Itinerary Help - Italy/France
 

Hi everyone, what I've read here so far has been really helpful, so I thought I would make the first step to post here. (I think I wrote up a previous message but forgot to post it)

I've been sitting here drumming my fingers and pulling out my hair over what to do.

My friend and I are going to Europe the first two weeks of April. (We just booked our flight two weeks ago!!) We're flying into London (3/31) and flying to Rome from London. (4/1) (so 1 night in London)

Italy is the main part of my problem. This is what it looks like:
2 nights in Rome (though we arrive around 10pm at the airport on 4/1)
1 night in Florence
leave early to Venice, leave Venice same day to Paris on the 5th.
either 4 or 5 nights in Paris (though this may change - would like to maybe see countryside of France - I'm taking suggestions! :))
4 nights in London (leave on 4/14)

I know we're coming down to the line since in less than three weeks we're leaving.

I have a few questions.
1. What would be the best combination for one on a budget but also with time constraints from going to Venice to Paris? Taking the overnight train on 4/5 (though it looks like the first class passes are already sold out on raileurope) or to fly out in the evening? Preliminary search (without taxes) shows it will be 70Euro with myair (2 times, sometimes 7 times more than other times because it is Easter Week/Spring Break @_@)

2. Or should I just cancel Venice altogether and just relax more in Florence and take a flight/train out of Florence or a bordering city?

3. Maybe we should try and stay an extra night in Florence or stay a night in Venice? What are people's wise suggestions? :P

4. With it being Holy Week, will things normally still be open and running (transportation & sites)

5. What would you do differently? How would you plan?

We're returning to London and not doing open jaw flight since our friend will be flying to London for the last part of our trip.

I'm starting to panic since we're cutting it close and I'm just stuffing as much information as I can into my brain before we leave.

My friend is much too busy to really plan much (she's a high school teacher), so I'm making the bulk of the decisions. Her main interest is also England, and my main interest is France & Italy, so we're "assigned" to our spots of interest as well :P

It's kind of difficult for me too since I'm fairly budget conscious and she doesn't care as she has the funds. I want to make a good compromise of staying at somewhere nice/transporting comfortably/eating ok but being on a budget - I'm just worried for being blamed/having resentment towards at staying at somewhere that was cheaper but turned out pretty bad! But that's a whole 'nother topic altogether :P

Sorry for the long rambles of this woman. I look forward to the responses from you wise ol travelers, and thanks in advance!

Hi Vocalise,

You lost me right after the overnight stay in London. There is an old movie you should see right now before making these commitments - "If It's Tuesday, this Must Be Belgium".

3 countries in 2 weeks??? You'll be seeing the insides of planes and trains more than anything else.

Do London and Paris; or do Italy. You will return...

2 nights in Rome and you arrive at 10PM? yikes!! Limiting the places you are going would be a great idea. If however you just want to get a taste of the place so you'll know what to do on your next trip, look into some tour companies.

Yes I must admit I got confused....is your flight already booked from London to Rome? and then how many nights in Italy total? You might want to just do Rome then take a night rain up to Paris. It also seems that you might just want to do London and Paris unless you have already booked the flight to Italy. Plenty to do in those two cities esp. since they seem to be what interests you.

To quote you: "just relax ".
You asked for help and anyone who really wants to help you needs to recommend that you reconsider any schedule close to this.
1. One day in Rome isn't wise.
2. 1 night in Florence isn't wise.
3. No real time in Venice isn't wise (especially since you are apparently already there).
4. Four or five nights in Paris is fine.
5. adding the countryside of Paris (with this schedule) is not wise.
Getting a pattern here?

If yhou are on a tight budget,why add the expense of all this travel to not really be able to even get a fair whiff of the sweet aromas of these great locations?
Since you have already booked your flights I really don't know where to begin. Maybe someone else can tackle this. I do wish you a great trip, but I'm currently "brain dead".

Hi V,

You have 2 weeks, RT LON.

So far so good.

To be as tactful and pleasant as I can, your Italy plan is a disaster.

I suggest that you either do London and Rome or London and Paris with 1 daytrip from each city.

((I))

Thanks for all your helpful replies - I have no idea the logistics right now as you can see.

Is it possible to do just Rome (cancel out Venice and Florence)/Paris/London? Or would that even be too much? Unfortunately our flight to Rome is already planned.

It is confusing. So, the only thing you have set in stone is that you arrive in Rome 10PM 4/1?

Okay brain is clearing out. Ira has put it as fairly and clearly as possible.
If you can't change your flights here's a possible whirlwind plan:
1.Get a full day tour your first day in Rome. We had friends that did this. I believe that it was with American Express and lasted some 10+ hours.
You will see A LOT and be exhausted.
2. see if you can get a cheap flight from Rome to Venice and do the same there. Skip Florence.
This is way less than a good schedule,but it allows you to at least see a little in Italy.
If it were me,I'd go back and see the cost to change your flights and skip Italy.

If you can do three nights in Rome and go strraight to paris. Do that.

jabez, my brain still isn't cleared out, and I'm a trip planner! I like some of what you suggest for whirlwind. Going on escorted day trips is a great idea. viator.com has a good list to begin to see what companies are offering. Personally I never skip Italy, it's my forte. Many people I plan for want to get Florence just to see il Davide. With reservations it's possible to hop off an ES, see Davide, hope back on an ES to Venice. Then passout and fall in bed.

Please follow the advice of the other posters who have suggested you eliminate about half this itinerary. They are sage travelers who speak from experience. With 2 weeks, I'd eliminate Florence & Venice and concentrate on Rome, Paris & London.

I'm with everyone else, it's not wise to pack in so many places on your itinerary. And yes, you will be seeing the insides of planes and trains more than the cities itself. I went to Venice, Florence and Rome before on a compact timeline, it's a lot of frantic running around, trying to see everyone possible.

However, I just got back from Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome for my honeymoon and I will tell you that relaxation is the way to go.

Here's my suggestion:
Since Rome is a sure thing, you need at least 3 full days there.

You can skip Florence.

Venice, at least 1 full day. I was there for 1 full day plus half the next day and my wife and got through what we wanted.

Our sleeper train was $600+ US dollars so I don't think that falls into what you want to spend. I'd say do the local airlines.

And your planned days in Paris look good. We thoroughly enjoyed our 4 days and nights there and did everything first-timers wanted to do.

I haven't heard too many exciting things about London.

Just my few cents.

Let me add,subtract some nights in London for anywhere else you listed.
INHO, no comparison.

Looks like this is a job for SUPER TRAVEL PLANNER!!!!!!!!!

Okay, you guys have helped me decide to eliminate Florence and Venice from the itinerary. I guess I was getting too greedy and you guys are right, really should just sit down and try to relax.

I would love to shorten the trip in London as many people I've met really don't like London much, but since my friend is somewhat of a Jane Austen and English literature buff, I don't think she would look too favorably towards that idea. We wanted to spread it evenly on all three countries.

Another idea would that maybe I could stay in Paris an extra day and meet up with her in London. Would that be a good compromise? Or would that not be a suggestion for an asian girl travelling alone?

I am doing a similiar itinerary in Sept. 2 nights in London, chunnel to Paris 3 nights in Paris. Overnight train to Florence, One night in Florence. Drive to Chianti spend 4 nights near Sienna, then 3 nights in Rome. We have been to Paris and London before, and we know we will want more time in Italy, but can it ever be enough? I wanted to add that we really liked London, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, The Palace and with the double decker buses, it's easy for tourists. Have fun.