ITALY AND FRANCE

Paul, One point that comes to mind after glancing over your Itinerary, is that I'd suggest staying in Levanto or Monterosso rather than Santa Margherita Ligure. I was just in Santa Margherita a few weeks ago, and although I'm sure it has it's "charms", it wouldn't be my first choice for a place to stay in that area. It appears that your trip is 14-days? Have you accounted for travel days? A 14-day holiday is in reality 12-days of actual touring. Finally, my overall impression is that this Itinerary is too "busy" and covers a lot of ground for a two-week trip, so it's not something I'd ever embark on. Happy travels!

Thanks for the reply. Counting travel days, it's actually 16 days.

It would drive me crazy to spend so little time at each place, especially all those one-nighters. But you're the best judge of what works for you. Happy travels.

I think everyone needs a trip like this so that the next one is more leisurely. We had one like that once. Good luck.

I have to agree. Your itinerary seems really busy, and really short in places. You're spending a lot of time traveling, instead of sitting in cafes, etc. I generally apply to 2 nite minimum to my stays, and everytime that I deviate for logistics, then I usually regret it. You've got a lot of miles, so I'd consider dropping something to give yourself some rest. This itinerary will likely wipe you out before too long. Just my experience. Good luck and Have fun!

Paul Great Italy and France cities. It always seems travellers can go more places than is really possible when you are planning your trip. You have 9 cities in 14 days plus the day trips to other places. IMH, this is way too many. I have a suggestion to help you figure out/see how your travel time effects your trip. Good to know you have 14 days on the ground. Get a paper or online calendar. Add your travel times in and out of Europe. Plot out your current travel destinations on the calendar. Then go back and determine your travel times. Just remember, you have to get to the train station, wait for the train, train time, then time to your hotel. Every time you change destinations. Same with flights, of course. This takes usually a half a day. When you are checking car travel, make sure you use the drive times not the miles. Viamichelin.com is good. Specific suggestions: Combine Versailles /Chartres. Train from Paris Only 45 min to Versailles. Train different Versailles st to Chartres 50 minutes. See info at this link http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm?topic=18027. Then pick up car in Chartres or reverse trip and pick up car in Versailles. This saves gas and 1 day car rental and parking problems. Also Rouen is charming but you only need a couple of hours there and not the entire day/night. You should be able to drive straight thru to Bayeux in the same day. And you won't need an entire day at MSM. But the drive to Chinon will take some time. 3.5 to 4.5 hrs.
Many RS posters suggest taking a van tour of the Normandy sites as the information the guides provide is invaluable and fascinating. Also the sites are dispersed. As difficult as this may be to do, I am going to say just do France on this trip. Probably don't have your flights yet? You have 10 nights in France and only 4 in Italy. To Be Continued

Paul Continued from Above Suggestions would be to add 1 day to Nice for your day trips, 2 days to Paris, and 1 day to Bayeaux if Normanday is your thing or Loire if castles and lovely river towns are more to your liking. Please note that 2 days means 1 night per destination. It is really tiring and disorienting to change hotels and places every night. IMHO, you don't get a chance to experience any of the culture or daily life of any of the places you go to. When is there time to sit in a cafe and people watch and catch your breath? Keep us posted if you make any changes in your itinerary. Questions are always good. Bobbie

Way too ambitious, I think. Do one or the other country, and enjoy. Otherwise you'll be running around like the proverbial chicken without a head, and you'll miss so much of why we go to Europe. Relax!!
At Lake Como, take the boat to Villa Carlotta if you gardens -- amazing!

I agree with Bobbie about visiting just France on this trip. You said you have been to Italy 5 times, so why not get to know another part of Europe for a change?

Great you are traveling! And to such beautiful countries! But just one more voice to add to the "it looks kind of rushed, kind of busy". I am going back to Europe with a friend who has never been, and she wanted to see it all. But I was able to show her this website and the comments of seasoned travelers, and now we are just going to three places in two weeks, so she can have time to smell the roses (or sip a capiccino!).
But whatever you choose, enjoy!

I think it'll work, but a couple of comments: If Porto is Portofino, you'll be pressed for time to fit it in and it's not that great, anyway. It takes about three hours to drive from Paris to Bayeux. Rouen is right about at the midpoint and a couple of hours there will polish it off - - you can potentially shave a day for somewhere else. Paris would be my pick since it looks like you're only giving it a day and a little bit. If you're going to Chartres and Versailles on the same day you're driving in to Paris (or even if you wind up spending a lot of time in Versailles), it's not worth the time to spend the night in Paris (plus the flight back probably leaves fairly early in the morning) - - I'd head straight for the airport and spend the night in one of those hotels.