In June & July of 2019 we had the opportunity to take an extended trip to Europe. 

Sine the Mediterranean was an area of interest, especially Greece as Melissa had been there before while I was working in the UK for several weeks.

We decided to look at a Mediterranean cruise as that would allow us to visit a large number of countries and see some spectacular sites, and rest up (we had moved just 10 days before this trip) whew! 

Melissa was a little reluctant at first to do a cruise because we like to be a part of the location and culture and eat at local restaurants etc but in the end, we loved the experience. It gave us a chance to see so many places and still rest and now we know that we would like to return to some of them and stay longer. 

I would also like to point out that the cruise portion was an absolute steal. Booking it just a few weeks out allowed us to take advantage of a last minute fare on in a verandah stateroom and it was $3000 for both of us for a 12 day cruise. 

The Itinerary 

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Flight from Atlanta to London Heathrow

Flight from London Heathrow to Rome

A 12 Day Mediterranean Cruise onboard Holland American with stops: 

In Spain:Cartagena, Grenada (the Alhambra), Malaga from which we took a day trip to

Seville), and 2 days in Barcelona 

Gibraltar 

Nice and Marseille in France

Monaco

And Livorno in Italy,  from which you can visit Pisa, Tuscany or Florence (we chose Tuscany)

The cruise left from and returned to Rome Italy, 

We had one day before (always try to arrive a day early just in case there are delays) & 3 days after the cruise in Rome so we saw;

•  Colosseum & Roman Forum
•  Vatican and St Peters Basilica (we did the Early Morning Tour)
•   Trevi Fountain
•   Pantheon
•   Spanish Steps
• Catacombs & Appian Way

Then we picked a few locations in Italy that we wanted to spend some extra time in

•   Naples and Pompeii
• Amalfi Coast 

If we went again, we would stay in Sorrento to be closer to Pompeii and the Amalfi coast.  We used Starwood (now Marriott) hotel points in Naples so we opted to use those here. You can take a day trip from Naples to Capri though so if you plan to do that, staying in Naples might be more convenient.

We would also recommend going to Pompeii in the afternoon because the crowds cleared out.  A local train runs from Naples to Sorrento as well.

We downloaded and listened to the Rick Steves Pompeii tour on our own but a tour would allow you to ask questions as well. 

• We then flew to Santorini and stayed in a cave house

From there we took a Ferry to some of the other islands that are part of the Greek Cyclades

•   Milos
•   Sifnos 
•   Paros
•   AntiParos

Flew from Paros to Athens

In Athens we stayed at an AirBnB which was nice because we got an apartment downtown for the same rate as a hotel

In Athens we went to the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon and went to Mars Hill and the Acropolis Museum.  We just used the Rick Steve’s audio tour but a guided tour would be a great way to learn more.

Acropolis Tour

We also had to Melissinos Art, The Poet Sandalmaker that made sandals for Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Sophia loren, the Beatles, just to name a few and have custom sandals made. 

By this time we were approaching the end of our European tour and needed to make our way to London for the wedding.

Flight back to the UK for a friend's wedding and then culminating our trip visiting Bath & The Cotswalds. 

Packing for the Trip

We only took a backpack for the first part of the trip- this meant we would need to buy or rent clothes for the wedding.

If you want a printable copy of the packing list, get it here!  It really helped to have one bag each for all the travel that we were doing and getting on trains, planes and ferries. 

Since this trip was going to involve planes, trains, & automobiles (& a few ferries too), we decided to try and pack in one bag each that could be carried on flights.  Melissa had purchased this Ebag backpack a few years earlier and loved it so much that I had gotten one too.  They also make a similar one with wheels if that is a better option for you.  

How we Booked Everything 

Melissa is always about traveling economically so I can travel well but travel more!

• In addition to the cruise deal (by booking a last minute cruise we got 12 days on Holland America for $1500 each, not including tips).  We did not purchase a drink package because we were only on the ship all day for 2 of the 12 days so we just purchased them a la carte.
• We used SkyMiles for the flights from Atlanta to London, likely one of the biggest expenses for a trip. 
• Then we bought flights on local and smaller airlines from London to Rome, Naples to SanTorino, Milos to Athens and then Athens back to London. Traveling by air in Europe can be inexpensive but you do have to watch the carry on and checked bag fees. For this trip we used Kayak but have since learned that it is better to book flights directly with the airline in case there are delays or cancellations.
• We did use some Starwood hotel points (now Marriott) in Rome & Naples in save some money.
• We used Booking.com to fill in the gaps in hotels in Greece & the UK but overall we found accommodations in Greece to be inexpensive with Santorini being the most expensive.

What we didn’t realize is that the whole trip would end up being an overview of the Roman Empire and its vast ruins located all throughout Europe - eventually we were like look, more Roman Ruins! Starting with the ruins in Cartegena Spain and Culminating in the Roman baths in bath in the UK.