Help plan my trip to Italy

May 13, 2009 11:57 AM

Help with planing my trip to italy

So I am taking this scuba diving and GIS class in Crotone, Italy at the end of July and beginning of August and I want to do some traveling around afterwards, but not quite sure what to do. I got recommendations for seeing Pompeii and the aquarium in Genoa. I aslo really want to go to Greece. I am not sure how to plan this trip, I've only been oversees a few times but always when someone else plans the trip. Hardest part is trying to figure out the flight back especially if I am going to different countries. Any tips, recommendations, or links would be greatly appreciated.

posted by Rustbeard to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

The flight back is not really a problem, since most online travel agents will allow you to book "open-jaw" flights these days (ie, fly into Italy, out of Greece).
posted by lunasol at 12:18 PM on May 13

To facilitate recommendations, perhaps you could tell us when and for how long you'll be traveling, as well as what sort of things you like to do or see while traveling?

As far as arranging flights around visiting different countries, you should try your best to have to all your travel tickets and hotel arrangements in place before you leave home, since customs/immigration-type folks generally don't like letting you into their countries unless they know when you're leaving. Flying into Italy and then flying home from Greece shouldn't be a problem at all, as long as you have the arrangements made in advance.

But seriously, help us help you. Your question as it stands tells us nothing about what you'd enjoy.
posted by chudmonkey at 12:19 PM on May 13

Before you can get too much advice about how to get from place to place, figure out a few "must see" places and then find out what is on the way from one to another.

You should read Rick Steves' website and maybe a book or two, since he does a good job giving tips for people planning their own trips. I specifically remember him talking about ferries from Italy to Greece. Like everyone here has already said, open jaw flights will be your friend here.

Do you need to go to Genoa? It's really far from Crotone, and in the opposite direction from Greece. If you'll be going to Pompeii, Rome and Florence, Genoa makes sense, but not if you'll be headed east. You might waste too much time just getting there.

There is a ferry from Brindisi, Italy to Igoumenitsa, Greece, which would be worth checking out. But if you'll be in Pompeii, you'll be close enough to Naples that you may be able to find a cheap flight from there to Athens. Kayak.com can help you here, but also check the sites of alitalia and ryanair.
posted by soelo at 1:13 PM on May 13

Thanks for your recommendations. I do prefer more ecotourism type things, like visiting parks, beaches, definitely more nature related, I don't really like crowds. I probably am going to skip out on Genoa. My class is from July 25-August 3rd so after that I would be free to travel
posted by Rustbeard at 1:59 PM on May 19