beatty1000

So my husband and I have enough airline miles to both fly international with continental. We have decided to go to Europe and go in September. At first I had grand ideas about traveling to several places but with some reading have discovered I should focus on one or two countries and just see more in another trip. I think we are going to spend a month. I think we have narrowed it down to Italy but I can't get Santorini out of my mind because I have always wanted to go there and see it, it seems so BEAUTIFUL. I could give or take any other destinations in Greece so basically my dream trip would be Italy and Santorini. Does that even make sense? I wouldn't mind paying for flights/trains whatever is needed to get me from Italy to Greece, just not sure if it even makes sense just for that one destination.

brotherleelove2004

Definitely go. With a month to spend you have plenty of time to devote a few days to Santorini. The weather will be great in September. You can get cheap airfare from Rome, Venice or Milan>Athens>Santorni on Aegean Airlines. They offer saver fares periodically. Those for September are still to come. Sign up for their email newsletter and you'll be notified when they're released. http://en.aegeanair.com/default.aspx Right now I'm seeing two RT tickets from Rome for as little as 425 euro, which isn't too bad, but the saver fares could possibly cut that in half.

beatty1000

I read I should travel north to south in Italy. Should I do that and make Santorini my last destination? Maybe fly out of Athens back to the states?

brotherleelove2004

Sure, why not? No sense backtracking if you don't have to.

beatty1000

So now the hard part begins...trying to plan the trip. What should I see and what to leave out (I am kind of talking to myself here). I know it is up to us what we want out of this trip. There are "must sees" but they might not be ours. We are not into Art (don't shoot me). We are more about seeing the country, enjoying the food and people and just breathing in their lifestyle. I really don't have to see any galleries or museums. So now...what to include and what not to include in three weeks in Italy???? I just say three weeks so I can allow for travel time and for my visit to Santorini.

primeranoche

What you are going to find here if you keep reading is a lot of very rigid, formulaic approaches to Italy about where you should go and how you should go about -- Rome is a "must" for first time visitors, Florence "needs" 2 days minimum, Venice is a must, one tiny area of Tuscany is everything, etc.

For three weeks in Italy, if you don't have to see galleries and museums, you can go anywhere you like in September. The weather is lovely everywhere. The question I would ask yourselves is:

How much do you want to EXPERIENCE beautiful Italy relatively untouched by tourism, or how much do you want to SEE famous beauty spots?

If it's the latter, just put up a post asking for recommendations for famous beauty spots in italy. You will be immediately steered to the all-time-favorite-tried-and-true-tourist sightsee hits.

If you want EXPERIENCE beautiful Italy relatively untouched by tourism, post on Frommer's.

primeranoche

By the way, there is no need to travel north to south In Italy, or vice versa. I have no idea where these ideas originate, but they continually get repeated, and not only are they without foundation, they end up costing unsuspecting new travelers to Italy money and time. You should look at a high-quality comprehensive guidebook for Italy, before you start allowing other people to steer you around to their last trip.

brotherleelove2004

The only possible reason for choosing North>South vs. South>North would be ease of flight connections and cost and space availability on those flights. Other than that I think the only other factor to consider would be whether or not you wanted to be in any of Italy's wine regions for harvest time, which will be sometime in September, and which region you might prefer and where is the closest international airport.

jelopez33

Beatty 1000:We had a beautyful stay in Italy(Paris also),last september.
As you are not very much into art,you will certainly enjoy the Amalfi Coast and Rome.Another good spot can be Lago di Como or Venezia.We have been to Santorini(only one day!!!) and it is a wonderful island,plan 3 days there IMO.
If you like,you can read my report on Amalfi Coast and Rome,clicking on my name.Enjoy the planning(I always enjoy planning)and the trip!!!!

citychicnyc

you should definitely spend some time in tuscany, specifically in an agriturismo that is runned by italians. it sounds like something you might enjoy.