Itinerary Advice those who have been to Italy and Prague

You really can go anywhere. I'd keep flying the day you arrive and then fly back to London the day before you leave for one night. Go somewhere new. If Prague sounds nice to you, fly there from GTW and then combine it with Vienna, Krakow or Budapest. Or go somewhere like Sevilla and spend your time between Sevilla, Grenada and Cordoba. I love Croatia and would definitely be happy with 8 night there, arriving in Split then renting a car and driving toward Venice or toward Dubrovnik.

It's obvious you've got the travel bug, even if on a tight budget. The budget European airlines out of Gatwick are a great way to quickly and cheaply get around and to explore new regions. It's a shame you don't have more time this trip.
You're very much limiting yourself by double tracking back to where you've been to before. There are just city after city of great sights you're missing by re-visiting Paris and wanting to go back to Italy so soon. Go elsewhere to cities that are easy to travel between and in close proximity to each other.
Our trip 2 years ago was to Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna and Prague (via train) and it was great. If time was short, I'd prefer to visit our new favorite city, Budapest as it's relatively inexpensive and has a great bar scene. It's much like a cheaper Prague with 200 museums. And not so many British revelers show up (as in Prague) every weekend to see how obnoxious they can be.
Another great trip is Budapest, Salzburg, Munich.

If you must visit Paris, go ahead and take in London. You really would be doing yourself a disservice by not visiting the city since you're going to be there.. Gatwick's 25 miles south and it's an expensive round trip into town for a short tour when the town is worthy of more far time.
You've got a good start to getting a travel education on Europe. Now, you might consider branching out to other great cities.

Try something new. i have been to all three countries, my opinion is Prague: lots to see, great day trips to other cities, less crowds, no beaches so you dont need warmer weather, less expensive then Italy. I am waiting to go back to italy when i can go off season (work in school system), but since you have been there why go again so soon. Croatia: too far from London, need to fly, many things are not happening in October along the coast, ferries are not running as often, and it could be too chilly for the beaches (consessions closed) this is one country i usually go to in the summer. What about Ireland or scotland? It is nearby and great place to visit.
It is difficult to give this type of advice because everyone is looking for something different from a vacation. When you decide where to go, advice can be more specific. Good luck trying to decide.

I think Croatia in October is beautiful! For someone who loves Orvieto and Italy, but wants something a bit different, Croatia is great.

Having been to both and seeing that your husband liked Paris and Orvieto, then my choice would be Prague. You could do a day trip from Prague to Cesky Krumlov for that 'touristy small town' fix. I loved it, so cute and plenty to fill a day but it's a long day (3 hrs each way on shuttle) so if there's any way you could spare a night for there it might be better. It's easy to get shuttles back and forth to Prague.

Easy to get cheap direct flights from Paris to Prague and from Prague back to London.

Add my vote for Praha for a few days. I was there last September/October. I also loved Budapest, and Rovinj in Croatia.

If you do get to Prague, walk to the Charles bridge very early before the tourists awaken from their all night revels. And please... please.... PLEASE see Mucha's SLAV EPIC. The floor to ceiling murals are absolutely breath taking!!

I'm itching to go back. But I want to broaden my travel experiences first.

I agree with others about returning so soon to so many of the cities you loved on your earlier trip. I'd branch out instead. I'd see nothing odd about going to a different city in Italy, though. Verona would be a convenient hub for day trips to a lot of interesting spots (Lake Garda, Padua, Bologna, Bolzano and many more) that are closer than Venice. I love Venice, but I probably wouldn't go there on just a day trip from Verona. Haven't been to Verona myself so can't comment on that city.

Prague and Budapest are also excellent options. I visited them way too long ago to provide details, but many people seem to come away from Budapest saying it's their favorite European city. I'm sure you'd be happy with either of those choices.

Zagreb, Croatia, is another attractive, lively city well worth 3 or 4 days. Quite a lot of interesting museums, too. The Plitvice Lakes National Park is accessible by public bus or day tour and should be fine (and less overrun by tourists) in October. I like the Istrian Peninsula a lot, but it's possible the coastal touristy spots (Porec and Rovinj have pretty architecture) will have slowed down a lot by October. I have run into that phenomenon in Italy, for sure. English is widely spoken in Croatia.

Ljubljana, Slovenia, is also very nice and has enough sights to keep a tourist busy for 3 or 4 days, though it feels a lot smaller than Zagreb. Day trip to Lake Bled is easy. English is so widely spoken in Ljubljana that at times I felt the city was bilingual.

Or you could choose a train-accessible destination nearer Paris. Perhaps Alsace. The TGV gets you to Strasbourg in 3 hours. Alsace has a very different look and feel from Paris, plus great food. I assume flights Strasbourg-London are readily available, but I haven't checked.

Wow! You guys are really opening up eyes to realize that we should not re-visit too many places this time..

So I am seeing that most of you choose Prague, out of the Italy choices Verona (if I do choose to revisit atleast go somewhere new) OR just do somewhere else altogther. There are so many choices... eeeee. Prague has been on a list of mine for some time.. maybe we can go back to italy and Paris again after we start having lil ones.. I would love to visit italian cou try side with rented car a d a long trip to Paris with a 1 yr old. Haha.... but I am realizing places like Prague may not be easy with a lil one. (Yes I did catch the bug) . Budapest seems lovely but I do not seem to enjoy pictures of the archetecture as much as Prague. P.s. we do not drink or party..

So now I am thinking..

Prague.paris. london... or skip Paris altogether and consider some of the itineraries you guys have suggested. I will look into them with more detail ASAP. I wonder if I can shake off the want to go back to Italy and be realistic about seeing more of Europe.. I guess the trip is so short thag I want to be sure I will love the desination.. and it is safer to revisit what we loved.

Also.. I did go to Vienna in 2007 (I was only 17) and I do not remember loving it... at all.. and I have also been to Romania since my parents were born there. Do not wish to revisit either.

keep the advice coming. :-)

Hi. Prague is great. One thing to consider.. according to weatherbase.com, the average high in Prague in October is 54 degrees, low 39. If you are going mid or late month, or hit bad weather, it could be even colder. Prague is a wonderful city for walking, but of course not as pleasant in colder weather. Enjoy your trip!

I love Prague and Verona. If you need hotel/restaurant recommendations, pm me. Prague is great for walking. Charles Bridge is great. Took the dinner boat on the Charles. It was good. Loved the church and walking down the hill on the steps past all the painters, vendors, etc.
Verona is wonderful for walking too. I stay on Piazza del Erbe when I go but Piazza Bra is wonderful too with the amphitheater. Good museums and churches and wonderful food. Lots of Roman ruins, but sure to look down when walking, some of the streets are covered with glass sections or open to the Roman ruins/streets below. I could sit in the piazza and watch people walk by all day!

There are all sorts of travel philosophies. Maybe travelers can be divided between those who are sight-driven and those who are about the beauty of the surroundings (that would be me, though I visit a lot of museums). Some folks love going back to the same city--sometimes even the same apartment--every year. That's not my style, but my way isn't necessarily better for anyone except me. If a traveler reads some current travel literature, selects a destination that sounds intriguing, and checks on things like cost level and logistics to avoid significant unpleasant surprises, he or she is almost certainly going to have a really nice trip.

I keep my trips to a fairly contained geographical area (consistent with the length of the trip), which helps control costs, but I do like variety of scenery, sights, city size, food, even language. So I usually include at least 2 or 3 countries. That's doable if you pick your regions carefully--something like Northern Italy-Switzerland-Bavaria, Northeastern Italy-Austria-Slovenia, Northern France-Belgium-Netherlands. But again, that's just my preference.

Since you mentioned not caring to revisit Romania (which I found very interesting), Slovenia and Croatia might not be good choices for you at this time. They feel quite a bit more western than Romania, are somewhat more expensive, have more sophisticated food, and just generally have better tourist infrastructure. But you can still see a lot of Communist-era architecture in the larger cities of Slovenia and Croatia. If ugly boxes outside the historic districts are too big an issue, you're probably better off avoiding the Balkans, at least for now.

After looking at connecting flights on the same day we arrive (very limiting), flights next morning..and the overall flights inbetween some of the places and ideas you guys have mentioned .. also considering places easy to get in and out of..

I began considering doing 1N LON..Aix-en-provence for 3N, Prague 4N then end with that last night in LON again.. BUT the flight from Prague to Marseille or switched is a one stop flight that takes longer than I desire arriving very late or leaving very early. We looked into other destination combos and it just doesn't work for us.. for example I was considering Lisbon but Lisbon to Prague is also either with a stop or a nonstop that leaves late at night. With these limiting factors, It seems that skipping Paris, giving London 2 nights and and just doing Verona and Prague is the best option for our tickets.. timeline, and budget.

I greatly appreciate each response that was written!!! If you guys feels diff. About Aix-en-provence vs Verona than I may consider your suggestion but for now having the option of a nonstop vs 1 stop flights that arrive at either 10:50PM in Marseille or leaves very early in Marseille (6:40 AM) for Prague seems to be a red flag for us.

Hmmmmm. :-) that weather would have been nice tho. :-P

Blessings.

Don't worry, Paris will still be there for the next trip. I think you'll enjoy Verona and Prague just as much.

Thanks for reassurance Nancy

I guess the reason I wanted to redo something in Italy and keep Prague the new place is because I am worried I will not enjoy Verona... yet I have booked our airbnb already. eeeeee

I loved Verona when I was there in 2010 and will return there in May. I can't wait! I'm also going to Prague. It will be my first time there. Everyone I've talked to loves Prague. With such a short trip you might consider spending 3 nights in Verona (for your Italy fix), 3 nights in Prague and 3 nights in London.

If I was making the decision for myself I would spend 3 - 4 nights in Prague and 5 - 6 nights in London. You would have enough time in London to do a daytrip to Bath or somewhere else. London doesn't have to be expensive. In September 2014 we stayed in a studio apartment for about $150 per night. We bought food to eat breakfast in. There are plenty of budget places to eat. And most of the museums are free. If you would like information about the apartment feel free to PM me for details.

Thx Andrea for encouragement

We decided on
4Nights Verona
4Nights Prague
1N LON (arrive at 11:30 AM so only about 9 hours of getting a teeny tiny taste)