Anonymous wrote:If the Olympics are in Paris you should avoid - it will be swamped with workers, vendors, people there early to do a bit of sight seeing prior to the games. Plus Parisian security is nuts. I was there one summer when a dignitary was driving through and there were snipers on the roofs. No kidding.

Also trains do stink in Italy and they are worse in Greece. To the PP who thinks they don't, I'm European and have taken more trains than I care to remember. You are probably right about Spain however, where I've never needed to take a train, so cannot comment.

The Italian train system has been significantly modernized and improved in the last 15-20 years. The mainline routes between the major cities are operated by high speed, modern 300km/hr trains that are the same as the French TGV trains. Those are what most tourists will ride.most of the time. You may need to take a 45 minutes final ride on an old school regional train for a coastal route or say from Milan up to Lake Como. But anything in the spine from Naples up to Milan (and branching from Florence to Venice), and across from Turin to Venice see frequent fast and comfortable service. Scroll down halfway through this to see the train types and pictures.

https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm

It may be surprising, but Italy has many more miles of true high speed track than Germany, whose system is extensive but quite old and not especially fast (compared to true high speed 185 mph trains), and recently prone to many delays and cancellations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a similar trip and here's my advice:

Fly to Rome and rent a car: drive to Tuscany and stay in a more pastoral setting (if this sounds like something your family would enjoy). You can take the train to Florence for a day.

Return car (we returned at airport) and taxi to Rome (we did a car service, it was only about $100). Spend time in the city for a few days.

Hit London on your way back. No car needed.

Enjoy!

Oh I like this itinerary!! thank you!

Can also save the (long) drive to Tuscany from Rome by taking the train to Florence and picking up rental car there. Siena also, depending on where your rental is. It's a 3 hour drive with no traffic from Rome, and the train is 1:25.

You could. But we like driving and wanted to hit the road upon landing. Flights are usually cheaper to Rome so that’s why we went there first. And honestly, it was fun to stop at Italian rest stops on the way! So nice!!!!

If the Olympics are in Paris you should avoid - it will be swamped with workers, vendors, people there early to do a bit of sight seeing prior to the games. Plus Parisian security is nuts. I was there one summer when a dignitary was driving through and there were snipers on the roofs. No kidding.

Also trains do stink in Italy and they are worse in Greece. To the PP who thinks they don't, I'm European and have taken more trains than I care to remember. You are probably right about Spain however, where I've never needed to take a train, so cannot comment.

Anonymous wrote:I just did Rome in mid June. We booked about 6 months out and were still able to get highly rated Airbnbs. I prefer Airbnbs to hotels because we're a family of 5, but of course there's always the risk it's not very good, they cancel, etc. I try to pick places that reviews say provide you with snacks or a bottle of wine because I feel like those hosts must be pretty invested in getting good reviews and are unlikely to cancel last minute. Keep in mind a lot of places don't have a dryer, even if they have a washer, so you'll want a place that has a terrace for drying your clothes if you're the type that packs with the assumption you're doing laundry during the trip.

Our flights were booked by the beginning of February and there were plenty of open seats, but not a lot in rows together. We split up 3 and 2 for the flight back.

Not OP but I appreciate the tips in this post!

Anonymous wrote:I booked flights 11 months out for a 2024 trip. I got the lowest rates I’ve seen while tracking over the last 8 months. I booked because I knew I could always cancel and rebook if prices got lower (they haven’t). I think it’s better to buy and watch than not buy and regret later.

I've never booked that far out where I can make changes to my flights without penalty. For example I booked our most recent tickets from San Diego to Honolulu in May, for travel in July via Hawaiin Airlines. I checked periodically after my purchase to see if fares had dropped but realized that even if they had dropped I would be paying a rebooking fee - at least I think so. Maybe I'm wrong. Again maybe it just wasn't far enough in advance?

Anonymous wrote:I booked flights 11 months out for a 2024 trip. I got the lowest rates I’ve seen while tracking over the last 8 months. I booked because I knew I could always cancel and rebook if prices got lower (they haven’t). I think it’s better to buy and watch than not buy and regret later.

I book 11 months in advance too. Though if you're booking economy maybe no refunds.

Anonymous wrote:We go to France most summers (my husband is French) and we’ve had the best luck buying tickets around thanksgiving.

Thank you!

I booked flights 11 months out for a 2024 trip. I got the lowest rates I’ve seen while tracking over the last 8 months. I booked because I knew I could always cancel and rebook if prices got lower (they haven’t). I think it’s better to buy and watch than not buy and regret later.