Italy and Greece - Help
 

My fiancé and I will be taking our first trip to Europe from July 19th until Aug 6th (19th/20th travel days) (Aug 6th return travel day) Flying into ? arriving on July 20th We were originally going to Amsterdam Paris and London, but because we are there smack dab in the middle of the Olympics we have decided to hold off until next year for those three destinations. We now plan on now seeing Italy and Greece for this trip, because all my research was done for our previous destinations I am feeling kind of lost. Any help at all is greatly appreciated as I am feeling slightly overwhelmed with the planning of this trip.
Something to note my fiancé will need to fly from Nijmegen to our first destination (he will be there for the march) and I can fly into and out of anywhere.

1) it is going to be hot, so you need to book a/c and expect long days with a rest in the middle.
2) you are coming in the peak holiday season so the place will be busy.

If you still want to do it then I might try to find two bases, wach with a small city nearby and either a country hotel (with pool) or an Agritourismo (where you cater for yourself). Siena, leaps to mind (you can get the train to florence, pisa, lucca, Roma etc)

If the heat and people is not a problem then carry on. If it is then think northern europe (as they will be in the south)

Thank you for your post. My uncle lives in Brazil and the heat didn't bother me there so I think the heat will be fine. We were originally going to northern Europe, but we will be in Europe during the Olympics and therefore it was overpriced.

If you plan to visit both countries, look at Aegean Airlines for flights between them.

So, your original trip was aimed mostly to shopping, dinning, site-seen or what? Be a bit more specific on your interests and it would be easier to advice. You replaced 3 CITIES with 2 COUNTRIES . It is a bit hard to advice if you do not give us some pointers !

As I said carry on. The Olympics is only in UK. The benefit of going to the south of europe on price is probably more to do with the Euro crisis.

I still think you need to book your bases before long. But it does depend on what you like to do to paraphrase mariha "shopping is not museum visiting"

We plan on sightseeing as much as possible. I am not a shopping type; in Italy I would like to see - Rome, Verona, Venice, Florence, and Pompeii (possibly Milan, but not if there is not enough time) In Greece - Athens, Delphi, Olympia and Hydra. I found a decently priced tour that includes at 4 cities in Greece, and am possibly considering it as it looks to be cheaper than if we did all four on our own.

Booking a tour in Greece is not a bad idea, you will have a guide during the whole trip, who will tell you more about the archeological sites, that you will visit, and definitely more about Greece.
Many here will say that it is better to visit the archeological sites with a good guidebook.... i disagree...

What i find negative about these tours though is the fact that you will visit everything according to a schedule, with almost
no time to explore on your own.
If you would rent a car, you would see much more doing the same tour, Delphi and the Peloponnese are among the most beautiful areas of Southern Greece.

As far as i know, there is no tour including all that you mentioned and Hydra.... or will you go to Hydra separately?

This is the package for Greece: Euro 635 per person including tax (725 Euros if we do the Cruise to Hydra etc). Is this reasonably priced?

PACKAGE INCLUDES:
4 nights hotel accommodation in Athens
Half day Athens sightseeing tour
4 day/3 night Classical Greece coach tour (Olympia, Delphi, Meteora)
All transfers as mentioned
Daily breakfast
3 dinners (Olympia, Delphi and Meteora)
Entrance fees during guided sightseeing
24 hour assistance phone number
All taxes

ITINERARY:
20 July: ATHENS
Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Balance of day at leisure.
21 July: ATHENS / OLYMPIA
This morning we depart for Corinth to start our 4-day Classical Tour. Stop at the Corinth Canal. Drive to Epidarus to visit its theater, known for its remarkable acoustics and then on to Nauplia (short stop). Continue on to Mycenae to visit the beehive tombs and the citadel. Then depart for Olympia through the central Peloponnese area, passing the cities of Tripolis and Megalopolis to arrive in Olympia for dinner and overnight.
22 July: OLYMPIA / DELPHI
In the morning visit the ancient home of the Olympic Games and the fascinating Museum. Then drive via Patras and Rion, take the new bridge to Antirion to continue to Delphi through Nafpaktos. Arrive in Delphi in early evening. Dinner, overnight.
23 July: DELPHI / METEORA
This morning visit the Archaeological site and the Museum of Delphi. Walk the Sacred Way, visit the temple of Apollo, the theater and the stadium on the mount Parnassos and then on to the Museum housing some masterpieces of the Greek sculpture such as the famous bronze statue of the "Charioteer". Depart for Meteora. Drive through Lamia, Trikala and arrive in Kalambaka in early evening. Dinner, overnight.
24 July: METEORA / ATHENS
In the morning, visit the breathtaking site of Meteora. Visit of two Monasteries. After lunch drive to Athens via Thermopylae (short stop). Arrive in Athens in early evening. Overnight Athens.
25 July: ATHENS GUIDED CITY TOUR
Morning sightseeing tour of Athens. The striking contrast between breathtaking monuments of a glorious past and modern elegant structures is what you will enjoy during your tour of Athens. Visit the Acropolis,the crowning beauty and glory of Ancient Athens, with its many monuments atop its rocky base, including the awesome Parthenon, the Propylea, the temple of Athena Nike and the Erechtheion, with its Porch of Maidens. Drive to the Roman Temple of Olympic Zeus, the Panathinaikon Stadium(site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896), the Tomb of the unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament House on Constitution Square. See views of government buildings and elegant structures of the 19th century. Drive along Panepistimiou Avenue and view the Catholic Cathedral, the Academy, University, National Library. In contrast, conclude your tour with a visit to the new Acropolis museum (closed on Monday’s), a marvel of architecture with a full exhibition of the glory of Ancient Athens. Afternoon at leisure.
26 July: ATHENS
Optional - day in Hyrda on own or Full day cruise to Hydra, Poros, Aegina (including lunch)
27 July: ATHENS/AIRPORT
According to your departure flight, you will be transferred to the airport.

Have made my own calculation for exactly the same tour...
If you would book everything separately, you would pay around 775 Euro per person. ( including one day cruise to Aegina- Poros-Hydra).

I have based my calculation on tourist class accommodation, which are actually 3 star hotels.
The price you have is definitely good. Just ask which hotel they will book for the overnights in Athens :)

You should check out Natural Italy for you Italian side trip...they have really nice tours and are good at vacation planning

It is up to you if you want to get a glimpse by many places or explore more in depth fewer locations.
For example, most groups and I think this one too, seem to skip Delphi lower site (Athenae Pronaea and gymnasium, this is what most post-card pics from Delphi feature, the rotunda like remaining 3 columns).
Nafplio is a very interesting town with some nice spots and you could spend one or two nights in leisure exploring there, plus there are 2-3 more smaller archeological sites in the area other than Mycenae and Epidarus.
There are 6 monasteries you may visit in Meteora, each has different off days and schedules.
Driving in Athens is a waste of time as most sites are in walking distance among them.
I agree that a good guide person can not be compared with just a guidebook, but if you want to do a good homework before coming-eg related sites, books, watch a couple of documentaries etc rather than a quick 1 page read on each area- you can always enjoy sites on your own stream. It is a matter of traveling style and how much time you wish to spend preparing this trip.

clausar: the tour group recommends the Hotel Jason Inn or the hotel Pan (3 star hotels) in Athens.
Mariha2912 I agree with you. If we did not have such a tight timeframe I would sight see on my own, but I do not want to risk getting lost anywhere or missing a train. We plan on going back again within the next couple years and will do the trip on our own that time going into further depth in the cities as we will be slightly familiar with where things are located.
HelenKelR I will take a look at that website thank-you

hvanider
i would say that Pan has a more central location, close to Syntagma Square and the pedestrianized Ermou Street, and also 100 meters away from the Plaka.
If you can choose between the two hotels, go for Pan, mainly because of it's location

Thanks Clausar I will let the tour know that we want to stay there.
Italy question: does anyone how to translate the cpt bus line website to english? Looking at ways to get to Volterra

http://translate.google.com/

It isn't perfect, but a good help. Enter the URL and it will attempt to translate the whole website. C&P words and phrases, and it will translate those. :-)