Overally ambitious trip plan?
 

Full disclosure: This is the plan of a trip to be taken by a friend and his family later this month. It's intended to be for 16 days. Here are the details:
Fly from JFK to Dusseldorf, change planes (with a one-hour layover) for connection to Milan. Upon arrival, drive to Como for an overnight. (Assume that the bags do not get lost in transit at Dusseldorf.) Leave early on Day Two going north around Lake Como and then northeast passing St. Moritz en route to Salzburg, Austria. Stay in Salzburg for three nights, then drive south to Venice for three more nights. Following Venice, three nights in Florence with day trips to Pisa and Lucca. NOW FOR THE FUN DAY. Leave Florence early, stop at Siena, then drive to Assisi for lunch and a short visit, drive south directly to the Vatican and circle the car around the area while the family gets out to visit St. Peter's before going to Rome airport by 5:30 to drop off the rental car and make a 7:30 flight to Athens. Stay in Athens for the remainder of the trip and fly back to JFK with a connection in Dusseldorf. Whew!!!! Your thoughts, please.

Sounds nuts.

Sorry, but you did ask!

more than nuts. Absolutely insane. And you say a family -- if so they are dragging kids around on this trek??

Sorry, I need to agree with SusanP.

That's a looooong way to go just to see Salzburg! See Bolzano or Brixen instead... they'll feel as if they're in Austria.

Paul

Who planned this?

Are they willing to take advice?

The plan is ridiculous, beyond words.

hi, nrwayne,

i usually find it easier to set out the plan thus:

DAY 1 - arrive lake como.

DAY 2 - tour lake etc. en route to Salzburg. stay 3 nights.

DAY 5 - drive to Venice - stay 3 nights

DAY 8 - travel to Florence. stay 3 nights

Day 11 - travel to Rome, fly to Athens. stay 4/5 nights.

given that this is presumably already booked, what can we say?

in fact, it isn't THAT daft, in that there are plenty of 3 night stays. where it falls down is by trying to cram too much in especially into the days when they are travelling between areas.

personally, I would drop austria, and substitute the dolomites for salzburg. better still, stay 4 nights in como, and 4 in florence, with 2-3 nights in orvieto/assisi before heading to Athens.

that way they may get home NOT needing another holiday!

but then YOU knew that, didn't you?

regards, ann

Are they actually planning to get off their car now and then? Are they planning to see anything of Florence if they plan 3 nights and 2 day trips?

And I assume they do not have the slightest idea what the traffic in Rome is like?
There is no way they're going to make it from Assisi at lunchtime into Rome and back out to the airport by 5:30. Absolutely no way. They will, I take any bet, have to decide on the Roman ring highway, stuck in a traffic jam, to go straight to the airport. Or, alternative, be stuck somewhere in Rome - well, this is rush hour, by the way - and miss their flight.

Well, they'll find out. Let them go. It's their trip.
I can't wait for the trip report, though.

My guess is that they'll get stuck in Dusseldorf - and throw off the entire trip.

As for the day from Florence to Rome - there is o way this is going to happen- even if they leave at 5 am. Just to many stops, too many places to park the car. They'll be drivig on some local roads andwon't e able to make time. And as for circling the Vatican - GOOD LUCK on that one.

When they return I'm sure you'll find that they had to change plans on the fly - and may end up staying in some very interesting places.

I agree with everyone above. These people are insane. I'm confused about why they're flying to Milan when they want to go to Salzburg.

I'm just laughing. I mean....Florence, Sienna, Assisi, Rome and the airport to fly home in one day! I picture this guy slowing down the car just long enough for someone to hop out or in before heading to the next site. Plus that poster who said they'll get stuck in Dusseldorf is right on. An hour layover is TIGHT! And how the hell does Salzburg figure into this? Finally...have these people not hear of jet lag? I wouldn't want to be driving near the guy as he circumnavigates Lake Como? Hope he or she reads maps well.

Absolutely nuts. Beyond nuts, actually...hilarious. Do they have a travel shrink?

Have you checked the estimated driving times for this itinerary?
www.viamichelin.com

It's easily 6 hours from Lake Como to Salzburg (the day after sitting in planes for several hours). It's about 5 hours from Salzburg to Venice, nearly 4 hours from Venice to Florence, and your last day involves 6 hours of driving without even getting out of the car in Siena, Assisi and Rome. These estimates do not include stopping for lunch, inevitable traffic delays, parking searches, etc. You'll be paying for the car rental and parking fees for about 4-5 days when the car is parked in Venice and Florence.

I guess if everything is booked, this thread is moot. But I really hope you reconsider this itinerary.

I agree with all of you and told my friends that this plan would easily qualify them for long-term lodging in a home for wacko folks. No, I did not plan the trip and would never have done anything like it. It is indeed loaded with time bombs, which begins with the mini layover in Dusseldorf, offers the distinct probability of waylaying their baggage. If that happens, the game is over. Going beyond, however, Day Two was to have been early morning departure from Como, a "quick" stop in Lugano, a "drive by" in Neuschwanstein, then off to Salzburg which they thought they could reach for a late lunch. I suppose a helicopter might help, but I believe they'll have a VW Golf or similar. The subsequent plan revision eliminated Lugano and Neuschwanstein in favor of a leisurely drive through the Alpine ski areas. Given the mountainous terrain, that's got to be slowwwww. The few days in Salzburg and Venice seem far less challenging, though once they start heading down south this venture does indeed move into the world of the absurd. Lord knows what will happen on what I referred to as the "fun day". If they ever manage to get past that, the week or so in Athens may be the only part that could be at all doable, much less pleasant. FYI, my mantra is "less is more" and my typical trip abroad is two destinations in 10 days, usually separated by no more than a couple of hours.

Just realized this is not your trip, but the comments still apply. I hope you can talk them out of this itinerary.

I just forwarded this thread to my friends and hope that they will make the adjustments needed to reduce the obvious problems. On "fun day", I suppose they could make it from Florence to Assisi and then to Fiumicino with the time available. The thought of a "hop out" at St. Peter's will probably be a deal breaker if they attempt it. Next in line for revision, in my opinion, would be the detour to Salzburg. Far preferable would be substitution of a leisurely drive from Como to Venice, stopping as the mood strikes. With these two modifications, the plan would begin to have the potential of being enjoyable. Whether existing reservations can be changed, however, is something I don't know.

Let them go. Some people have to learn their lesson the hard way.

OK nrwayne - this really needs a follow-up from you.

What REALLY happened ???

Stu Dudley