Trip to Europe October 2016

Old Jul 28th, 2015, 06:07 PM
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Trip to Europe October 2016

Hi,
I am heading to Rome in October of 2016 for my brother's wedding. I am hoping to take off two weeks to explore more then just Rome....but want the best advice to where to go and how to accomplish this in an affordable way. I'd love to see Tuscany, Venice, Paris, maybe Greece? Looking for best flight times to purchase.....best set up for getting the most out of this trip.
PaddyO81 is offline  
Old Jul 28th, 2015, 11:22 PM
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First of all, October is a good month for visiting southern Europe - still warm and sunny but not burning hot and the tourist hordes are gone. However, Paris can be chilly and rainy in October.

The obvious thing to do is driving around Rome. South of Rome you find the Amalfi Coast (scenic coastal road), the Vesuvius and the ancient sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

North of Rome, you have Tuscany with scenic roads, Etruscan ruins and medieval towns like Siena, Volterra, Florence, Pisa - enough to stay there for 4 or 5 days.

From Tuscany, it is not far to Venice which is absolutely unique and fantastic.

By now, you will already have spent most of your two weeks. Verona and Lake Garda may fit into your itinerary. But that's it.

Greece is a totally different story, also Paris.

What you can do is restrict yourself to Rome and Tuscany (one week) and then fly to Greece to spend the second week there. IMO, Peloponnes is the most interesting region in Greece (history, scenery, some of the world's most spectacular beaches).

I would save Paris for another trip.
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Old Jul 29th, 2015, 12:30 AM
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You will get all kind of advice on this board, much of it contradictory and some of it even inaccurate. I would NOT "drive around Rome" -- especially if you would rather go to Tuscany -- and while places like Pompei and (sometimes) the Amalfi coast certainly have their merits, you should not give up a chance to go to Greece to go to them -- or Paris, which often has absolutely beautiful October weather while it is storming in southern Italy. Florence and Pisa are not "medieval towns". They are Renaissance cities -- not an insignificant difference. Most people who go to Italy have spent zero time in Etruscan ruins (fascinating as they are). In October, not much reason I can see to go to Lago di Garda, etc etc.

If you have time + money and don't mind moving faster than some people can bear, you might be able to include Greece or Paris. Fast trains and flights are there for a reason.

Were it me trying to do your wish list, I would try to go before the wedding, and I would fly first to Athens, spend time there, and then fly to Venice. After some time there, I would take a fast train to Florence, rent a car and do a scenic drive south through Tuscany on the way to Rome. I would do more driving than stopping, so maybe just one overnight there, then drop of the car in in the late afternoon Orvieto and take the train to Rome. After the wedding, I would fly to Paris.

If that doesn't look like you can fit it all in and be happy with how few days you will have in each place, or if it looks too expensive, then you shouldn't do that, and you need to start eliminating destinations.
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Old Jul 29th, 2015, 12:30 AM
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To keep the prices down, and if just one person, stick to the train in Italy. They get you city centre to city centre on time. For a first timer maybe Venice and Florence with a car hire for 2 days to trip around Tuscany is easy. But I'd get a coffee table out of the local library to get an idea of what is available, Rough Guide to Italy (at a 1000 pages) is maybe too much detail but you get the idea.

How much time, where? Is a hard question but the more you move the less time you have to "see".

skyscanner gives you a good idea of cheepo airlines and what goes where. Along with the new airlines you will also find AlItalia offer the cheap business model (long tail) for europe flights. Watch out that some airports are not really close to the city they serve.
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Old Jul 29th, 2015, 12:37 AM
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Agree with others above that you should stick to one area.
Since you will be in Rome either go North to Tuscany
and Venice or South

you might find this useful: http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

Also trains are useful after you get there.
Rhea58 is offline  
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