3 Week Italy Honeymoon
 

Hi Everyone! I'm planning my future husband and I's honeymoon in Italy for 3 weeks. I've been to Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice, and Sorrento) and it will be my fiancé's first time! I'm trying to hit a lot of places but still not have it too packed of an agenda.

Places we can't miss:

• Positano - I've never been, we're eloping in Positano so the first 4 days of the trip is here
• Tuscany - I went to Florence on my last trip but want to venture more into the countryside and more particularly stay at Lupaia
• Venice - my fiancé really really wants to see Venice, i'm sure we can do Venice in 2-3 days.

Places we want to include:

• Rome - I Love Rome and my fiancé would like to see the colosseum, Vatican, etc.
• Florence - I loved Florence but am willing to skip out on it if we can add in something new!
• Cinque Terre - I've never been and my fiancé would love!

Is this likely going to be too much for 3 weeks? Does anyone have any recommendations

Think of it in terms of number of nights. Does the three weeks include travel time? How many nights do you actually have in Italy? Then figure out your route to avoid backtracking. Positano, Rome, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Venice. Do open-jaw flight, into Naples and out of Venice.

When are you going? Cinque Terre isn't good at all times of the year due to weather, and when the weather is good in the summer, it will be mobbed.

I am obsessive compulsive, annoying and extremely detailed in planning my trips. What are the must see's in every place. In your case plan the trip south to north as Positano is your first and must start point. Get a map and plot it out, use rome2rio.com to get rough idea of train times (careful with weekends and holidays), check Italian holidays and go from there. Florence for the most part to me is really horrible for when sites are open/closed so that is a critical piece as well if want to see certain things there.

Welcome to Fodors. We removed the Trip Report tag

When?
There is so many amazing places see in the Naples/Amalfi Coast area, I would spend more time there are really explore and see things: Pompeii, Herculaneum (very, very different from Pompeii and quite beautiful), Naples, Capri, Amalfi, Paestum, Ravelo, Path of the Gods, etc.

Rushed visits to Venice are often disappointing to people. When it is crowded, it is hard to appreciate and it becomes just a place on their list to check off.
To grasp the beauty of Venice, you need to not just take a quick look-see, but to experience it: the quiet nights with no sound of traffic, the peace and beauty inside some of the most beautiful churches in the world and hear music played in the space for which it was written. Travel to the smaller islands in the Lagoon. Tour the Ghetto. Take a vaporetto down the Grand Canal late at night and see the lights inside palazzi along the canal. Let the unreal magic of Venice seep into your soul.

With the glorious Amalfi Coast, Rome and Venice, you also want a bit of Tuscany. Since you will already have time on one coastal area, do you really want to rush to another (the CT) which takes a good bit of travel time? You will need to cut something else to go to the CT. What would that be?

I agree with Sassafras. I would skip the Cinque Terre on this trip. You're starting your trip in one of the most beautiful coastal areas in Italy. The Cinque Terre is very different, but no more beautiful. In fact, I prefer the Amalfi coast. It probably gets just as many, or more, tourists, but they're not crowded into such tiny towns. And, as Sassafras said, it takes a long time to get to the Cinque Terre from any of the other places on your itinerary.

Are you planning to rent a car for your Tuscany stay? It's not easy to get around in that area without a car. The rest of your planned itinerary is very easily done by train (and bus or taxi).

Agree. Personally, I find the Amalfi Coast much more beautiful than the CT.

And I'm another person who really loves Venice, but nowadays I stay for at least a week when I visit. I think it can take time to get away from crowds and unwind there.

Yes, this is a great idea! We're flying into Naples and flying out of Venice in October of this year!

Thank you everyone, this was my first fodors post so still figuring out how to reply correctly! Appreciate the feedback. We're going in the middle of October this year. Maybe we will skip Cinque Terre this trip and hopefully venture back another time. For the Tuscany stay, I read we should really rent a car but we're nervous about driving in Italy! We'll take trains between the rest of the locations.

Your chances of good weather are a bit iffy in October, another reason to skip the Cinque Terre. The Amalfi coast is further south, so it should at least be somewhat warmer there. No guarantees, though.

Yes, fingers crossed! We're hoping it's still good. I have a friend who was in Amalfi last October and the weather was still quite warm but I heard this year the weather is a lot more unpredictable.

Thank you for this! I think we will remove Cinque Terre from the itinerary and keep it to Positano -> Rome -> Tuscany -> Florence -> Venice. Do you think that would be more reasonable?

Positano 4 nights
Rome 4 nights
Tuscany (Lupaia) 4 nights
Florence 3 nights
Venice 3 nights

This latest itinerary is a good minimum number of nights in each place. If you wanted something a little more leisurely for a honeymoon, and since Florence is the one you originally said you could skip (even though it's great), you could add those nights to Rome, Tuscany and Positano (not that more time in Venice would be a bad thing 😀 ).
It's good to see an itinerary without a bunch of two-night stays!

Just an opinion, if you really are a Compulsive Obsessive and on the disorder spectrum you may find the north of Italy a little easier than the south. I suggest you may need to chill a little "ce sera sera" as Doris Day said

Since you have 4 nights in Tuscany, unless you have an interest in Art, and considering all there is do and see in Rome and on the A.C, you might want only two nights in Florence and add a night to Rome or the AC. However, anything you choose will be wonderful.

Good point! Do you think 4 nights in Tuscany would be too much or just the right amount of relaxation time? Yes, we aren't super into Art but always like to see the really well known stuff so David, Birth of Venus, etc. are on our list. I was worried we would run out of things to do on Amalfi Coast, but know that Rome could easily be 5 days or more.

You will not run out of things to do anywhere. Four days in Tuscany is not too much. Glad you plan on seeing Birth of Venus. It is absolutely beautiful! Based on your mention of that, you are at least aware so would likely find plenty to do in Florence. There is actually a lot on the AC, though places like Pompeii are not as easy from Positano. Herculaneum is also very interesting. If you go into Naples, do see the sculpture of the Veiled Christ. I forget the name of the chapel where it is located, but you will never forget it!

'I was worried we would run out of things to do on Amalfi Coast'
Impossible.
Minori (VG base), Cetara, Scala, Ravello, Atrani, Ischia, Procida, Herculaneum.
And more.
I am done. the just-retuened

I think you were responding to me and the OP.

Yes, rent a car once you leave the AC. Your possibilities are wide open then, especially since you'll be traveling through Tuscany. Familiarize yourselves with the rules of the road, how to read signage etc and you'll be fine. I've driven all over and it's been very enjoyable. One of you should be the navigator - it helps a lot. :)

Sorry to disagree with the above, but do not rent a car until you leave Rome or Florence, depending on your final itinerary. Traffic around Naples can be a mess. You don’t have time for wandering between the AC and Rome. You for sure do not want a car in Rome!!

We're probably going to drive only in Tuscany during the Lupaia portion. Just trying to determine if we should drive to Lupaia from Chiusi-Chianciano-Terme (we'd take the train from Rome to here) or from Florence given it's between the two locations. After being in Rome last time i'd probably not feel comfortable driving.

I apologize for my lack of clarity. I would not recommend having a car while in Rome, I was referring to picking up in or leaving out of. Same for Florence. There's no need for one while staying in either. I was more referring to driving through and around Tuscany.

Small point on grammar: There is no such thing as I's. Simply say 'planning for my honeymoon' and we will assume you are not leaving your freshly minted spouse at home. Even though that would save on expenses.

Siena is one of my favorite places in Europe. I like it better than Florence, and it would be completely new for the both of you.

Shelemm, we've been cleaning out my late mother's house and in her hobby room we found various items from her many travels.
She had 5 or 6 old maps of Sienna plus a bevy of business cards plus pamphlets. She was a professional artist. Apparently once in Sienna, she traded one of her sketches for a free lunch.

OP BL, there are many things to do along the Amalfi coast, especially if one eschews the most touristy 'Insta' centers of commerciality.
I am done. the end

LOL! Thank you for the correction! Been a while since my last english class :lol: Last time I went to Florence, I saw the cathedral in Siena and went to San Gimignano, it was so beautiful!