momin

hi all,i am planning a trip with my family of four,2 boys 12 and 17.Planning to fly from ny (usa)to Madrid and then drive from there to Barcelona.after that I fly into Naples Italy and and then drive to Rome to Florence through Montepulciano and Mantalcino( Siena )and then to Venice via Bologna and then to Milan may be through Zermatt and Chamonix.After this I continue my trip to Geneva switzerland and from Geneva to Zurich.What I need help with is to decide how long in each city ,which reasonable yet nice places to stay and places to visit.Where would I be breaking journey to each city close to central area,.the entire trip is about 15 days give or take.

ElendilPickle

I count at least 14 places you want to see in 15 days, which from what you're saying includes your travel days to and from New York. Is that right?

If so, it can't be done. If you only have two weeks, pick a country and go there, or spend a few days in three places.

Lee Ann

suze

<What I need help with is to decide how long in each city>

As Lee Ann pointed out you named 14 places(!) and you only have 15 days... so once you subtract travel time between cities, that leaves only 1/2 day or less in each place.

You need to decide which are your priorities and cut about half the stops you mentioned, because the trip does not make sense as you propose it above.

nytraveler

The itinerary you describe is at least 4 weeks if you want to see anything.

You have not allowed for the time to get from one place to another - and would end up with only 1/2 day - or perhaps even only an evening in each place.

This is a forced march - not a vacation.

Have you looked at all at the train and flight schedules or driving times?????

And for Swtiz - why pick 2 business cities and ignore the mountains?

You really need to rethink this and focus on staying in 4, at most 5 cities/hotels, to have time to see anything. Preferably places that are close together or easy to travel between.

Also, driving is not the best way to do many trips - depending on what itinerary you end up with.

nytraveler

Sorry - as for reasonable yet nice places to stay - what is your nightly budget in euros - and are you trying to put all 4 people in a family room (perhaps with cots) to do you want 2 separate rooms. (In europe standard rooms have on double bed for 2 people - anything for more people is extra cost and few rooms will take more than 3 adults.)

momin

This is why I need help because I have not been there before some of the cities on the way are just passing by but I can always add some air traveling instead of driving and as for the mountains in Switzerland what do you suggest,I definitely want to go to most of the place in Italy but May be skip Spain altogether.
I would need two rooms and yes 200 dollars between the two if them.
What would be the right mix and match between train,driving and air..

suze

That would be a good start. Skip Spain. And focus on Italy and Switzerland only.

If you mean finding 2 hotel rooms, at $100usd each, so $200 total per night... that is going to be extremely difficult to find in the places you want to go.

Calabria62

Even skipping Spain, this is an ambitious trip. If you are set on flying into Naples, you could stay in/around Naples, visit Pompeii and the archeological museum, castle, etc. , then head to Rome, see some the splendid sights there, and then on to Venice. From Venice you could go up to the Italian Alps, do a bit of hiking and fly home from Venice. This would give you a varied landscape, and a variety of experiences for you and your sons. However, you would benefit greatly by researching some of the places on your list, and prioritize your wish list.

For lodging, check out booking.com, and see if there are any apt./hotels in the cities you plan to stay in. That might be an option for you.

nytraveler

I fear you are still being extremely aggressive and don;t realize how long it will take to travel between cities and also how long it will take to see even the major sights in any of these places.

I don;t see when you plan on traveling, but it is already VERY late for this summer - hope it is next year. That will give you time to research these places and figure out which are the must sees.

Also strongly suggest you get you boys involved in the planning.They should have a look at the Let's Go Student Guides to see what young people want to see and do in these places.

You could do as Calabria suggests but do the Berner Oberland in Switz and fly home from Zurich (a business city you really don't need to see).

Strongly suggest you lay this trip out day by day, listing where you will start, what travel you will do and where you will sleep. Then you can fill in any time for sightseeing and put in detailed info on trains or flights (but with this itinerary you don;t need an flights within europe). In any case, any train ride of 5 hours of less is at least as fast as a flight.

As for 2 rooms at $US100 each - those are definitely budget places and you will need to decide how you want to balance cost versus amenities (private bath, AC, elevator versus stairs, etc)

neckervd

"entire trip is about 15 days give or take"
That gives:
Day 1: more or less lost because of jetlag
Days 2-4: absolute minimum for a somewhat decent visit of Madrid and surroundings
Day 5: drive to Barcelona (the train ride would be much faster)
Days 6-7: absolute minimum for a somewhat decent visit of Barcelona
Day 8: flight to Naples (about 6 hrs from door to door)
Days 9-10: visit of Naples/Pompei, may be Capri or Sorrento.
Day 11: drive to Rome (the train ride would be faster) and begin to visit Rome.
Days 12-14: absolute minimum for a somewhat decent visit of Rome
Day 15: fly home

bilboburgler

15 days assuming you lose most of the first and last day. I'd focus on Italy. (not that other places are not great just it cuts down on time wastage.

Since that kinda destroys you travel plan lets look at fly into Naples and out of Milan. You need to understand that while hiring a car makes sense in a NY-state-of-mind Italy is full of cities that don't allow cars into the centre or, if they do, you may still not want a car.

Looking at your original plan you look like you want a 4 base holiday, Naples, Rome, Tuscany and the Italian Alps.

So suggest 3 nights Naples, gives you time to get over jet lag, do Pompeii/Herculanium properly, do some boating say to Capri and get into Naples.

Catch the train to Rome, 3 nights, do all the sites using public transport and shank's pony.

Hire a car (say at the airport but other towns might do) to visit Tuscany. Base at one of the smaller cities you mention and tour around for 4 nights, get a hotel with a pool for the kids.

Leaves 4 nights up in the Italian Alps for some walking and maybe another pool before droping off car in Milan. So Como might be good but you could also go over to the Dolomites

Egbert

Way too much packed in. It sounds exhausting. Also I would never drive from Madrid to Barcelona.

suze

Because your budget for rooms is very low, you might consider a shorter trip so you'd have a bit more to spend on the two rooms or an apartment. Like a 10 day trip, and only travel within Italy (for example).

nanael

My experience with traveling with youngsters was that we had to slow the pace considerably - grumpy kids can make it so bad, not that I could have kept up even when I was young to the planned itinerary , sorry!

We have learned over the years to enjoy smaller areas, more in depth. Dreaming of my next trip is so much fun. Some times it has been years in between but still good.

I have been very successful in keeping to a budget renting apartments in some places - and with younger ones it seems to be nicer to have a fridge, snacks, washer and dryer ...

Good luck and have a great trip.

ElendilPickle

Mr. Pickle and I just spent 11 days in Italy, flying in and out of Milan and visiting Rome, parts of Tuscany, and Florence. We saw most of what we really wanted to see, but we could have used a couple more days in our itinerary. So suze's suggestion makes a lot of sense for you, IMO.

We used Airbnb for apartments; it was nice to have room to spread out, a fridge for snacks and breakfast items, etc. www.airbnb.com

Lee Ann

Chris_Cutler

Please allow me to make a few comments as I've just been a guide for two two-week trips to Italy. Both groups had five people in them. We stayed in Rome 4 nights, Sulmona 4 nights, and Bologna 6 nights.

In Rome, they got to see the Vatican, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, etc.

In Abruzzo, we stayed in Sulmona and toured Pacentro, PEttorano, Santo Stefano, Pescocostanza, had winery tours, and had dinner with locals (I arranged all of that.)

In Bologna, we toured the city, of course, and took day trips to Firenze, Venezia, and Ravenna (by train).


First: Consider that you are going to have jetlag, and planning too much the first few days is not a good idea.

Second, I walk a lot, and the people with me didn't. How is your family going to be? The heat and humidity can tire them out. Don't plan too much.

Third, I used apartments, and for that, I was able to get prices to near what you're talking. Consider that.

If you are just going to hop through places, it's not worth it, and it's stressing.

Finally regarding the car: Use the Italian trains. They're faster, cheaper, and comfortable.

Hope this helps.

momin

As u can tell this is my first time out of USA and the planning is really poor because there was no plan but now there is one . I have to May be increase the number of days and increase my daily expense for hotels.Can you guys please help me plan this where I start in Naples to Rome to Venice to Milan and then to Switzerland and on this route by car or trains experience the most beautiful places the ones not to be missed and also where I should break the travel and if possible any hotel suggestions on my route .Specially where to go in Switzerland.How long do I need in each place to see enough if not all.
Thanks.

candj83

Start with roughing out your days. Figure that your first 1.5 days of trip is travel time from US. Last day is used to travel back, so that leaves you 13.5 days. Figure a minimum of .5 day loss in travel between each stop. I would recommend a minimum of three nights per stop, to do it any justice and to help you actually enjoy your trip. This will give you a good idea for your number of "stops" that you can feasibly plan. Once you have your number, select the stops that are of the most interest to you and eliminate the others. Once you have done that, start piecing them together on a map to see which order makes the most sense logistically. Then come back with your thoughts and you will get the type of feedback you are looking for.