Italy, Spain and Greece: 10-Day Itinerary for First Time Visitors

Venice, Italy

© 2004 YaninaTravels

I was determined to see Rome, Florence, Venice, Barcelona, Athens, Myconos and Santorini. All of them! In 10 days. It took me a few months to plan this trip, since it was involving so many combinations and matching in between various kinds of transportation (flights, rails, water buses, regular buses, ferry rides, etc.)

My Travel Itinerary
Map Data © 2018 Google Earth

WHAT TO BRING

Read my other post Traveling with Less: Travel Gear Guide

ITALY

Day 1

Flight from USA to Rome, Italy. Get a taxi or a shuttle from the airport to the hotel. Hotel in Rome: Holiday Inn Express Rome – San Giovanni (2 nights)

Trevi Fountain in Rome

Day 2

Explore Rome. Take a walk and enjoy the vibrant energy of the city.  I loved the Trevi Fountain, the massive Colosseum, the narrow streets with romantic little restaurants and outside tables, decorated with fresh flowers and the smell of delicious food around!

Italian Train

Day 3 

Take a rail from Rome to Florence. Book your one-way ticket online at Rail Europe. Take any of the city sightseeing hop-on hop-off buses to explore Florence on the same day. Hotel in Florence: Hotel Olimpia (1 night)

Gondola Ride in Venice

Day 4

Take a rail from Florence to ‘Venice – Santa Lucia’ (this is the central train station to Venice). Book your one-way ticket online at Rail Europe. Take a water bus to the hotel with Vaporetti, which are public water buses. They run 24 hours a day, however, less frequently after midnight. Different lines travel different parts of the city at various speeds. You can buy ticket on the boat from the boat attendant. Contact the hotel where you decide to stay and ask them what boat number you should take and where to get off. Hotel in Venice: Hotel Villa Tiziana (1 night)

Piazza San Marco in Venice

SPAIN

Day 5

Take a water taxi to go back to the train station Mestre-Venezia, from where you can get on a train or bus to the airport Treviso, in order to get on a plane with Ryan Air to Girona Airport (Barcelona, Spain). Purchase in advance your round trip air ticket (Treviso-Barcelona) from Ryan Air. Get on a bus from Girona Airport to Barcelona to your hotel. Hotel in Barcelona: Barcelo Hotel Sants (2 nights)

Day 6

Take any of the city sightseeing buses in Barcelona to explore the city in a day.

Day 7

Take a bus back to Girona Airport (Barcelona) to get on the flight back to Treviso Airport (Venice). Get on ATVO bus from Treviso Airport to Piazzale Roma to the port where you get on Minoan Line’s bus-shuttle (grey Brusutti bus) and they will drive you to the sea port for your ferry to Greece. Get at the sea port and take off to Greece with Minoan Lines Ferry to Korfu-Igumenitsa-Patras. You will spend one night on the ferry and will get off the next day at the last stop – Patras. Buy your tickets online and in advance.

Ferry from Italy to Greece

GREECE

Day 8

Arrive in Patras and get on a bus to Athens. Hotel in Athens: Acropolis View Hotel (1 night)

The Acropolis in Greece

Day 9

Explore Acropolis in Athens in the morning. In the early afternoon, get on a taxi from the hotel in Acropolis to the port in Piraeus. It is about 20 min drive and costs no more than 15 Euro. From the port of Piraeus, get on Paleologos Travel high speed ferry to Myconos, which brings you there in about 4 hours. Hotel in Myconos: The Myconian K Hotels (1 night in Myconos). This hotel provides transportation on arrival and departure from/to the port/hotel, free of charge. Ask them for arrangements.

Santorini in Greece

Day 10

Get on a ferry to Paros and from there on ferry to Santorini Hotel: El Greco Hotel Apartments (2 nights)

Oia Town in Santorini
Santorini in Greece

After Santorini, my trip continued with a flight back to Athens, Greece and then another flight to my native Varna, Bulgaria for a 13-day stay. Later on, I got on a flight from Varna to Paris, where I had a chance to spend a night, go for a night walk and get on the Eiffel Tower. In the morning I took another short walk and had coffee and pastry at one of the Paris’ charming little coffee shops. Lastly, I got on my flight back to the US!

5 thoughts on “Italy, Spain and Greece: 10-Day Itinerary for First Time Visitors”

  1. Would you do anything differently? Most folks say not to do it All . Did you like your hotels and recommend? Rec ferry to Greece w so little time?

    1. Hi Sheryl, I apologize for missing your message! The only thing I would do differently – I would entirely skip visiting Barcelona, Spain, which would give an extra day in Italy or Greece, which were my favorite. Did you do that trip?

  2. What did you use for your research about where you wanted to go and the different methods of transportation? Also, how much did the whole trip cost you?

    1. Internet 🙂 About $2,000 for accommodation and transportation, without food included and without the air ticket from USA to Europe and back. Keep in mind that I took this trip in 2004, which is 16 years ago! Nowadays you can find better deals on accommodations with AirBnb, as well as air tickets deal.

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