Hi. I posted a month back but that thread got buried. I tried to add to it but it wouldn't let me. So I'm starting fresh with the details people asked for in order to help.
My family of 4 (two adults and two kids 7 and 9) are flying into Florence from Colorado (United States). We are going for 19 days the end of May into June 2025. This is our first ever trip to Europe. We have never done anything close to this so we are very novice travelers.
We will arrive in Florence and rent a car and drive a few hours south. We are staying in a AirBNB in the countryside. We will be here for 4 days. The plan is to get use to the time change, take it easy, and do some light site seeing.
We will then get to Rome... we were thinking of driving to Rome and then returning the car. Would it be better to return the car before Rome and take other transportation to Rome?
We will then be in Rome for 4 days. A big must is going to Pompeii. My daughter is a huge history buff and Pompeii is number one on her list. We are planning to follow Rick's advice on Rome in 3 days.
Then we are going to Greece.... there were lots of comments on how to get to Greece... our initial thought was rent a car again and drive to Pompeii then continue on to the port. Return the car and take an overnight ferry to Patras. Where we would rent a car again and drive to Nafplio.... we need to stay affordable. Initially it looked like it might cost a family of 4 $1000 to fly from Rome to Athens but I have found cheaper flights. Does anyone have thoughts on airlines between the two. I've looked at ITA airways and Aegean Airways. We will all have a carry on size luggage and a personal bag the size of a very large purse... on United Airlines the personal bag fits under the seat; would it fit and be allowed under on either of these flights?
I'll post this in the Greece forum but just in case someone can add into this from here. We will rent a car in Greece (either from Patras or Athens) and drive to Nafplio. We are staying in an AirBNB in Nafplio and going to do day trips out. Then we will I think return the car in Athens and take a ferry to Hydra. Yes, Hydra. The huge culture difference with limited cars and the need for donkeys and boats is why we are going here. We are not big city bar goers. Looking for more of a cultural experience for the kids. Then ferry back to Athens and fly out to Munich and home.