I am planning a honeymoon in Italy from May 14th - May 26th and was hoping someone could help me plan a good itinerary - anything from where to go, how to go, where to stay, and where to eat. I know this is asking a lot but any information that you could provide would be helpful! Our budget for a hotel is about $300 per night give or take. We love to eat, we tour sights quickly, and don't enjoy "touristy" places. I've read a lot but am so confused on where to go and how. THANKS SO MUCH in advance!!!

If you've read alot then what interests you? What areas are you drawn to?

Everyone has their own ideas about what they want to see or do when travelling so you need to provide us with more to go on. If you tell us what your interests are and give us an idea of what you are considering we can help you out. No point in giving you a list of places I want to visit Also, hotel recommendations depend on where you are going, so the itinerary really has to come first.

>>and don't enjoy "touristy" places.<<

"Touristy" places are "touristy" because they are interesting and people like them. Dull uninteresting places are not "touristy" because they are.........dull and uninteresting.

You could make a list of your interests and then do a topic search on those particular interests in this forum. Have a great honeymoon and may it last many years.

Have you tried going to this website: http://www.italylogue.com/planning-a...-in-italy.html

There are also links to other parts of the website where you can find suggested itineraries depending on how long you will be in each city. If you leave comments on any of the pages, Jessica will answer them fairly quickly. She helped me with my itinerary for my upcoming trip to Rome, Florence & Venice.

I suggest you get a guidebook. I am a very experienced traveler (I just realized I've been traveling abroad for over 50 years), and the first thing I do when I start thinking about a trip is get a guidebook--or two.

I really hope you post back. Please tell us some of your interests and what made you decide to go to Italy for your honeymoon. Once we know what you like and what attracts you to Italy, we can do a lot to help you plan something perfect.

Your hotel budget is good. You should be able to visit some nice places.

LarryJ wrote >>>>"Touristy" places are "touristy" because they are interesting and people like them. Dull uninteresting places are not "touristy" because they are.........dull and uninteresting.

That makes perfect sense (very nicely said)!

But then again, since Umbria is right next to Tuscany, and Tuscany is so famous, Umbria might be for you.

Yes, I agree your budget is very good. You could even spend less, then splurge on a few special nights.

There is so much to see and do (and eat!) in Italy, that you need to give us more info. Do you want to see the big three-- Rome, Florence, and Venice, with smaller towns sprinkled between?

How much moving around do you want to do? My personal preference is minimum three night stay in one hotel, but everyone has their own style.

Do you want to see the classic "touristy" spots, or not?

Hello, thank you so much for your replies! This was my first post so didn't realize there were so many helpful people that replied so quickly!

To answer your questions, we are staying for 11 nights from May 16 - May 27. We love to walk around, explore, eat good food, and are less keen on "sight seeing" or museums. This is our honeymoon so we are hoping to enjoy beautiful scenery and culture and not shift hotels too much.

Currently, we were thinking of doing the following
- 2 nights in Rome
- 4 nights at an Agriturismo near Cortono (we would rent a car for this option) OR the somewhere along Amalfi Coast
- 3 nights near Sienna (with daytrip to Florence)
- 2 nights in Venice

We are debating whether it's worth the trip south to see the Amalfi Coast for a few days or if we should just stay a few days longer on the Tuscan Countryside instead. Or let me know if you suggest something different.

THANK YOU!!!
Nushin

In 11 nights I would do 2 stops/hotels - if you want to relax and really get a feel for any one area. Three spots in the maximum. More than that is a whirlwind and you will spend as much time in transit s acutally doing anything.

IMHO 4 nights (3 days) is the absolute minimum for Rome and 3 nights (2 days) for Florene or Venice.

(I never understand how people say 2 nights and 3 days - 2 nights is ONE day - since you are coming or going on the oher 2 days.)

With 11 nites to sleep in Italy, I would have 3 destinations.
I would do it like this:
Rome---4
Rural Tuscany--4
Venice---3 [ fly home]

Train to Orvieto to get the car and locate near Montepulciano or Pienza to best cover Tuscany and parts of Umbria.

Good luck !

Hello, hello

Don't give up on your preference for skipping touristy places. I don't like them either, and Italy is FILLED with fascinating, beautiful places that are not touristy at all, because most tourists cram into a few places that they've heard about. They just don't realize what they are missing.

It is silly for you to spend 4 days in Rome if you are not interested in sightseeing and museums and would prefer beautiful scenery and good food. Instead, consider taking the train directly to Orvieto, get over your jet lag, and rent a car.

From there, head to your agriturismo. Because of the book and movie "Under the Tuscan Sun", the lovely town of Cortona has become overrun with tourists. It would be better to pick an agriturismo where the nearest town is more unspoiled. You can always deep into the heavily touristed Pienza, Montepulciano and Siena. But if you would like to see the side of Italy that native Tuscans live, look for an agriturismo around Sant'Angelo in Colle, or near the natural riserve of Tocchi. If you can, find a place that serves dinner, so you can drink wine and not need to drive home. Here's an example:

http://www.villaferraia.com/

Think twice if, as people who don't like touristy places, and aren't interested in museums if you want to do battle with jam-packed Florence. For many people, Venice is worth the tourist tragedy, Pisa too. There are so many unspoiled beautiful coastal places in Italy that aren't totally commercialized for tourism like the Amalfi that you should look into if you want beautiful beach scenery. This is your honeymoon, so you should do what you want -- and if in the end you want Venice, Florence, the Amalfi etc, that's where you should go. But I'm not going to kid you that the touristy places haven't been very damaged by tourism, and please don't believe for a second that the other places in Italy are dull and uninteresting. It couldn't be further from reality.

Don't go to Venice if you are not interested in sightseeing and museums. It is jammed with tourists who have made Venice one of the most touristy places in Italy.

Sorry -- I was typing very fast. Instead of Venice, I meant to type Florence when referring to sightseeing and museums. Venice has indeed become terribly touristy, but most tourists who go there never set foot in a museum.

To some of the rest of you:

I think it is not only a shame your view of Italy and travel is so limited, what is really a shame is that when another traveler comes to specifically ask about a travel value you don't share, you deny there is any value to the things they value -- or that it even exists!

Most of beautiful Italy is never seen by tourists. It is incredibly interesting, delicious, beautiful, has wonderful accommodations, and is un-commercialized. You've never been there. Don't talk about what you don't know about or don't care about, and most of all, don't try to spoil somebody else's honeymoon! (Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you all mean well.)

We are so blessed to have you, Zeppole, to show us the how feeble any other opinion may be.

LOL....play nice, you guys

I would not miss Venice (yes there will be many other tourists there). It's still an incredibly romantic city and definitely honeymoon-worthy. I loved this hotel www.lacalcina.com and it is in your price range, get a corner room with a view over the Guidecca canal.

I was in Italy last year for three weeks. You must include the Amalfi Coast. It will take your breath away. I would stay in Amalfi which is a decent size small town and then bus it around to Poisitano and most importantly Ravello. For me there was nothing like Ravello. Read the description about the Villa de Cimbrione and walk through the entire area and go to the very end and look out over the sea. This vision will be burned into your mind forever and you will not see anything more beautiful than this on your entire trip.

And one more thing - you must not leave Italy without going to Venice. So what if there are tourists? There are tourists everywhere. Venice and the Amalfi Coast are so exquisite that the tourists will be invisible to you.