My husband and I are planning a trip Europe in early to mid May. We have about 2 weeks to spend. We have never gone to Europe so we'd like some help on the itinerary. We are thinking to spend the whole 2 weeks in Italy and maybe a little bit time in Switzerland and Austria.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
It all depends on what you enjoy doing. A great starting place is the RS Italy 2011 book. Then this board serves as a great place for more specific questions. You don't have much time to get this planned out, as May lodging fills up fairly quickly in Italy. Good luck!
Posted by
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
You can watch the RS videos on hulu for free. Choose Italy and see if that will do it, or if you really want to see another country as well. If I were going to combine something with Italy I would probably do France. Do you like cities or villages and the countryside? Will you drive or take trains? The best thing is to think about what your dream of Europe is and go to those locations. I would be very disappointed if I had only done the city thing... Florence, Rome, Venice... I need the mix of the sea, the Tuscan hills, small villages, vineyards, with just a bit of the cities. Think about it and there are lots of people here who can help you with logistics... just be sure to make it your dream trip!
Posted by
Caruthers, CA, USA
244 posts
My two cents: Our first trip to Italy was 15 days. We went to Rome for 5 days, Tuscany for 6 days, back to Rome for 3 days. You lose a day on the flight over, plus the day after the flight you're kinda wiped out. We're returning in June, after two years, for 21 days. Milan, Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Florence, Milan. I would carefully weigh the stop in Switzerland and Austria. Take a look at what that adds in cost and consider maybe a couple more days in Tuscany or Rome or Florence instead. On Kayak.com RT Hou/Rome was $967; Hou/Rome then Florence to Houston was only $1007, Hou/Rome, Rome/Geneva, Geneva/Hou was $1,700. It cost the two of you an extra $1,400 in airfare to see Geneva. How about a few more days in Tuscany, maybe Cinque Terre instead? These airfares were May 17 to 31, you might do better. We were in Rome in May, and in the beginning it was very nice but warmer towards the end. Of course, that might be just the temp variations. Prices jump on airfare etc. around June 1, so it might be better to try and finish up in May. Rome - if you like architecture, the history, etc. your gonna love Rome. There is graffiti around, but that's common in Italian cities (at least I see it in Milan!) No graffiti in Tuscany. My theory is they all hunt wild boar, so they have guns, and I think it might be known they do the same things with taggers that they do with wild boar. (Shoot and celebrate?) In Rome we stayed at an apt near Termini, the main train station. I loved it because I love to cook and there was a huge open stall market near Termini. Tomatoes to die for. We would go to a nice restaurant for dinner and then the next day at lunch I would try to re-create the dish. Great fun! The neighborhood near Termini was not the cleanest, but it was safe. We never had any trouble. Near the Spanish steps there were all kinds of locals hitting up the tourists.