7-10 days for "girls trip" in Italy or Greece

[Scuba]

Sometime this summer, likely July/Aug/early Sept., DH and I are planning to go to visit close friends who are moving to one of the Greek Islands. DH and I will likely start in Venice, explore Croatia and Western Greece, and then go down to the islands and visit our friends.

My girlfriend and I are talking about doing a "girls trip" in the region at the beginning or end of my trip with DH. We enjoy a combination of light hiking, history/culture, food, wine, beaches and sightseeing in general. I'm more of a "slow travel" person vs "7 cities in 7 days" person - would rather experience something a bit slower paced and off the beaten path. Definitely do not want to do Athens (been there twice) or any of the touristy Greek Islands (Mykonos, Santorini and Rhodes come to mind). Also do not want to do Rome, the Amalfi Coast, and DH and I may be doing Venice together so probably not Venice either.

A few ideas I've discovered from research are:
- Abruzzo
- Puglia, Marche
- Sicily
- Ionian Islands (Corfu and others)

I'm leaning towards a land-based trip so we can avoid the "7 places in 7 days" approach, but could consider a cruise if better logistically. Also not sure how much ground is realistic to try to cover. When DH and I went to Tuscany and Cinque Terre 20 years ago, we did not venture out of that region. We had a great trip, but by the last couple of days, we were a bit burned out on duomos and walled medieval cities. For me, there is definitely a delicate balance between not spending too much time in a small region vs trying to cover too much ground and feeling rushed.

Thoughts please?

 

[OldShooter]

I suggest that you search for in-country travel companies that arrange custom travel. With such a company you will have in-country expertise and support, plus the ability to design the whole trip to suit your tastes, including exactly your preferred style of lodging.

If you contact a company and they come back with a sales pitch for one of their prepackaged tours, forget about them. A custom trip starts with a clean sheet of paper and some ideas from the client(s). There are companies like that out there but they are sometimes tough to find.

DW and I spent a week in Bologna last spring, ranging out in different directions, including a lot of foodie activities but also the Ferrari museum. That style sounds like it might suit you; maintain a base so you're not packing and unpacking every day, then be curious and flexible. Cecilia Alderighi (www.yourowntour.it), a private guide with a car worked out very well for us.

 

[Scuba]

I suggest that you search for in-country travel companies that arrange custom travel. With such a company you will have in-country expertise and support, plus the ability to design the whole trip to suit your tastes, including exactly your preferred style of lodging.

If you contact a company and they come back with a sales pitch for one of their prepackaged tours, forget about them. A custom trip starts with a clean sheet of paper and some ideas from the client(s). There are companies like that out there but they are sometimes tough to find.

DW and I spent a week in Bologna last spring, ranging out in different directions, including a lot of foodie activities but also the Ferrari museum. That style sounds like it might suit you; maintain a base so you're not packing and unpacking every day, then be curious and flexible. Cecilia Alderighi (www.yourowntour.it), a private guide with a car worked out very well for us.

Thank you! This type of travel would definitely suit DH and me. Not sure if it will work for my girlfriend and me - partly because she is a travel advisor and likes to use her suppliers, and partly due to budget, but I will explore this with her. I know she's set these types of arrangements up before for clients.

 

[SecondCor521]

I have a cousin who has lived in Italy for a long time (15 years?). I know she does custom tours; not sure if she would be a good fit for the type of travel you're talking about. PM me if you want her contact info.

 

[DrRoy]

I know Rome is large and touristy, but I would not have missed many things there, including the Vatican Museum, the Pantheon, and the Coliseum.

 

[brett]

You may want to consider travel time and travel options getting to, between, and back to your international travel hub. Understand the rail, ferry, road, or air schedules connections and time required out of your total days to get to where you want to go before booking or locking down on a specific location.

IF you select a tour of some sort review the proposed schedule carefully to determine how much of your vacation time will be spent on point to point travel. Consider the potential impact of jet lag for some in your group on your first day or two in country.

 

[OldShooter]

You may want to consider travel time and travel options getting to, between, and back to your international travel hub. Understand the rail, ferry, road, or air schedules connections and time required out of your total days to get to where you want to go before booking or locking down on a specific location. ...

We frequently book "open jaw" routes, departing from a different city than where we landed. Much better flexibility. Arrive Jo-berg, leave Windhoek, for example. They are 850 miles apart.

 

[brett]

We frequently book "open jaw" routes, departing from a different city than where we landed. Much better flexibility. Arrive Jo-berg, leave Windhoek, for example. They are 850 miles apart.

We do exactly the same. Cannot remember when we last flew in to the same European hub that we flew home from.

In to Athens, home from London, Paris etc. or vice versa. Or in to Istanbul, home from Athens. In to Lisbon or Barcelona, home from Faro.

We keep our travel options open. We take advantage of the many low cost airlines in Europe as well as those airlines that offer good one way transatlantic fares.

 

[Plantman]

Since your friend is a travel advisor, maybe let her come up with some ideas and run them by you?

 

[Scuba]

Since your friend is a travel advisor, maybe let her come up with some ideas and run them by you?

I’ve definitely asked her to do that and I’m sure she will, but she asked me to come up with some ideas too.

 

[Scuba]

We do exactly the same. Cannot remember when we last flew in to the same European hub that we flew home from.

In to Athens, home from London, Paris etc. or vice versa. Or in to Istanbul, home from Athens. In to Lisbon or Barcelona, home from Faro.

We keep our travel options open. We take advantage of the many low cost airlines in Europe as well as those airlines that offer good one way transatlantic fares.

We are definitely going to book a series of one way flights. I tried putting all the flights we needed into google flights as a multi city trip and I guess there were too many as it just blew up and said nothing was available. We will likely fly into Venice or Zagreb and fly home from Athens or Rome.