Why aren't you all exhausted?
 

I look at some of these itineraries that people nonchalantly say are eminently 'doable' and am exhausted just reading them!

I like to take it slow and meander around a place, make friends with it and discover the other layers beyond the obvious. Anyone else like to take their time or am I alone in this instance?

No, you are probably not alone in your method of travel. However, I take my time at home but when I travel I like to "travel" and get as much in as I can. I can sit in the easy chair at home.

I like to spend a week in most places, some places even more time. My best memories are from these slow travel itineries.

I tend to have more packed into my itineraries than I actually end up doing once I'm there. At the start of a day, I'll pick the most important things and figure the rest of the list is relegated to "if I have time/energy." I try to be generous in my time allowances, but I still end up dropping at least one thing a day when I'm on the ground. (Plus, my DH is a slower-style traveler, so we compromise as we go along.)

Also, we tend to be more active in our sightseeing the first time we go somewhere; but on subsequent visits to old favorites, we slow down and relax much more. (The problem is that I usually want to go somewhere new.)

We always require more time in a town or museum than anyone recommends. It took me a few trips many years ago to understand why we weren't seeing everything I had planned.

Everyone has their own travel pace. I like 2-3 days per location. Some like to hunker down for a while and others like to always be on the move. It is one thing that makes it so hard to give useful advice on a travel board regarding itineraries.

Regards, Gary

I like to see what I see. If you visit too many places it because a bit of a blur.

I'm with you, sap. Plan optimistically, then prioritize once I am there. Plus, must see something new every trip.

Fashionista, you may be right that there's a special pleasure in slowly discovering a place and soaking it in. But I guess everyone has a different personality and travels differently. My sister and I are both fast-paced "urban" types, therefore we travel well together. I love the pace of NY, where my brother lives, and I live in a large urban area as well. If I were to travel with someone who prefers a slower pace, I think I'd open a vein. My mom in a museum KILLS me, with how slowly she goes! My style is to find the 2 or 3 things in the room that draw me in, spend some time, and move on.

Maybe I'm a bit of a "kamikaze" traveler, but I definitely take the time to relax while enjoying a meal, and kick back more at night, kill a bottle of wine, etc...

I suppose it's personal preference and personal style.

The older I get, the slower is my travel :)

See my recent posting on "pre-and post-cruise in Italy." I thought we could do more in Venice and didn't - and I would never guess we could drive around the ValD'Orcia in a half day and see 5 different things, but we did - The best advise is to have a short list of "must dos" and have another list of "add ons if I got the time." and make sure you do your must dos first - but keep that list short!

Oh gosh! don't think I was criticising, I really didn't mean that! Its just that I tend to do one city at a time and spend about a week there making friends with it and for me thats just the start.

A friend of mine told me 4 days was enough for Rome, I went for a week and felt I had not even started. Same with Athens. I found some amazing semi precious stone shops down a back alley where you could get a string of pink quartz for the price of a single stone in the tourist zone. Id never have found it and the haberdasher and the fabric shops if I had not got lost on the way to the museum.

I find your stories interesting and am interested to know what other people do!

When I see the itinerary of people around the UK I long for you to get off the Stratford-York-Edinburgh treadmill and really SEE the country and I want to discover those bits in the countries I visit.

The farmers in Normandy that make and sell the most delicious cider ive ever tasted.
We borrowed a house from my sisters hairdresser, 17th century barn (expensive hair dresser) and it was so remote we had competitions between the number of pears falling off the tree and traffic at the end of the lane. the looser had to go and get that mornings croissants, and that involved finding the best baker. Blissful, to me at least.

We have decided that we like 2 kinds of vacations - the kind wnere you can relax and get the most out of one place and the kind where you cram in as much as you can so you cover all of the things you want to see. We always have much too long a list on that kind of trip. This time we're combining the two with a week in Tuscany (a little slower paced) and 9 days in the Amalfi Coast, Capri and finally, Rome. This is our 7th trip to Italy so much of it is covering territory we've already covered. That allows for seeing new things and returning to those places we love. It is really hard to criticize those who are going for the first time and want to see it all. Been the, done that, and learned that often less is more.

Yes everyone has their own pace. My late husband I were different from most posters in that we didn't mind driving a few hour for lunch with friends to see or maybe a restaurant we wanted to dine at. We would stay in the Alpilles but always went to the other areas up to the Cote D' Azur on day
trips

We've always wanted to do that rent a villa on the Riviera for 2 weeks. But something always comes up so it doesn;t work - job issues or family health issues or the other couple has to change plans. So generally we go a couple of places in a trip. but in a 2 week trip we will generally do 2 or 3 stops - perhaps 4 stops if they are smaller cities. Also, if it's a first visit we always stay longer - and will usually do less than a week after we've been someplace a couple of times.

I do agree that reading some of these itineraries reminds me of the Bataan death march - but everyone has their own style of travel.