mck3a

Hey all...
So my wife and I finally got around to actually looking at our frequent flier balances and realized that we have enough to get us two tickets to Europe. That's the easy part... the hard part is deciding where to go.

Here's the basics:
- We want to go for about a two weeks
- We don't really care where we go, but would prefer to go to a region and make smaller trips, rather than travelling all over the continent.
- I like history, museums & scenery. My wife likes shopping & good food. We both like an active nightlife. So a mix would be nice
- We want to soak up culture, so staying in B&B or small (cheaper) hotels is preferred.
- We'd prefer to go this summer if possible.

So, that raises some questions that I'd pose to you, my internet friends...
- We haven't looked into booking tickets yet... are we being too optimistic about being able to use our FF miles to get to Europe this summer?
- When is a good time to go to places like Spain, Italy, Greece?
- If we want to get out there on the cheap, what kinds of B&B, hotel rates should we expect?
- Any thoughts on itineraries?

Parker

I vote Italy (just because it's my favorite). My husband and I are going the end of May and put in a request for two Business Class tickets from Atlanta to Rome last October. We still haven't cleared and he's a million-miler with Delta. Best we can do at this point is ATL to Zurich and connect to Milan two days earlier than we wanted. Can't get out of Italy so we're confirmed out of Zurich one day later than we wanted. We're still hoping to clear on direct flights. You may have a problem depending on where you're starting, where you want to go, and dates. If you're flexible, pick a spot, call your airline, and see what dates are open. Then plan your ground trip. We did it backwards (booked rooms first) and are now stuck with specific dates. However, be aware that in Italy, August is holiday month and a number of businesses close for the whole month (may be true in other countries). We went in August one month and did not have a problem but did notice that a number of restaurants were closed. On the flip side, the hotel rates were cheaper. There are lots of books to help plan your trip once you decide on where you want to go. Italy has everything you mentioned: history (Rome, Florence, etc); museums (ditto); scenery (Tuscany, Cinque Terre/Liguria, Amalfi coast/Sorrento/Naples/Capri, Venice); shopping (Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan); food (everywhere - each area with their own style and specialties); nightlife (any city). Two weeks is a nice amount of time to see the sights and savor the people and culture. Check out Rick Steves' Italy 2003 (always has lower end hotel recommendations) and www.slowtrav.com for more info on Italy travel. Good luck.

fluffy

I vote for Italy as well, if you're not really set on this summer,I suggest you use your miles for mid Sept. through mid Oct. the rates will be lower in many of the hotels,espically if you go closer to Oct.
The the weather will also be much better this time of year, the summer can be unbarably hot in Italy.
As for itinerary I would suggest Florence, Venice & maybe a few hill towns in Tuscany, in between.
There was a post a long this line under Honeymoon in Italy,if I can find it I'll top it for you.
Log on to www.karenbrown. for hotel suggestions, click Italy B& B's for lower end price range.
la dolce Italy
Fluffy

Bootman4U

My only recommendation would be to think hard about that "local culture" you think you're going to find at a B+B. Other than the location and who is running the place, the only "local culture" you may encounter are all the other out-of-country types who are also staying there. Perhaps you could band together and go looking! Seriously, it sounds like you'll have a great time wherever the jillions of responders to this post will try to convince you is "the best." Enjoy!

RufusTFirefly

I can only tell you the places we enjoyed the most--Germany and Italy. Both do have plenty of history, museums, good food, and scenery. Depending on what you like to shop for, both have that too. Since you want to go in the summer, north might be better, and Bavaria, with Munich as its hub sounds ideal. Though if you don't mind the heat, then you could do a southern Italy visit--Rome to the Amalfi coast perhaps--or northern Italy again from Rome then Florence, Venice, the lake country. There are plenty of possibilities. How about a slice out of the center of Germany--Berlin, Franconia, Rhein, Mosel?

rex

I don't know how many (un-superstitious) people have gotten wise to this, but you might try to book your travel to fly on September 11. We got 4 FF award seats last fall on short notice (they had availability on Sep 11 and Sep 12, and by sheer coincidence, sep 12 was a better choice for us).

As for where, I always recommend asking yourself these two questions: WHY do you THINK you want to go to Europe (as opposed to anywhere else)? and what do you see when you close your eyes and think "oh, I would love to go visit ...."

Those two answers can help decide on destinations better than any other question I know.

Best wishes,

Rex