Return to Italy or try another country?

There are so many countries with so much to offer and each of these countries have so many things to offer that you can't possibly see it all in one visit. . Where did you go in Italy? Rome is so different than Naples and the Amalfi Coast which is so different than Florence which is so different than Venice. So, no it's not narrow minded to want to see more of Italy, but don't discount that you may love other countries as well. I've been to Italy 3 times and never repeated the same sites. I've been to France twice and same thing. I've also been to England twice and haven't been north of London yet.

You won’t know what you’re missing until you discover what other destinations have to offer. YouTube is a good start to do some online viewing.

You will enjoy any European country you decide to go to. Whether is Spain or Italy or anyplace else, although some countries don't have the culinary excellence of Italy (but Spain has great food too).

If you want to return to Italy is fine too. I'm sure that in the trip you took last year, you visited only a fraction of what Italy has to offer.

Italy was the first trip for my husband and me, and we loved it so much we went back the next year. We eventually visited many other countries, but Italy remained our true love. Of 19 trips, 12 were either totally or partially Italy. I've made one trip to Italy since his death and am going again next month. My advice: indulge yourself in Italy!

How long were you there and where did you go?

What time of year will you be traveling? How much time do you have for the trip?

There is probably no 'wrong' choice.

Do 10 days in Italy and 5 in a place served by Wizz or Ryan from your last Italian stop.

Try Croatia and Slovenia and explore the other side of the Aegean.

Why does it have to be one or the other? If no other country holds any appeal to you, then by all means visit Italy again. Its your vacation, so do what you want. Visit different places in Italy. Or visit the same places; just dont expect it to be the same as last time, because it won't. Or split your time with a few days in Italy and the rest in a different country that you may be curious about. But please, celebrate the differences that you encounter and don't bemoan them because they aren't the same as what you experienced before. Because NOTHING can compare to your first time.

bob,

As others have mentioned Italy, has many unique and different regions so there are lots of possibilities for exploring new and unique areas. Depending on the length of your trip this year, you could also spend some time in Italy and time in another nearby country. Have you ever been to Switzerland? It's one of my favourites!

If you like food, art and culture....try Greece.

My trips are usually a mixture of places I like and want to explore more and new places.

I started traveling in Europe in the western countries which is what many do. And then I started to slowly work my way east. I, surprisingly for me, found I really like most Central European countries.

food, art and culture

Good news: for these criteria nearly all historical "great nations" are an option for you, e. g. France, UK, Spain, Germany, Greece, Sweden and Denmark. Mentioning the last one includes my recommendation because that food, art and culture were transferred into a specific lifestyle and mindset.

I just want to mention that below today's country borders there are many cultural layers which provide similarities cross-country and differences within one country. In Germany for example you will find Hamburg and Munich as 2nd and 3rd largest cities very different and more matching to their close national neighbors.

Not at all, because to me, visiting different parts of Italy IS like visiting a different country. Piedmont was not like Puglia. Hopefully you will be able to do both, but I'm up to 9 Italy visits, and I'll be going again!

Next trip to Italy, pick a region, slow down the pace and explore!

Ideas (based on experience)
1. Piedmont- fly into Milan- rent car visit Lago Maggiore for 3 -4 nights, (could visit Switzerland by car, ferry, or train from Stresa) and then drive to wine region near Alba, drop car in Torino and spend 3 nights, train back to Milan to spend a night or two. Solid 10 day to 2 week trip. Add Chamonix France, not far from Torino.
2. Tuscany- limitless places to visit if you have a car. Fly into Florence and spend couple nights. Rent car and spend 2-3 nights in 3 different hill towns. Cortona, montelpuciano, montalcino, to name a few. The drive to Orvieto, drop the car, train to Rome, fly home from Rome.
3. Puglia, easy to spend 2-3 weeks. Fly into Rome, spend a few days, train to Bari, rent a car, Matera is a must see. We really enjoyed Vieste. Early October has no crowds and great temperatures.
4. Naples and Amalie coast. Fly into Rome/out of Naples. Or vice versa. Home base in Sorento, visit pompei and or herculeum, ferry to capri, stay a few nights on the almalfi coast. No need for car.
5. Cinque Terri, Lucca and Lugeria and Tuscany coast. Fly into Florence, Pisa, or Genoa Some beautiful towns along the coast, don’t go in summer.

6. Dolomites- for hiking or skiing. Fly into Venice, out of Bologna. Visit Verona, Padua, Modena, and Bolzano. 5 nights 4 days in Ortezi as home base to hiking. If you wanted to visit another country from there you could take 2 hour train to Innsbruck, then to Salzburg and Vienna. Either fly out of Austria or take train to Munich to fly home.
7. Sicily. Planned a trip but got Covid cancelled. Easy to explore for 2 weeks.

Lots of ideas for your next 7 trips to Italy! We’ve repeated #1, 2, 5, 6.

”…don't bemoan them because they aren't the same as what you experienced before. Because NOTHING can compare to your first time.”

I’m currently on my 9th trip to Italy, and I always have thought no trip could top the previous one, and then I feel the same way again & again! : )

Don’t be concerned with “expectations “ that you need to branch out beyond Italy for your next trip. If Italy is calling you, go see more of it. The next trip afterwards may point you towards a different country. I had a Spain itinerary put together one year, and it just wasn’t clicking in my mind. I tabled it and worked on a different itinerary; I think we went to France. A few years later, that Spain itinerary was perfect, and we enjoyed it a lot.

Early on in my international travels I went places because I thought I "should". Sometimes I enjoyed them, sometimes they would not make my top 10. Now I try to only go to places that I really want to see OR see again, lol. Yes, to Paris dozens of times. This year I'm returning to Orkney and Shetland because they just blew me away last time and I need to go while I am still agile enough to crawl in and out of chambered cairns.

In my experience, the 2nd and 3rd times to a place you loved are even better as you get past the 1st time tourist stuff and get into a better understanding of a location/culture/food, etc.

Go with what sounds like fun to you!

I'm afraid that nothing else will compare. Is this travel concept too narrow minded? Will we might regret not getting experience with other parts of Europe?

There's no real answer to this set of questions. Personally, if you've travelled to Europe (Italy) once, that's a great first step. Your second time is the next big step. And the third is showing perseverance. A fourth, fifth, .... and many more will hopefully follow. At some point, you'll either be curious about the rest of Europe or not. And neither is wrong.

My wife and my travels started first with local US road trips. Then wider US travel. Then European travel. Then eventually folding in Africa, Central & South America, and Australia/New Zealand. We're adding - finally - Japan and other Asian spots to the upcoming planning.

Do we feel the pull back to places we've been already? Heck yeah. Do we revisit places we've been to before? For sure. I think we'll always make trips back to Paris and still find a lot of joy there. For Italy, we've seen a lot of Rome and up through the north, so we're hoping to see the southern parts on future trips, but we can see ourselves returning again to those places in Italy we have already enjoyed.

So, in a nutshell, a "comfortable" place to visit is great to have, and you'll likely know when it is time to branch out (or not). Italy isn't Spain isn't France isn't Germany isn't ... any other place, so you can assume a trip to Spain instead of Italy will feel very different - but not necessarily better or worse. Make a commitment to yourselves to simply keep traveling - however the cards fall - and you'll be better and happier because of it.

I agree with Tom’s post above. There is so much to see and if you do return to Italy, return to a place in Italy you have not been. It s a large country.
Every time you return to the same, you have decided against something new. And how many years or trips do you really have left in your life?

“ No man ever steps in the same river twice. For he is not the same man and it is not the same river”
Hericlitis.

As a suggestion, visit some parts of Italy you found the most enjoyable and add on another country or two depending on how much time you have to travel. Do this every time you visit Europe. This way you will be able to enjoy Italy each time and on the same trip you might find a country you like as much or even more. It is a personal choice no doubt, but as stated, you will never now if you would enjoy another country as well if you never visit.

Will we might regret not getting experience with other parts of Europe?

Probably!

Let me just get this out of the way, I ADORE Italy. Have been more than 25 times, from the Dolomites to Naples, by car, train, skiing, long distance hiking in the Italian Alps...It never gets old for me, but the crowds have come to bother us so we're moving to some destinations slightly more off the beaten path.

So, it's a great question, hopefully some of these thoughtful answers will help. When a friend asks me where to travel, I ask them what a 'perfect day' looks like, or where they've always wanted to go, or what sort of activities they really enjoy. You might like to make a list of the things you loved about Italy. Maybe a bit more details for us than 'food, art & culture'? Agree with MarkK, many countries will allow you to experience all those things, perhaps with a different culture's perspective. Oh and I SO agree with Pam & Jean!

You must return to Italy. Like the U.S., you'll never truly see what Italy has to offer in just one visit, so yeah, go again. That said, if you don't expand your horizons and visit other countries/cultures in Europe then you will be making a gross mistake. The beauty of Europe is how there is so much variety in such compact geography, and once you're in Europe it is really easy to get around. Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, and France are easy bleed-overs from Italy (and let's not forget little San Marino!), but don't let proximity limit you. For example, catching a flight to Lisbon from FCO (and back) to spend a few days as an interlude is uber simple, inexpensive, and relatively fast, and in a word, perfect.