seippsd

My fiance and I have never been to Italy and I have been doing a lot of research but everything seems so amazing it's hard to narrow down destinations. We have 12 days and would mostly we using train but can rent a car too (which we would do if we go to Tuscany area). I think it would be great do some things that aren't just typical tourist spots so we can be included in the culture. I heard Cinque Terre is overrun with tourists now for example but I'm hoping that in October it would be less crowded in general.

If we want to either go norther Italy including Cinque Terre or go south and do Amalfi coast area plus Capri but having trouble deciding which would be better. Other places we talked about going (ALL over the map):
-Bologna (finace is big foodie - wanted to do a cooking class or food tour and train seems to go through there anyway)
-Florence/Tuscany (could choose another wine region - obviously heard of the one the most)
-Perugia for a Chocolate festival starting Oct 14 when we will be in Italy (fun to go to?)
-Venice
-Rome (probably skip b/c won't have time to really do it right)
-Mt. Etna and Taormina
-Lake Como or Lake Garda

We are adventurous, athletic, and love the outdoors and nature (want to have at least one good hike on the trip), fiance is probably mostly excited about the food and he loves to cook, we both love good wine, beer and music. We are big soccer fans (sorry Europeans...futbol) but schedules are not out yet so we hoping to get lucky. It doesn't matter what team really we just want the experience!

Any suggestions for how to narrow down an itinerary? What places are we missing based on our interests? I'm so excited because I know no matter what we can't go wrong but certainly could use some advice.

yorkshire

Based on everything you described in your thoughtful post, including time of year, I think you should focus on Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Umbria. I don't necessarily mean visiting all three in your 12 days, but narrow down from there. Those are not areas I have visited, but if you need further input on hiking, that is something i always seek out. The Italian national park websites are usually helpful.
Though I have certainly had some scattered, hopscotching trips that were fantastic, especially on a honeymoon, it is great to minimize travel time and narrow in on a small area. For example, here is how I would group your other options with 12 days:
Sicily only (or possibly also Campania)
Venice-Emilia Romagna-Lakes
Something like the chocolate festival could be great fun!
You already know you can't go wrong, now just pick one small area and really do it up right. Sandralist, a fodorite living in Italy, will probably have some great suggestions for festivals and such.
congrats and enjoy.

sundriedtopepo

Just a few thoughts...the food and wine in Perugia is very good in October...truffles and porcini mushrooms...and very good value.

Food...do you prefer seafood or meat choices? If it's seafood, you can do a cooking class on the Amalfi coast. There are also opportunities for hiking on the Amalfi.

In October, it will still be busy in the Cinque Terre, and there is the chance of rain and the trails being closed.
Buy there are beautiful places to stay nearby the Cinque Terre easily reached by train, which I'm sure Sandralist will help you out with.

Jean

We always travel in October and usually in the second half of the month. Bad weather can happen any time of year, but we've had lovely weather in late October in both the north and the south of Italy, so I wouldn't choose based on weather.

I wouldn't choose based on tourist crowds because October is a very popular month everywhere. Any town during a big festival especially will be crowded.

Lastly, I wouldn't choose based on hiking options. One of the lakes, the Cinque Terre and/or the Amalfi Coast are your best bets, but trails can be closed or unadvisable if there have been recent rains even if the weather is nice when you're there.

I agree with Yorkshire's suggestion of picking "one small area." A lot depends on your flight options. Depending on where you live, Venice, Florence and Naples may involve connections and not be convenient to fly into or out of, esp. in a trip that isn't very long. If you'll have to make connections no matter what, check out smaller airports closer to where you want to explore... Bologna and Verona, for example.

seippsd

Thank you for the tips! That's a great point about rain potentially being an issue so I shouldn't plan on a certain area just for a hike (unless there were other things I really wanted to see). Hard for me to be choosy about too many tourists in an area since I am one of them!

We like all kinds of food and it looks like there are cooking classes or organized tours all over. We thought doing a truffle hunt would be fun too.

Picking a small area is definitely best bet so we can actually enjoy honeymoon and relax a bit but hard to pick! My fiance would be fist to tell you that I love activities and am not great at "down time" which is why a beach honeymoon wasn't a great fit for us like most of my friends have done. I like to explore too much and find adventures! Knowing this about myself though I'm going to try to not overdo it so our honeymoon isn't chaos of travel (not to mention adding expenses).

yorkshire

You can still fill your days with activities--but by not spending so much time on planes or trains, you can more fully explore one region. I am always amazed just how many tiny spots of interest there are within a few square miles in Italy!