ramsi2024

Hello,

We plan to go on our Honeymoon to Italy in December, from Dec 22 to Jan 1. We have no idea of how to go about planning the itinerary, so would appreciate if people could lend us some advice.

Our budget is moderate, and we plan to shell out a maximum of 2500 Euros for the trip (apart from air fare). Firstly we would like to know if that is viable for a 10 day trip to Italy, and if so, would love suggestions on decent places which could accommodate us on such budget.

We heard that Sorrento is a beautiful place to spend on New Year's eve, so would like our itinerary to include that

Appreciate your response.

bvlenci

Rome has a pretty good New Year's Eve party. I wouldn't go to Sorrento at that time of year for New Year's Eve unless I were already in the neighborhood. And any coastal town is pretty much shut down for the season between October and Easter. If you're leaving Italy on the 1st, you'll want to be nearer to a major airport.

Are you planning to mostly stay in one place? Could you tell us something about your interests?

Your budget should be all right, but remember that moving around a lot has a big impact on expenses. Between Christmas and New Year's Day the hotel prices usually go up, because lots of Italians, and other Europeans, have a vacation that week.

On Christmas Day, transportation will be scanty, and almost all museums and archaelogical sites will be closed.

vincenzo32951

Re your budget: Simple math says you plan to spend 250 euros a day on hotel, food, transportation, etc. I think that's a tight squeeze for two people, but it is possible if you do some homework and lots of planning to stay under budget. And as a previous poster noted, moving around will increase your transportation costs and eat into the 250/day. Don't forget the costs to see some sites. Museums and places like the Colosseum aren't free. You'll really need to break down the costs as part of your planning. If it turns out you can only afford 8 days, then so be it, and adjust your plans.

That said, for 10 days, you probably want to look into staying in 2-3 sites in one section of Italy, to cut down on wasted travel time and minimize transport expenses. Don't try to see "all" of Italy in one trip. Sorrento, as noted, is kind of out-of-the-way and not the idea place in winter.

Maybe Rome and Florence, with a stop in between? Of course, that depends on your interests.

Rubicund

You have 10 days and a budget of €250 per day, which isn't a great deal for accommodation, food and transport. Most rural places will be closed and the seaside resorts, as bvlenci says, are virtually closed till Easter. Some may open for a couple of days over the Christmas/New Year period, but not many. The prices they will charge for this period if they are open would, I'd guess, move outside of your budget.

That leaves you with larger cities and you'll need to check hotel prices for your level of hotel. Try www.venere.com or www.booking.com

Time your destinations so that you're not moving hotels on Christmas Day or New Years Day.

sandralist

I absolutely would go to Sorrrento at that time of year to see the New Year's fireworks over the Bay of Naples, and it will be a lot cheaper than going to Rome for the same period, and likely to be warmer too.

If you don't mind staying in the city of Naples, you can get wonderful accommodations for very little money, and eat wonderful food, plus there a lots of interesting indoor things to see if it rains, and you can also take a day trip to Paestum -- or even Rome. But you might want to spend New Year's Eve itself in Sorrento, since it is a somewhat calmer scene than Naples (or Rome).

Trains in Italy are very good, so you could combine Venice + Naples/Sorrento, or Florence + Naples/Sorrento (and obviously Rome + Sorrento). But to get the best discounts for trains, you need to make your plans early and book in advance. You also need to book early because trains can get crowded at that time.

If you don't care about Christmas celebrations, it is a good day to travel between cities because museums and sights are closed.

sandralist

Here is some information about New Year's in Sorrento last year that you might find useful to give you an idea about whether you would like to go:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._Campania.html

One more tip:

Do a little planning about meals for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years's Eve if you are on a budget. You don't want to get caught with an expensive "holiday menu" when all you want is something to eat. You can easily find alternatives, but you need to look for them.

Like I said, if you do your train travel day on Christmas Day you can eat a picnic on the train (shops are open in the morning) -- or even eat in the train station (usually not recommended but there are actually some good spots in both the Rome and Naples train stations).

bvlenci

If they stay in Naples, New Year's Eve in Sorrento would make more sense. I wouldn't make a trip from Rome or points north for the occasion. On the other hand, one of the things that made me discourage the idea of New Year's Eve in Sorrento is that if they're leaving on the 1st, and the New Year's Eve celebration is over at 1 AM or later, they may have difficulty getting to the airport. If the 1st is just their last full day in Italy, this wouldn't be such a problem.

nochblad

Coming from Hyderabad it would be most sensible to fly in and out of Rome - presumably with one of the Gulf airlines (Emirates, Etihad or Qatar). You would have plenty of time to catch a train from Naples to connect with one of the Gulf airlines.

A hotel in Naples would probably be cheaper than Sorrento and the fireworks in Naples are CRAZY!

Many write as if Italy shuts down outside of the tourist season but strangely there are still a number of people who live in Italy and still want to go out to eat in restaurants etc!

Based on your budget I would consider the following:
- the fewer the locations the less the travel costs
- book your train fares as soon as possible especially the major trips such as Rome - Naples. Consider both Trenitalia and Italo (http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en and http://www.italotreno.it/?sc_lang=en) - Italo generally is cheaper.
- remember that Italy can be bitterly cold in this period.
- many hotels and restaurants have special menus for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. They can be quite expensive and may not suit your dietary requirements. Be prepared.
- although many museums charge there are so many sights to see which are free and memorable.

sandralist

People typically travel some distance for a big urban NYE celebration. People in Tuscany go to Rome for the celebrations, and from outside Venice into Venice. Maybe you wouldn't, but honeymooners might. It's not that difficult if that's how they want to spend NYE.

Perhaps when they first posted they didn't realize they would need to fly out of Napoli when they said they hoped to include Sorrento on NYE, unless they can get a very late afternoon flight out of Rome.

nochblad

sandralist - note that OP is from India so the fight timing should not be an issue.

also I find it strange that you suggest that people in Tuscany go to Rome. Outside Venice to Venice, outside Milan to Milan, outside Como to Como, outside Florence to Florence (to see the fireworks set off from Piazzale Michelangelo) but not from one region to another. Although I have always wanted to see the fireworks at Naples from the terrace of Grand Hotel Parker's

nytraveler

Agree that there are a couple of things you need to consider:

The weather - can be chilly and bright or can be quite cold and rainy - with snow possible esp for Rome and north, although not likely. Be sure you have proper clothing with a focus on broken-in waterproofed walking shoes or booties and layers, especially colder weather at night. (A friend of mine went to Venice at this time a couple of years ago and had cold rain 4 days and snow one night.)

Do make a list of your must see sights and which days/hours they are open. As well as the weekly closing day that many sights have quite a few places will be closed on the 25th and may close early on the 24th and 31st.

You budget is not generous so I wold start looking at hotels now so you have the best chance of getting any bargains that may be available, since as mentioned above a lot of locals travel at this time.

ramsi2024

Thank you all for the inputs. It looks like we are quite unprepared for the trip

We would like to visit 3-4 locations, and are looking to spend some quality time together in a cozy place.
Museums don't really interest us much, but would definitely like to get a glimpse of the major attractions in the places we visit.
We are not necessarily looking for big cities; a good room in a a small yet beautiful town should be perfect for us.

A couple of questions we have given the feedback is if cutting down on number of days will help us have a better trip? If so, how many days is ideal?

Also can you suggest with what would be an ideal budget which we can look into considering the stay and travel there for 10 days?

Please suggest if the following would be an ideal itinerary for a 10 day trip.

Hyderabad - Venice - Tuscany - Rome - Naples/Sorrento - Rome - Hyderabad.

If so, do suggest the ideal number of days to be spent at each location.

Thank you!

vincenzo32951

Three or four places in 10 days? Most people here would advise against that. Keep in mind that it takes time and money to get from one place to another, so multiple stops will decrease the time available for actually seeing places, as well as cutting into your budget. If eight days, go to two places.

There is no such thing as an "ideal" budget for 10 days. No one here can predict what you, personally, are willing to spend on hotels and meals. You are the only one who knows the answer. If, for instance, you're willing to eat a slice of pizza for a meal, your budget will be low. If you like to have a nice sit-down dinner, your budget will be higher.

One possible money saver you can look into is renting an apartment in each place, instead of staying in hotels. The per-night cost of a decent apartment is often less than a hotel. And you can save by preparing some meals yourself.

sandralist

ramsi2024,

My suggestion is that you have a heart-to-heart with your soon-to-be-spouse and decide between the two of you whether you want mostly small towns or will enjoy big cities. If you really want small towns, don't be afraid to skip the biggest tourist sights (although Venice feels like a small town, so that might work). Just pick small towns you don't need a car to get to. But if you go to big cities like Rome, bear in mind that seeing the big tourist attractions is very time consuming because they really are big.

nochblad,

I'm not sure I understand your comment, or maybe you didn't understand my post. I wrote that people from Tuscany go to (Rome) Lazio to celebrate New Year's, and when I say from "outside Venice" I was including Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the Emilia-Romagna.

sandralist

nochblad -- now I understand your comment. I disagree. I know Italians who have traveled from Tuscany or other regions to Rome for NYE, or people in Bologna who have gone to Venice. But my real point is not that people cross "borders" to celebrate, but just that they are willing to spend significant time traveling to get to a big NYE celebration. Some people really like them and think they are worth the effort.

nytraveler

Sorry - but you are simply trying to get to to many different places and will end up spending a lot of time just getting from one place to another.

One way to save time and money is either to fly open jaws - into the first city and out of the last - or to head right to Venice when you land - so you do;t have to stay in Rome twice.

As to what an ideal budget would be - that depend on how you want to live. What you have is a fairly modest budget. Suggest you check with some discount websites to see what hotels you can get for about 125 euros (cheap and cheerful) or so, keeping in mind that you want to be in historic centers of cities. If you want more upscale places you will need to significantly increase your budget. I'm assuming you're not looking for luxury or michelin* restaurants, which would be multiples of your budget.

ramsi2024

We've actually come across the following itinerary on Fodor's. Do you guys think this is viable for us given that we plan to travel by train?

http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/i...hern-italy-20/

nochblad

I would not recommend the route proposed for two major reasons - too little time spent in Rome and poor transport links between Naples - Bari - Alborobello - Lecce (this is why the route indicates travel other than by train).

My suggestion would be to fly into Rome and head immediately for Florence. Then head directly to Naples and on to Sorrento as your base both to cover Naples, Pompei and the Amalfi coast. Finally return to Rome.

3 bases and consider 3 full days in each. The total travelling time between each of the three bases would not exceed the equivalent of 1 day (roughly 2.30 from airport to Florence + 2.30 from Florence to Naples + roughly 1.00 from Naples to Rome - times are based on using Frecciarossa or Italo where available).

bvlenci

My daughter and her fiancé once went from Jesi to Rome for New Year's Eve. Since the train starts in Ancona, we expect it to be nearly empty still at Jesi, so they just went to the station rather than reserving a seat. However this happens to be the only time we've encountered a completely sold-out train. Obviously a lot of people crossed three regions to see a New Year's Eve celebration.

nochblad

sandralist/bvlenci - I agree that a few people do travel but I do not consider anywhere in Italy has a New Year's Eve celebration to rival say New York, London or Paris.

Daughters/sons with their fiancé will often travel on such occasions as it is a jolly good excuse to ..... Oh to be young again!