First Europe Trip
 

Hello! My family is planning on going to Europe the first 2 weeks of August. We want to do Italy and France. We for sure want to do the Amalfi Coast but we're open to anything. Maybe adding Switzerland or Greece as well. I have no idea where to start planning. What cities does everyone suggest. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Two countries in two weeks is enough, really. More countries means more days away from sightseeing and more travel days. Fly in to one and out of the other. Getting between the two could be a function of where you want to go or see. Assuming you flew into Paris and out of Rome, two weeks is enough to do some quick tours of each. Likely a couple hundred each for flights @ 2:00 flight time plus airport transfers @ 100 pp. or 150-175 each for train tickets @10 -13 hours. Difference is really the departure would be from central paris into central Rome by train and outside of the city for flights, so add transport costs to and from airports.

I agree with apersuader for two weeks, you do not have enough time for Italy, France AND Switzerland and Greece.

You could potentially do Italy and France with some time in Switzerland but would be rushed.

It all depends on what you have planned in both (or even all) countries.

Fly open jaw (multi city) into one city and home from another.

Pay attention to the fact your transit both to/from Europe cut into your time budget. And also pay attention to transit between points as time in transit, checking in/out of lodging eats into your time on the ground. Rule of thumb in most places is: 4 nights in a place gives you 3 full days of sightseeing, 3 nights is 2 days and so on.

For transit options, check out rome2rio.com but be sure to validate the underlying links.

You're also planning to travel at the very height of tourist season during a month where many Europeans also travel. So, you need to make your decisions and book now.

Amalfi Coast probably was already heavily booked a month ago for this summer and you need to decide fast.

2025 or 26. 25 August most places will be full so you need to chose carefully

Welcome to Fodors.

To get our best advice, let us know as much of the following as you can:

How many in the family? Ages? Any restrictions on mobility?
Interests? Must sees, things of no interest?
Travel experience? Language ability?
Budget (not including airfare.)
Any information resources you are already using?
Will you consider packaged tours?
Etc.

First, it's best to think of nights, not days, that way you start to think about where you will be sleeping and will inform you of how much time you actually have in one place.

Rome and Amalfi Coast is a 10 night trip. You will want to include Pompeii and maybe Capri as well. If you start off in Rome, just remember you have to get back to Rome - preferably near the airport. Or you could start off immediately going to Sorrento (near Amalfi Coast) , and then save Rome for after.

If you insist on adding France, then you could spend four nights in Paris. That would give you 14 nights. I would fly between the two.

Welcome to Fodors. As AJPeabody posted -- giving us more info will help.

You mentioned four countries and one specific destination -- the AC. That is sort of like asking "We have two weeks and want to go to Arizona and California plus maybe New Mexico and Texas and definitely want to see the Grand Canyon". You could spend your whole tine in any one of those or. . . . you could spend a few days in each. So where else were you thinking fo visiting besides the AC? One thing - the more moving around from country to country the more time will be spent in trains/planes/airports and less time seeing and doing

I urge you to start with some guidebooks. Your local library should have a collection.

And BTW, the international airport that is closest to the Amalfi Coast is in Naples, not Rome.

Nobody likes to hear "You can't see it all in that amount of time," but it's true. Last September, we did 4 hotel stops just in Italy (Venice, Manarola, Florence, Rome) and filled 16 nights to overflowing. Advance planning for Italy proved to be an absolute must. We started research and reservations for accommodations and attractions 8 months prior. Enjoy!

I would skip Rome for this trip. It will be extremely crowded and probably also very hot.

You could fly into Rome or Naples, and then head straight to the Amalfi coast. I'm not an Amalfi coast expert, but I would try to find a town that's not on all the must-see lists.

It's not exactly on the Amalfi coast, but you could consider Sorrento, especially if you want to visit Pompeii while you're there.

You can better decide how to get there after you've decided where you want to stay. I wouldn't visit any other places in Italy, unless you want to spend the whole two weeks there.

You really do need to tell us more about your group, ages and interests.

As someone else said you might be able to stop over in Switzerland between Italy and France. Here again, I would try to find an off-the-beaten track place to stay.

It is mentioned that Rome plus the Amalfi area is a two week trip by itself. We did it over 11 days just before the pandemic. Here is my trip report:

https://www.fodors.com/community/sho...d.php?t=939467

Just to be clear. many people visit the Amalfi Coast from Sorrento. Your lodging may be able to arrange for a car and driver. You already know where you want to go (Amalfi Coast) so it is very logical to fly into Rome. Yes it will be hot and there will be a lot of people and it will be amazing. Not everyone gets to choose when they go to Rome. I went as a youngster on summer holiday and then again as a parent on summer holiday. Great both times.

Before picking destinations decide on what you want to see or do. No point going to the beach if you want to see mountain peaks for example.

While I agree you aren't going to see four or even two countries in your time frame nothing stops you doing a stop in Italy and one in France. Is this the most efficient? No but it's not horrific either.

Slow down. Think about what you want. Then avoid the temptation to be the little kid with the big bag of Halloween candy. Less is more

Hi there! If you're already planning to visit France and Italy in just two weeks, I’d recommend sticking to those two—Greece is amazing but really deserves its own dedicated trip.

A great route could be starting in southern France: fly into Marseille, then make your way along the coast with stops in Cassis, Saint-Tropez, Cannes, and Nice—this area is stunning in August (though busy, so book early!).

From Nice, you can catch a short flight to Rome. Spend a few days exploring the city, then take a train or drive down to Naples. From Naples, it's super easy to reach the Amalfi Coast—you can stay in Sorrento, Positano, or Amalfi and do day trips to Capri, Ravello, or Pompeii.

The Amalfi coast and the South of France would be my choices with limited time .
However both of these areas will be jam packed as August is top month for holidays especially for the French themselves.
As said, Naples is the airport for the Amalfi area.We’ve stayed in Positano a few times but prices there have absolutely sky rocketed over the years.Getting somewhere affordable and also lovely at this late stage will not be easy unless you have a whack of money to throw at accommodation.Even then…
we also stayed more recently at the very lovely, affordable Hotel Bellavista Francischiello , a gem, which is just outside Sorrento.Good with the car but it’s also on bus routes.
For our sins, we have always driven along the Amalfi coast but with a first trip to Europe, that coast does not offer an enjoyable self drive experience unless you know what you are about! Hair raising at times and also almost impossible to park easily.
Using buses along the coast is of course an option but they also will be rammed in August.Standing room only.
You can also travel along the coast via ferry…again, the ferries are packed but they are useful.

I’d agree wholeheartedly with Ravello, Positano and Capri as stunning destinations to visit.There is also an excellent high level walk…the Walk of the Gods…which is a perfectly easy route from Bomerano all the way to Nerano above Positano.Served by buses at each end.
A friend also stayed in Salerno to avoid the high costs of the coastal towns though that never appealed to me but she picked carefully and found a very attractive little corner to stay in.

I would then fly to Nice or as suggested Marseille if you want to see all along the wonderful coast as well as continue to the very chic if super busy and heavily developed Côte d’Azur.There is a lot to see in Nice as well as the Art Deco waterfront…several excellent museums and art galleries if of interest as well as stunning views along the coast.

We always stay in pretty Villefranche sur Mer though getting accommodation in that whole area will not be easy.It is well served by public transport with the train going all the way along the coast though Eze (don’t miss Eze village) to Monaco and beyond.
There is a ferry from St Raphael to St Tropez depending on where you base - makes for a nice day visit from that side of the coast.

A car is certainly a possibility in the wider area with the motorway but the roads can get horrendously busy going in and out of towns.So much to see inland too…gorgeous villages in some lovely countryside.

I would avoid the big cities as much as possible, they will not be enjoyable in the heat and crowds of August though a day in Naples and Nice would certainly be worthwhile if you can stand the downsides.I’d really want to spend most of my time at the coast.

Yikes! Four European countries in two weeks and you haven’t booked any hotels, cars, trains, flights? It’s almost the end of May, you know? Most of us who travel to Europe usually book our flights/hotels/car rentals, months in advance. Are you planning on going in 2025 or 2026? Personally, for a family, I’d go for one country only, especially given your wide range of countries. Decide on one country. You only have two week. Is it 14 nights? Even so, plan for one country. If you had six weeks perhaps I’d suggest Italy Greece and perhaps France. Buy a guidebook, first, pick a country, and plan. Or, pick a country, buy a guidebook, and then plan. But make it fast because it’s almost summer and in some places everything is booked and I’m not exaggerating

I rarely plan all that far in advance, so I was curious about what you are saying. I looked up Sorrento and Rome for early August, and the availability of hotels is not a problem. I can easily imagine that certain good value properties get snapped up, but it is staggering just how much lodging is available at all price ranges.

The OP has yet to respond to any of these posts and has not even mentioned how big the family is. A family of five will have a harder time getting around than three and does indeed take more forethought.

I just check mid August four nights for a couple. Free cancelation. Private bath. Looks like prices are starting at €80 per night near Termini. None of these places seem very well rated.

The OP mentioned family. Depending on what family means that will make it more expensive and harder.

I don't mind the Termini area but it certainly wouldn't be my first choice. Any nicer area will be more.

I agree. I'm a bit of a spur-of-the-moment traveler myself, and I've never seen any place totally booked up. You may find a specific flight or train totally booked, but there's always another. My daughter and son-in-law once decided at the last minute to go to Rome on New Year's Eve. The train they planned to take was fully booked, but the next one wasn't.

More recently, my granddaughter decided the day before to got to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis. Again, she had to search a bit, but found an inexpensive lodging near Termini station and trains that weren't fully booked.

I almost always stay in the Termini Station area. It's the most convenient area for transportation. There are some excellent clean but basic hotels that will leave you with enough money for a nice meal. If you find a hotel on booking.com that has a rating of 8 or above, with a reasonable number of reviews, you can be fairly sure it's a good choice.

The OP has just this one post from 10 days ago and has not bothered to return. Til she comes back, everyone is just chatting among themselves. (possibly, being new, she assumes she'll get some sort of notification of responses)