I have always wanted to go to Italy and Greece (specifically Santorini) for as long as I can remember! I really never thought I would actually ever get to go. My husband and I decided one day, let’s do it!! That is all I needed to hear. I had the green light so I hit the ground running. I did tons of research!! I’m talking about months and months of nothing but getting online googling, going to forums, going everywhere I could find that talked about Italy. My husband called me obsessed, and I probably was, but I will say our trip went off without a hitch! I found out I enjoyed the research and planning.
I knew I wanted to hit the main cities in Italy. If it is your first time in Italy, you want to see the go-to places, so I chose Venice, Florence, and Rome right away! Gondola rides, vineyards, and the Colosseum…yes please! All the pasta, pizza, and wine I can eat for 2 weeks…sign me up! I also wanted a place surrounded by water where we could relax after all the sightseeing towards the end of the trip. You know, more of a “beach” theme. I found the Amalfi Coast and OMG it did not disappoint! We also wanted to go to Santorini. If you are a girl and you’ve seen the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, of course you want to go to Santorini. Who doesn’t want to see beautiful white wash buildings with the blue domes and the most amazing sea views?
Here is the itinerary we followed:
- Milan- 1 day
- Venice- 1 day
- Florence- 2 days
- Rome- 3 days
- Sorrento- 3 days
- Athens- 1 day
- Santorini- 4 days
Now, is this the perfect amount of days for each stop? Ummmm no I want more days in every single place!! Of course, there is just not enough time to spend at each stop no matter how long you stay. There is so much history, so many things to do and see everywhere you go. I was already planning our next trip before we had even left!
I wouldn’t spend less than 10 days in Italy if you can help it. For sure Rome needs three days to try and see everything. Florence needs a minimum of two days, but if you can add more, do it! This was probably my favorite place we went to in Italy. There are so many cities outside of Florence to see, so if you base in Florence and give yourself more days, maybe you can see a few of them as well. If the main touristy cities aren’t your thing, then that is probably even better because you can escape the main crowds. We went in September and it was crowded but not overwhelmingly so. The weather was hot but not that bad, but I am from the south so we know heat down here. If you decide to go to Santorini, I would give it no less than three days.
So there it is, our itinerary we followed when we went to Italy and Greece. I will do an entire post on each place we went to separately so stay tuned!