kybourbon

>>>>We just spent 5 nights in Switzerland and 2 nights in Austria and we do not feel like we experienced everything but we do feel like we experienced enough in that short of a time that, considering the long list of places we want to visit and that life is short and funds are not unlimited, we would rather visit shortly all of the many countries than extendedly a small portion of countries<<<

You are not comprehending the logistics of Italy/Greece/Turkey compared to your Switzerland/Austria. Get a map and look how close your locations were for Switzerland/Austria. Probably Venice/Rome are no further apart(4 hours by train) than what you traveled Switzerland/Austria. Greece and Turkey are much farther from Italy and will take a lot of your very short sightseeing time in transport. The more you change locations, the more it costs (transport) and you lose sightseeing time to travel.

You said you have 12 days/11 nights, but it doesn't work like that. If you depart the US on day 1, you arrive your location day 2 (and arrived jet-lagged so the first day is not conducive to in depth sightseeing). Day 12 is departure back to the states so it doesn't count either. You really only have 9 sightseeing days (and part of arrival day)and are proposing major travel on 5-6 of them. That means you are only leaving 4 days to actually "be" in a location and see things.

You need to list what you want to see in each city instead of just checking places off on a map to say you've been there. Can you see Rome in one day? No. I've stayed in Rome multiple times and still have a long list of things I haven't had time to see yet. To spend "2 longs days in Rome", you would need 3 hotel nights there.

List your days, list what you want to actually see in each location (check closed days for must sees). Calculate travel between locations (this must include checking out of hotel, getting transport to the train station, finding train, actual transport time, getting transport to new hotel, checking in).

Day 1 - Depart US
Day 2 - Arrive Rome
Day 3 - Sightsee Rome
Day 4 - Sightsee Rome
Day 5 - Transport to Venice
Day 6 - Sightsee Venice
Day 7 - Sightsee Venice
Day 8 - Transport Milan
Day 9 - Sightsee Milan
Day 10 - Transport Genoa
Day 11 - Sightsee Genoa
Day 12 - Fly home

If you are visiting Italy, you are missing a lot by not spending some time in a few of the hill towns, coastal areas (Cinque Terre, Amalfi Coast, etc.) or countryside. I would pick some locations other than major cities.

FYI - 86€ per night ($120) will get you barebones lodging in a major city (convent? hostel? shared bath down the hall, etc.). That's low for even the countryside for two people. Your $3500 is only 2521€ at today's exchange rates. Your $291 per day becomes 209€. $70 entrance fees is only 50€. $100 for food is 72€. Are these for one person or will each person have that amount?

LR220

I think that is the combined budget for 2. It's quite low, it would help to save up a bit extra or travel within your means. A 2 week trip tends to come up to $4000-5000/person, flight and accommodation included but this is with an advantage of youth discounts and a lot of budget lodging (dorms and shared bathrooms). My friend and I got flights for $1064 CAD and there were cheaper options if you're more flexible with dept/arriv. If you book early your train travel within Italy won't be more than $150/person. Traveling within Greece and Turkey can be more on the pricier side.