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Help planning holiday in Italy, Hungary and Jordan?

Help planning holiday in Italy, Hungary and Jordan?

Old Oct 28th, 2015, 04:51 PM
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Help planning holiday in Italy, Hungary and Jordan?

Gday all.

Trying to plan my first solo trip overseas (I have 27 days to play with - excluding 2 either end for traveling from Aus). I originally had a list longer than my arm of places I want to go but I've managed to narrow it down to three countries that I must see: Italy, Hungary and Jordan (not Europe I know, but hoping there may be someone more knowledgeable than I on this forum).

A rough itinerary would be:
-Land Rome - 5 nights
-Jump on a tour of South Italy leaving from Rome - 3 nights
-Back in Rome - 1 night
-Florence - 5 nights
-Budapest - 4 nights
-Amman - tour of Petra, dead sea, etc. - 9 nights

Originally I thought I'd fly between countries (Florence to Budapest, Budapest to Amman) but the more I look into it I realise it's not that simple! There doesn't seem to be any direct flights between these places.
I'm really hoping to fit all these countries into one trip but I'm starting to think it may be impossible with the time I have.... could anybody suggest an amended itinerary which may make more sense? Or perhaps I need to re-think my plans entirely....

Thanks!
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Old Oct 28th, 2015, 06:16 PM
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Wondering why you are returning to Rome for one night after your three-day tour . . . Why not continue on to Florence directly after the tour?

However, as you have discovered, perhaps the entire order needs to be changed to accommodate flights. I would check for flights between Rome and Budapest, Rome and Amman, and Budapest and Amman and see which are best connected. I don't know the best routes myself, but you might discover, for example, that it would work to travel Jordan to Budapest to Rome to Florence, or some other order.

Take a look at whichever.com to explore some options.
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Old Oct 28th, 2015, 06:17 PM
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Wondering why you are returning to Rome for one night after your three-day tour . . . Why not continue on to Florence directly after the tour?

However, as you have discovered, perhaps the entire order needs to be changed to accommodate flights. I would check for flights between Rome and Budapest, Rome and Amman, and Budapest and Amman and see which are best connected. I don't know the best routes myself, but you might discover, for example, that it would work to travel Jordan to Budapest to Rome to Florence, or some other order.

Take a look at whichever.com to explore some options.
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Old Oct 28th, 2015, 06:17 PM
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That was odd. Sorry about the double post.
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Old Oct 28th, 2015, 06:20 PM
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Thanks ellenem! I'll take a look at the site you recommended
I'm staying that one night in Rome as the tour does not get back till quite late,and they also do not guarantee the time in case of traffic. I thought it would be best to just book an extra night in Rome before continuing on the next day
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Old Oct 28th, 2015, 07:41 PM
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Why not head to Florence immediately upon landing in Rome. Then see Rome, do the tour, return to Rome and fly to either Amman or Budapest. You can fly between Budapest and Amman, but it requires a connection and would take the good part of a day.

It's also possible to fly to Budapest (but I think not Amman) from Naples and Bari should your tour end in/near either, although there probably aren't flights every day of the week.

I'd probably drop Budapest from this trip and add those days to another destination in Italy or perhaps go to Athens on the way to Amman.
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Old Oct 28th, 2015, 08:04 PM
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Yes, as Jean says, I was hoping you could put all your days in Rome together. Otherwise, with your late arrival in Rome after the tour and a flight to Budapest (or wherever) the next day, this one night in Rome would not give you much time to see any more of Rome.
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Old Oct 29th, 2015, 03:08 AM
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I would strongly encourage you to visit Jordan. We also spent 9 days there. So much to see.

I plugged in a random date and found Aegean Air flying between Budapest and Amman with a 10 hour stop in Athens. Very cheap. Not a bad place for a quick trip into town.
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Old Oct 29th, 2015, 05:57 AM
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We considered traveling from Rome to Jordan this fall and found a non-stop flight on , I think, Air Jordanian. There were others that connected through Vienna when I was searching. In the end, we decided to visit Jordan another time.
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Old Oct 29th, 2015, 01:26 PM
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It's good to here a nice report of Jordan, colduphere. I am so excited to go but am a little apprehensive after reading the smart traveller website and getting some interesting reactions from friends and family - due to it's close proximity to Syria. I don't think this is enough to scare me away though! I must see Petra, the dead sea and the red sea - just to name a few

Looking at flights between any European city and Amman, they are all more expensive than I anticipated (upwards of $500 Aus one way). It's likely I'll cut out Budapest so I can fly straight from Rome to Amman (and have a little extra $ to fund the flight there!).
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Old Oct 29th, 2015, 01:38 PM
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Also, I agree that one night is a bit wasted in Rome but I'm not sure how else to go about it... maybe split my time up in Rome to 3 nights either side of the tour.
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Old Oct 29th, 2015, 01:49 PM
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Claire I have a trip report posted on Jordan if you're stuck with nothing to do for 20 minutes. Just click on my name.

The flight I saw through Athens was less than $200A but I was guessing as to dates. We've had the one night situation many times. Not ideal but usually not as bad as it felt it would be while planning the trip.
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Old Oct 29th, 2015, 02:16 PM
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Excellent! I will definitely have a read to get some ideas

$200 is more what I expected. I'll keep looking and see what I can find. Thanks so much for your help.
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Old Oct 29th, 2015, 02:30 PM
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I spent 2 weeks in Jordan almost 20 years ago. In addition to Petra, do make sure you visit Jerash, one of the best preserved Roman cities. And I liked visiting the various hunting lodges out in the desert outside of Amman.

As much as you want to visit three countries, I think it may make sense to cut one country from this itinerary.
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