kearneyjm

My husband and I are taking a 7 day Venice/Athens cruise on the Wind Spirit in August. We would like to spend some more time in Italy & Greece (the Islands) pre/post cruise but can not decide on the best itinerary. Our options are: Option 1) 3 days before the cruise (flying into Rome and doing a whirl wind Rome/Florence/Venice tour) and 3 days after going directly from Athens to Santorini or one of the other islands. or Option 2) is to choose one or the other and spending a full week in Italy prior or a full week in the Greek Islands after. My question is do you think 3 days in Italy and 3 days in the Greek Islands is worth it or are we better off choosing one place and spending more time there?

kfusto

The only way I would do three days in each would be to stay put in one city. Rome, Venice and Florence for three days total? You will not remember or enjoy any of it! Three days in one of those cities is at least enough to get the flavor and feel of it.

I have done two Med cruises and have always flown in early and enjoyed a few days to a week prior to the cruise. I am not a bg fan of Athens and was disappointed in the Greek Islands. I love Italy so my views are likelt biased.

In your case , I would fly into Venice and spend a few nights there and then head to either Rome or Florence for the rest of my time. You could do all three in a week but I really would not recommend it.

Take your cruise and then fly home from Athens.

kearneyjm

Thanks so much for your reply. I think you are right that 3 days is not enough time to split three cities, especially Rome/Florence/Venice. What about the Greek Islands was unimpressive? I have been to Italy and love it but my husband has not so I am leaning towards a week prior in Italy but I don't want to feel like we went to Athens and missed an opportunity to see the Islands. I have heard good things. What are your thoughts? What about Tuscany? I would like to possibly spend a day or two there if we do Italy the week prior.

alex

We recently did a similar trip (7 days on the Wind Surf from Malta to Venice). We flew in early and stayed overnight in Malta. We then stayed 2 nights in Venice at the end and then 5 nights in Florence, with day trips to Siena and San Gimignano. It was wonderful - we loved Florence and Tuscany. One of the Greek islands we stopped at was Cephalonia (Kefalonia). We loved it and would have stayed there for weeks. It is an Ionian island so it looks different than Mykonos, etc... - it was very hilly, more green, very quaint little fishing villages.

kfusto

I love Florence best of all so I am prejudiced! It is a highly walkable city and a great place to spend a few days or a few weeks!

Florence is, of course, in the province of Tuscany, and I think it is convenient for a day trip or trip. Siena is a good choice and is accessible by bus or train. For the countryside, you really should rent a car, IMO, as there will be places along the way that beg you to stop and explore.

Re the Greek islands, I was most disappointed in the blatantly tourist trappings, i.e. T shirt shops all over Santorini, etc. This is to be expected, I know, because tourism is key to their income. I was on cruise ships both times and did not get to the smaller islands, which I am quite sure are much more what you are looking for.

I do not know how much of an effort it is to get to the smaller islands. I find that after the pleasure of a cruise - especially on a Windstar ship or a ship of that caliber - I am not looking to make a whole lot of effort to do anything. But a night or two in Athens would be an easy way to end your trip.

My two Med cruises were wonderful experiences and we are planning another soon.
I found the ports in Turkey to be much more to my liking, which was a surprise.