Good Morning,
I have read many of Rick Steves books..and maps in hopes to plan a trip..but need some guidance. We have two weeks and were looking at London, Paris and Italy (Cinque Terrace, Rome..and Lake Como for a vacation within a vacation. I am not sure if I need to skip a country on this round. Suggestions/ ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
2 weeks is really 12 days on the ground- not enough time for all 3locations. You might consider flying into Paris and out of Rome to get a quick look at 2 of the 3 mentioned. Realistically, you could spend the entire 12 days in 1 of these countries and still just begin to scratch the surface. There will be other trips!
If you're wanting to do Cinque Terra and Lake Como and Rome, I'd suggest just sticking to Italy. As has been posted already, you'll only have 12 days on the ground. Add another city, and you'll probably have a good itinerary. Could be another Italian city, could be Paris if you can get an open-jaw ticket and a good deal on a flight from Paris to Rome.
1) set priories
2) scale back
3) plan to return
Laura - If you want to see all three countries, consider dropping Lake Como. The Cinque Terre is a vacation from your vacation too... Lake Como is just a little out of the way for such a short trip.
You could start in London then take the Eurostar to Paris (or the other way around). Then look for cheap flights from London or Paris to Pisa (check British Airways, easyJet, Vueling, etc...). From Pisa it's an easy train ride to the Cinque Terre. If I remember correctly, there's a direct train (or one with an easy connection) from the Cinque Terre (from La Spezia) to Rome.
Thank you! I really appreciate your time and comments. Best wishes, Laura
Laura,
I usually wouldn't suggest that many locations with such a short trip, however I do believe it would be possible with careful planning. The disadvantage is that you'd only have time for a very quick look at each place. You'll have to decide if you want a somewhat "relaxing" holiday, or a "blitz"?
With the places you mentioned and such a short time frame, using open-jaw flights would be essential (into London, out of Rome), even if these do cost a bit more.
As you'll have to allow a day on either side for travel to and from Europe, could you indicate whether it might be possible to get a few extra days of holiday time?
Are you absolutely "set" on visiting those locations? If so, I'll try to offer a few suggestions.
Cheers!
