Planning
 

We are planning a trip next fall - so we have a long time to plan. But trying to nail down where/what/how. We are a couple in our early 60's that are active. We enjoy history, good food, beautiful buildings/cathedrals, etc. We are in good physical condition and active. My husband is taking a sabbatical so we have at least 3-4 weeks to travel and longer if needed. Our idea is to fly in to Rome and spend 3 days there. We have both been there in the past. Then we want to go to Tuscany and pick a home base. We love staying in B&B's out on farms in the country rather than right in town. We would like to see Florence, Sienna and Pisa and whatever else is recommended. Then we will head to the south of France to Provence to see St. Remy, Avignon, Aix en Provence, Gordes, Cassis. Then over to Languedoc to see Nimes, Aigues Mortes and Pon du Guard. After that we would like to go to Spain since we have never been to that country. We were thinking about staying in the Barcelona area. Does this rough plan sound like it would be managable int he amount of time that we have? We don't want to move every other day so that is why we would like to pick about 3 or 4 areas to stay and then do day trips. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

If you are planning of driving, it's no small task, somewhere around 1600 kms +, not including time for a few additional side trips. We recently spent a week visiting Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Niemes, Uzès and Albi (two must sees) and didn't think it was enough time.

You'll also have to consider the drop off fees if you plan on renting a car. The fee can be quite steep.

For the countryside you will need a car. To avoid a stiff cross-border drop-off fee rent one for Tuscany to be dropped off at a convenient location in Italy to catch the train to Nice. Rent a car for France, to be dropped of in Perpignan or Narbonne and take the train to Barcelona. To get an idea of the cost of rentals, go to the broker Autoeurope.com, act as if you want to rent so that you can see the contract, including the fine print, and then look for comparable or cheaper prices if you are not satisfied with Autoeurope's rates; you can cancel the Autoeurope contract with no penalty up to 48 hours before pick-up time. Kemwel.com is a sister company with slightly different policies.

We loved our stay at this agriturismo just outside of Montepulciano, about a 5 min drive to town:

http://www.santantonio.it/

I think it sounds wonderful -- but I'm not sure you have enough time for all these places! In contrast, to be honest, I think this plan overly ambitious. As examples:

As a lover of art and architecture, I thought 5+ days barely enough for Florence, and I never stepped out of the city! As for Barcelona, I thought that part of Spain (Barcelona and surrounds) easily worth nearly 10 days at a rapid pace!

But really, it depends on what YOU want to see and do! My best advice: Get some good guidebooks or spend some time with a few in your local library (the <i>Michelin Green Guides</i> might be particularly helpful, whether you plan on driving or not), identify the things you most want to see in each location, check their opening/closing times on the internet, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.

I think you'll end up either drastically increasing your time (by at least twice, if not more) or drastically cutting your destination wish list (painful, I know!), or maybe a bit of each.

Good luck!

Any thoughts on combining a cruise and adding time on at the end for cruising around on our own. It would cut out a lot of the driving time, but I know that you don't get to wander around on your own. I went on a Caribbean cruise once 40 years ago, but have no other experience with them.

Why not go without a cruise and use trains and buses? You might not be see EVERYTHING on your list, but you can't do that in any meaningful way under any scenario. If you go on your own, you can at least decide how much time to spend at each of your destinations!

I would figure out where your home base will be in Tuscany. It's a huge region, but some cities might be accessible by train.

I would narrow down the choice of the other cities you hope to visit.

I would take the train to the large cities you have in mind, and rent a car for short trips.

If you want to experience the countryside, this cannot be done by going on a cruise.

If we fly in to Rome and out of southern France, which is the best city to depart from? Would it be Nice, Marseilles? We are cutting our trip down. We are leaving Spain out of the equation right now and focusing on Italy and the south of France.

Good decision to leave Spain for another time. Doing justice to the South of France means driving daily to different locations, and you can only see so many on the secondary and tertiary roads - besides, who wants to rush, it's so beautiful there!

For a home-base in a central location, look at the map and mark your desired targets, then pick a location that looks central enough. Now go to https://en.gites-de-france.com and see what's available. In case this is news to you, it is a venerable institution of some fifty years, government-sanctioned, and I can think of no better way than to feel at home in your own house while exploring the beautiful area.

While there, ask your landlords or in town about the "Courses Camarguaises" - they are held in many small towns, usually on Sundays, a jolly family affair you won't soon forget. It is the Provence version of bull fights - no blood, no gore, and THE BULL ALWAYS WINS and gets the applause!

No need to go to the "Big One" in Arles, it's more fun to be with the locals in a small town. Bring your camera!

Sounds like a very beautiful trip and, yes, do it by car. The only thing is: to avoid the cross-border fees, return the rental car in Ventimiglia, take the train to Nice, and rent a French car there.

>> Then over to Languedoc to see Nimes, Aigues Mortes and Pont du Guard <<

Historically, these places belong to Provence (the Roman provincia narbonensis) and are very close to St. Remy, Arles, Avignon. So, I would recommend taking a base in the Luberon (Gordes or any other village in the area) to explore this part of Provence and a second base in the area of Arles, St. Remy to explore the Western part of Provence. Nîmes, Aigues-Mortes and Pont du Gard are in easy reach from there.

When you drive from Nice to Provence, leave the autoroute at Cannes-Mandelieu and drive the incredibly scenic coastal road to Saint Raphael where you drive on the autoroute again. (I find the Calanques of the Esterel Coast more beautiful than those near Cassis, because of the bizarre red rocks.)

I forgot about the return flight:

You can fly out of Marseille (0:55 by train plus bus from Avignon) or Lyon (1:39, direct train). Nice would be a bit more complicated.