Adventuregal

I have had great experiences with Fodorites and I am hoping you will give me some suggestions.

my daughter will be spending a year in Florence for School. I plan to go with her to help her settle. However, we are looking to do a family vacation as well. We would likely land in Florence and so it would be our base. My daughter, says her school will be taking her around Florence and therefore we are looking to branch out. We have been to Rome, Venice, Amalfi and Lago di Como so we may skip those cities this time around. What I am asking help with is, do you think we can do Sicily and Greece? Can you suggest an itinerary for 1-2 weeks outside of Florence? We plan to be in Italy for 3 weeks. Of course my daughter will be staying in Florence. Please provide some logistics and suggested sites or favorites. My family and I are adventure seekers—we love art, music, history, hiking, EVERYTHING adventure and we love meeting new people and learn about new cultures.. Thank you 🙏🏼

Jean

"Can you suggest an itinerary for 1-2 weeks outside of Florence?"

I think you have to decide first whether it's one week or two weeks. Big difference if you're contemplating traveling far from Florence and esp. if you will/must return to Florence for the return flight.

Sicily and Greece in late Aug./early Sept..... Can you handle high temps?

J62

I too am confused.

You will be in Italy for 3 weeks - got that.
Are you asking if you can use 2 of those 3 weeks in Italy to travel to Greece & Sicily, or are you talking another few weeks on top of the 3 weeks you'll be in Italy?

Of course you can go to Greece, if that's what you want to do...
Would I do that, or Sicily. No, unless it was to rent a seaside villa for the entire time.... If I were going to Italy, I'd go to Italy, not Greece

By 1-2 weeks, do you mean in the immediate vicinity of Florence, or anywhwere, just not florence?

If this were my trip, I'd rent a villa/condo/whatever for a week or 2 in the Dolomites or Alps, and enjoy local art, music, histor, hiking, local adventure.

Traveler_Nick

Also what does Greece mean? Are you going to Athens and coming back? Or do you want to wander a few islands? If so which islands?

From Florence you could look at flights from Pisa,Rome,Bologna or even Milan's airports. One is almost certain to have flights to the Greek destination of your choice but if it's not Athens you'd need to hurry up. Flights to the islands tend to fill up and prices soar.

Adventuregal

@Jean 2 weeks outside of Florence. Sicily or Greece or can both be achieved? Not sure which island because I have not done much research. I am not a "tour" person, I prefer to adventure and discover. Yes, I can handle high temps so long as there is beach and pool or waterfalls! LOL

Thank you.

Adventuregal

@J62, Yes 1-2 weeks outside of Florence. What about 1 week in Italy and 1 week in South of France? If yes, what are the logistics? Travel mode (train, plane?)

Adventuregal

​Traveler_Nick I don't know what Greece would look like, hence why I am asking. If I need to explore Italy further than I am fine with that too. I just need suggestions. One of the places I'd like to visit is Sicily and perhaps perhaps another intriguing city. I am asking for suggestion for 1 week stay in two different cities not far from Florence.

Thank you.

Traveler_Nick

You could just stay in Tuscany. Between the various provinces you'd have plenty of choice.

Do you want to rent a car? Then you could hit the smaller towns.

No car? Hit the major ones. Siena,Pisa etc.

You could add Bologna outside the region.

Greece in August isn't hot. It's REALLY HOT. Mid 40s C hot.

SusanP

You say you want to visit Sicily and that you want places not far from Florence. Sicily is not close to Florence! 🙂 Lots of places if you want to stay in Italy. Of course, France isn't as close, but yes, you could do that. Greece also isn't close to Florence. You might want to decide on a country first and then go from there.

Travel_Nerd

You're mentioning interests like hiking, beach, pool, "adventure" (whatever that means) and also that you like history and experiencing culture in addition to tossing out four possible destinations to achieve all of these things in a 2 week trip (I guess that's what you have?).

Where you need to start is to focus your planning. What do you want most out of it? Beach and pool? Hiking and whatever adventure means to you? Historical sites and culture? . You first need to start with the "what" and then go to the "where." Or vice versa. If you want to focus on Tuscany, focus on Tuscany and then see all of the "what" is available to you that fits your interests.

Look at maps. Google your interests in said area. If that means white water rafting (or insert choice/hobby/interest) and maybe then see "where" you can do the "what." Logistics can be worked out after you have that framework. But that is framework you really need to do with your family.

It does not have to be a tour. Most things can be done independently.

J62

There is no need to explore Italy further - you can choose to if you want, but you are also completely free to go anywhere else you wish.

For places to stay near Florence - as stated above Pisa & Siena are obvioius choices where you don't need a car. Lucca is another option. If you have a car, then there are countless other Tuscan or Umbrian towns & cities you can visit. A large paper map of Italy may help you with your planning. You can also stay in the countryside at a converted farm property (podere), or agritourism place of which there are an endless number. Many/most have pools, on-site farn to table/family style dining at least a few nights a week. Some also have self catering options.

From Florence there are frequent, fast trains to many points all over Italy and beyond. If you choose to fly, Florence airport is tiny, with limited direct destinations. Nearby Pisa airport is much larger and has flights to dozens of destinations all across Europe and the Mediterranean & beyond. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa_I...tional_Airport.

Before you buy your flights, first decide where you plan to start and end your trip. If you are leaving Italy to spend a week elsewhere, do NOT book a round trip to/from Italy as that will entail backtracking / wasted time and effort.If you're going first to Florence, you can fly in to FLR (one stop thru Frankfurt or Munich from many US gateways). If you're ending up in Greece, or France, or Dubai, or wherever, book what's called an open jaw or multi-city itinerary. Outbound: Home to FLR (or Pisa, or Rome), Return: Your choice to HOME.

Leely2

Are you planning to rent a car? Since you mention hiking and "adventure," Abruzzo is a lovely, scenic region with a number of national parks. Probably pretty busy around Ferragosto, but may get quieter later in August and into September. We visited in June and it was delightful. Le Marche is another interesting region that's not quite as touristy as Tuscany and Umbria, for example.

Someone mentioned the Dolomites upthread, and that's a great idea if you can secure accommodations. Aosta is another thought, you could possibly combine it with Piemonte (I've not been to Aosta, but it's been on my list for a while).

Sassafrass

Logistics to consider. Will your daughter have a good bit of luggage to drop off in Florence? If not, do you have to go there first? Will you be visiting her again during her year abroad or will she be going home instead during holidays? Is she going with you on your travels? September can be a lovely time to travel in Europe, but when does she have to be back in Florence for the start of school?

Both Sicily and Greece would be too much, IMHO, but either could be great for 10-12 days. Just figure out the best way to get to the one you prefer.
Other places that would be great are Belgium and the Netherlands together for 7-8 days or Provence for 7-8 days. You could easily combine Paris for 4-5 days with either of those.

bvlenci

Sicily is quite far from Florence, and you could see only a tiny bit of it in a week.

A good part of Italy is likely to be very hot in late August and early September. At that time of year, I would be tempted to go to the mountains or a seaside town. Someone has mentioned Abruzzo and Le Marche (where I live). Both have charming historic hill towns and beautiful landscapes. If you want something like that, I highly recommend renting a car.

If you don't want to rent a car, there are various towns and small cities with convenient day trip possibilities. From Lucca (already mentioned) you could visit Pisa. You could also possibly visit a Cinque Terre town, but I wouldn't recommend that in high tourist season.

Ferrara is a charming small city with a castle in the center of town. It has good rail connections to Bologna, Modena, and Ravenna, all of which are worth a visit.

​​​

Adventuregal

Traveler_Nick,

thank you for the suggestions.

based on you and others comments, I have scratched off Greece this time around.

i will consider Tuscany. If you can provide a suggested itinerary for 5-7 days for the Tuscany area, I would be most grateful. 🙏🏼

Adventuregal

SusanP thank you, I’ve scratched Greece off the itinerary.

when I was in Italy I visited many cities via train and bus including Lago di Como and Cinque Terre region.

I would very much want to visit Sicily if feasible. The idea is my daughter will get to visit the closer areas perhaps with friends and the school hence I want to do something different with her and also Sicily is a bucket list for me.

Adventuregal

Travel_Nerd the while point of my post is to ask for suggested destinations based on the circumstances I’ve outlined 1) my daughter is going to study in Florence for a year; 2) I don’t necessarily want to spend much tim exploring Florence and the immediate surroundings because she will be doing that with her school and friends; 3) since Sicily is in my bucket list, I wanted to hear from the travelers here about the feasibility and practicality. Since I’ve taken Greece off the list based on some of the comments. I am also open to other suggestions like maybe Sardinia or anywhere a college student wouldn’t necessarily be able to travel due to limited funds”.

My apologies if that was not clear to all my fellow travelers

Adventuregal

J62 I need to start in Florence to drop off my daughter’s luggage for her year in Florence for school. I would prefer to travel via train or perhaps rent a car. If Sicily is doable via train that would be ideal. How are the beaches are they accessible without a car etc is what I am looking to get information. Thank you 🙏🏼

Adventuregal

Leely2 thank you for these suggestions. I am open to renting a car. Can you suggest an itinerary for the week or two weeks, please? 🙏🏼

Adventuregal

sassafras yes we will need to start in Florence to drop off her luggage. We have not decided whether we will go back for the holidays, we may go back for Spring break though. We’ve done some cities in Belgium just last year. Sicily is a bucket list city for me and so I figured while in Italy with her we could do that.

I agree concerning doing both Greece and Sicily, hence I’ve taken Greece off the possibilities.

I am open to other itineraries such as Sardinia or Acosta region as someone else suggested I just would like some option and suggested itineraries. I would imagine that Aosta region would be beautiful given the proximity to Switzerland…