Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - road trip through Italy then flight to Greece

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road trip through Italy then flight to Greece

My husband and I will be traveling by car through Italy then probably fly to Greece, and ferry to a few Greek Isles. I have three weeks, Fodors, Lonely Planet and Let's Go Guidebooks. Need suggestions for itinerary to include scenery, good food and culture. Prefer to stay at locally owned B&Bs or hotels and not chains.

Your question is too broad. You need to narrow down what cities or areas you want to see in Italy and then we can help from there. Have you been to Italy or Greece before? My favorites are Venice (a must) florence, tuscany area and Cinque Terre. I didn't love Rome but many others do. Last year I did Venice, Florence, San Gmignano, Montalcino,Rome. Took a flight to Athens on Europe by Air (Agean)and then took flights on Olympic to see Santorini and Rhodes before going on to Turkey. Try to narrow down your questions-we like x,y and z-where should we go? or we are going to X what hotels do you recommend under $150. etc. you should also use the search function on the board, it will answer SO many questions.

I really see Greece as a seperate trip. It takes about 6 weeks to see most of Italy, and another 2 weeks to do justice to Greece. With your time you can make a serious dent in bella Italia. Save the Greek Isles when you have the time.

This is a marvelous plan - - too bad you don't have three months, as it could fill a glorious April-May-June! You have to think about how much "city" you want, and how much smaller towns or countryside. To some extent, you have to (or will surely want to) plan in some major city time. There are cheap flights - - www.europebyair.com - - from both Venice and Rome, so you have nearly a blank slate on which you can plan this itnerary. For example, you could fly to "A", drive to "B", fly to Greece and fly back to "C", then train to "D" to fly home ("B" or "C" would be Venice and Rome in interchangeable positions). You have a number of choices if you want different into and out of cities ("A" and "D") - - particularly if you use a transfer city like London, Paris, Frankfurt, etc to reach Italy. In my mind there are similarities and differences between "small locally owned hotels" and "B&B"s. Italy has so many great little locally owned hotels, that I have really never felt the need to stay in "true" B&B's (i.e., someone's home). And of coure, an alternative would be a self-catering stay - - usually a week, but not always. Choosing an itinerary for how to spend 10-15 days (of your 21 total) in Italy is fundamentally almost the same as choosing an itinerary for Europe overall - - because Italy is so many "countries" all rolled into one. The season (month or months) of this trip will likely influence your decisions some - - as will likewise whether you have ever been to Italy before (I am guessing that you have not). You'll find a lot of good hotel choices at www.venere.com or karenbrown.com or www.charmerelax.it/Default.asp?lang=eng The books you have will serve you well. Read them like a novel, cover to cover, and then think about these factors and come back with the top 3 or 4 places you want to go, and there are many of "us" with lots of good lodging suggestions to offer. Best wishes, Rex [email protected]

Addendum: I am impressed with the considerable array of B&B choices on the website www.sleepinitaly.com - - mentioned here today. Though otherwise, I know nothing about this company.

Just an FYI - There is a city (Anconna) south of Venice, right on the Adriatic - they have a ferry that goes to Greece everyday, I think it takes 20 hours - you can get a sleeping room. I have never done it, but have heard it is cheap, and nice. There are cars, bikes, buses, tractor trailers on it, it is huge (looks like a cruise ship). Anyway, this might add to your options.

For the Greece the best guide is: Alpha Guide 2003 they have also speial guides for differents islands like Mykonos,Santorini,Kriti,Kerkyra... To find the best hotels and the best tavernas/restaurants in Greece:Alphaguide price 25 euros

Thanks for the suggestions. Will do some more research before I pose more specific questions.