries this time around. My interest is in art, ruins, mythology, history, and talking to locals. I am not a “rush” traveler, rather I like to sit at a café and observe the world/talk to locals/write in my journal. I find I don’t like Hostel travel as much as I did 30 years ago so I’m more geared towards hotels, Pensione, and BnB’s. Budget, not including flight or cruise portion is around $3.5 to 4k USD.

Leave home 31 August 2016 – Arrive London morning 1 September (start of 41 day land part of trip)

London 5 days/4 nights: 1 Sept to 5 Sept. Day trip to Bath, Stonehenge and Salisbury (or some combination which includes Windsor – not a must see for this trip). (hotel)

Eurostar to Paris 5 days/4 nights – 5 Sept to 9 Sept. Day trip to Versailles. (Air BnB or BnB most likely). Will purchase Eurostar ticket in advance.

Fly to Nice 3 days/2 nights – 9 Sept to 11 Sept. Possible day trip west to see Monaco (Hotel or BnB)

Train to Genoa (layover visit) then on to Cinque Terre 4 days/3 nights – 11 Sept to 14 Sept. (most likely Monterosso area) (hotel or resort). Considering this my “rest” stop

Train to Milan 3 days/2 night – 14 Sept to 16 Sept. (Hostel or Monastery Stay)

Train to Venice 4 days/3 nights 16 Sept to 19 Sept (Monastery Stay)

Train to Florence 4 days/3 nights – 19 Sept to 22 Sept. Day trip to Pisa. (Monastery Stay)

Train to Rome 6 days/5 nights – 22 Sept to 27 Sept. (Monastery Stay, The Sweets, Hotel Aberdeen)

Train to Naples 6 days/5 nights – 27 Sept to 2 Oct. Day trip to Pompeii and Herculaneum; Day trip to Sorrento and Amalfi Coast. (hotel or BnB)

Fly to Athens. Stay overnight - 2 Oct to 7 Oct. Leave for 5 day/4 night guided tour (1 friend joining me in Athens) Meteora, Delphi, Olympia, Mycenae

Return Athens 5 days/4 nights – 7 Oct to 11. (BnB or apartment depending on how many friends join trip)

11 October to 4 November - 23 day Mediterranean cruise and transatlantic crossing to New York. The cruise stops in a few of the areas I will visit as a solo, but would prefer not to deal with cruise ship time limits while trying to visit some of the sights (i.e. Naples, Rome, and Florence).

Thoughts? Feedback? Suggestions? Am I crazy? Please don’t answer that last one, I know I’m crazy! Thanks in advance! Happy travels. Best regards, Tracy

Posted by
15576 posts

Your budget. I counted 35 nights, including the stay in Athens. That comes out to about $100/day. I don't think that is realistic. Transportation is going to use up a lot of that money, even if you buy tickets well in advance. Day trips, entrance fees, food, and local transportation cost money too. Have you looked into hotel prices? I don't know what your standards are, but I stay in central areas and am happy if I'm paying less than $80-90/night for a single room in most of your cities.

You are counting your days wrong. You have less time on the ground than you appear to. For instance: Sept. 14 Say you leave the CT in the morning, you'll only have had 2 days there (arriving in the evening from Genoa), not 4. It takes you 1/2 day to get to Milan (door-to-door). So you have 1/2 of Sept. 14 in Milan, then all of Sept. 15. On Sept. 16 you are leaving for Venice. That gives you 1.5 days in Milan, not 3. You use about 1/2 day to change locations. Just simple math: Arrive London Sept. 1. Leave Napels Oct 1. That gives you 30 days and 8 changes. At best you have 22 full days and 8 half days to see 9 cities.

As for individual destinations, I would drop Milan. I would find a cheaper place for a "rest" stop than the CT.

Posted by
32 posts

Chani: Thank you for your feedback. I should clarify that once my areas are solid, and time gets closer, I'd pre-pay hotels (where eligible) so most of my hotel stays would not be coming from my budget. The budget is mostly for food, day trips, entrance fees and rail passes on the fly. If the hotel etc does not allow pre-payment, I will be adding the necessary amount to my budget to ensure appropriate funds available. None the less, you are quite correct - I forgot the basics and did not realistically anticipate travel times between areas. I got caught up on the number of days and did not take to account the actual travel time. Great things to think about. Thank you!

Posted by
7175 posts

I take it you are thinking of Carnival Vista from Athens to New York via Barcelona (2 cruises back to back).

http://www.carnival.com/itinerary/10-day-europe-cruise/athens/vista/10-days/mea/?numGuests=2&destination=all-destinations&dest=any&datFrom=102016&datTo=042017&embkCode=ATH&shipCode=VS
http://www.carnival.com/itinerary/13-day-transatlantic-cruise/barcelona/vista/13-days/ta0/?numGuests=2&destination=all-destinations&dest=any&datFrom=102016&datTo=042017&embkCode=ATH,BCN&shipCode=VS

I wonder, considering a tighter budget, if only sailing the first cruise to Barcelona and flying home from there, might be another option. You mentioned travelling solo, which means either an expensive single supplement for your own cabin, or sharing with a stranger.

Posted by
32 posts

DJP: I am doing the last Med and crossing on the Vista. My travel companion is flying into Greece and joining for the guided tour of Greece and the cruise part. The cruise portion is already paid and not part of my travel budget. After seeing the earlier response, I'm rethinking the number of days in each area and upping the budget accordingly to allow for a bit more cushion. Since the plans are for so far out in the future, I have time rearrange and save more money. Thanks!

Posted by
7175 posts

Oh, that's wonderful if you have a friend to share the cruise experience. In fact, you will have local knowledge by then so can be tour guide in Rome and Florence. Trans Atlantic will allow you to relax and unwind, and relive great European memories. Exciting for you !!

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