2-week Eurotrip. July 2019. Help decide.
 

We are 4 travelers (two couples) and we have started planning our 2-week summer vacation in Europe. We had a road trip last summer, so we already seen Warsaw, Vroclav, Prague, Zakopane, and Krakow. This year we want to dedicate two weeks for it and explore something completely different from Central Europe vibes.
We are torn between doing a road trip in Ukraine, the country's nature is super diverse and traveling there would also be quite cheap, so it's more like a safe option. But then there is Italy... A place which I have been dreaming about for a while, but if we go there, will 2 weeks be enough to see it all (well major cities and coasts)? Which places are a must to include? Has anyone traveled there for two weeks straight and could recommend a route and possibly a budget to allocate?

Or maybe we should consider tripping in Balkans as a golden middle between super cheap Ukraine and picturesque Italy? Has anyone done that?

Two weeks is enough time to see a very tiny part of Italy. I have spent up to 8 weeks traveling in just one or two adjacent regions on a few occasions, and still missed lots.

A lot of people with two weeks focus on Rome, Florence, and Venice. You could get a taste of each of those in two weeks.

But it all comes down to what interests you. There are no places at all that are a must to include. Italy is like 50 different countries in one - you need to read and research and see what appeals to you.

I agree with St. Cirq, and just want to add that Italy has 12,000 miles of coast. If you choose just one seaside destination, you should either skip one of the major cities she mentions, or add about 3 or 4 more days to your trip.

Denise, I would agree with StCirq that it's impossible to see it all, so I suggest to choose a region.. explore North of Italy: fly to Milan, spend few days there (visit beautiful Domo) rent a car and explore the lake region. I recommend stopping at either lake Garda (close to Verona) or lake Como (close to Milan), the views of Alps and lakes are simply breathtaking. Once you spend some time there, make your way to romantic Verona (home town of Romeo and Juliet), and after few days make your way to Venice where you can explore the canals and ride a gondola.

If that doesn't sound like a trip for you maybe someone could recommend you the perfect way to explore southern or northern Italy.

Yes, Italy by train if the big three cities where private vehicles are banned. Trains are great - check www.trenitalia.com or www.italotreno.com for fares and schedules - general info www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.

We have been through a lot of the Balkans, primarily because we have many former employees (now great friends) who live there. We haven’t been to Ukraine.

But we go to Italy every fall and sometimes we bounce around, north to south to make the best of the fall weather. If you see the link to our name, you will see fairly recent trip reports for the Northern Lakes, Italian Riviera, Puglia and Sardinia, all wonderful spots.

We also have done the Rome, Florence, Venice thing numerous times in different itineraries; two weeks in Tuscany, multiple trips to Sicily and a lot more. StCirq is correct that it is like 50 countries in one. But don’t let that deter you.

If I dreamed of Italy and had two weeks to get a sample, I might get a sample of various regions and not feel confined to one area. But that is just us. Maybe 3 days Lake Como, 2 days in Venice, 3 days in Tuscany, 3 days in Rome and 3 days on the Amalfi coast. Few would agree with me because we travel hard, with light baggage, long days, and walk a lot. We like to see and do a lot and have never regretted it. That’s not everyone, and we respect that. It simply depends on YOU and your travel style.

In addition to basic research, the 4 of you need to sit down and discuss what it is you want to see out of this trip. Having not been to Ukraine but what I know about it, it is vastly different from Italy.

What are ALL of your interests? Coastal towns/cities? Certain foods? Art? History, and what era? The answers to these questions will help guide you in your decision where to go. Then the fun planning begins.

While I agree hitting the Italian "big three" is perfectly doable for a 2 week trip with maybe a day trip or 2; however, I don't know if that's what all 4 of you want or if you would even be interested in say, Florence - a city ripe with Renaissance art and architecture.

Romania or Bulgaria fit the bill for a two week trip. You might want to check out my trip reports, one starting in Hungary and traveling through Romania, and the other starting in Bulgaria and including a Danube river cruise; click on my name to find them.

Thank you, fellow travelers! You gave us a lot to think about. So our next steps are, just like you suggested, to read some trip reports and maybe pick up a glossy guidebook, then discuss all our ideas together and then come back here to ask for your final thoughts.

BUT.. other replies and route suggestions in Italy, Balkans or Ukraine are very welcome in the meantime!

I've visited most of the Balkans, (not Albania) but generally my thoughts would be Slovenia is great and worth 5 or so days especially Bled. The Istrian Penisula (including Pula) is fine and the coastal regions going all the way down to Montenegro are pleasant enough, but going inland is difficult and slow. However, Split, Trogir and the islands are especially pleasant. I might consider catching a ferry over to say Bari or Brindisi and driving north on Italy's eastern coast.

You cannot see more than a tiny part of Italy in 2 weeks.

Traveling through the Balkans would be a better idea to keep the prices lower.

You could start from the top with Slovenia (Lake Bled etc.), then move to Croatia (Zagreb, Istria, Plitvice, Krka, Dubrovnik, the islands... is it too obvious I'm Croatian? :D ), Montenegro (Kotor), Macedonia (Ohrid), and so on. The nature is really beautiful in these parts and the coastline is, according to some, much more picturesque compared to most of the Italy.

Should you decide to take such a route, I'm sure you could find even more extensive info and guides as to which places to visit!

Please take the time to consult some guidebooks, and not just the glossy ones! The glossies are a great starting point to focus your interest, but with 2 weeks, you will eventually need more information than those guidebooks typically cover.

All worth seeing -- but in 2 weeks? I wouldn't be able to do that!

I was recommending the glossies as the starting point. Absolutely, once the OP decides where to go, they need different books.

So after some discussion with my fellow travelers, we decided that 2019 will be the year to explore Balkans. It was a golden middle for us, as we couldn't agree on the route in Italy, so decided to postpone it for next year and dedicate more time to it.
We are now looking into logistics of the route suggested by euro_swallow, so thank you very much for this suggestion! Will be back soon!

Croatia and nearby parts of what was once Yugoslavia are glorious! But as I already said, I would have found euro_swallow's itinerary overly ambitious for 2 weeks. Of course, it depends on exactly what you want to see and experience, but I would encourage you to be mindful, from the start, that you can't see or do everything you might want, even in that one area, in the time you have.

I would strongly encourage you to get the Rough Guide for Croatia -- by far, the best of the guidebooks for that country.

Hope that helps!

Great insights, guys! Talking about it makes me super excited for the upcoming trip. We are still yet to finalize the exact route.

Here's a detailed Trip Report I posted after a 3 week trip to Romania [Transylvania] last June...

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...018-a-1655209/

Loved it.

Great report! Now, Romania is next on my list.

Glad you enjoyed my mutterings....you won't regret visiting Romania.

My sister and boyfriend are going to tour Italy, but only for 1 week. They will begin their journey from Rome, where they will be 2 days. Then they have a plan for Venice for 2 days. And their last item is Milan.

Sounds like a decent plan for one week. Maybe for the second week, we could travel up North to see the alpine part of Italy... Thanks for your comment, Lucy!