LeahD

So in over my head! I am trying to plan a 10 day trip in the beginning of May. Barcelona for a few days (my daughter will be finishing up her semester there) and thinking of Italy for a few days. There will be 4 of us traveling. Venice? Tuscany? We don't have to go to Italy-we are flexible.
Thank you in advance

nytraveler

It would help to know who the travelers are (age, gender) and what specific interests they have and where else you have already been in europe.

Whatever you do definitely get open jaw tickets (multi-destination on web sites) into the first city and out of the last city. It avoids wasting a day of a very brief vacation as well as the expense of circling back.

sandralist

I don't think knowing the genders of who will be traveling is as imporant as knowing their interests. In fact, I don't think knowing their genders is important at all! Most people have gotten over thinking that way.

If this is your daughter's first time studying abroad, it is likely she will want to show you some things in Barcelona that she has enjoyed, plus you will want to get over your jet lag. So spending the first 3 days at a minimum in Barcelona would be the right start.

Barcelona is a great air hub for reaching Italy and other destinations in Europe at low cost but not if you are carrying a lot of luggage. If your daughter has a lot of luggage, hopefully she can send 99 percent of it back home before you all begin traveling together.

If everybody loves the sea, there are also overnight ferries that go from Barcelona to various western Italian ports. I've never done this, so you need to check out schedules and track down reviews if your family would be interested.

If you decide to visit Tuscany, you might want to rent a car if the attraction for you is visiting the wine country and villages and seeing the scenery rather than exploring the beautiful art cities.

With 4 people, think about renting an apartment if you go to Venice.

justineparis

Sandralist.. I have travelled with my daughter .. and on separate trip with my son.

Gender is helpful.. not crucial.. but helpful to know. Pretty sure my son would not have appreciated the tickets I got to take my daughter the YSL exhibit.. she loved it however..


I guess you know that from travelling with your kids?

justineparis

Leah.. so is this ten days in addition to the Barcelona portion?

As nytravelers says.. book an open jaw flight. Into Barcelona then out of Rome or Venice etc.
Which American city are you flying out of .. I ask because obviously its so much easier to get flights in and out of some hubs then others.

If you want to do Italy then early May is a good time.. I have only been three times.. but its have always been in summer when the heat is truly insane.

Rome, Venice and Florence are doable in ten full days.. Venice is a short stay to me( but others will disagree) so I would divide it 5 nights Rome, 3 nights Florence and 2 nights Venice. I never do less then 2 night stays unless in actual transit..

LeahD

I will be traveling with my husband 18 year old son and 21 year old daughter. Sorry to say, my kids are not into museums. We are going to take in the the culture, sites, etc. We have 10 days-including travel to and from NYC. Definitely want to go to Venice, Barcelona and if we have time Tuscany. Not sure if this is too much

lancer11

10 days including travel means 8 nights. I would spend it all in Spain. At least 3 nights for Barcelona and then 3 nights Madrid with a day trip to Toledo and 2 nights Seville. fly into Barcelona and out of Seville. Save Italy for another time. Just my opinion

sandralist

Leah,

If you definitely want to go to Venice, then whether you "have time" for Tuscany depends on how you allocate your time in Barcelona, Venice and Tuscany. If you want to visit the most-photographed wine country of Tuscany you've seen in pictures, you will need to rent a car. But there a plenty of non-stop flights from Barcelona to airports in Tuscany.

justinparis,

I know half a dozen men who would kill to have those YSL tickets, and you could not pay me or more than half of my female friends to go. It really is what individuals are interested in, not what is between their legs. Some of the advice I see given to people based on their gender or kids' genders is simply insulting and out of touch to the last century. If you've got two kids and that is what you are basing your ideas of the world's kids on, you need a bigger data base.