Gina817

My fiance and I are going to Italy for our honeymoon. We are going to Rome, Venice, and Florence, but want to stop somewhere for a few days to just relax. Some ideas we have are staying in Italy somewhere along the coast, going to the French Riviera, or one of the Greek Islands. We also want to be sure our destination is quick and easy to get to. Should we rent a car to get there or take a train?
What do you suggest? Thanks!

ira

Hi Gina,

Venice is very relaxing, Florence is not quite so relaxing, Rome is hectic.

You might want to fly into Venice and out of Rome.

How much time do you have? When are you going? You could motor through the hill towns of Tuscany.

sneep

hi Gina - sounds like a lovely time. may I ask what time of year? staying in italy along the coast might be the least hectic option in terms of travel time - it depends how much time you are alotting for this relaxing jaunt. Assuming that you have only a few days to a week greece would require a flight to make it worthwhile. coastal towns along Amalfi and the French Riviera share a similar 'feel' unless you are interested in larger cities like Nica and Cannes (which I would suggest are not that 'relaxing'). I suppose then that I would stay in Italy and settle in to a lovely town along the amalfi coast. alternatively you could head head out to the less discovered coast for some quiet time.

sneep

hi Gina - sounds like a lovely time. may I ask what time of year? staying in italy along the coast might be the least hectic option in terms of travel time - it depends how much time you are alotting for this relaxing jaunt. Assuming that you have only a few days to a week greece would require a flight to make it worthwhile. coastal towns along Amalfi and the French Riviera share a similar 'feel' unless you are interested in larger cities like Nice and Cannes (which I would suggest are not that 'relaxing'). I suppose then that I would stay in Italy and settle in to a lovely town along the amalfi coast. alternatively you could head head out to the less discovered coast for some quiet time.

sneep

oops! sorry for the double-post....slip of the hand.....

Gina817

Thanks for all your help! I should have added more details. We have 15 days total, although we haven't decided how long in each location. We will arrive on June 7th. Our flight is in and out of Rome. Thanks!!

ira

Hi Gina,

15 days is perfect for the big three.

You might wish to consider training directly from Rome to Florence, spending a couple of days, training to Venice for 3-4 days, driving slowly through Tuscany and on to Orvieto, where you drop the car and train to Rome for the rest of the trip.

You could also do it by train: a couple of days in Rome to get over the jet lag, train to Florence for 5 days, on to Venice for 3-5 days, train to Rome.

You might find these threads helpful:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

Helpful Information: Italy http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34443340

sneep

If you have 15 days total and want to do Rome, Venice and Florence - I would have to suggest that you remain in Italy and find somewhere you like along the coast to relax. Those three cities are quite something to tackle in 15 days alone - adding another destination outside of italy will probably prove to be more trouble than its worth. If you have not decided how many days in each city you might want to consider....god I hate to suggest this...cutting one out (gulp). You might feel decidedly more relaxed throughout the entire trip if you are not rushing around from museum to museum. Its not impossible mind you - just hectic. If you haven't already booked hotels and travel in bewteen the towns you might want to consider it.
Anyway, as for amalfi - Positano is one of the most famous towns along the coast and it is lovely but will be rife with tourists in June - you might want to think about other areas nearby such as Ravello. Of course all of this depends on what sort of atmosphere you want. You will get a huge amount of helpful advice from the people on this board - all of them seemingly certified italy professionals - I am, alas, but an amateur - but very willing to help if I can - let us know your preferences!

Jocelyn_P

I can't believe no one's mentioned the Cinque Terre! Talk about s-l-o-w paced, and such a beautiful setting.

nytraveler

I know everyone always suggests either the Amalfi coast or the cinque Terre for relaxing but we have stayed in the italian lakes a couple of times and found them a great place to unwind for a couple of days.

Once we stayed in Stresa (coming off a flight into Milan) and it was very relaxing to hang out and not do much ( a couple of boat rides, exploring the local islands on foot, etc) for a couple of days before we started to tackle the full itinerary.

Also, Sirmione is charming and relaxing - and very close to Venice. You might want to drive from Rome to Florence to Sirmione (for several days relaxing), then drive on to Venice and drop off the car. You could easily train or fly from Venice to Rome at the end of your trip.

uhoh_busted

I really didn't find the Amalfi coast particularly relaxing -- it was lovely, but relaxing? On the otherhand, we loved staying in small towns in Tuscany, and I would think that would be ideal. Check out Monteriggioni or Pienza...

Gina817

Thanks everyone for your help. This has been very useful!

RufusTFirefly

Well, Venice is right on the coast and has a beach resort just a short vaporetto hop away.

Q2

My wife and I did the Rome - Tuscany - Florence Honeymoon a couple of years ago and found Tuscany to be a great breather between the two.
We stayed at a B&B right outside of Castillina and did day trips or just relaxed. There's nothing lke getting a picnic lunch in town, getting a bottle of wine from a winery, and stopping by the side of the road for a picnic!