Hi, We are in the early stages of planning our trip to Europe next summer and would appreciate any advice. We will have two weeks and our wish list includes Barcelona, Monaco, Amalfi Coast, Capri, and then Athens and some Greek Islands. We will be traveling from the west coast and would like to know if it makes any difference if we started in Greece and ended in Spain or vice versa. Thinking of taking the train along the Rivera. We like the idea of cruising from Italy to Greece and hoping to avoid the very large cruise ships, looking for something in the range of 150-300 if that's even possible.
That is the initial outline of our plans, which are rudimentary at best. Looking for any thoughts or suggestions that might help us further develop our itinerary. Thanks!
Posted by
Washington DC
27107 posts
Even setting aside Monaco (a 4th country, isolated from your other targets), you have planned destinations in three non-contiguous countries, and those destinations are so far apart as to require flying. (It is 21 hours or more by train from Barcelona to Salerno in the Amalfi area.) Then you have Greece, which is not a country to visit for just a few days because of the time required to get to and from the islands and the need to build in transportation buffers to allow for the real, if infrequent, possibility that a flight or ferry might be canceled.
While it is certainly physically possible to get to all the places on your wish list in 2 weeks, there wouldn't be much vacation there, because you'd be spending so much time in transit.
I don't know anything about Mediterranean cruises, but all the places you list are coastal, and they--or a nearby port--are all visited by cruise ships. You could look into doing the entire trip that way. You'd only have a day in each port, but you wouldn't have the logistical hassles of trying to get yourself across practically the entire length of southern Europe in 2 weeks.
If the concept of an all-cruise vacation doesn't appeal to you, I suggest a Barcelona+southern France trip, an all-Italy trip, or an all-Greece trip. Note, though, that all of those places will probably be very hot during the summer. Must you travel then? How many nights will you be able to spend in Europe, not counting the overnight flight to get there?
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11177 posts
WAY too many far flung locations for 2 weeks.
You may be able to find a cruise to hit several, but a small ship is unlikely.
You could do Greece and Amalfi coast. I would start in Greece and fly to Naples to do Amalfi Coast/Capri and then home from there.
Greece to Spain in 2 weeks with all the destinations you want is a nightmare. If you want to do that much travel in such a short time I suggest you audition for The Amazing Race.