Honeymoon in Italy
Dec 2nd, 2011, 02:11 AM
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Honeymoon in Italy
My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon in Italy for May 2012. There is so much that we want to see and do and we also are trying to balance both of our interests (mine=culture, art, shopping, beach....his=hiking, mountains, scenery). We have a starter itenirary, but I'm not sure if we're trying to do too much. I'd also love suggestions on hotels too.
Fly into Rome
stay in Rome 2 nights
train / ferry to Amalfi Coast (I've heard we want to stay in Positano)
stay 4 nights in Positano
train to Florence
either rent a car and drive through Tuscany and stay in Tuscany
or stay in Florence and day trip to Tuscany and other towns
stay 2-3 nights in Tuscany area
train or drive to Lake Como area **Would love hotel suggestions with great views from rooms ***
stay 2 nights around Lake Como and visit the Alps (I've hear it's just a short ferry ride or drive to some beautiful towns at the base of the Alps).
We want to stay in nice places without spending $1000 a night!!! We're trying to decide between some boutique style hotels (I"m thinking some of the mom and pop hotels may give us special treatment...honeymoon suite...etc. since they are smaller) and some of the really luxurious ones.
Any thoughts will be sooooo helpful! Thanks everyone!
Fly into Rome
stay in Rome 2 nights
train / ferry to Amalfi Coast (I've heard we want to stay in Positano)
stay 4 nights in Positano
train to Florence
either rent a car and drive through Tuscany and stay in Tuscany
or stay in Florence and day trip to Tuscany and other towns
stay 2-3 nights in Tuscany area
train or drive to Lake Como area **Would love hotel suggestions with great views from rooms ***
stay 2 nights around Lake Como and visit the Alps (I've hear it's just a short ferry ride or drive to some beautiful towns at the base of the Alps).
We want to stay in nice places without spending $1000 a night!!! We're trying to decide between some boutique style hotels (I"m thinking some of the mom and pop hotels may give us special treatment...honeymoon suite...etc. since they are smaller) and some of the really luxurious ones.
Any thoughts will be sooooo helpful! Thanks everyone!
Dec 2nd, 2011, 02:31 AM
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First Congrats!
Go a lot last there last May headed there in April 2012.
www.betterbidding.com for cheap coolbig hotels
Usually do best in Big Cities bidding Priceline.com
Intercontinental.com Rome Ville and Hilton Molino Stuky Venice
for us last $180 or so Best Western Paistea Positano
Villa D'Ulivo www.bellagio.info www.hotelscombined.com
Boscolos are nice in Florence... Pitti Palace also last for us
seat61.com/italy we hop trains cheap low hassle city to city
www.eurocheapo.com good budget tips...
ricksteves.com good planning cheapoair.com
We just got free RT on AA.com by getting 2 AAdvantage CCs
80000 FF miles booked free 2012 flights with them.
They just went into Chapter 11 but still will honor
all ponts ond flights.. We save a lot this way.
Pare back for better experience maybe 4 days in 3 places
what we usually do... www.southernartgallery.com some
nice travelography to give you some ideas/cool photos.
of where we have been.
Happy Planning!
Go a lot last there last May headed there in April 2012.
www.betterbidding.com for cheap coolbig hotels
Usually do best in Big Cities bidding Priceline.com
Intercontinental.com Rome Ville and Hilton Molino Stuky Venice
for us last $180 or so Best Western Paistea Positano
Villa D'Ulivo www.bellagio.info www.hotelscombined.com
Boscolos are nice in Florence... Pitti Palace also last for us
seat61.com/italy we hop trains cheap low hassle city to city
www.eurocheapo.com good budget tips...
ricksteves.com good planning cheapoair.com
We just got free RT on AA.com by getting 2 AAdvantage CCs
80000 FF miles booked free 2012 flights with them.
They just went into Chapter 11 but still will honor
all ponts ond flights.. We save a lot this way.
Pare back for better experience maybe 4 days in 3 places
what we usually do... www.southernartgallery.com some
nice travelography to give you some ideas/cool photos.
of where we have been.
Happy Planning!
Dec 2nd, 2011, 03:19 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2003
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Most "mom and pop" hotels don;t have honeymoon suites. Most of their rooms are basic doubles with one double (not king or even queen) bed and not much room beyond that.
If you are looking for suites you had best prepare yourself for sticker shock - you wown;t get one in a top luxury hotel for $1000.
Luckily you are going in May - which is not yet the height of the season and you may still find some hotel bargains. But I think you need to decide what your realistic budget is and and if you are willing to spend what special rooms may cost.
Separately, IMHO you are trying to do way to much in too few days and will be rushing around - missing a lot of major sights and not having any time to relax. Also, you should know that the beaches on the Amalfi coaat are not very pleasant - most pebbles rather than sand, often in the town center next to fishing boats. Not at all what you might think if you are used to FL or the Carib (or even NY - where the beaches are much better.
If you are looking for suites you had best prepare yourself for sticker shock - you wown;t get one in a top luxury hotel for $1000.
Luckily you are going in May - which is not yet the height of the season and you may still find some hotel bargains. But I think you need to decide what your realistic budget is and and if you are willing to spend what special rooms may cost.
Separately, IMHO you are trying to do way to much in too few days and will be rushing around - missing a lot of major sights and not having any time to relax. Also, you should know that the beaches on the Amalfi coaat are not very pleasant - most pebbles rather than sand, often in the town center next to fishing boats. Not at all what you might think if you are used to FL or the Carib (or even NY - where the beaches are much better.
Dec 2nd, 2011, 03:38 AM
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Congratulations on your forthcoming marriage !
I also think you are trying to do too much, especially for your honeymoon. If you are anything like us you'll be exhausted after your wedding - we just slept for the first 3 days of our honeymoon !
It seems you have c.10 nights available ? Bear in mind that 2 nights in a place means only 1 full day, plus you need to factor in days travelling between locations. With 10 nights I'd stay in an absolute maximum of 3 locations. If going for 3 locations, I'd recommend a quiet realaxing place to start , a busy place in the middle and another quiet relaxing place to end. Do you have to fly to & from Rome ? If you can use other airports, can you book open jaw flights ? If so, given the places you've expressed interest in, I'd suggest something like
- fly to Naples
- get some combo of boat/bus/train to Amalfi Coast for 4 nights (Positano if that's where appeals to you - I prefer Amalfi and the Hotel Santa Caterina would be a fabulous place to start your honeymoon if you can afford it)
- get boat/bus/train to Rome OR Florence and stay there 3 nights, remembering that's only 2 full days (I prefer Rome but maybe it's a bit full on for your honeymoon and 3 nights is very short for Rome - you may prefer Florence which is much smaller with less traffic)
- get the train up to Lake Como & stay there 3 nights
- fly home from Milan.
Although personally with 10 nights I'd stick to 2 locations and would choose Amalfi and Venice for 5 nights each, flying between Naples & Venice.
I also think you are trying to do too much, especially for your honeymoon. If you are anything like us you'll be exhausted after your wedding - we just slept for the first 3 days of our honeymoon !
It seems you have c.10 nights available ? Bear in mind that 2 nights in a place means only 1 full day, plus you need to factor in days travelling between locations. With 10 nights I'd stay in an absolute maximum of 3 locations. If going for 3 locations, I'd recommend a quiet realaxing place to start , a busy place in the middle and another quiet relaxing place to end. Do you have to fly to & from Rome ? If you can use other airports, can you book open jaw flights ? If so, given the places you've expressed interest in, I'd suggest something like
- fly to Naples
- get some combo of boat/bus/train to Amalfi Coast for 4 nights (Positano if that's where appeals to you - I prefer Amalfi and the Hotel Santa Caterina would be a fabulous place to start your honeymoon if you can afford it)
- get boat/bus/train to Rome OR Florence and stay there 3 nights, remembering that's only 2 full days (I prefer Rome but maybe it's a bit full on for your honeymoon and 3 nights is very short for Rome - you may prefer Florence which is much smaller with less traffic)
- get the train up to Lake Como & stay there 3 nights
- fly home from Milan.
Although personally with 10 nights I'd stick to 2 locations and would choose Amalfi and Venice for 5 nights each, flying between Naples & Venice.
