dutyfree

Sorry Janisj but there are quite a few things in Rome closed in August(stores and restaurants) along with the horrible heat and humidity. I fly there almost everyweek for work and tomorrow is my last trip there till September as the misery just isn't worth it.If I was going to Europe for 3 weeks in August, I would concentrate more on northern Europe.

rex

I stand by my opinion that it's a poor welcome, and not much advice (four words, with no explanation as to how, or why you recommend omitting destinations they really desire).

Suggesting that a newcomer is a troll, on the <i><u>first</u></i> reply - - <b>is</b> the welcome mat you put out... for &quot;the rest of us&quot;.

janisj

rex: get over it. Your are usually the <u>very</u> first person to jump on a newbie for not posting clearly. eurpoa didn't do anything horrible.

dutyfree: You are right I know many shops/restaurants are closed - but the tourist attractions are all open. I said that because sometimes when we mention things are closed in Italy in August some think that means they can't see/tour any sites. August definitely would not be my choice either - but closings are not a main reason -- the nasty weather is.

rex

I do not &quot;jump on&quot; any newcomer for the use of a message header like &quot;Help&quot;. I explain the purpose ofthe message header, and offer the constructive advice to re-post. As do you, nowadays, almost as frequently as I.

Throwing out the suggestion that a newcomer is a troll impunes their motives. Pointing out how a newcomer can help themselves, and every one else who visits this board... is not.

suze

hey guys, back to the honeymoon...

beph03- Are you set on Spain? Southern Italy? Because the comments about summer in a city are certainly valid. Would you have interest in an itinerary like Amsterdam, Prague, Paris, Venice (ok I know Venice is hot but I love the place and would definitely want to include it on my honeymoon)?

You can buy train tickets point-to-point after you arrive. Booking a few days ahead of travel at the train station.

LLindaC

First, you are a genius to do honeymoon well after wedding. I don't know why everyone doesn't do that. I agree about the heat issue. Many places are not air conditioned in Europe. We had a heat wave in Lugano in June 05 and at 94, it's not fun. My favorite country is Switzerland where you get a taste of Germany, France and Italy in one country with no transportation problems. Trains are perfect. But since you didn't mention it...how about flying to London for a couple days, take the channel crossing to France and do France by train. Be sure to include some romantic stops in small villages as well as big cities to get a feel for the country. Maybe train from France to Spain? Honestly, you'll have a much better trip by trying to see more of one or two places at a relaxed pace than trying to do too much. Start saving for another trip in a couple years! Make a vow to save Xmas, birthday, etc present money for travel. Do it while you can!

Big_Red

Beph,

I think you should get your air tickets as Step 1. Step 2 is a list of cities and towns to stay in.

Because of your unique circumstances (school year and DH job change) some compromises will have to be made.

Now the weather. Rome's weather is similar to Atlanta. Looking at sights during mid-day will be phyically draining. The Lakes region of Italy might be nice to add to your itinerary.
You might consider going into the Alps and Switzerland. Have you ever thought about the Rhine River Valley in Germany.
Normandy and the D-Day beaches or whatever.

Book the airfare, write a list of cities, write a list of small towns, historical sights, spots of natural beauty. Check to see what has rail service. Start working on room reservations. You will not have your first choice of rooms, you will have to pay a little more than you might like.
You will have to work hard and efficiently but it will be great trip.

Good luck.

GSteed

How about a bike tour? Rent a car and tour the Rhine or Danube. Poland offers canoe or kayak trips in the Mazurian Lakes area. Stay out of the superheated cities. Best choice may be a visit to Switzerland.

kswl

Scandinavia! You can easily work in a visit to Gdynia and Kiel!

SuzieC

How about ease, comfort and romance...
London, Paris Rome. Plan a week in each with side trips out ...

parisnow

Sorry if I am repeating anything but I am short on time so skimmed the comments:

1. August is also vacation time for most Europeans. Beware alot of businesses (family run)will be closed. You may not get the real feel of the town or city. The beach cities (Nice, Sorrento, ect.) will be crowded with people.

Now time for me to get SLAMMED!!! (Many Froderites hate tours, and this post will set off a few dozen anti-tour responses)

2. With such little time to plan, and if you really want to see alot of Europe in three weeks perhaps you should look into a tour company. Contiki, Trafalger, Globus have 35 and under tours that are moderately priced. A former tenant of mine did this for 3 weeks (knowing it would be first and possibly only trip to Europe) and loved it. She went with Contiki and said the activities were organized more for this age group, like wine/cheese picnic.

I am a do it yourself traveler but have also taken tours. There are drawbacks and benefits to both. I loved my Trafalger tour in Italy. Made friends for life and had a great time. If I am only seeing a few cities or one country, I do it myself. Rail pass and go. But when I travel to multiple countries or with my mother I take a tour. No lugging of luggage all over the place.

3. If a organized tour is too structured for you, then look into websites like &quot;Gate One travel&quot;. They offer land only packages for multiple cities. Your transportation and hotels are already booked leaving more time to plan for things you want to do or see.

4. If want to be completely do it yourself, then I recommend you pick the three most appealing cities to you and your husband. Schedule a week in each city thus allowing you to either get a rail pass or rent a car for a few days to venture out to other places. Example base yourself in Florence and take a day trip to Rome and then one to Venice, also allowing time to see small towns in Tuscany like Sienna. You will hate your trip if you are constantly moving and wasting time (unless on a tour where they do it for you) hauling luggage all over and checking in and out of hotels.

parisnow

Forgot to mention, small train trips can be booked the same day allowing you to be flexible with itinerary. But I would book major travel from city to city in advance. I made the mistake not to book until day of during a major French Holiday and was a nightmare. Since this is vacation time also for alot of Europeans, the trains may book up.

suze

I'm not anti-tour group, but it's not the method I'd pick because this is a *honeymoon*. I'd think seeing a few less places but having more privacy and freedom of schedule would be important. Who wants to get up at 6am and get on a tour bus with a bunch of strangers on your honeymoon?

parisnow

Good point about the honeymoon/tour, I was concentrating more on the time frame she left herself to plan a three week trip.

janisj

all this great advice may be going for naught - I'm still not convinced she can just pick up the phone and get ff tickets to London or Rome or Paris or much of anywhere for four weeks from now . . . . .

Lucky girl if she can!

Or are they maybe not ff tix but something else??

beph03

Wow, lots of great advice...thanks to everyone! I am going to sit my hubby down and we will book our tickets to and from before the night is over. I think it would be a good idea to stay in Northern Europe because of the heat...possibly fly into Northern Italy and work our way from there...I have heard horror stories about the heat in Rome during the summer. When Tim get's home I am going to have him read everything on the posting and we will get to work!!!

suze

If you can be flexible about airports might help in the attempt for free tickets (use Milan to get to Venice for example, it's only ~3 hrs away by train).

Kathryncee

Hi again- wow, you got lot's of info! I'll give you my itin from last June which was a bit hectic as we only had 2 weeks not 3... but worth it as we saw alot!

-3 days Rome
-Train to Sorrento/Capri area- alot of beautiful scenary.. Capri is definatly worth a day trip (ferry from Sorrento) and Pompei is there too!
- Palermo, Sicily- this was a GREAT trip but I woudl have probably saved it for another time. Had to fly there (there is an overnight ferry!)Very historical, nice city, very &quot;authentic&quot;

- Fly to Pisa- 1/2 day in Pisa and then train to Florence.
-2 Days in Florence (I'm not into museums or art so did not spend more time there but based on what your interests are you would probably love it)
-Venice 2 days- you could extend this longer.......
-Bologna- 1 day, very town, great food, historical.. not very &quot;happening&quot; (in my opinion)- cool place though..
-Train to Milan- rented car in Milan and drove 1 hour north to Switzerland which was GREAT... hiking, beautiful scenery, art, etc.. Was in Ascona.. LOVED it.. wish we had more time to drive around up there.

-Milan was okay, did not really like it truthfully.. reminded me too much of NYC(where I grew up)

This August, we are going to the french Riveria/St. Tropez/Nice/monacco as well as Paris and the Portofino area of italy.

From my experience, booking ahead for train travel is worth it both $ and stress wise.

I would suggest to you:
Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence....you can do day (train) trips out of each area too! Have fun!

europa

janisj,

thanks.

MaureenB

I'm assuming you have your passports in order, non?
I hate heat, so I think I'd stay further north than Italy myself. We did London-Paris-Amsterdam in two weeks. Also visited Vienna-Prague-Munich in two weeks. Bavaria is beautiful, of course. Like others, I suggest you get your air tickets into one city and out of another, then plug in the itinerary. So many choices...