maxi

A while ago I posted my May wedding & honeymoon itinerary which goes Rome-Pienza-Florence-Venice-Varenna over 21 nights.

I just got an update about the legal procedures and realized that we can go direct to Tuscany without going to Rome first. Therefore, I am tempted to replace Varenna with my original desired destination - the Amalfi Coast. Meanwhile, we are also thinking of having the ceremony in Montalcino.

I have drawn out the following itinerary and would like your comments and suggestions once again:

Fly into Florence;
Siena - 4 nights (1 day to day-trip to Florence; 1 day to go to town hall of Montalcino to present document);
Montalcino - 5 nights (including wedding day);
Venice - 5 nights;
Rome - 4 nights;
Positano - 5 nights;
Fly out of Naple.

maxi

A few clarifications:
Our wedding falls on a Wednesday but we have to present our document in the town hall the latest on Friday morning. In order to make sure that there is no delay, we would like to arrive in Tuscany on Wednesday (1 week before the wedding). If we combine the stay of Siena and Montalcino, we will have a total of 9 nights and we are afraid it's a bit too much for the area; thus we are breaking up our stay into two bases, hoping to see Florence without being too far away from Montalcino for the presentation of documents.

My questions:
1. What do you think about our breaking up of bases in Tuscany? Would Siena be a sensible base? (We want to stay in Florence but the drive to Montalcino for presentation of documents seems to be too long for a day trip). Any other suggestions for these first 9 nights of our trip? 1 or 2 bases? Where?
2. Any romantic accomodation near Montalcino? Our budget will be around 250 euros per night. We were looking at L'Olmo and La Saracina when we thought we would have our ceremony in Pienza.
3. Are our destinations too far from each other? How long does it take to go from Montalcino to Venice? We will not prefer to drive all the way. Where should we drop the car and pick up a train?

We have extended our total number of nights to 23 but that would be our maximum. If you have any other comments, please let me know.

Thanks.

OneWanderingJew

Hi Maxi,
I can't answer any of your questions but am topping this so those in the know can help out.

I was in Italy last June on my honeymoon---you will love it!

Congratulations!!

(I think you could easily spend more time in Florence than just a day trip and shave time off of Venice, but that's up to you.)

bobthenavigator

Maxi, before you lock into this itinerary just be sure you can feasibly fly into Florence and out from Naples to your home. So much depends on that logistic.

maxi

Thanks.

One Wandering Jew, where did you go for your honeymoon?

Bob, I have not confirmed my tickets yet but I have to in a few days, that's why I have to make up my mind now (I am paying a penalty for the tickets that are supposed to be used this December and eventually I cannot change them again).

I will be flying Air France, connecting in Paris. I assume Air France flies to all these major destinations in Italy.

bobthenavigator

You may be right, but I would check out connection since so much depends on that. I would consider staying either north or south for this trip. That would mean dropping either Venice or Amalfi. Your travel time to Venice and then back to Rome would consume about 10 hours total. For Montalcino, check out Vecchia Oliviera.

maxi

Bob, I will double check the connection.

I think fiance is into Venice (it's a dream for some years) and I am into Amalfi (partly because I have been to Venice). But the problem is that we both are willing to give up our own priorities but not the one of the other one. So, no one wants to cut the desire of the other.

Anyway, it seems easy to cut Venice, so that we can go to Rome and Amalfi after the wedding in Tuscany. But what if we want to keep Venice and cut Amalfi? We have 23 nights. Where do you suggest we go after our first 9 nights in Tuscany?

If we want to go straight to Montalcino upon arrival, should we fly into Florence or Pisa?

Any other thoughts?

maxi

Regarding accomodation, we are thinking of staying out of town, that's why we were looking at L'Olmo and La Saracina. Is there any place with that style near Montalcino?

maxi

ttt

maxi

We are now thinking of:

Fly into Florence;
Florence - 3 nights;
Pienza/Montalcino area - 6 nights;
Venice - 4 nights;
Rome - 4 nights;
Positano - 5 nights;
Fly home from Naples.

While in Florence, we would either rent a car for one day to go to Montalcino or hire a driver for that day. What are your thoughts between renting a car and hiring a driver for that particular day?

Is our itinerary really too rush and the destinations too far apart?

ira

Hi maxi,

While in the Pienza/Montalcino area for 6 nights, won't you have a car?

How about if you arrive Florence on Tuesday, leave in a rental car on Friday morning and drive to Montalcino to present documents (1 1/2 hr).

You can then drive to Venice and leave the car there before training to Rome and the AC.

You can also train to Salerno from Venice and take the ferry or bus to whichever town you will be staying in and end your trip in Rome.

shoegazer72

Maxi,
your trip sounds lovely! we were in Italy for our honeymoon last July, and had a similar itinerary in the Northern half.

we flew into Florence and rented a car. for travelling between smaller towns/cities in Tuscany you MUST rent a car..that's truly the only practical way to get around.
Florence to Montalcino is only about 2 hours, so that's not a problem for day-tripping. we stayed in Il Giglio in Montalcino (only 80 euros or so), and although it was very beautiful, the service was just so-so. Montalicino is breathtaking, and is a great base for day trips in Tuscany.

after visiting a number of Tuscan towns, we dropped the car off in Siena and took the train the rest of the trip (Cinque Terre, Florence, Venice). since you're spending so much time in Tuscany, use your rental car and make day trips to the other towns (San Gimignano, Montepulciano, Pienza, etc). you'll have plenty to do.

i would NOT recommend driving all the way from Tuscany to Venice. drop the car off in Siena or Florence and take the trains; it's definitely more relaxing, and not much more expensive considering petrol prices, rental, car insurance, etc.

we thought one day in Florence was fine..it's enough time to see most of the art, ponte veccio, etc. we didn't regret spending only a day there. personally i'd add more nights back on to Tuscany/Venice/Rome. also, keep in mind that travel between Tuscany to Venice and Venice to Rome is going to eat up the vast majority of a day each way.

have a great time! you'll love it!