Dadelle

I need help. For my daughter's graduation present she wants to go to Ireland, Paris and Rome for 2 -3 wks. How many days do we need in each country? Which cities are the best to see? Should we flight in between countries or take the train? I heard Venice, Florence, capri are a must see. How about hotels? How to make sure we are staying in a decent hotel? Sorry about all these questions. Thank you in advance for your help

nytraveler

You can certainly see those 3 cities in 2 weeks. But if you want to see other parts of these countries you will either have to extend the vacation significantly or make very specific limitations to your itinerary. Five days is good for Rome - but 5 days to see Italy just doesn;t work.

Also - suggest you need to start sketching out a budget (remembering that almost everything is more expensive - often a lot more expensive - than in the US).

So - for 2 weeks I would do 3 or at most 4 cities. If you go to 3 weeks you can add another city (remember you lost most of a day when moving from one city to another_.

If you want to see Venice, Florence and Capri - along with Rome - that takes your full 2 weeks.

So start determining exact time and budget you have available - then yuo can start making choices - and people can give specific recos on hotels.

Jinky

Venice, Florence, Rome, Capri, Ireland and Paris in 2 or 3 weeks.. doable, yes. Comfortably, and being able to really see and enjoy it? Not in my opinion.


1)Is it 2 weeks or 3? It makes a big difference. If it's only 2, I'd suggest cutting out Ireland and saving that for another trip. Unless Ireland is a must.. Does she really want to explore Ireland, or does she just want to kiss the Blarney Stone and have a pint in Dublin?

2) What is the budget?

3) Is she traveling alone, or with a friend/friends/family?

4) What are her reasons for wanting to travel to each place. Art, history, food, so she can have photos to post on Facebook? (a kid actually told me that once!)

"Must sees" are different for everyone. It all depends om what she loves and what resonates for her. Some people LOVE Paris, others go and never want to return, etc..

I suggest she research these cities a bit more to see where she wants to really spend time. I would advise spending at least 5 days in each city.

denisea

Once you have some ideas on hotels, you can ask on this forum. I also use Trip Advisor for hotel reviews, especially recent ones. There is a Left Bank and Right bank hotel thread on the France forum with tons of info on Paris.

You need to narrow down where you will go first. I would limit it to two countries so you can see more and travel between cities less. If you think Florence, Capri and Venice are musts, I would spend the whole trip in Italy. We just spent nine nights in Rome alone (with a few day trips) and still have lots we didn't get to!

Doppio

Ah, youth! I remember wanting to do those whirlwind "10 cities in 2 weeks" trips.

Is she graduating High School or college? Is she comfortable in places that do not speak a lot of English? Two of my nieces went to Paris. One was 21 and we all thought she'd be fine, but she really freaked out. Poor kid. However, the 19 year old loved it and had a gas trying to communicate with everyone.

Jinky and NyTraveler and denisea have good advice. Also, the farther apart the cities, the more time you lose traveling. Quite frankly, I'd do either:

a.) Paris and Venice

b.) London and Paris (I know you didn't mention London, but it's loads of fun - especially for that age. The pop culture, history, noisy pubs, etc. PLUS they speak English (obviously.)

c.) All Italy, as denisea suggested.

d.) All Ireland

For 3 weeks, of course, you can do more. A week in Paris and 2 weeks in Italy would be lovely.

Dadelle

Thank you for all advise. She is a college graduate. This will be 3wks or 25 days vaca. Ireland and Rome because her dad is part Irish part Italian and I speak French and Portuguese. I have not bought the tickets yet, but planning trip for Early June. Budget... All I know is I don't want to pay more than $ 150 a night for hotels.
For Ireland one region or two for a week? Feasible or not? She wants to see Rock of Cashel. Then
Italy for 10days Rome, Venice and Florence ...2 days in Venice, 4 in Rome, 4 in Florence. Is that reasonable?
Finally Paris for maybe 5 days or so.
Is it a good idea to go through a travel agency or can I do it on line myself and get the same deals. Again thanks much.

denisea

Honestly, you don't need a travel agent. but, I would really advise that you skip Ireland this time.Fly into Venice, hit Florence then rome and then fly to paris. fly home from Paris. I know your daughter will be graduating from college, but I am a much better traveller now, then I was back then at 22. 2-3 weeks sounds like a long time but it's really not. The more you change cities the more time you spend in train stations...not so fun. More fun to see more and not hurry through all 3 countries. You are still going to see and do a lot....she can always go back and visit Ireland.

lrock

I have been to all 3 and I would suggest you do Ireland on its own. Ireland is a small country and it takes alot of time to drive from one place to another. If you don't drive, then you will have to take trains or buses from one place to another and it can be slow going. I would maybe spend 3 weeks on Italy and Paris. Trust me there is alot to see. I could spend 3 weeks in Paris alone. You get a much more complete picture if you take it more slowly and not rush. I don't think you will regret it.

If you do Ireland later, rent a car and drive to the places you really want to see. I went with my 15 year old daughter in 2003 for 18 days and was afraid to drive there. But as I said, we spent alot of time on buses and trains. The west of Ireland is spectacular and the fields are really every color and shade of green you can imagine. And the small towns are so charming. But, it takes time to see them.

jent103

You could spend weeks in each country, but a week or so in each is a fine introduction trip. In Ireland, you could see the Rock of Cashel and spend some time in the southwest, then head to Paris for 5 days, then go to Rome and perhaps one other place in Italy. It's your trip - do what you want to do; just don't shortchange yourselves by cramming too much in. If budget is a major consideration, you spend more every time you move, so cutting out a country would be a good idea in that case.

When you're planning, think about nights and travel time - "five days in Paris" sounds like a lot, but if you're not considering travel time from Ireland and then to Italy, you're losing a whole day of that. Something along these lines would work:

Day 0 - leave home
Day 1 - fly into Shannon airport, stay in Doolin
Day 2 - see Cliffs of Moher, drive to Dingle
Day 3 - Slea Head loop drive
Day 4 - drive to Kenmare
Day 5 - Killarney National Park
Day 6 - drive to Cashel
Day 7 - fly from Cork to Paris (note: I haven't looked at this in detail, but whichbudget.com lists a direct flight on Aer Lingus)
Days 8-13 - Paris
Day 14 - fly to Venice
Days 15-16 - Venice
Day 17 - train to Rome
Days 18-21 - Rome
Day 22 - fly home

Ozymandias

Jent103 is absolutely right. That is a great schedule for Ireland.

You can fly to Paris from Cork with AER LIngus to CDG .
I spent a very short weekend in Paris and manage to see a lot of the sites. It is a good idea to take a trip on a batobus (boat trip on the Seine) , first, this is great for getting your bearings.

Anywhere in Italy is fantastic, Florence, Siena or Lucca in Tuscany are my favourites, try and get a tour into the Chianti countryside . It all depends on what you are interested in, there is something for everyone in all of these places.

Dadelle

Jent103 I like your itinerary, but my question is , in Ireland, when you say drive to Dingle or to Cashel are you saying I must rent a car lol or can I take the bus? As far as hotel am I staying in a hotel in Kenmare then traveling to Kilkenny ? Cause is Cashel in Kenmare or Kilkenny? Then you said fly from Cork. I am Confused are these places close to each other? I truly appreciate your input.

Dadelle

Oh by the way I am flying from either Tampa, Fl or Orlando, Fl

jent103

Outside of Dublin (and perhaps Belfast and Galway - I haven't been there), Ireland is harder to do without your own car. The train and bus schedules are not as helpful as, say, Italy. You could do some things using public transport and private day tours, but your options will be limited. It will be much easier and you'll have more flexibility to enjoy things (scenic views, for example) if you do rent a car.

Use viamichelin.com to check out drive times between all these places (then add 50% or so - driving in Ireland is slower than you'd think). Cork is the biggest airport in the southwest of the country. I put in Kenmare because that area is a very common tourist destination, and the only specific thing you mentioned was Cashel but you wanted to spend a week there.

Dadelle

Ok so weI have decided to spend 3 weeks between 2 countries Italy and France. Leaving on 9/4 to Paris for 4 days then to Lyons for 2 days to Nice for 3 days. After that Flying to Rome for 5 days then to Florence for 3 days and Venice for 3 days.
Now here is my dilemma. I have been looking for hotels for all these cities and want something reasonable affordable prices like &150 a night. Can anyone give me names of hotels in decent locations, near the attractions. Also do you suggest tours. I contacted Italy tours and was told their tour of Rome is 400 euros, this does not include tickets and private guide fees of 120 euros.
Is it less expensive to purchase your own tickets and visit and sightseeing on my own.
Please help as I am trying to determine how much the trip will cost and how much I need for spending.
I appreciate it. Thanks for any input

jent103

Dadelle, I see this is your first post on Fodor's (a belated welcome). If you use the search box up at the top of the page, you can search for threads on hotels in all of these cities. There are many threads asking exactly your question with a similar budget, so those previous suggestions should help you get started.

Buying your own tickets for places like the Colosseum will of course be cheaper than hiring a guide, but there are group tours that are sort of a happy medium. Most of the time people go on tours for specific locations, like the Colosseum/Forum, rather than hiring a guide for all of Rome, for example. I'd start by making a list of the things you want to do in each city (i.e., what makes you interested in that city in the first place?), and then determine which attractions you'll want a guide for vs. those you can do on your own. It depends a lot on your interests. An art buff might want a guided tour of the Louvre, but personally I'm happy wandering around on my own.

jamikins

For tours, there are lots of cheaper options. I find places like the Coloseum and Vatican I get a better experience with a guide to tell me the context etc. and in some cases skip the huge line. Check out the following for group walking tours:
http://www.enjoyrome.com/walking/index.html

http://www.contexttravel.com/

http://www.paris-walks.com/

AJPeabody

The dollar is falling. $150 will now buy less than 110 euro, which is not very much for Paris or Rome hotels, and probably a problem in some of your other cities. Your itinerary sounds good, except leaving from Venice to th US may involve a very early wake up call. Consider reversing the order of cities in Italy and fly out of Rome. Or, just reverse the whole trip and fly into Rome and out of Paris.

ter2000

I know those on this board throw their eyes up to heaven at the very idea of guided tours, but if she's totally sold on doing Ireland, would she consider Paddywagon tours? I've always heard that they're terrific fun - especially for those travelling on their own - and they work out at good value - www.paddywagontours.com .