package tour of italy / greece for father-daughter trip
 

My daughter turns 16 this year, and we are planning a 10-12 day father-daughter trip to Europe next summer. She wants to see historic sights in Italy and Greece, and to make logistics easy I am thinking of a package tour.

Are the packages offered by companies like Trafalgar, Globus, etc suitable for a father -daughter trip ? Or do they tend to be mostly oriented to older couples (in which case we might be misfits ?)

Any specific package tour recommendations ?

Unless you daughter is exceptional, I would avoid any tour which has a large number of people (especially older people), where you get sheparded around by bus and you have to get up by 7am every morning. Yuck at 50 and double yuck at 16!

If you'd like to take a tour (and it can be good to have some other company) choose a tour which allows a degree of flexibility and free time. Try Intrepid, Gecko, Gap or one of the other small group tours.

Fantastic idea to holiday together - soon they won't want to. My 15 year old son and I are going travelling together this year. We've included some cycling, hiking and sightseeing in our plans and a variety of small villages and large cities. I'm REALLY hoping that it goes well. Good luck with your own trip.

The major cities which I can suggest you to visit are Venice, Rome, Florence, Athens, Metheora, Solun and Ionian Islands of Greece

Well with Solun i am sure that you mean Thessaloniki ( Solun is the slavic name of the city).
Thessaloniki is certainly a nice city famous for it's byzantine past and monuments,i wouldn't recommend it as a first trip to Greece though with a 16 years old daughter interested in historic sights.
Neither would i replace it with Kerala... which is totally off topic......
There's nothing you can't organize by your self, flights transports and hotels are very easy to book, and the forum is always here to give you all the help and advice needed.
As for the greek part i'd recommend flying to Athens stay there for 2 days, and then rent a car if you wanna make a tour on your own. Tour could include : Delphi , Olympia and Argolis, which are among the most important archeological sites of Greece. You could fly from Athens to Rome ( there are very cheap flights with easyjet if you book in advance)
I am sure Italian experts will have many suggestions on how to organize a similar tour in Italy.

A 16 year old would hate a package tour.

In 10 to 12 days you'll only be able to go to 3 different places so the logistics will be pretty easy. Choose 3 cities and then get some guidebooks from the library and start reading them. The more you read the more excited you will be about planning your own trip. You can also get travel DVDs from the library.

You can plan walking tours in the cities you visit to have some professional guided tour expertise or hire a private guide. With the money you save by doing this on your own you will be well able to hire private guides.

If you go on your own:
1. You'll see what you want to see not what a tour company decides you'll see.
2. The food will be better.
3. You won't be hanging around waiting to get going in the morning (I hate this part of tours).
4. You can take breaks any time you want.
5. Spend as much or as little time at each sight as you want (another thing I hate about tours).

Have fun!

ricksteves.com

eurocheapo.com

greecetravel.com

Have done tours way in the past lots of early AM bus

calls sucky hotels with folks you do not know

Might consider self-guiding fly to ROM train around

what I do A LOT these days cheap fun...

Same for greece hop www.ferries.gr out to the islands

santorini.com www.ikies.com AWESOME Intercontinental Athens

great deals on betterbidding.com for me from $70 usually

Have fun,

perillo.com affordabletours.com if u must I would not BORING!

www.affordabletours.com/search/tours/44858/ - CachedAffordabletours.com. Already Booked? Log In. Mon-Fri 8AM-10PM ET. Sat-Sun 10AM- 6PM ET ... Best of Italy and Greece Preview 2012. Dates and Prices ...

Globus Tours: The Best Of Italy & Greece 2012www.affordabletours.com/search/tours/45011/ - CachedThe Best Of Italy & Greece 2012. Dates and Prices Book Now

Globus is my fav from personal experience

Trafalgar more budget...

DIY still best for me...