greentree

I will be going on a honeymoon in early August to Italy and could use some assistance with the general itinerary of cities so I can plan my flights. Neither of us have been to Europe before, and we will have 10-14 days total for the trip including travel time to and from NYC. The total number of days will be mostly dependent on our budget.

I am most interested in the Amalfi coast, and I also plan to see Rome. I'm considering 2-3 nights in Rome and at least 5 nights on the Amalfi coast. We both enjoy sightseeing/ exploring cultural and historical sites, and having some time to relax on the beach/outdoors. I don't want an extremely rushed trip,but I feel like we have enough time to add in a third destination.

Would you recommend Florence as a third destination given our general timeline? Or would somewhere else fit in better? I'm also struggling with deciding the order of the cities, and where to fly in or out of. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

WoinParis

Honeymoon ?
Venice !
What else ?

kja

Happy Honeymoon!

2 or 3 nights is very little for Rome.

5 nights might or might not be enough for the Amalfi Coast -- do you also want to see Naples? Capri? Paestum? etc....

Depending on your interests, either Florence or Venice might work....

Fly into one city, out of another (aka "open jaw"). Decide whether you want to explore Rome at the start of your trip or the end. Some people like to visit big cities (like Rome) early and then relax later; in contrast, I find cities energizing and so am happy to visit them at the end of a trip. No right or wrong answers; just something to consider.

Use rome2rio.com as a preliminary guide to your transportation options. Be sure to confirm anything it suggests, as it isn't 100% accurate.

Get yourselves some good guidebooks, or consult them at your local library. You can learn things you never thought to ask!

Enjoy!

mikedallas23

Unless you're absolutely sure that Rome won't hold your attention for that long I would consider just making this a Rome + Amalfi trip. There is tons to do in Rome and you can always take a day trip or two to places like Orvieto, Ostia Antica, or Tivoli if you need a break from the big city.

annhig

I agree that you could have an absolutely wonderful time just by dividing your time equally between Rome and the Amalfi.

something to consider is the heat you might encounter in August in Italy, which could make moving around quite unpleasant; you might want to consider an itinerary which allows you to sight-see in the morning, have a long lunch, and then a nap, going out again in the early evening when it's cooler.

IMO that sort of itinerary lends itself best to longer stays in fewer places.

buzzcolin

I would suggest flying into Rome for 4 nights so you would have at least 3 days to explore, then travel down to the Amalfi Coast for about a week. So much to experience there, history, beautiful towns and of course the sea. It will be very hot so swimming will be a must. It would then be great to travel from there (say Salerno) via Bologna to Venice for the last few days. You could then fly out of Venice. Such a romantic city for a honeymoon. If you are worried about the budget on the Amalfi coast try self catering over a hotel, works out quite a bit cheaper. Also a small town like Maiori which is not as touristy but has a great beach and lots of restaurants would probably be cheaper than Positano. The bus transport is very good along the coast and will take you all along the coast. There is also the option of taking the ferry to the different towns. Hope you have a wonderful time.

ira

Hey GT,

I think that the most efficient, and least expensive, itinerary would be to Fly into Naples and transfer to the Amalfi Coast (we very much liked our stay at http://lesirene.com/ ), then take the bus to Sorrento and the train to Naples, from there take the train to Rome and fly home from there.

Best wishes.

ekc

IMO, you don't have enough time for a 3rd destination. Even if you have the full 12 days, one day will be spent getting to Italy and one day will be spent getting back to NYC. So that leaves you with 10 days, one of which is arrival day which generally is lost to logistics and jetlag. So you really only have 9 full days.

I would suggest the following:

Day 1: fly from NYC to Italy

Day 2: arrive in Naples, prearrange for a driver to take you from NAP to Positano (or wherever you decide to base on the AC - I always choose Positano). Check into hotel/apartment. Shower, change, wander town, eat, sleep.

Day 3: relax on the beach in Positano

Day 4: explore Amalfi and Ravello (via ferry)

Day 5: relax in Positano

Day 6: day trip to Capri.

Day 7: breakfast, pack, check out of hotel, take ferry to Salerno, then train to Rome, taxi to new hotel, check in, drop bags, late lunch, wander Rome, etc.

Days 8 & 9: Explore Rome

Day 10: day trip to Florence

Day 11: Explore Rome

Day 12: fly home

ekc

And book your hotel on the Amalfi Coast ASAP as August is the busiest month and many places book a year in advance.

denisea

i would split the time only between Rome and the Amalfi Coast. Both are beautiful, in different ways. We spent 9 nights in Rome and didn't see everything. We spent 6 nights in Positano, 3 in Conca dei Marini and 1 in Rome on a subsequent trip and could have stayed longer in any of those destinations. For your honeymoon, be sure you don't try to cram too much travel in and relax and enjoy.

StCirq

I agree that you should not add a third destination. It's a honeymoon and should be relaxing, and you're already going at the absolute hottest and most crowded time of year, so the sightseeing parts of your days could be grueling. You're going to find out pretty quickly that you'll need to rest/eat/drink every day from about noon to 4 pm, and that eats up a lot of time.

greentree

Thank you all! I appreciate all of your advice and will look into everything recommended.

Dayle

I would recommend choosing a town with boat service for the Amalfi Coast. You wont be able to even get on a bus in August so get around by boat. Much more enjoyable! Also, if day tripping to Capri be sure to have your hotel make your boat/ferry res in advance! The early departures sell out.

Agree with the advice not to add another destination. Both are easily worth a week each.

Buon viaggio

AJPeabody

Stick with only 2 locations, and don't make the error of buying a round trip to Rome. Weddings engender hectic pre-wedding times, so start with a low stress decompression in the Amalfi area. Fly into Naples, get car service to your hotel. What? It costs money? Yep, and it's your honeymoon so why not?

When you are done with the coastal relaxing and sights, go to Rome (car service to Naples, fast train to Rome, cab to hotel). Adding a third location will take an extra travel day out of your time, and cut further days for relaxing coast and busy city. Assuming you will have many further vacations to see more places, there is no need for a marathon of rushing around now.

And congratulations!