cathat007

Hello everyone! A little background -- my fiancé and I are getting married next June and would like to honeymoon in Europe mid-June. I've only been to Europe once (he's been multiple times) and have a massive desire to travel all around Europe. I've been cautioned by everyone not to turn my honeymoon into a packed European trip, but rather to pick fewer destinations and enjoy them. The only problem is I'm having a little trouble doing that!

I pretty much don't think we should go to big cities (ie London and Paris) but rather take the chance to explore the more relaxing destinations Europe has to offer. I am the kind of person who can chill out at a resort for days and be perfectly content, but I need to balance that with my fiancé's extremely active lifestyle and desire to explore and do activities. We're hoping to go for ~2 weeks. We are very open but right now we're thinking 2 out of 3 of the following:

French Riviera (is Cap Ferrat too secluded? Someone said St. Tropez is nice)
Lake Como
Amalfi Coast

We've contemplated Greece and Spain as well. Probably would ideally keep it in France/Italy though because I've dreamt of going to those places but perhaps a Greece trip could be fun. We don't want to go to super packed, super touristy areas where it'll just be wall to wall people all day.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I'm also super new at this Forum thing so if I've left anything out please let me know.

Travel_Nerd

What sort of things appeal to you about the preliminary destinations you've chosen? What are your and your fiancés interests? That will help posters guide you better. Also details about your ages, general activity level, whether you plan on having a car vs. traveling between destinations via train/plan, etc. are helpful to know.

Also, how long you have on the ground will be helpful for itinerary suggestions. I know you said approximately two weeks: keep in mind your arrival days and transit days into that plan. If you have 16 days, for instance, your flight from your home and your arrival days in Europe are a "wash" - you will do very little sightseeing on your arrival day. Ditto on your flight home day. That actually adds up to just 13.5 days for sightseeing. Also, anytime you travel between cities/countries - no matter how you plan to travel, also eat up a day. In general, it helps if you fly into one destination (say South France) and travel home from another (such as Italy).

cathat007

1. I’ve honed into those locations for their beauty and the selection of amazing hotels! Neither me fiancé nor I have been to any of the top destinations I’ve listed so we’re a little unsure what to expect. We’re open to suggestions though.

2. As far as interests I enjoy spending time in nice scenery, restaurants, art, music, dressing up, swimming, relaxing at beautiful resorts. My fiancé likes being active (running, hiking, biking). We both enjoy history and sightseeing.

3. I’ll be 27 and he’ll be 32.

4. We need a good balance of relaxation and activity.

5. I am not sure if we’ll have a car or not. I think we’d be open to whatever is easiest/most convenient.

6. I think we can choose to be a little flexible on days on the ground but let’s assume from the time we leave the US to the time we leave Europe is 14 days. So if we left on the 10th of the month we’d leave Europe on on the 24th. If this isn’t enough we can try to extend but I’m aiming for 2 weeks total. Not sure if we can fit 3 destinations in that time.

Thank you!!

dwdvagamundo

In the interest of domestic harmony, I’d let your new husband (congrats and best wishes, by the way) show you what he thinks are the best things to see. IMO,it’s hard to go wrong in European travel so anything he chooses will probably be fine.

That being said, my wife of almost 50 years and I would have goneto Venice had we been able to afford it.

HappyTrvlr

You don’t want to be in crowded places but have chosen some major European resort areas. The Amalfi Coast is going to be crowded then and difficult to move around. You can find an area on Lake Como, one of the special resort hotels, that would work.
Cap Ferrat is very special too. It would be easy to see or visit more of the French Riviera from Cap Ferrat.

Sassafrass

I love the Amalfi Coast, but mid-June is high tourist time everywhere and the AC is crowded. Smaller towns or cities with smaller city centers (like Venice or Florence or places on the AC) can not always absorb tourists the way cities can, so I would not discount a city like Paris or Rome for history and beauty.
I suggest each of you choose one place of your dreams and divide time between them, one country that offers two areas of great interest or two areas or places with easy transportation between. Perhaps two quite different places, one with more history, etc. and one with more scenery.

bilboburgler

I'd look out for spas in a variety of places. These can be exotic as in Hungary, beautiful in Tuscany or just very pleasant in Alsace or Loire. The good ones come with gyms/cycling/tennis/running through vineyards etc

I'm not sure why you have the 4 sites you list, but I assume they are well marketed where you live. Many people love them so they get many people. If that is what you want them they will be fine.

hetismij2

Have you considered Slovenia? Enough hiking, biking, swimming etc and sightseeing and relaxing in amazing scenery for both of you. Maybe combine it with a ferry over to Venice?

balthy

All of the countries you’re interested in are wonderful for a honeymoon.
I’d suggest you pick one and visit that one instead of trying to cram in too much. You can have 2/3 centre honeymoon in Greece or Spain or Italy or tour the south of France. Many options.

MoBro

You have a great opportunity to plan your honeymoon. Congrats!

You mention Cap Ferrat. We took a day-trip to St Jean Cap Ferrat, from Nice. It's cute, but I don't think I'd consider it a place to stay a few nights.

People have loved Dubrovnik, but I don't know much about it.

We loved Seville, Spain, and think it's a great honeymoon location.

What about a Greek island? It might not be as crowded in June, as it is in July and August. https://santorinisecrets.com/santori...hat-to-expect/

We were in Santorini in early September, and it was heaven. We liked The Gold Suites hotel, at Imerovigli, Santorini. https://www.goldsuites-santorini.com

HappyTrvlr

I give another vote for beautiful Slovenia!

bilboburgler

Have you considered a sailing holiday in the Med. You could sail between islands on the Dalmatian coast, party in restaurants at night, sail in convoy with other boats, or go alone. Super active, sun, sea, food.

The choices are enormous

cathat007

Thank you, everyone, for your replies and suggestions!

bvlenci

Remember to consider the time it will take to get from one place to another. I know that getting from the French Riviera to Lake Como will be complicated and time-consuming by public transportation. On the other hand, renting a car in one country and dropping it off in another often is quite expensive.

Getting from Lake Como to the Amalfi Coast is not a piece of cake either. I wouldn't want a car in either place, though. I suppose you could find a place to park it for the duration.

I would consider two destinations rather than three, and consider how you will travel from one to the other. Lake Como is not difficult to reach from Milan, and you can take a fast train from Milan to Naples. Since it's your honeymoon, you might want to hire a driver from there to the Amalfi Coast. There's some decent hiking at both locations, but they are in hilly areas, so I'm not sure about the biking.

Both areas are quite likely to have a lot of foreign tourists in June. We were once at Lake Como in late May, and we were greatly outnumbered by non-Italians, mostly British and American. We actually once had a waitress who couldn't speak more than a few words of Italian. When I asked her a question about the menu, she asked me if I could please speak English.

If you will be using public transportation for part or all of your trip, try to keep your luggage to a minimum.

coral22

Congratulations! There are no bad choices here!
I would also vote for 2 destinations, with the relaxing part up front after a hectic wedding.
Some other things for you to consider, where are you coming from? Where can you most painlessly fly into? You won't be getting nonstops, so on the way home, what is a city you would enjoy for a few days?
Are nice beaches important? Some of the European beaches are pebbly and not pleasant. How do you tolerate heat?

My daughter and her husband went to Greece for 10 days and loved it. but her husband likes to relax. My husband would not do well for that long without some activities, history, and a car. We have been to Santorini, which we loved, I don't care that some think it is too touristy, it is gorgeous and very romantic. We then went on to Athens which we also loved, but that was in the very end of May and we were thinking this is as hot as we can stand.

We have also been to the Amalfi coast in the middle of May and the weather was beautiful. It is visually stunning, but extremely compact and difficult to navigate. I felt very closed in, but that was Positano. We did love going to Capri, Amalfi and Pompei.

I really love southern France with a car, the weather would be beautiful and there would be a nice variety to visit between, Nice, Eze, Monaco, Cap St. Jean Ferrat, etc. We stayed in Villefranche, which we loved, but there are so many choices. This is where you have to pay attention to the beach composition.

Lake Como sounds wonderful and the weather would be cooler, But we have never been.

So much great advice from others here. It is important to see how you would get from place to place, and how much time it would take and how much hassle it would be. Good luck!

suze

Welcome to the forums! This is the kind of question there is no right or wrong answer. Only what the two of you want to do

Since your interests at this point seem so general I'd suggest getting a couple old-school guidebooks from the library or Amazon (choose ones with lots of maps and photos) and read thru them together. Hopefully certain places will pop for you, more than others.

Then comes the nitty-gritty... plane tickets, hotels reservations, how you are moving from places to place (more flights or train or bus or rental car).