Schaz

Well, my family's making a plan to go vacationing to Europe this summer. We'll be there for a solid week, nothing more and nothing less so far because of other plans.
And we can't seem to make up our minds on which Country to choose. Spain, Italy or Turkey?
In my opinion these three countries are equally awesome, but I can't really say anything because I haven't been there... yet.
So here's where you come in. I'd love it if I get an opinion about which country is better.
And if it's somehow possible for me to cram in two countries in this one week.
I'll be planning on visiting in Mid-June, so yeah..
HELP PLEASE!

janisj

>>if it's somehow possible for me to cram in two countries in this one week. <<

Depends on what you hope to see/do. No, you can't do two whole countries in a week. You can't even 'do' one country in a week. You can visit 2 or 3 cities in a week -- where they are is up to you.

But - do you have a week total? Including flying to/from Europe? If so, you will really have a little less than 5 days free to see/do . . .

Also - major parts of all three countries will be very hot during the summer.

StCirq

None of those countries is "better" than another. They're all completely different. And you'll get completely different opinions from everyone you ask. It's time to get out the guidebooks and do some internet research and figure it out on your own. We don't know you, we have no idea what your interests are, and we're not travel agents. When you have narrowed this down (and it's getting very late to be planning for this summer, so you need to do that soon), we'll be happy to comment and help you refine.

bobthenavigator

In only one week you will be able to see a small region of one country. I would vote for:
Rome and Florence
Paris and Loire region
Venice and the Dolomites
Munich and Salzburg

You get the idea ! Get a good guide book and browse.

Schaz

Ah, thank you so much!
You're right, pretty late and I need to figure this out.
No, I'd probably be sticking to a few cities, not exactly touring an entire country as there is not time for that.
I'm very passionate when it comes to art and history, walking about exploring the different culture and trying out great food.
All these countries provide just that, and I just want to know which one is worth seeing as a first timer kind of thing- if you know what I mean?
Which place actually blew you away, or you heard great things about. Let it be Istanbul, Rome, Venice, Florence, Madrid, Pompeii, Madrid etc.

janisj

>>Which place actually blew you away, or you heard great things about. Let it be Istanbul, Rome, Venice, Florence, Madrid, Pompeii, Madrid etc.<<

Each of those are mind blowing . . . We can't decide for you. As was suggested - get a guidebook or two and decide which appeal most to YOU.

greg

You are heading there during the high season and you don't have lead time. I recommend you do a quick reality check unless you have already done some preliminary studies.
1. Air fares: Just choose flights to major cities in each country, Rome, Venice, Madrid, Barcelona, Istanbul, etc. Look up airfares. Are there acceptable flights with enough seats? Are prices acceptable to you? If this part is a no go, no sense going further for this trip.
2. Are hotel rooms available at acceptable prices? You can scan quickly using booking.com. Turn on the map for particular dates and hover your cursor to get the sense of what portion of accommodations are already sold out for the peak season.

Christina

Haven't been to those Italian cities or Istanbul. I quite like Madrid but many people don't for some reason. It didn't blow me away. But I did really like Barcelona a whole lot more than I thought I would. So it kind of blew me away, and is okay in summer. Madrid would be real hot (as well almost any of the other cities you named in Italy). I thought Istanbul would be real hot but just checked and it's not that bad, maybe like Barcelona.

So I vote for Spain where you can do a lot, but would pick Barcelona as a base (you could fly into Barcelona, then take train to Madrid for a few days and fly home from there, that would work for a week). Or Istanbul but I know nothing about it.

colduphere

With those capital letters and exclamation marks I'm betting you're a high energy person.

adrienne

<< Which place actually blew you away >>

Venice.

I would pair it with Florence.

sandralist

And for me Venice was a huge disappointment in terms of ambience and now I just get in and out as quickly as I can to see selected things.

I wouldn't go to Turkey at this moment. People will disagree about that, but I cancelled a March trip.

So for as many people who post here, you'll get different opinions. One person things everywhere is mind blowing. Somebody immediately says Madrid isn't. So it goes...

You mention your family is going, but you only talk about your own interests. What interests them? What do you enjoy doing together? Any children in the family or anybody with mobility or other things that might be important to their enjoyment of one place over another?

nytraveler

I would do Rome and Venice - IMHO most bang for the buck. But be prepared for huge mobs and you're very late to et good lodging at a reasonable pirce.

IMHO Madrid is meh - it reminds me of Chicago (which is fine for Chicago but not the capital of Spain_ To me the best part of Spain is Andalusia - with all of the Moorish elements - but I would not do in the summer - just to hot (often more than 100 degrees and can be 120).

gigi69

Venice and Rome,or The Amalfi coast with trips to Capri and Pompeii.

nanabee

I would go to Rome and spend my 5 days there.

sarge56

greg gives you great advice.

If costs are not really your first consideration, then telling us how many are in the "family", ages and interests would be helpful.

For my money, though, and first trip- Rome is a given. It has something for everyone. If you truly only have one week, I'd either spend it all in Rome with a day trip to Pompeii- OR- Four nights Rome and 2-3 nights in Florence. You could still do a day trip to Pompeii or a 1/2-day trip to Ostia Antica from Rome.

Good luck. Get booking on those flights- <I>then</I> worry about hotels and transportation within Italy (or wherever).

IMDonehere

Have been to all three but have spent considerably more time in Spain and Italy.

If you go Italy like the others said see Rome and one side trip.

In Spain go to Barcelona and a day trip outside the city.

Turkey five days in Istanbul and a flight and a short stay in Cappadocia.

Schaz

Thank you all so much, this really does help!
I know, I'm an idiot for working on this so late, but it was a pretty last minute plan. Hence the "only a week" trip.
My dad made me in charge of selecting a country for it, and these three countries were short-listed by all of us. I have to look up and see what activities can be done in all, and right now Turkey is out and it's only Spain and Italy that I am really looking at.
Well, I'm 17 (girl). I have three younger sisters and my two parents along with me. My sisters are 4, 11 and 15 year-old.
Hahaha, you're right I am very energetic, and so are they so I'm pretty sure exploring the streets won't really be much of a problem.
My dad's ready to do whatever we want so he doesn't have any specific interests that I need to look into, and my mom is the type who likes to relax, but seeing that we're going to two of her- and our 'Bucket list' countries, that is so not happening.
My sisters and my parents are just like me in the sense that we're in awe of both their cultures, we day dream of Italian Gelato and Spanish Paello, we're a sucker when it comes to stories, architecture and amazing history and we just can't wait to get on the streets and just see it all ourselves.
I've researched alot when it comes to Barcelona and Rome (as a base city). There is a lot to do and a lot to see in both places.
Since we have absolutely NO time, and my exams are currently happening... I told my dad Spain, but my heart is set on Italy.
That is why I was asking your opinions. It's different reading about which is a must to see for a 'first-time visit' on romantacized travel websites and it's different hearing people's opinions who've got some direct or indirect information of the locations from personal experience or from friends.
I just really want to pick the right place, you know? Too much pressure on me.
For Spain, I have Barcelona, Madrid, Seville. I can even go for a day trip to Alhambra in Granada and visit some villages.
In Italy it could be Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan and Pompeii.
If I chose Spain, I'd probably use Barcelona as a base and pick another city for maybe a 2 day stay. And I'd hop on for day trips from Barcelona.
In Italy's case it would be Rome.
I'm not freaking out about what to do there, the travel agent can handle that.
I'm just worrying out about which country should I pick to go?
It's just weird because we've kind of like dreamed of Rome all our lives, YET we're in love with the Spanish culture, music and food and love to see it up close.
So I'd really like your opinion on this. I don't know if this post makes much sense or makes the post clearer, but I really need some help because we're running out of time.
Plus, I think we'll have 7 days at the location, excluding the traveling coming and going.

greg

So there are six of you? And looking at the ages, it looks like all of you must fit in one living unit, or no more than two?

Ok, your dad/travel agent need to do reality checks quickly. Even if he is willing to pay pretty much any price, if the availability is not there, it does not help. These are the two key questions you must answer.

1. Are there seats available on planes?
2. Are there accommodations capable of housing all of you within your constraints? - must all of you fit in one unit?

There are not many hotel/inns with rooms for more than two people. From four and up, it would have to be a rental of some sort: apartments/villas. Your family is competing with other families trying to do the same thing in summer. They might have already snatched up the types of units you would be looking at. With rentals, there are minimum stay requirements especially during the peak summer season. However, your desire to move around is incompatible with the usual rental terms.

Schaz

Thanks Greg, I'll keep that in mind and correspond with the Travel Agent and nail that down as soon as possible.

greg

I think you have been assuming that the key issue was to decide the destinations, then the flights and accommodations will fall in place. However, with the size of your group, traveling during the peak season, with so little lead time, it might not be up to you to decide where you are going. The availabilities might dictate what are possible at this point. The worst outcome would be deciding where to go and buying the plane tickets only to find that only available accommodations require getting multiple rooms far from each other.