@sassafras
excellent post. Yes thats what ive told my wife to do. Narrow the things so that we can finalise where to go

mrali--concur that you should stick with Italy. Italy has just about everything (except low prices).

The idea of moving around was to feel and see different cultures

THis would never happen at the rate you are planning.

If you really want to see more than one country, you could consider traveling from Northern Italy into Switzerland or France for a couple of days just to see them. Beyond that, I am with everyone else. Stick with Italy and enjoy it.

>>>2 full days in Rome
2 days in venice
1 day milan/florence<<<

This would require 3 hotel nights in Rome, 3 hotel nights in Venice, 2 hotel nights in Florence and 2 hotel nights in Milan for a total of 10 nights. That leaves 6 nights for somewhere else.

I think that you could see most of what you want to see and experience if you go to Rome and spend the rest of your time traveling between northern Italy and Switzerland or northern Italy and the French Alps.

For instance, you could visit Rome and then base yourself somewhere on Lake Garda, from where you could visit Venice for a day. Or you could base yourself somewhere on Lake Como or Lake Maggiore and visit Milan one day and then move into Switzerland for a few more days. Lake Maggiore is actually partly in Italy and partly in Switzerland.

There are beautiful mountains in northern Italy, and the culture there is very different from the culture in Rome, if you want to experience other cultures. There are even French-speaking and German-speaking areas within Italy.

It's impossible to see Florence and Milan in one day. You'll have to give something up there. I also wouldn't try to visit Venice at all unless you stay nearby and can visit as a day trip. To be honest, I'd be a little nervous in Venice with a two-year-old. I've been anxious about other people's toddlers when visiting Venice; they often seemed on the point of falling into a canal.

If you really want to see Prague, I'd visit just Rome and Prague.

I do agree with the general tone of posters. In my opinion your original itineraries were too adventurous - but you might have been inspired by well-promoted organized coach tours and their approach to travel. You appear to be a seasoned traveller, but a 2 year old can toss a monkey wrench into plans. Naps, potty time, illness, grumpiness etc. can quickly change the flow of a planned day.

Many posters on Fodor's prefer to travel where they can "smell the roses" and absorb the ambience of wherever they are. It is possible to travel in a faster-paced fashion and still be comfortable with your choices. If you are younger and fit you can pack a lot into a day. My advice: plan to do lots, but be very flexible. Establish only 1 or 2 "must do's" per day and then take advantage of opportunities that arise.

tC

@teacherCanada

yes i am 30.
you have made a very valid point about being flexible. thats what our aim is. thats what we have been doing since last 3 years :)

adventurous yet flexible. we always have an option of dropping places if we feel we are not having fun or we are going too fast! there is always next time :)

its not about seeing everything in a city. if we plan to do so then we can only do 2-3 cities in two weeks time. for instance if there is church famous in both milan and rome. i wouldnt prefer to see both the churches. i'll pick one and see it.

i hope everybody got my point as well.

but then again i also agree with many of keeping it to max. 2 countries. but one should also understand that these western countries are too heavy on pocket as well. thats why i am keen on including an eastern country along with italy

Moving around a lot is ver expensive so to save some money I would slow down and enjoy fewer places.

mrali, the more I think about it the more I am inclined to suggest Italy and either southern France or Croatia. My reasons include the following:
In late March or early April the weather in northern Europe (Prague, Paris) can be cool. The chance for warmer weather is much higher in southern Europe.
Southern France is relatively simple to get to from Italy. Check out the TGV (high speed trains) from Milan, Florence or Rome.
Croatia is absolutely lovely and slightly less expensive. There are a few methods to get there from Italy including train and ferry.

tC

Hi everyone again :)

We've narrowed down our itinerary to italy austria and Germany

day 1-3 rome (this includes arrival as well)
4-5 venice
6-7 innsbruck (a day for skiing)
8-9 Salzburg
either fly directly to berlin or
10-11 munich (planning to go to castle near fussen)
12-14 berlin (this includes departure)

Apart from Munich to berlin all travel time is short.

If we travel by train throughout then I believe eurail pass for 5 days for 3 countries is ideal