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Italy and Greece in March 2019

Hello,
We are planning to travel to Italy and Greece during second and third week of March, for around 9-10 days. What are the ideal places to visit considering the weather? We are keen on covering Rome, Tuscany, Florence, Amalfi Coast (Italy) and Santorini (Greece). Any suggestion/idea would be helpful.
Thanks a ton :)

Posted by
3112 posts

With only 9-10 days for both Italy and Greece, I suggest dropping Amalfi Coast and concentrating on Rome and Florence. You could day trip to a Tuscan town like Siena from Florence or, if planning to rent a car, overnight somewhere in Tuscany on the way from Rome to Florence. Weather won't be an issue if you limit your visit to those places. I was in Florence for all of March this year, and it was cool but otherwise pleasant.

Are you flying open jaws (into Rome, out of Athens, or vice versa) or round trip Rome? Friends who considered Italy and Greece for their honeymoon this year told me there's a direct flight between Bologna (which is close to Florence) and Athens (where you connect to flights to Santorini), so consider that in planning the order in which you visit your destinations. By the way, my friends decided to drop Greece because of the travel time needed to go to Greece and back, and their trip was a week longer than yours.

Posted by
6113 posts

At that time of year and considering your timeframe, I would drop Santorini, as it’s very off season and it’s geographically a long way removed from your other destinations. Five destinations in 9-10 days in 2 countries is less than 2 days per place, ignoring the time it will take to move between places.

Your first day will be lost to jet lag and travel, assuming you aren’t arriving from elsewhere in Europe. Rome merits 5 full days as there is plenty to see. Do you have 9-10 days on the ground or does this include travel days?

Weatherwise, you maybe better focussing on Tuscany and Florence, not the Amalfi Coast.

Posted by
26829 posts

How many nights will you be able to spend in Europe, not counting the night on the plane?

Posted by
5 posts

@Frank, @ Jennifer: We might also drop Greece and just cover Italy. Why would you suggest to drop Amalfi Coast? Since it is in the Southern part of Italy, wouldn't the weather be more warmer there as compared to other regions?

Posted by
6113 posts

The Amalfi Coast on average in March gets significantly more rain than London! But it is warmer.

There is plenty to keep you occupied for 8 nights split between Rome, Tuscany and Florence IMO.

Posted by
15678 posts

There is plenty to keep you occupied for 8 nights split between Rome,
Tuscany and Florence IMO.

Ditto, Sally. With 8 nights on the ground, you don't really have time for all 3 plus the Amalfi Coast. Rome alone requires 3 FULL days/4 nights to begin to do it justice unless you're not really interested in much it has to offer. I'll say the same for Florence. You could very easily split the trip 4 nights in each of those two cities with day trips from Florence to Siena and/or Lucca if there isn't enough of interest in Florence for you to fill 3.5 days (subtracting 1/2 day for transfer process from Rome).

Posted by
15560 posts

As Jennifer points out, you need to be realistic about timing. Even if you land on Day 1 in the morning, you'll be coming off a red-eye flight. They are call red-eyes, because so many people get off them with red-rimmed eyes from lack of sleep. And while it may be 8 am in Rome, your body will feel like it's the middle of the night. It will likely take 2-3 hours to get through the airport and to your hotel, and after checking in, it will be lunchtime. Most people have trouble staying awake and are too tired to absorb, let along enjoy, the sights. Taking a midday nap can be a killer, it's really hard to get up when your body is telling you it wants another 5 hours of sleep. And if you do that, you'll be up most of the night and it will take you much longer to adjust to the time difference. Say you have 10 days, Day 10 you won't have time to sightsee unless you have a night flight home (which is unusual). That leaves you with 8 days on the ground. Every time you change locations, you'll use about 1/2 day, what with packing, checking out, getting to the train station (longer to the airport if you keep Santorini on your itinerary), then get to your new hotel and drop your bags before fun time begins.

With 7 or 8 days, stick to 2 locations. You could split your time between Rome and Florence, with day trips from Florence to other Tuscan towns or the Tuscan countryside.

Posted by
26829 posts

Yes, 8 nights is really just 7 good sightseeing days, and some people are not in great shape even on Day 2.

Posted by
3112 posts

I suggested dropping Amalfi Coast if doing both Italy and Greece, as it's the destination most out of the way from the other places you mention in Italy and you needed to eliminate something from your list. If you drop Greece, you could add Amalfi Coast back in. Even if you decide on all Italy, I suggest limiting yourself to a maximum of 3 overnight destinations (e.g. Rome, Florence, Sorrento) with any other places visited by day trip. If flying in and out of Rome, do Rome last so that you're in your departure city the night before your flight home.

Posted by
5 posts

We really want to cover at least two countries - we are dropping Greece, but including Spain along with Italy now. So here's our tentative itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival at Madrid (7:00 PM)
Day 2 and 3: Madrid
Day 4,5, and 6: Barcelona
Day 7: Reach Florence (9:00AM)
Day 8,9: Florence area (Pisa, Venice, etc.)
Day 10,11: Naples area (Positano, Amalfi coast, etc.)
Day 12,13: Rome
Day 14: Departure from Rome
However, we feel that this is a bit ambitious (also, considering that this is our honeymoon and we would want to relax a bit) and would like to drop one place from the list. We are confused between - Florence and Naples. Any thoughts here??

Posted by
7595 posts

You are still spreading yourself too thin. Pick a country, ONE country and go with it. The first time that I visited Italy, we spent 13 days to see Rome, Sorrento, Capri, Florence and Venice.

For example, you plan two days in Madrid. Madrid takes a lot more than that to see the key sites and you will no likely visit Toledo and Segovia that are nearby.

Posted by
15678 posts

IMHO still too much moving around over too short a time. There also seems to be some confusion about "area": Venice, for example is not "Florence area". It's at least 2 hours by fastest trains from Florence so you'd kill over 4 hours just in the transit process. It's also a city best experienced during the hours the day-trippers aren't around (evenings/early mornings).

Day 10,11: Naples area (Positano, Amalfi coast, etc.)

This is only 2 nights/ 1.5 days, once you subtract the 3 hours it'll take from Florence just to Naples. "Naples area" is also vague: where exactly do you intend to stay as that can make a difference? Getting to and around the Amalfi Coast from can be a time-consuming process, especially since I don't believe the ferries will be up and running along the coast the 3rd week in March. Other than boat service to Capri - which you don't have time for anyway - you'll be limited to SITA buses once you reach the region from Naples.

With just one full day to work with and daylight being short, there won't be time for much "etc.", and it's always a possibility that your one day could be a wet one. Honestly, it's such an outlier that I'd drop it unless you can give it more time.

Day 12,13: Rome

This is just 2 nights, 1.5 days for a city which begs for a minimum of 3 FULL days just to scratch its surface. I've no idea what you plan to see there but your one full day could be the one some attractions are closed. Same with the one partial day you've allotted for Florence.

Posted by
218 posts

Sally, something to consider that I've learned from the wisdom of folks on this forum - instead of moving every couple days, think about a location that has multiple day trip options and staying put longer. That way, if a place doesn't appeal as much as you thought, there are options. I.e. when we decided on Florence, I was a bit concerned as we are not art people, and we did take a day trip to Siena which we loved, but spent the rest of our time in Florence and still didn't see everything I'd researched (and didn't go to the Uffizi). We took our time to enjoy what we did see. Italy is so varied - I have 3 other Italy trips in my head already, each about 2 weeks. And next year we are taking 13 nights for Andalucia, Spain. Rather savor where you do go!

And congratulations!

Posted by
11027 posts

If you are determined to do 2 countries and stick with your latest proposal, it is Naples that needs to be dropped, due to its location.

Sure hope you have 2-3 days to recover when you get home, before having to go back to work

Posted by
391 posts

I like Rick's intro to itinerary planning: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/itinerary

From that page:
Depending on the length of your trip, and taking geographic proximity into account, here are my recommended priorities:

4 days: Rome, Florence
6 days, add: Venice
8 days: Cinque Terre
10 days, add: Siena
13 days, add: Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast
16 days, add: Milan, Lake Como (Varenna)
19 days, add: Padua, Volterra, Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio
21 days, add: Dolomites, or slow down

His top line of 4 days for Rome and Florence is super fast, like the others have said.
Travel time between cities, walking (travel) to the hotel, THEN getting out on the town >> so half of a travel day is spent traveling and half is actually spent in the city.

Posted by
1626 posts

Something I’ve done in the past is to plot your Itinerary on an excel calendar. Enter your city for each night. Then figure out your travel time door to door, including packing/ check in/out, to from train station/ and travel time. We assume at a minumum 10 hours a night in hotel room. The difference is time available to sight see, wander, relax, people watch, etc.

I’ve found when I go through this exercise, it is really apparent when we would be spending too much time moving from place to place. When we only have 4-5 hours door to door, that still leaves 9-10 hours for fun. But keep the 8+ door to door days to one or two on a two-week vacation.

Take time to enjoy where you are, not a list to check off.

Posted by
15560 posts

Day 4,5, and 6: Barcelona you won't be in Barcelona before lunchtime. Pack, have breakfast (?), check out, get to train station (allow 1/2 hour + at least 15 minutes at the station to find the train and go through security), 2.5-3 hours on the trian, then time to find your hotel and drop your luggage. That gives you 2-1/2 days to enjoy.
Day 7: Reach Florence (9:00AM) To get to a flight that lands at 9 am, you need to get up in the middle of the night! So while on paper this looks like a full day, you'll only have had half a night's sleep.
Day 8,9: Florence area (Pisa, Venice, etc.) You can see Pisa in 1/2 day from Florence. It's a 2-hour train ride to Venice, plus time getting to/from train stations. That is taking the fast train - if you buy tickets well in advance, you can get super-economy tickets for €25-30 each (that's €100-120 for the two of you), if you wait until you get to Florence, you may have to pay full price (€51 each) or close to it.

So you have a day in Florence on half a night's sleep, then a day that's 1/2 Pisa, 1/2 Florence, then a day that's Venice. Sounds like you are checking off lots of places but seeing very little. The rest of your plan is equally rushed. And that's not even taking into account the time and stress of getting oriented to new cities every day or two.

Posted by
15678 posts

And that's not even taking into account the time and stress of getting
oriented to new cities every day or two.

Chani makes a really important point here. We're able to hit the ground running on return trips to cities we've done before as we already have our bearings, know roughly where things are and how things 'work'. First-timers usually need a day or so at a different pace to wrap their heads around the same.

We're all different but I'll gently disagree with Rick's recommended itineraries. Just attempting to do Rome, Florence and Venice in 6 days would be a marathon effort, IMHO! His own escorted tour of these three cities - which moves briskly, and with transport, orientation walks and other details organized for you - doesn't attempt to cover that much ground in that short a time.

Posted by
11294 posts

"We really want to cover at least two countries"
"Eight nights"
"this is our honeymoon and we would want to relax a bit"

Alas, these three cannot be satisfied simultaneously. If you can extend your stay, you can see more places. If you don't mind running around like a chicken without a head, you can see lots of places in a short time. If you want a relaxing honeymoon, you have to cut back on your ambitions to see lots of places.

We've all had to make these kinds of choices, and I know how hard it can be to "kill your darlings" (to NOT go to a place I desperately wanted to see). But for all the reasons articulated by Chani and others above, it takes time and energy to go from place to place. Also remember, the more time you spend traveling between places, the less you see of places themselves. Unless you want your honeymoon to be a procession of taxi rides to flights to hotels to taxis to train stations, see fewer places and spend more time in the ones you do see.

If you really do want to see the most places in the least time, take an escorted tour (whether from Rick Steves or someone else). Because they know the way and are taking care of all the logistics, they can be more efficient in moving around than you can on your own.

If you're not taking an escorted tour, with 8 days and this being a honeymoon, pick two places, TOPS, and make sure they have good connections. For instance, Venice and Rome make a good pair, as the train between them takes less than 4 hours; Venice and Santorini don't, as you will burn almost a whole day getting between them (flights with connections required).

Posted by
11027 posts

Unless you found something I am unable to find, the earliest flight from Barcelona arrives at 10:25 AM.
So you show up at your hotel hours before check in and.......?

Not to be mean, but unless you have made some sort of a deal with Paramount Pictures to use the Star Trek transporter system, your travels are a bit more time consuming than you are allowing for.

Posted by
15678 posts

If you're not taking an escorted tour, with 8 days and this being a
honeymoon

Harold, see Sally's amended itinerary in her 3rd post. She did add more days (13 nights/12 full days on the ground, if I'm counting right) but still too tight for the amount of moves/proposed day trips/distances to cover, IMHO.

So you show up at your hotel hours before check in and.......?

Most hotels will store your luggage for you so you can sightsee until check-in - although I would check in advance - so that's not a big issue.

Posted by
26829 posts

Some travelers just have to experience an over-packed vacation before they accept that those cautioning more days in each place were correct. But this is your honeymoon, and I want you to have good memories of it. So: Please slow down. The sort of pace you are thinking about is severely non-optimal, and if I were dragged through an itinerary like that, it would not be a good start to a marriage.

Posted by
5 posts

Thanks a ton for the advice.. We have amended the Itinerary:
Day 1 Madrid (Arrival: Afternoon)
Day 2 Madrid
Day 3 Madrid/Barcelona
Day 4 Barcelona
Day 5 Barcelona
Day 6 Barcelona to Florence (Arrival: Noon)
Day 7 Florence
Day 8 Florence
Day 9 Florence
Day 10 Florence/Rome (Reach Morning)
Day 11 Rome
Day 12 Rome
Day 13 Rome (Departure: Morning)
How does this look now?

Another question that we have: Would it be a good idea driving from Florence to Rome, while covering places such as San Gimignano, Siena, Chianti, and Monteriggioni??

Posted by
11027 posts

Your latest amended itinerary looks much better.

Trying to pack 4 stops in one day driving from Florence to Rome will be like trying to put 2 quarts of water into a one quart jar.... A mess

Take the train from Florence to Rome, and enjoy being there rather than trying to be everywhere

Posted by
15678 posts

Not a lot of time for Madrid but much better than the last itinerary, Sally. :O)

Posted by
11294 posts

You're getting better, but I still think this is far too little time at each place, particularly since it's your first visit to all of them.

Remember that 3 nights in a place equals only 2 full days. And the day of arrival is often a jet-lagged haze. So, your time in Madrid equals only one full usable day. I'd either spend more time there, or skip it and add those nights to other places on your list. Don't worry, you won't run out of ways to fill an extra day in Barcelona, Florence, or Rome. Even if you do tire of the cities themselves, all of them have lots of day trip possibilities.

If you want to rent a car and take a few days to get from Florence to Rome, that's fine. Just be sure to cut those days from other places. Joe is right that you don't want to try to see a bunch of places in one day - you'll spend more time getting lost and parking than you will seeing.

Also, when you say you will arrive in Florence by noon, how early will you have to wake up to get to the Barcelona airport in time for this flight? If it's earlier than you're used to, be prepared to be very tried by early evening of your Florence arrival day. The good news is that Florence's airport is quite close to the city and is small, so that end of the flight is easy. On the Barcelona end, the airport is big, so you need to get there with sufficient time to get through security, check-in, bag check, document check (if Ryanair), etc.

Posted by
15560 posts

Hi Sally, much better now. I do agree with Harold (he's usually right) that you are still trying to see major cities in minor time. I'm also in the "less is more" club, and you've chosen excellent places to spend more time. My suggestion is to cut one of your Spanish places. If you want to spending two days enjoying European painting, Madrid is the place. If not, skip it and fly into Barcelona. There's plenty to see, plus several excellent day trips to small towns and villages. Spend more time in Rome and/or Florence. Use Florence as a base for day trips to Siena and maybe San Giminagno (by bus) and Pisa and Lucca by train.