Visiting Italy and Barcelona for 6 days- need help with itinerary..
 

Hi,
We are a family of 4 w 2 kids ages 9 and 17, visiting Italy and possibly Barcelona for 6 days in June. We enjoy architecture, natural beauty, cool/unique buildings and tend to enjoy less of paintings/art and museums. We have seen Lovre and Versailles and much of Paris, so don't exactly need to see more of the same. We are thinking, one day in Venice, next three days in Rome( 1.5 days for Rome and 1.5 days for Amalfi Coast, base in Rome) I need some help with the details, what to see and what to skip? From Rome we fly to Barcelona for two days or Madrid is a better choice? We'll be taking direct flights mostly.
I know it's bit overambitious plan( or too overambitious??) but have only 6 days and I do want to see some of Spain too, like the cool colorful buildings/ architecture etc. How do you all suggest we break our time, how to cover everything and any other advice is more than welcome too:-) Thanks much in advance!

Please don't leave Italy. You can not get to, let alone see, Venice, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast in 4 days. Overambitious is not the word for your plan. Impossible is.

Even 2,2 and 2 may be impossible for the 3 places in Italy you want to see. You should probably narrow it down to just two places in 6 days. If you must see Barcelona, why not just Rome and Barcelona? I think there are flights between Rome and Barcelona.

But if it were me, I would just do Venice and Rome. Or Rome and the AC.

With 6 days you really only have time to see two locations - if you really want to see Spain you could to Rome and Barcelona, or Venice and Barcelona.

You need to factor in time to change locations - you lose 1/2 a day between checking in and out, getting to and from hotels and train stations, waiting for trains/planes and the actual travel time. If you move 4 times you will lose 2 of your 6 days which really doesnt leave enough time to see any of them - especially with 4 people, 1 being a teenager. Everything will take more time than you think.

If your 6 days include travel days on either end then you really only have 4 days on the ground, barely enough time to see 1 location.

Many thanks to both of you! I thought so:( We leave from brussels on the 7th day evening. We get 2 nights in Venice,three in Rome and two nights in Barcelona, most flights are reaching early around 9 am but nonetheless this might be too much of a rush as you have suggested. So given our interests( more beautiful, unique,eye catching places etc) what two places would you suggest we see.We enjoyed Switzerland, Ghent, Brughes as a family last year, but didn't much appreciate Paris.
In Amalfi which places are a must see given the tight schedule? Thanks much.

If you are going to do Amalfi then I would concentrate on that only as it takes a good part of a whole day to get there, and woudl take another good part of a whole day to get somewhere else.

I would personally choose 2 of Venice, Rome, and Barcelona if you havent been to any of them.

Or spend the whole time on the Amalfi Coast.

Venice is worth two days, that gives you time to visit say 4 sites in the city, a couple of boat trips to other islands and a bit of getting lost.

Rome, use the trams and buses to get around, gives you a day for the Vatican and say Hadrian's fortress, then the whole Spanish steps area, the Forum and Coliseum and then any other site.

That does make you miss out on modern colourful buildings which Barcelona has in spades, so if that is what you want then leave Rome alone and fly directly there from Venice (with your time limits avoid Madrid)

Thanks all for the quick responses. So now I have a new plan- Fly from Brussels to Rome, reach at night. Spend 2 days roaming inside the city.
Leave for Naples( any train/connections/suggestions?)two nights in Naples- roam around the Amalfi Coast for 2 days( which cities are a must with most breathtaking views??)
Come back to Rome airport to fly to Barcelona, spend two days, fly back to Brussels the seventh day to catch a flight back home.
Does this still sound overambitious or impossible:-)

I think you are underestimating how long it takes to get places - Rome to the amalfi coast will eat up most of a day. Rome to Naples is the shortest bit of the journey...to get to the Amalfi coast you still have to take a couple more methods of transport. Like I said above with 6 days pick two locations tops or spend them all on the Amalfi coast. Otherwise your six days will be spent 1/3 sleeping 1/3 in transit and 1/3 actually seeing anything - that's a lot of money to spend for 1/3 of the time!!

You have 6 days/7 nights, right? If you stay 2 nights in one city, you have a day or a day and a half to visit that city. It will take at least half a day to check out of your hotel, get to the train station or airport, fly or train, find your way in the new place from the train station/airport to your new hotel, and then get oriented to the new city. For flights add the extra time you need to get to the airport before a flight. For the Amalfi coast, add extra time because getting there and back requires at least 2 different forms of transportation. Getting from the Amalfi coast to the Rome airport is even harder.

You will be spending most of your time (and money) in transit, in airports or on trains. Very little time is left to actually visit your proposed destinations.

What's your hurry?

I agree with others. 6 days in Italy is a minimal visit. With kids, things will be slower, and must-sees different perhaps. You may want to make Amalfi or Florence a two day trip. I would do Rome and Venice, fly back from Venice and skip Spain. Barcelona is okay but hard to get there othetr than by car or train. It's worth a day or two if you want to go to Montserrat or spend time on the beach.e.

Thanks all for the help:-) We made some changes and are almost at the final stage of our itinerary.