Hello all I posted this question in the Greece forum but wanted the other side of the coin opinion....
My husband and I have been saving and no gifting to plan a long trip.We have been wanting to go to Greece and Italy and can't decide which to take. We are 58 and 60 so not spring chickens but can do walking (that's why you get new hips and knees right?!)
I would love to hear back from you well traveled explorers. Hopefully we will do both but it will be a few more years before we can take the second trip. Based on having 3 weeks and really wanting to spend sometime in one of the countries which experience would you recommend? I know they are very different. We are looking at either May or September 2027. I can't wait to read your responses. Thank you all!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17881 posts
I think 3 weeks is a perfect length of time for an Italian trip.
Greece is smaller, so you could probably get away with a shorter vacation there.
You could do both, but then 3 weeks would likely be shortchanging both, especially considering that some time gets wasted in the transfer, even if you fly (don't even try to take the ferry or you lose two days).
But in the end it really depends on your personal interests. If for example you are a Greek history buff, then Greece will make more sense, although southern Italy was once part of Greece (called Magna Grecia), so there is plenty of Greek stuff in Italy as well.
Posted by
10088 posts
I have visited both countries frequently.
Italy is my favorite foreign country having visited 84.
It is filled with history from ancient times through Medieval, Renaissance and Modern history.
For history different cities seem to hit different periods.
Venice is anazing, since the Venetian Republic was born at the end of the Western Roman Empire up until the early 19th Century.
Florence is the Renaissance period city of the World.
Rome, has many of its ancient Roman stuff, but also the amazing St. Peter's Basilica (the Sistine Chapel is very special, nothing like it in the World).
There is much more to see from one end to the other. Tuscany and Umbria in the center of the boot are special and some of the small towns and cities are worth some time. Cities like Siena, Lucca, Voltera, San Giminancio (sp), Assisi, Spoleto, Gubbio, Perugia and Orvieto.
Also, the Naples area has Pompeii, Capri, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast.
The north has Milan and the lakes in Italy and Switzerland.
Also, the food is super in Italy.
Greece has amazing Athens and other historical places like Corinth, Delphi Olympia and many of its islands like Corfu, Crete, Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, Delphi and more. Consider a cruise to take in the islands along with a land trip.
Greece is not as prosperous as Italy, but the food is great.
You should consider a group tour for your first trip. Compare Rick Stevens, Gate 1 Travel and a couple of others. A group tour will take care of lodging, most meals, transport, booking sites, etc. If you do it on your own, do a lot of research on hotels (TripAdvisor.com), tours and transport. TripAdvisor.com will help with things to do in the cities you visit.
One thing, if you do on your own, remember that even a good 3 star hotel in Rome, Venice or Florence can cost $200-$250 a night.
Posted by
OP
31 posts
Thank you all for your input. I appreciate the ideas of not feeling that you have to go to all the "usual" places. I LOVE the idea of thinking of this as our first of many trips and hope to travel a third of your 84 trips!
I feel sure that I do not want to try and do both Greece and Italy on this 1 trip. I want to experience the places in more depth. About 8 years ago I did take my 12 year old daughter and her friend on a 3 week trip to France and planned it based on all the amazing feedback I got from this site.... We did do some of the big usual but had many wonderful experiences when we were just on the road. This is what I hope for this trip with my husband.
I will go with Italy for this trip. I will do a lot of reading on this site and will check out the company tours...I have never done that.... I usually am not a big group type person.
We are not fancy people, we would rather spend our money on good food, good drinks and experiences.
Do you think a starting around Rome and then working our way down would provide this type of experience and be do able in 3 weeks?
Posted by
Pittsburgh
81 posts
My wife and I just returned from just over a month in Italy. We're a little older than you and both retired. We decided to spend it all in one place- Naples. We saw it for five days last year and were smitten. We'd never done a "one-place" vacation and felt Naples offered a good base to explore the region. OK- we did go to Catania in Sicily for a few days while we were there. But I loved being somewhere where we had enough time to relax and absorb as well as sight see. And to become a temporary regular at the local pizzeria was a wonderful thing.