Rome & Venice or Athens- 10 days
 

I am finally going to Europe & have 10 days (plus 1 day prior and after allotted for travel). My main question is: do I cram all 3 cities into this one trip? They are Rome, Venice, and Athens.
I want to see everything so I know it will be "go go go", but I probably wont get the chance to go again for 5-10 years...and the way the world is going I'm not sure how safe travel will be (ex: I had always planned to go to Egypt one day but I don't see that happening now).

I was thinking 4 nights in Rome (as I want to go down to Pompeii one day), 3 nights in Venice, and 3 nights in Athens (at least part of a day I would like to spend on the beaches there).

We are planning to go in mid/late October.

Any thoughts on that as well as the best ways to get around, which order to go in, and THE best sights to see are appreciated.

This will be my husband and I, both early 30s. We travel every year to the beach but have only ventured to the Caribbean and Hawaii. We aren't all about shopping and all that, more about seeing landscapes and old artifacts/buildings, and EATING local food. Don't like things too commercialized (which I'm sure we'll see everywhere) - we love off the beaten path.

I would save Greece. Too rushed for me, and does not maximize the time you have--which in my view would be better spent in Italy. Though I am not concerned about safety, who wants to deal with possible cash shortages on vacation?
October is likely to not be beach weather, but have you considered flying into Venice and out of Naples? That way, you could get a little seaside time after Pompeii. You could even see some amazing Greek ruins, just about an hour south of Pompeii at Paestum.

I agree, stay in Italy.
Save Greece for when you can spare 2 weeks.

I agree with the others. Not worth it to only spend 3 days in Greece (Athens) especially in October. And the beaches near Athens are certainly nothing like the ones on the islands. Save Greece for a time that that you have more than 3 days to spare, and focus on Italy.

The money situation in Greece could be even more chaotic then than now. Too dicey for me to ponder - bring American greenbacks or euros with you if you do.

With the chaos there, I wouldn't go to Greece at this point even if it was free. Stay in Italy, 10 days is not that much even if you just do Venice and Rome.

Stay in Italy. You could add a night or two near Pompeii or add another city in between Rome and Venice, or include Florence for a day or two.

Folks, the trip is in October and there is no chaos in Greece. There is hysteria in the media. The world is really not what you read in the Daily Mail.

Me, I might go to Athens and Rome, especially since I really do like getting off the beaten path.

If I were going to Greece, I would go there first, then fly to Rome, then home.

If you do decide to go to Italy and you really love off the beaten path, you have to plan to get off the beaten path if you're planning to stay in Rome, Venice, Pompei or Florence.

A good idea would be to eliminate the forum for Greece, since everyone is recommending not to visit the country and even predicting how October will be like.....

I do not think it is everyone saying not to visit Greece. I also would not be put off by the current issues.

However, I can't recommend trying to squeeze Rome, Pompeii, Venice and Athens into 10 days.

If the OP wants to go to Greece, they should do so, but their original focus seems to be Rome and Venice. If that is their priority, then they should plan around that. If Greece has become more important to them, they can plan around that.

As Sandralist suggested, 10 days split between Rome and Athens would be great. They could even do a day trip or two.

The title of this post reads: "Rome & Venice <i>or</i> Athens- 10 days" [italics mine], and that implies the option of Greece on its own. Ten days would be enough for Greece without Italy, but don't think about beaches in late October. Greece and Italy are much further north than the Caribbean, with cool autumns and cold winters.

Much as I love Greece, in late October I would opt for Italy. It won't be warmer, but that doesn't matter so much. BTW, don't be put off by the financial "crisis" in Greece. I just got off the telephone with a friend from Athens, who confirmed that tourists aren't affected except for the advice to bring cash in euros.

I wouldn't be put off from visiting Egypt sometime in the future either. Events change, and it's just a matter of keeping yourself informed and following the travel advice of your own State Dept or Foreign Office.

Venice is my favorite city in the world, and Rome is great so I'd go for that combo.

Remember that each time you change locations, you lose half a day to much of a day (figure from checking out of one hotel until checking into the next). So 4 nights in a place is three full days, and three nights in a place is just two days to see/do/experience the place.

Thus, I would choose Rome plus Venice (fly into one city, out of the other) or Greece (Athens plus an island).

Another vote for Rome and Venice (only) on this trip. OR Athens and somewhere else in Greece. NOT both countries! JMO.