Trip with 21 Year Old Son - Help with Itinerary

If you haven't gotten your Last Supper tickets, attack that immediately. They sell out far in advance.

I can't help about your specific questions since I haven't been to Europe in the winter.

I would do one or the other of Lugano/Lake Como, to simplify and reduce the number of moves you have to make.

Spending more time at your other destinations and skipping CT would not be a bad decision. Its your choice where to spend those days, based on your personal desires.

Is your plan to stay in Nice and do day trips to Antibes & Monaco?

ACraven - you are not kidding about tix for the Last Supper. I check everyday and am about ready to give up and buy tour tix that include the Last Super.

Joe32F - I plan on staying at Como as home base for day trips to Lugano and Lake Como. I think we will stay in Antibes and then do day trips to various cities on French Riviera. Please advise if you think a specific town is the best home base for that region.

Thanks to both of you for your prompt responses.

Safe travels.

I think I have heard that CT is pretty dead in the winter. I would not think the hiking would be very good there in January and there is not much else to do there (indoors). It was great in May when we went (though very crowded) but I am sure someone can comment on the off season. I have not been to France or Milan. Rome and Florence would be fun I think, even in winter. Lots of indoor activities (museums).

Are you expecting to instantly teleport yourself between locations? That's what it seems.

Your trip is mostly a string of one-night stands. You'll consume at least half a day (sometimes most of the day) just picking yourself up and moving to your next location. When you have a trip that you plan like "Day 1 here, day 2 there, day 3 over there" what you get is actually just a couple hours here, a few hours there, an hour over there - and all your time in transit and/or dealing with basic life support (sleeping, eating, getting lost, finding your way, checking in, checking out, etc.).

Sorry, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but...

The trip is a reward for all is hard work in college...

Honestly, at your proposed pace, this doesn't sound like a reward to me...seems more like a punishment. I'd suggest you reconsider and plan fewer stops that are longer (get rid of most of those one-night stands). Sorry.

I really wish you'd started asking questions when you started planning for your trip. Lake Como and Lugano, Switzerland are almost the same place--separated by a mountain and a lake an hour north of Milan. And these are really major mountains that sometimes get heavy winter weather. Lake Como should be very quiet in winter, so Lugano would be my pick with more residents.
Cinque Terre is one of those places best visited in warmer weather. I would skip it in December.
Turin is seldom mentioned on this forum. I would think it is a very interesting place, however.
You didn't say if this is your first European trip or if you'd ever been to Italy. The popular Rome, Florence and Venice trip would be preferable at the end of the year--farther south.
My only mid-winter trip to Europe was to Munich, Innsbruck and Venice--predominantly a ski trip. And we about froze our tails off.

Can't weigh in on the French Riviera but I think you made a mistake here:

1/3; Hike Cinque Terre in the morning and late train to NCE in the evening
1/3: Spend day in Antibes

Cinque Terre (which I've hiked but not in winter) will be dicey in January as any sort of foul/wet weather will make the trails unsafe so closures are a possibility. Not sure how great the lake district will be that time of year either. As far as all those 1-day trips (yikes!) daylight will be short...

Thanks for all the replies. Some additional details:

-I have been to Europe six times, but never to Italy;
-I am not planning on the typical Italian cities (Venice, Rome, Florence) as I plan to do those with my wife for our 25th anniversary next year;
-My skepticism of CT in Jan is confirmed by a few of you. Eliminating that trip greatly simplifies our vacation;
-We could stay in Como (45 minute train ride from Milan) and do a day in Lugano (short train ride from Como) and a day in Lake Como (take ferry) OR we could just do a day trip to either from Milan;
-Lastly, we will most likely stay in Antibes and do day trips to Nice, Monaco, etc. I believe they are all separated by very short 15 minute train rides;

Thanks to all.

I really don't think any of the places you listed will be much fun in January. Think cold, snow, rain. Cold, windy and likely rain on the French and Italian Rivieras. Not good outdoor weather, not good for hiking.
Where does your son want to go as this is his reward?

If not skiing or indoor activities will fulfill his goals, I would consider only Greece, Sicily, or Malta (all for history and hiking) in Europe for much outdoor activities in January.
Otherwise, consider offering New Zealand (superb for outdoor activities such as hiking, boating on lakes and fjords, viewing glaciers, mountains, geysers; not much on indoor activities) or Argentina. Both areas will have summerlike weather in January.
Or maybe he can wait for his reward until May or October of next year if Europe is what he wants.

You’ve been Europe six times but never to Italy.

Did you consult him about the itinerary or is it designed to avoid places you intend seeing with your wife next year.?

This is his 1st trip to Italy as well. Cannot fathom why you can’t visit Venice. You’ll be a short train ride away from Lake Como.

It is so unique the 21 year old should see it as it may disappear in his life time. Why not make travel memories with him as well as your wife?!

One thing, looking at your itinerary, it is a lot of moving around. I would say look at your locations in “nights” and realize that each time you move lodging, you are basically losing at least a half of a day (I usually just count my moving day as wasted for anything serious).

With the ideas about saving some things for your trip with your wife- I lived in Italy for 2 years, and I went back to many cities multiple times with people who came to visit or when I was going to visit friends. It could get old if I just did all the same things (aka, going to the Vatican EVERY TIME I was in Rome). So each time I go to a city I have been to before, I find something “new” that I haven’t experienced to make it a new adventure. Why not find different things you can do with your wife? Like in Rome, take a catacombs tour with your son, and a Colosseum underground’s tour with your wife, or in Florence, climbing the dome of the Duomo with your son, and visiting the Boboli gardens with your wife. Same cities, VERY different experiences. I am going back to Salerno (the town I lived in) next April and I am going to hike the Path of the Gods with my friend, something I have never done before, so it’s still new and exciting for me.

Good feedback - Thanks.

I have consulted with our son - he really wants to hike Cinque Terre and cross the Swiss border to Lugano. He has already been to Italy with his high school Latin club six years ago, thus he has visited Rome, Florence, Venice, Pompeii. I would strongly consider visiting Venice in lieu of Como/Lugano if weather is better and train ride is manageable (I will investigate). I recognize the weather will be less than desirable for outdoor activities and am willing to change our plans to find nice weather. At this point our itinerary is:

12/28: Check into Hotel In Milan
12/29: Milan
12/30: Milan
12:31: Train/Check into a hotel in Como
1/1: Lake Como
1/2: Lake Como
1/3; Lugano
1/4: Train/Check into a hotel in Antibes
1/5: Nice
1/6: Monaco
1/7: Fly out of Nice

Three hotels for ten nights and one long train ride (Milan to Antibes) and two short train rides (Milan to Como and Como to Lugano). I hope this tentative itinerary is more reasonable and weather allows us to follow it. THanks.