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-   -   help deciding between 2 itineraries! (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/help-deciding-between-2-itineraries-1465349/)

kiwicindyk1 Aug 15th, 2017 12:45 PM

help deciding between 2 itineraries!
 
Hi - We are travelling to Europe from New Zealand next September (husband/myself and 14 year old daughter). I have two itineraries I am trying to decide between.

1) Barcelona 5 nights, Cinque Terre 3 nights, Florence 3 nights then Rome 5 nights
2) Barcelona 4 nights, Amalfi 4 nights, Florence 2 nights, Cinque Terre 2 nights and Rome 4 nights.

We are interested in wondering around and soaking up the culture/atmosphere rather than spending heaps of time in museums and art galleries - thought we could maybe skip Florence for this reason but have heard the atmosphere is great even if you are not into all the art etc. We plan to see the very main tourist sites but to tell you the truth I would prefer seeing people, eating good (not expensive) local food, I love cobbled streets and little shops and markets. I want to be able to walk out of our accommodation and straight into the thick of it on some days as well as having some days that are a little more full with site seeing etc. I know its probably easier to just do either CT or Amalfi however really struggling to make a decision between the two and hence have the 2nd itinerary as an option that combines the two.
Any thoughts on itinerary will be greatly appreciated (ps have been to Venice so dont need to add that into itinerary). PS, I will be celebrating my 50th birthday on our trip and would love any suggestions for an amazing experience/dinner venue etc to celebrate that! Thanks in advance:)

aliced Aug 15th, 2017 01:20 PM

I think Option 2 will be perfect. You have no one-night stays, which are always killers. You have the four-nighters in the bigger cities. While we have yet to see CT, think 4 in Barcelona is perfect, two in Florence plenty (though that will not allow much exploring out in the countryside) and 4 in Rome should be just right allowing you to see the biggies in each.

Barcelona - stayed in the University area, close to the Metro, just a short walk down the Ramblas, you will enjoy the Boqueria market right off it. The Metro took us over to Juan Miro Museum atop at the park at the edge of the Med Sea. Picasso Museum and old section we saw on the way back then grabbed a cab to Sagrada Familia. Next day explored two more Gaudi houses which were outstanding: Casa Mila and the even lovelier, Casa Batllo with all the gorgeous blue. Regret we had no time for Park Guell!
Rome - stayed right around corner from the over-the-top Piazza Navonna at Hotel Genio, an easy walk to Tiber and to the Vatican, close to Pantheon, and even walked down to the Colisseum/Forum area, location was perfect.
AC - we had 5 nights there, so day-tripping from our Sorrento Hotel was not too time consuming for us; if there for only two nights, I'd stay in Positano or Amalfi. If weather is good you can ferry to Capri from Positano but it will take up the whole day. Exploring the villages near either of these towns is the true pleasure.
Florence - a compact city where you can see the Medici Palace, Uffizi, the Cathedral, Boboli Gardens in two days easily.
Are you planning to drive a rental car for the whole trip?

PalenQ Aug 15th, 2017 01:30 PM

For something different there is a ferry between Barcelona and Livorno (or nearby) Italy - yeh takes all day and night but has the trappings of a cruise.

Yes Option 2 I would chose though in Sep CT will still be mobbed - Amalfi too but it has a lot more turf to spread the crowds out on.

Obviously taking trains - if not add more time between bases for driving - check www.trenitalia.com or www.italotreno.com/en for schedules and booking your own long-distance trains (regional trains like CT to Pisa and Florence just buy at stations - no benefit to pre-book and some reasons not too (folks more expert than I say) but on high-speed trains you can nab huge discounts over walk-up fares - good info sites: www.seat61.com - erudite info on booking own discounted tickets; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Consider stopping off in Pisa when going between CT and Florence is LTower attracts you -easily done.

thursdaysd Aug 15th, 2017 01:33 PM

I would probably go for option 2 as well, especially if you are not particularly into art and museums.

No reason to rent a car for this trip. It would be at best a nuisance everywhere. See seat61.com for loads of info on European trains, check skyscanner, easyjet and ryanair for cheap flights.

In Barcelona I stayed in the Eixample area, which I highly recommend. Handy for the Gaudi sights, too.

massimop Aug 15th, 2017 02:00 PM

I think that in Sept you can fly from Barcelona to Genova or Pisa. So better routing for option 2 might be

2) Barcelona 4 nights, Cinque Terre 2 nights, Florence 2 nights, Amalfi 4 nights, Rome 4 nights.

But I also want to say that you have a long time to plan this trip & if you really mean this:

"but to tell you the truth I would prefer seeing people, eating good (not expensive) local food, I love cobbled streets and little shops and markets"

that both your itineraries keep you inside mega-tourist magnets, with a tourist atmosphere, tourist food, & other tourists to look at. With a little bit of tweaking you could easily access more of what you want -- if that is really what you want more than the famous tourist destinations.

suze Aug 15th, 2017 02:07 PM

Well I'd do Barcelona 6, Florence 3, Rome 7, but that's because I find big cities are better for people watching and cafe sitting and just kicking around over smaller towns. And they're a lot easier to get to directly by train. I also wouldn't want to move 4 times in 16 days. That's just me.

PalenQ Aug 15th, 2017 02:11 PM

Yeh towns that are not touristed sound neat but can be downright boring - I'm sure what you have on your list will delight you in this regard - even Florence and Rome have little visited streets like that - I certainly would not sacrifice a day on your proposed itineraries to stay in some backwater - save that for another trip -perhaps when driving.

such un-touristed towns sound neat but believe me many are dull - bicycling thru Italy has shown me that.

massimop Aug 15th, 2017 02:26 PM

There are towns of all sizes in Italy & it rare to find without several important piazze that the natives use & use very well. The exceptions are the piazze of the tourist cities -- where it is expensive to sit at a cafe, & which are mainly occupied by tourists -- and the tiny small towns that have become so famous that the locals either have sold out & left or retreat to "unpicturesque" corners of the town, giving the town the appearance of being depopulated.

But that leaves 85% of Italy -- much of it truly beautiful -- where it is still te habit for most of the town -- in the hundreds & thousands -- being out & about, socializing, shopping, doing repairs, headed about their business. The life small Italian cities & towns is quite interesting to be part of.

But a lot of people want to see famous things, famous views. You should see what you want. Just don't do that because you are afraid of what "everybody" else says is to stick to the tourist towns.

PalenQ Aug 15th, 2017 02:30 PM

Florence is a good example - there are many areas sans tourists - I literally walked around Florence one day - on streets well outside the tourist area and found exactly what OP wants - ditto for Rome (though I did not walk literally around Rome).

Non touristed towns tend to still shut down for the noon-3pm siesta and save for the odd cafes are dead as doornails during that time.

massimop Aug 15th, 2017 05:50 PM

PalenQ,

Florence is the most compact of Italy's art cities & these days it is wall-to-wall tourists in September. A family on a 2 day visit is not going to have your long-ago experience.

Florence happens to be my favorite city in Europe. But I think these travelers might love to go to Lucca for 2 nights. I wan't them to know there are options for "seeing people, eating good (not expensive) local food, I love cobbled streets and little shops and markets"

Traveler_Nick Aug 15th, 2017 07:26 PM

"1) Barcelona 5 nights, Cinque Terre 3 nights, Florence 3 nights then Rome 5 nights
2) Barcelona 4 nights, Amalfi 4 nights, Florence 2 nights, Cinque Terre 2 nights and Rome 4 nights."

I don't see how either of these work. You leave Barcelona some how and go to one of two areas without airports.

Yes you could fly into Pisa. Almost a two hour flight. Plus the time for security at BCN. Then taking the train to Cinque terra . All that will use up a full day. You'll lose better part of a day when you then move on to Florence. How important is Cinque terre?

Two isn't hugely better. You fly into Naples and then deal with the transfer. You'll still lose a fair bit of time.

I don't see the point of Florence for two days in the middle like that. You'll have a long train ride to Cinque Terre. An even longer ride back to Rome.

Are you sure Cinque Terre is worth it for you?

bilboburgler Aug 15th, 2017 10:25 PM

If I had to do this trip I'd stump for 1 but in a sequence to fit in with travel. You do seem to be travelling a lot, 48 hours flights into Europe, then a lot of trains and flights inside Europe. Is this a holiday.

Of the places you are looking at Barcelona, Rome and to a certain extent AC can absorb a lot of tourists. The others are smaller more intense places.

Like Massi I'd question why you want to go to the most famous places when there are some wonderful places close to where you are coming. For instance I think both Lucca and Siena are worth a visit (say from Florence).

I'd also think about coming all the way from NZ, could I stretch this holiday a bit???

kiwicindyk1 Aug 15th, 2017 10:26 PM

Thanks so much for all your replies - much appreciated! At this time the only things set in concrete are:

1)we are leaving Copenhagen on Friday 14th Sept - can fly anywhere at this stage - doesnt necessarily have to be Barcelona- (we will have spent 2 weeks in Scandinavia)
2)we are leaving Rome on Sunday 30th Sept.

Therefore we have 16 nights to fill.

- We dont plan to drive unless we really need to in a certain location.

- We are definitely keen to explore Rome and it makes sense to spend our time there just before we fly out on the Sunday.
- We would really like to spend some time in CT or Amalfi (both if time allowed).
- We are open to any other ideas that fit into the brief I described earlier "I would prefer seeing people, eating good (not expensive) local food, I love cobbled streets and little shops and markets"
- we dont mind too much about it being a bit touristy as often it can add to the atmosphere and vibe of a place, however we don't mind going to non-touristy places too as long as its not too quiet- Massimop -I am open to hearing any suggestions you may have thanks:) One of my other thoughts was Puglia but we definitely want to be in a vibrant place for this portion of our trip so not sure how the vibe is there?
Thanks for all your tips on where to stay etc - always good to have some personal recommendations.

kiwicindyk1 Aug 15th, 2017 10:39 PM

Thanks Bilboburgler - yes you are right it is a huge trip from NZ, however we are actually away for 6 weeks all together - 2 weeks in Scandinavia and for 2 weeks after Rome we will be on a cruise around Croatia and Greek Isles so this portion of the trip is just the middle of a longer one:)

We are definetly open to all ideas - we did a mini trip a few years ago where we went to Venice, a couple of nights in Tuscany and a day in Pisa.

PalenQ Aug 16th, 2017 06:27 AM

Yes drop Barcelona and spend all your time out of Copenhagen in Italy - you have a lot on your wish plate.

bvlenci Aug 16th, 2017 10:07 AM

<i> We plan to see the very main tourist sites but to tell you the truth I would prefer seeing people, eating good (not expensive) local food... </i>

There's no reason you have to see the main tourist sights. Even if you visit cities like Rome or Venice, you can do plenty of strolling, eating, and people watching. I encourage you to skip some of the main tourist sights. Leave them for your kids to discover when they're older and go to Europe on their own, that is, if they want to.

suze Aug 16th, 2017 10:42 AM

I'd hardly call visiting Rome and Barcelona sticking to "the tourist towns"!

thursdaysd Aug 16th, 2017 10:55 AM

@suze - then what WOULD you call a tourist town!

suze Aug 16th, 2017 11:01 AM

I would call Rome and Barcelona major cities of importance in European culture and history.

I don't personally need to call any place "a tourist town" myself. Well maybe some place like Orlando Florida or Branson Missouri.

thursdaysd Aug 16th, 2017 11:50 AM

The district of Barcelona has a population of around 5 million, but only 1.6 million within the city limits. It received over 7 million visitors in 2015, and according to the link below almost 10 million in 2016. You really think that's not a tourist town?

http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/uplo...s/2016OTB2.pdf


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