shaggy329

Hi guys, new to Fodors and liking it so far,

My wife and I (20s) are planning to do a trip to either of the countries listed above. I am more inclined in Greece but was not sure as Spain and Italy are good too. Need to book tickets as july prices are ridiculously high.

Any advise on which place to visit can be highly helpful.


Thanks

ParisAmsterdam

Greece would be my choice and likely the least expensive.

Kwoo

It would be helpful if you share with us what you like to do: history, culture, arts, museums, scenery, food, outdoor activities, etc.

I have been to all three of these countries, most recently to Spain, and many years ago to Greece & Italy. I do love all 3 countries, but it all depends on what you are looking for. We were in Spain (Barcelona) in October 2010, and prices were reasonable at the time. Also, if you choose Spain, the variouis regions and cities are very different from each other. And with only 7 days, you would have to choose one region, such as Barcelona with day trips, San Sebastian & perhaps Bilbao, Andalucia & maybe Madrid.

zoecat

Hi shaggy329,

It's hard to advise you which country without more information. Here's my advice-

7 days is not a lot of time, so I suggest figuring out what you would like to do in each country, where you would like to visit in each country, and the reasons for your choices. Then post back here with some specifics.

shaggy329

Thanks for ur replies
I basically want to head out to the beach and relax..not do anything per say. Also some culture and history would be good to have. And although i have high hopes that i may repeat visit the countries I have visited before, I am going to visit as if it would be my last time there.

- HTH

uhoh_busted

try for some kind of trip that visits the Greek Islands...

shaggy329

I am planning 3 days in athens , 2 days in mykonos, 2 days in santorini (if i decide greece)

3 days rome, 2 days florence and 2 days in venice


2 days madrid, 2 days BCN, 2 days valencia or something like that

Hope this helps.

shaggy329

I am planning 3 days in athens , 2 days in mykonos, 2 days in santorini (if i decide greece)

OR

3 days rome, 2 days florence and 2 days in venice

OR

2 days madrid, 2 days BCN, 2 days valencia or something like that

Hope this helps.

CathyM

2 days Madrid, 2 days BCN and 2 days Valencia would be extremely fast paced and doesn't factor in transportation time between cities and time to check in/out, packing/unpacking, etc....! If you only have 6 nights for all of Spain I'd stick with only one of these cities and do daytrips. At most 4 nights Barcelona and 2 in Valencia - but this is still rushed.

zoecat

<<I basically want to head out to the beach and relax..not do anything per say. Also some culture and history would be good to have. And although i have high hopes that i may repeat visit the countries I have visited before, I am going to visit as if it would be my last time there.>>

None of your itineraries sound like what you want to do.

It will be hot, so I recommend doing what you want to do- head to a beach.

For Italy, I suggest the area near Camogli. You can stay in town, relax on the beach, take boat trips, hike, and visit other towns by train.

For Spain, I suggest San Sebastian.

I'll let others make suggestions for Greece.

Keep in mind that when you relocate to another location you use up some of your precious time.

I hope this helps!

isabel

Where are you coming from? If from the US, seven days is a very short trip, does it include travel days from 'home'? If it's your first trip to Europe, there may be jet lag involved, and you say you want to 'relax'. So given that I'd eliminate Greece as it is a longer/harder/ more expensive trip (assuming you are coming from North America). And with either Italy or Spain I'd pick ONE place with maybe some day trips. Barcelona is a good suggestion - it does have plenty of beach but also wonderful historic old town and a 'new' town with very interesting architecture. There are several good day trip towns you could get to from there. Italy you could do Sorrento/Amalfi Coast - that's coast but the actual beaches are not the highlight there, it's the view and ambiance. But you can't beat that. You mentioned Rome-Florence-Venice - you know there are no beaches there (well, technically Venice but no one goes there for the beach).

shaggy329

thanks guys for the replies. I am flying from San Franscisco and yes i would have 7 full days. and from the suggestions i think Italy would have to be ruled out as 7 days is just too less. So i think it boils down to spain and greece.

kimhe

San Sebastián in July is a great option. Some of the finest city beaches on the continent, a climate that has attracted predominantly Spanish and French summer visitors for some 150 years, fantastic food and serious night-life. http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/08/07...tin-spain.html

Need not to be too expensive, I've lived in basic hotel standard family owned Hostals/Pensions (private bath-room, tv etc) in the middle of everything at least 15 times without getting ruined.
A couple of suggestions:
Hostal Bahía: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/hostal-bahia.en.html
Pension Donostiarra: http://www.pensiondonostiarra.com/
Pension Urkía: http://www.pensionurkia.com/en/index.html
Pension Bellas Artes: http://www.pension-bellasartes.com/

Direct bus from the large Bilbao airport in 70 mins.

CathyM

As much as I love San Sebastian if the choice is Spain I'd probably choose another place for a very first trip to Spain. San Sebastian is anything but typical Spanish, if this can even be defined, as it is the Basque Country. The challenge with this trip is the OP only has 7 days and the visit is in July.

shaggy329 - how sensitive are you to heat?

I'd definately stay in one region, perhaps even just one city or one large city with a couple of nights in a smaller place. I'd also plan around the logistics and ease of flights from San Francisco. I wouldn't want to eat up a day of my vacation (out of 7) getting to my destination after I land in Spain.

yorkshire

All of this is irrelevant until you see what airfares you can pay and what flights work. With 7 days, I suggest Spain for the shortest flight and time maximization.

shaggy329

thanks guys.
I will have 7 full days at any place and i can live up to 110 or ~ 45 C of heat.

So the flight to spain from sfo is like 20 hours and to athens is like 24 hours so is not a big deal and planning to land saturday night or early morning so will have full sunday to sunday 7 days.

clausar

Fly to Athens, and then straight to an island, you could choose between Paros, Naxos and Mykonos...
If you want to relax Paros or Naxos are ideal, spend 5 days on 1 island, and save 2 days for Athens.
The islands have everything you are looking for, nice villages and chora ( main town), beaches with cristal clear water and great food.

shaggy329

thanks guys..appreciate it.

Jodie_Wright

Shaggy -
As a fellow American traveler who has been to 2 of those 3 countries (I am actually planning a 7 day trip to Greece now), I can give you some great advice.

For Italy I did 1 week and I went to Milan, Venice, Florence, and Rome. All those cities are easily accessible by train so to city hope is easy. Also depending on how fast you walk (I am a New Yorker) you only need 1/2 - 1 day in Milan (Only thing architecturally to see is the Duomo), 2 days in Venice, 1 1/2 - 2 days in Florence, and 2 - 2 1/2 days in Rome. There are only 2 subway lines in Rome much like the BART in SF, so you can either take 1 line to the Vatican or the other to the Coliseum the other stops can get you "closer" to the other sites (Trevi fountain etc) but they are still a bit of a hike. If you are in Rome on a Wednesday you could go to a free "mass" with the Pope. Really it is just a meet and greet in an auditorium, but was cool when I did it.

As for Spain. I did that in 2 weeks with Portugal in there. Unfortunately, Spain is not like Italy when it comes to getting around. There you would have to take a mix of train/bus or get a rental car. There I went from Barcelona, to Valencia, Cordoba, Granada, Sevilla and did Madrid after trekking through Portugal. Honestly if you only have 7 days I would stick with the South of Spain. I greatly enjoyed my time in Cordoba, Granada, and Sevilla. You could easily do 7 days across the 3 of those cities and if you wanted a direct place to fly into, you could round trip from Madrid, train down to the South of Spain, bus around and then train back up. Therefore giving yourself some time in Madrid too.

If you would like any more insight, please feel free to reach out/respond and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

clausar

Jodie
The advice of the rest of us, who aren't fellow American travelers, doesn't count in your opinion?