2 Week Honeymoon-Sept 2016-Italy/Spain

Old Oct 6th, 2015, 08:41 AM
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2 Week Honeymoon-Sept 2016-Italy/Spain

We are in the early stages of trying to plan a honeymoon and we are thinking Europe might be the way to go for us. We are from the US so we have taken more all inclusive or beach vacations (Caribbean, Hawaii, Costa Rica etc..) in the past and we are looking to a change of pace. We are looking for a good mixture of adventure/excitement and relaxation as well as city life, quite countryside/vineyards and beach/water activity (boat tours or kayaking) areas. I have just started in doing some research and I was hoping to get some additional insight, suggestions and information.

A little about us...We love exploring new places! We enjoy shows, music, entertainment, sporting events (a premier futbol game is a MUST) and experiencing new cultures. We love dining outside and taking in the beauty of the place around us. We are not the couple that wants to hit monuments or be an a museums ALL day but we prob. would enjoy visiting a few (but it wouldnt ruin our trip if we missed them). I feel like there is some much history in everyday living in Europe. We also like finding places that are little holes in the wall...those always seem to be the BEST!

I have a friend that says Barcelona is very unique and so much fun (Its her favorite place!! She says its a MUST!) Madrid necessary to visit?!? I really want to take my fiance to a futbol game. He is a HUGE soccer fan. So I figured the Spain part of the trip would be more the upbeat, entertainment, music/dancing part of the trip and Italy would be more the relaxed romantic part. I really want to spend a few days in Tuscany (or somewhere else) - doing wine tours, cooking classes and just having more down time together and taking in the town/countryside. I have heard that Sardinia is Amazing. Capri/Amalfi Coast is a must see and its even better by boat. Is Florence a must see??

We know we have about 12-13 full days (taking into account travel time) in Europe and we do not want to feel rushed all the time but we do want to have different experiences and see multiple different places. What are you thoughts? Places to add? Places to cut? Should we just do Spain or Italy if you think travel between the two takes too long for the days we have? Weather normally nice in Mid-Sept?

*I have been to Rome and Venice. I would not go back to Rome for this trip - too much history and how can you not want to see all of it when you are there. Venice was one of the most unique and beautiful places I have ever been. I really loved it but I do not feel like I would 'have' to go back on this trip if it did not fit logistic wise.

Thanks so much in advance for you help/suggestions!!! I have never done a forum before so I hope I gave enough information!
Lilmot24 is offline  
Old Oct 6th, 2015, 09:06 AM
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Well first, a couple of questions:

What time of year will your honeymoon be?

Are you limited to 12/13 days - and if so how many will you actually have on the ground (do not count the day you depart the US, the day you arrive or the day you depart europe). This will help determine how many places you can visit. For me 3 cities/places would be the max I would do in that time and still have a relaxed trip.
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Old Oct 6th, 2015, 09:23 AM
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We will most likely be leaving Sunday, Sept 18th coming back Oct 1st. So I was thinking that would be approx. 12 days 'on the ground' in Europe.

Thank you for the feedback. I was curious if trying to do Spain and Italy might be too ambitious for a 12 day trip while still relaxing and enjoying our honeymoon.
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Old Oct 6th, 2015, 10:27 AM
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September is a nice time of year for this! With 12-13 days (13-14 nights), I think you could easily put together a nice Italian honeymoon with Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast as new places, and revisit Venice which you loved. Adding Spain just means instead of a train ride, you'll spend a bit more time flying between countries, so if you are comfortable with that then it's doable.

ITALY ONLY
From the US, you'd want to look for an overnight flight on Saturday if you could to get the extra day, into Venice OR Rome or Naples and start with the Venice or Amalfi Coast. Using those two areas as the end points means you can move in more or less a straight line. Here’s what it looks like starting with Venice, but you can flip the whole thing round as well:

Sat Sept 17 -fly overnight to Venice
Sun Sept 18 : Venice
Mon Sept 19: Venice
Tues Sept 20: Venice
Wed Sept 21: to Tuscany (train to Florence, train/bus/car to your final destination)
Thurs Sept 22: Tuscany
Fri Sept 23: Tuscany
Sat Sept 24: Tuscany
Sun Sept 25: Tuscany
Mon Sept 26: to Amalfi Coast (train to Naples, train/bus/car to your final destination)
Tues Sept 27: Amalfi Coast
Wed Sept 28: Amalfi Coast
Thurs Sept 29: Amalfi Coast
Fri Sept 30: Amalfi Coast to Naples/Rome
Sat Oct 1: fly home

This gives you 3 nights Venice, 5 nights Tuscany, 5 nights Amalfi Coast: I put the most time in the new places. If you can find an extra night (maybe by flying overnight on Fri Sept 16 and landing Sat Sept 17, or by staying Sat Oct 1 and then flying back on Sun Oct 2), you could add wherever you like: having 6 nights in Tuscany or the Amalfi Coast might allow to try splitting your time between city and more country i.e Florence and countryside outside Florence or Siena and Val d’Orcia or Naples and Positano/Amalfi. Although if you don't care much for museums, Florence is likely not a must see for your interests, so maybe stick will Siena and Val d'Orcia here.

For the soccer, I’d think your best bet is to allow for some time in Naples, only problem is the fixtures for 2016 won’t be live until next summer, so you won’t know if Napoli is playing home or away the weekend you are there.

SPAIN + ITALY
If you wanted to add Spain, I’d suggest picking Barcelona or Madrid, not both, and keep Tuscany and Amalfi Coast in since those seem to be your most important areas, and keeps a good split between urban/country/coast. Both cities offer great professional soccer, and if you plan for a weekend (most La Liga games are played on Sunday, a few on Saturday, you can check this year’s schedule as a guide), you are likely to be able to see a match in either city since two teams play in each (Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano in Madrid, Espanyol and Barcelona in Barcelona), and usually one team is at home while the other is away.

That might look like (and you can swap these portions around, but if you prefer nonstop flights to/from US, flying into and out of Rome and Madrid/Barcelona will be easiest and quickest):

Sat Sept 17 -fly overnight to Barcelona/Madrid
Sun Sept 18 : Barcelona/Madrid
Mon Sept 19: Barcelona/Madrid
Tues Sept 20: Barcelona/Madrid
Wed Sept 21: Barcelona/Madrid
Thurs Sept 22: fly to Pisa or Rome, to final destination in Tuscany
Fri Sept 23: Tuscany
Sat Sept 24: Tuscany
Sun Sept 25: Tuscany
Mon Sept 26: to Amalfi Coast (train to Naples, train/bus/car to your final destination)
Tues Sept 27: Amalfi Coast
Wed Sept 28: Amalfi Coast
Thurs Sept 29: Amalfi Coast
Fri Sept 30: Amalfi Coast to Naples/Rome
Sat Oct 1: fly home

You’ll want to check schedules from Barcelona and Madrid to Pisa, Rome, and Naples to figure out your best flight connections between Spain and Italy: Rome is going to have more routes/airlines/higher frequency, but depending on the day you could find a nonstop from Spain to Pisa or Naples Italy (or vice versa) on Vueling, Meridiana, Iberia or Ryanair.
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Old Oct 6th, 2015, 11:37 AM
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INSPIREDEXPLORER - Thank you SO very much for your help!! I really appreciate your response and time - Thank you.

We are getting married Friday the 16th so the idea of a Sat. night flight would be GREAT! We have the extra day to spend, we just did not want to wake up the morning after our wedding and be at the airport first thing and traveling. An evening flight would be perfect. Yes, I think the soccer schedule might be a little tricky but I was thinking we would have better luck seeing a game in Spain (even though I think Milan would be a possibility as well depending on what we picked in Italy). It seemed like they had quite a few games to this season is Sept. so fingers crossed on their schedules. So do you think with both options you listed Venice, Tuscany and Amalfi or Barcelona/Madrid, Tuscany and Amalfi sound like a good mix? Would you suggest other cities or parts of the country over those?? We are really just starting to dig into things so if you have other suggestions we would love to hear them!
Thanks again!!
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Old Oct 8th, 2015, 09:50 AM
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I much prefer Spain to Italy. I find the overall culture and cities like Madrid, Granada, Seville, Barcelona, San Sebastian etc. to be so much more interesting. Having said that, and since this is a honeymoon I must say I found Capri and Positano to be incredibly romantic places. Pompeii is a mindblowing place. Other than that 6 nights on the Amalfi coast is a lot for me. The best soccer team in the world is in Barcelona and if you could get tickets that would be an unforgettable experience too.
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Old Oct 8th, 2015, 09:51 AM
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I much prefer Spain to Italy. I find the overall culture and cities like Madrid, Granada, Seville, Barcelona, San Sebastian etc. to be so much more interesting. Having said that, and since this is a honeymoon I must say I found Capri and Positano to be incredibly romantic places. Pompeii is a mindblowing place. Other than that 6 nights on the Amalfi coast is a lot for me. The best soccer team in the world is in Barcelona and if you could get tickets that would be an unforgettable experience too.
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Old Oct 8th, 2015, 10:24 AM
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Tuscany is a perfect area for wine-tasting and cooking classes and some of the most amazing views. I would recommend doing day trips to San Gimignano, Montepulciano, and even Florence. The Amalfi Coast is unlike anything you've ever seen and would be perfect for a honeymoon. Positano is definitely one of the most romantic spots and worth the splurge for a few nights. You can do day trips to Capri and Sorrento from there as well which are must sees in my opinion!
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Old Oct 8th, 2015, 10:31 PM
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<We enjoy shows, music, entertainment, sporting events (a premier futbol game is a MUST) and experiencing new cultures>

The world's greatest and most prestigious flamenco festival goes on in Sevilla every two years in September. Next Bienal de Flamenco is September 2016. The greatest flamenco artists in the world in theaters all around Sevilla for some 25 days. Mostly a local and knowledgeable crowd, and a night at the Bienal could easily be a highlight of your trip. http://www.labienal.com/en/

Sevilla is the undisputed queen of the cities in the south of Spain/Andalucia. http://www.exploreseville.com/

When it comes to soccer, the Spanish La Liga is as you prpbably know the best in the world.
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Old Oct 8th, 2015, 11:57 PM
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I'd look at Venice, Tuscany, Barcelona and possibly Seville,

Florence has some great buildings and the birth place of the modern world, but since it is not really your thing, I'd drop it out and head to the Tuscan hills rather than the valley. I suggest Siena to get the heady rush and there will be a little cookery school on a hillside near there just for you.

Venice is Unique, Barcelona is just nice but certainly worth a bit of honeymoon. Seville (and Cordoba by train for a day) would be wonderful

However mid Sept is getting late for beach larks. So plan in heated pools (roof top perhaps) in Barcelona if nowhere else.

Football (as it is spoken in English), or futbol in Spanish "calcio" in Italian??, you have some great choices, you can tour the Barcelona stadium during the week as well as go for a match. Lots of time before you book up and you could even arrange a "box" if you want the whole dining and champagne thing.

Use trains for some of the transfers seat61.com gives good train and then it is cheapo airlines between the countries
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Old Oct 9th, 2015, 01:09 AM
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All September is usually very much beach time in Barcelona and along the rest of the Med coast. Statistics says air temperatures in high 70s and sea temperatures at 74-76F in mid/late September in Barcelona: http://www.seatemperature.org/europe...-september.htm

Could give you tons of good Barcelona honeymoon tips if you decide to go here. Have traveled intensively in most parts of Spain for some thirty years, and no city has grown so much on me the past ten years as Barcelona.

And these are all artists you can expect to see during the Bienal in Sevilla: https://vimeo.com/122653005
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Old Oct 9th, 2015, 01:24 AM
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kimhe, I love the beaches near Barcelona but the OP is going to be there at the end of Sept and they are used to warmer climates, are you sure it will be ok?

I've only been there once in Sept and it was more long trousers and long shirt sort of weather but I know you know the place better than me.
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Old Oct 9th, 2015, 01:32 AM
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<the OP is going to be there at the end of Sept and they are used to warmer climates, are you sure it will be ok? >

Of course no guarantees, but statistics for last two weeks of September in Barcelona says average highs 75-79F, rainfall 3 out of 16 days and average 7 hours sun pr day. http://www.wetteronline.de/reiseplaner/Barcelona

Sea temperature statistics for the same is 73-75F.
http://www.seatemperature.org/europe...-september.htm
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