European Vacation Routes

It’s time for a vacation! Wahooo! You deserve it. You hear Europe calling your name, but how do you decide where to go in Europe? It’s a multi-cultural checkered cloth with history, languages, food, mountains, oceans, lakes, cities, towns...etc.

Technology like Google-Flights, Skyscanner, or Expedia now assist people in choosing destinations with budget or time constraints. Finding cruises within your budget or time constraint on aggregate websites like Cruiseplum.com can also narrow the choices of where to vacation.

Friends asked us to reflect upon our European trip and give recommendations for shorter vacations. They don't have the endless retirement days we do, now, so where could our friends travel if they only have a couple weeks of vacation? Here are some examples of vacation itineraries we would recommend.

City-scapes:

You can’t go wrong visiting the big cities which are easily connected by flights. Google flights can help you plan the cheapest sequence between these cities. Public transportation within these cities is easy to navigate. Accommodation can be found in a wide variety of price ranges.

• Paris

• Rome

• Athens

• London

Central Europe

If historic cities and train travel are more your flavor, these cities are well connected and easy to visit. Fly into Prague or Budapest, then take the Regio Jet regional train to the other cities Downloading the app makes train travel on Regio Jet simple. If you like small towns, there are plenty of small towns along the train route to hop off.

• Prague

• Vienna

• Budapest

Cruise or Flight?

Tranquil, Historic Lake Towns

Italy by Rail

If you enjoy lakes and history, consider visiting one of Europe’s deepest and oldest lakes, Lake Ohrid. Stradling the mountainous border between Albania and North Macedonia you can enjoy the clear lake with a unique aquatic ecosystem listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Landing at Ohrid Airport, you can rent a car or taxi to reach these other towns. Tourism Infrastructure is limited in these small towns. Flexibility or creativity may be needed.

• Ohrid, Macedonia

• Struga, Macedonia

• Pogradec, Albania

• Korçë, Albania

• Lin, Albania

Italy has an extensive rail line allowing vast travel in the northern part of the country and good travel in the southern part of the country. Tickets were easy to purchase in the downloadable app for Trenitalia. Whether you arrive by cruise ship near Rome or via plan in any major city, train travel on high speed or regional trains are generally well priced and easy to navigate.

NORTHERN ITALY

• Bologna

• Florence

• Venice

• Genoa

• Pisa

SOUTHERN ITALY

• Rome

• Naples

• Salerno

• Taranto

• Bari

• Monopoli

• Lecce

If you are seeking budget-friendly ocean vacation with great day-trips, think about flying into the Greek Island of Corfu. Stay in Corfu or take a 30-minute ferry over to Sarandë, Albania. From Sarandë, there are day trips to Ksamil for great beaches or Gjirokastër for history in the Castle. Alternatively, there are many cruise ships that visit Sarandë or Corfu.

• Corfu

• Sarandë

• Gjirokastër

• Ksamil

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