My teen has been to both. She’d say that Rome was the more active and historical of the two overall, but Greece had a better combination of both relaxation (Crete) and exploration (Athens). Obviously, that had a lot to do with the specific locations we visited and would likely vary greatly elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:My teens both enjoyed Italy last month. I don't know why the PP even mentioned Starbucks -- I love Starbucks personally but the Italian corner coffee shops were plentiful, cheap, and made delicious cappuccinos. The only thing different was that the coffees there are really small because you're meant to have several throughout the day rather than a massive Venti.

I would not go to Italy in the summer after talking to our guides. It sounds awful - miserably hot and crowded. But December was lovely! Great weather (a bit cold in Venice but nice in Rome and Florence) and not overcrowded.

If going to Italy in peak summer, definitely the farther north the better. Still pretty hot if not in the mountains, but not miserable like it would be south of say Bologna.

My teens both enjoyed Italy last month. I don't know why the PP even mentioned Starbucks -- I love Starbucks personally but the Italian corner coffee shops were plentiful, cheap, and made delicious cappuccinos. The only thing different was that the coffees there are really small because you're meant to have several throughout the day rather than a massive Venti.

I would not go to Italy in the summer after talking to our guides. It sounds awful - miserably hot and crowded. But December was lovely! Great weather (a bit cold in Venice but nice in Rome and Florence) and not overcrowded.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We took our teens to Italy a few summers ago. They enjoyed it. It was hot. Bring a water bottle. Also be aware (if your kids like Starbucks) that there are only eight Starbucks locations in all of Italy. Our teens found one, walked in, and the barista said, "No! No more today!"

Well, it made them appreciate home. Ha.

If this isn’t a joke, it’s really depressing. I guess travel doesn’t actually broaden the mind!

People are entitled to their preferences. We spent a number of days in Germany and Austria and sought out Indian restaurants, at our teen's insistence. Can't say she was wrong.

Anonymous wrote:We took our teens to Italy a few summers ago. They enjoyed it. It was hot. Bring a water bottle. Also be aware (if your kids like Starbucks) that there are only eight Starbucks locations in all of Italy. Our teens found one, walked in, and the barista said, "No! No more today!"

Well, it made them appreciate home. Ha.

If this isn’t a joke, it’s really depressing. I guess travel doesn’t actually broaden the mind!

Starbucks was modeled after locally owned coffee shops in Italy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We took our teens to Italy a few summers ago. They enjoyed it. It was hot. Bring a water bottle. Also be aware (if your kids like Starbucks) that there are only eight Starbucks locations in all of Italy. Our teens found one, walked in, and the barista said, "No! No more today!"

Well, it made them appreciate home. Ha.

What? Only eight Starbucks on Italy? Where do Italians get their coffee?

I assume you are joking with the bolded. Practically every street corner of Rome has a small cafe where you will see people standing at the counter throwing down a quick espresso for 1 euro.

Anonymous wrote:We took our teens to Italy a few summers ago. They enjoyed it. It was hot. Bring a water bottle. Also be aware (if your kids like Starbucks) that there are only eight Starbucks locations in all of Italy. Our teens found one, walked in, and the barista said, "No! No more today!"

Well, it made them appreciate home. Ha.

What? Only eight Starbucks on Italy? Where do Italians get their coffee?

Also, as of December, there were 31 Starbucks stores in Italy. Not eight.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/541629/number-of-starbucks-stores-in-europe/#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20third%20quarter,31%20Starbucks%20stores%20in%20Italy.

And there are 27 in Greece:

https://isic.com.gr/discount/starbucks/?lang=en#:~:text=In%20Greece%2C%20you%20can%20enjoy,%2C%20Rhodes%2C%20Mykonos%20and%20Corfu.

^^ Also have change on hand because public restrooms in Italy you must pay the attendant to use.

We took our teens to Italy a few summers ago. They enjoyed it. It was hot. Bring a water bottle. Also be aware (if your kids like Starbucks) that there are only eight Starbucks locations in all of Italy. Our teens found one, walked in, and the barista said, "No! No more today!"

Well, it made them appreciate home. Ha.

PS you're not going to get a lot of beach in Italy as you would Greece by the way - unless you are going South. It's more water experiences on a boat there. But you would def get more time on a beach in Greece depending on your island selection. I suppose you could just do Crete that will offer you everything you seek.

I really enjoyed Italy. I could not make the prices work with Greece - in order to the islands you have to do a lot of travelling so you need both time and money. It's like China - you just can't do it in a week - it's a big ass country.

Italy you can determine which area you want to do and train around those parts. Logistically, it's a lot easier and you can play with budgets and rely on Airbnb v hotels everywhere. We trained from Rome to Venice and overnighted there, we trained down to Naples, stayed in Positano for awhile as well. There's also Ponza, an island frequented by locals off the Rome coast - day trip but you'd want to overnight as it involves a ferry + train - but it's doable like Venice for a night. Anyway, there's tremendous flexibility with Italy beyond the historical sights in terms of experiences - water, history, shopping, etc.

I agree with PP that Greece is great for all that too and maybe a bit more history but between the crowds, time and money you need, I just could not make that work in a 10 day experience to see 3 islands.

Greece.

Which do you think would have more adventure and history for teens. We love the sun/beach, but want to also see a few historical sites and do some active things like biking or hiking. Not the whole time, but don't want to just sit on a beach. I know that's a loaded question, but if you've been to one or the other, or both, please suggest an itinerary or excursions that were a hit.