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FIRST TRIP TO ITALY! Need help/suggestions with honeymoon
Hi I’m a newbie. I recently joined Fodors and must say that I have become addicted. What a wealth of information! Unfortunately I joined after my fiancé and I booked our honeymoon to Italy. For both of us this is our first time to Italy so we thought that a tour would be the best way to go. We have already booked a tour through Globus, the Italy at Leisure tour. After reading all the many threads of information on Italy I am seeing that a tour for a first timer is really unnecessary and may be more expensive. So my challenge today is to see if I can try to do this trip on my own and SAFE MONEY in the process. We are spending about $5,000.00 on the Globus Tour. This includes 3 nights in Rome, 3 nights Florence, 2 nights Venice, and 1 night in Milan. If we try to do this trip on our own we would still like to visit these same cities (I guess we both could do without the night in Milan and save that for the next trip). At this point we still have time to cancel the tour. Here is our current itinerary. There are some things we are unable to change:
Flying out of Atlanta – June 19th (using points) Arriving in Paris – June 20th 3 nights Paris- 2 nights at the Hilton Paris (using points); 1 night Marriott Champs- Elysees (using points, gotta love those points!) – June 20th – June 22nd Departing Paris to Rome – June 23rd – I have already booked a flight through Ryanair. Thanks to all you guys here on this sight I was able to get a GREAT deal of 5.99 Euro per ticket. June 23rd – July 2nd – we have these dates designated for the Tour. So we are open for suggestions. July 2nd – Arrive in Nice for two nights – have not yet worked out how we are getting to Nice. I have tried to book rail with little success. July 4th – Departing Nice for home – again air has already been reserved using points so we are unable to change flights at this point. My challenge for you guys – Can I find hotel accommodations (WHAT WOULD BE SUGGESTIONS FOR HOTELS IN OUR BUDGET IN THESE CITIES), transportation, and visit the same major sites for under or at the projected $5,000.00. I think we would be happier doing our honeymoon on our own. I have already collected information on restaurants from this site, so I think I have that covered. Patrick, Ira, Rex, and some of you other guys out there have already provided me with so much information so far by reading all of your wonderful threads on Italy!!!!!! So all suggestions would by greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, DaVida |
Venere.com will let you pick hotels using a handy map of the city system, with filters for price and handy reviews. Book trains locally only a day or so ahead.
For the tail end of your trip you could try the new bargain easycruise.com to go slowly from the Italian riviera to the French riviera. Pick it up at Genoa (reccomended) or Portofino. It spends a day at Portofino, then San Remo, then Nice, where you may want to go on to their Cannes stop and backtrack via the train (you'll understand when reviewing the sched). |
Congratulations to you! There are so many great hotels in a variety of price ranges in those cities. From my personal experience I can recommend these moderately priced hotels Santa CHiara 3* in ROme, FLora 3* in Venice and Casci 2* in FLorence (this is lower priced than the others, you may want something a bit nicer in FLorence). Also popular in ROme are Del Senato and Albergo Cesari. You can also search through VEnere.com to get ideas of prices, availability and locations.
Do text search here on 'Rome and hotel' for each city to get slots of suggestions. WHat are the hotels offered by the tour? You can probably find their rates on the internet. ALso, does the $5,000 include aifare? How many meals does it include? What tours does it include? |
I just googled your tour. The Rome hotels it lists are Grand Hotel Beverly Hills or Ludovisi Palace. They both appear to not be in the best Rome location. It's acceptable, but there are much better locations (historic center near navona/pantheon/fiori). Also check comments on tripadvisor. Venice and FLorence are much small than ROme, so almost any location within the city is fine.
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Viking and NFNYC - Thanks for the information. I will check Venere.com now.
NFNYC- The $5,000.00 does not include airfare. We are using points from Delta for Airfare. The tour is for 9 nights and includes 9 buffet breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 2 dinners, it also includes all fees into major attractions. For a list of major tours it includes check out their website:http://www.globusjourneys.com/Defaul...mp;tourcode=LJ I will start looking at some of your hotel choices now. Thanks again and keeping it coming!!! DaVida |
MFNYC- location of hotels is another concern for me and some of the reviews from tripadvisor. We are checking the hotels you recommended now.
Thanks again |
We've booked the Nicolas Inn in Rome for 120 Euros per night including breakfast, the Hotel Galleria in Venice at 105 Euros per night including breakfast and the Peterson Bed and Breakfast in Florence for 60 Euros per night. Used this site, tripadvisor and slowtrav for recommendations. Also have an apartment booked in Montepulciano for a week for 400 Euros.
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Most hotels include breakfast, so it's really only the 2 dinner and 1 lunch that's 'included' by the tour. I think you could probably do this on your own for less and stay at better hotels for $5,000.
I don't remeber exactly what we paid for tours. We generally did the audio tours at the major sites. For city tours, other people here can help you with which ones are the best, and their prices. |
Dare I speak? for Patrick and Ira as well as myself - - to say that your kind remarks are appreciated...
If I understand your current situation correctly, these questions might be somewhat off the mark... <<does the $5,000 include aifare? How many meals does it include? What tours does it include?>> Am I correct that you would have $5000 to "recycle" by canceling the Globus tour - - that is your point, right? and thus you need to be responsible for ALL your meals - - not just before/after June 23-July 2, but now during, as well - - correct? and likewise... "tours" - - though I might submit that you don't <i><b>need</b></i> ANY tours (but you might enjoy a few, on a limted basis - - they compete for your available funds, just like any other expenditure). I quite agree that venere.com is where you should start (though others increasingly support the use of Priceline for some cities in Europe - - but not sure about in Italy). As a new father-in-law/father-of-the-bride myself, I am going to be an old fogey, and suggest that you can replace the ten days of the Globus tour in two ways - - do more/have a better experience than Globus was going to offer you for the same cost - - or do something perfectly memorable, and do it considerably cheaper than the Globus cost... and I think that newlyweds will almost always be glad they stuck extra money in their pockets, rather than spending the "full allowable" in the "best" way. There are so many "decision branch points" in your planning process, it is hard to lay out a single skeleton approach for you. Part of me says, keep to a minimum the number of nights in those bigger expensive cities (Rome, Florence, Venice) and substitute in some of Italy's smaller charmers... but then all three of those ARE so special, it is hard to cut nights out of your stays there. And Rome, in particular... ought to be a minimum of 4/3 days/nights (because people often "need" 24+ hours to gt used to Rome's "intensity", or they end up hating it) - - or alternatively, just spend 24 hours there, kinda grinning and bearing it, and move on. I am sure you have a million things to do to get ready for the wedding, and your new life after... but you really need to get thee hence to the biggest public library or bookstore in your area, and read, read, read, or even just leaf through the big picture-filled coffee-table sized books, and try to make your short list of the TWO cities you most want to include (i.e., give up one of the "big three") - - and then come back here and I/"we" (other regulars) will suggest some other jewels that can link this together in some "thinking-outside-the-box" ways. Or of course, there is nothing wrong with your visiting the "big three" exactly as you first envisioned (I do think I would skip Milan) - - and you can find some "less conventional" treasures in each one. You might even want to think about limiting that end-stop in Nice to a single night. There are no bad choices to be made - - and your most important one (your marriage) is going to eclipse all the other little decisions to be made about this honeymoon. Of course, the second biggest decision will be to figure out a "plan for life" to get back to Europe over and over again. It will all still be there for you, on anniversaries to come. Whatever your plans, congratulations on your new life together in marriage... and... Best wishes, Rex Bickers Floyds Knobs, Indiana |
I agree with the others. You should be able to do the trip for much less money and actually stay in better locations. The problem with many tours is that they pick hotels that are not as centrally locates. By doing some simple searches you should be able to find nice hotels in central locations for reasonable prices. You could stay in nice hotels for around $150 a night, which comes out to only $1350 for nine nights. Even with transportation and attraction entrance fees, you should be still be able to save quite a bit of money by doing it yourself. Definitely check tripadvisor.com to get reviews on hotels.
Good luck and happy planning! Tracy |
Sorry...that was supposed to be "centrally located".
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Rex - I was waiting to hear from you. Your words of wisdom are alway a breath of fresh air. After spending the better portion of my day working on wedding stuff, your message is what I needed to hear. The marriage is what's really important.
I would like to thank all of you for your response. My better half and I just came to a decision - DITCH THE TOUR!!! We can do this ourselves and one of the best parts of being a couple is planning things together!!! So with that being said we're off and running..... Rex - <Am I correct that you would have $5000 to "recycle" by canceling the Globus tour - - that is your point, right? and thus you need to be responsible for ALL your meals - - not just before/after June 23-July 2, but now during, as well - - correct? and likewise... "tours" - - though I might submit that you don't need ANY tours (but you might enjoy a few, on a limted basis - - they compete for your available funds, just like any other expenditure > Yes that is the point we now have $5,000.00 to work with and hopefully put some back in our pocket!! Since this is our first trip to Italy we would like to try to do the BIG 3. MF could do with out Florence, but I really want to visit the Tuscany area. I would like to thank everyone for your advice and suggestions!!! In just one hour I have solved one wedding crisis I wish all the others could be so EASY!!! At this point we are both doing hotel searches on venere.com, tripadvisor, and by using threads from this site. Thanks again - DaVida Oh yeah Nice- I am getting mixed reviews from people on this site about Nice. I have always wanted to go to Nice and love the beach. What are some of your views???? This is our honeymoon so we want it to be special. |
Can only maybe help with one thing, here's my favorite hotel in Venice. It is popular so if youa re interested call sooner than later.
www.lacalcina.com |
There is NO (sandy) beach at Nice (only pebbly) - - try Antibes instead - - only about 25 minutes further by train.
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I really appreciate all the good advice and suggestions...
Suze - thanks for the hotel suggestion. It is now one of our top three choices for Venice. Right now we are trying to narrow down hotel searches to our top three choices in each city. As soon as we do I will post them and get feedback. We want to make our decision hoefully by the end of the day. If anyone else has any hotel suggestions that would be great. Rex - I am starting to realize that Nice may not be my ideal location if I am looking for a "sandy beach". Also my fiance' will be working in Paris for three weeks in August so we may have a chance to go to Nice then. We are now considering the Lake Como area. MF just informed me that our flight leaving Nice has a layover in Milan. So we could actually could stay in Italy. From Venice head to the Lake Como area or extend a stay in the Big 3 cities. Does anyone have any suggestions???? Again thanks for all the advice! |
one more vote to do it on your own. A friend of mine did the Globus tour last year. Stayed in out of the way places and many of the meals were at the hotel (lunch and dinner). Not my idea of the way to visit Italy.
I would also suggest you evaluate how much you eat for breakfast and see what the difference is between a room with breakfast and without. I found that I ate more than I needed because it was included and for less money could have eaten at a neighborhood cafe. Have a wonderful trip. |
Hi, I noticed someone recommended B&B Peterson in Florence. I would not recommend this for your honeymoon. It is not in the best neighborhood and is very noisy. I recently stayed at the Hotel Aprile for 135E/a night and it was worth every penny.
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If you are truly interested in La Calcina, I'd call to see about availability before you stew too much over your decision or hotel reviews. It's very popular and may already be booked (if the June you're talking about is '05).
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bostonallison - thanks for the tip we will take that hotel off our list. I am doing a search of the Hotel Aprile now.
We are happy that we decided to do this on our own (I don't think I can say the same for our travel agent though, we just got off the phone with her to cancel the Globus tour). We are also having fun doing the research!!! Thanks again for all your help - DaVida |
Suze - My MF is calling now - thanks again
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Suze - You're right it is already booked- thanks anyway. We will continue searching
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Hi weddingbells,
We stayed in Suite #39 at Hotel Europa in Florence and LOVED it (honeymoon last June). Here is my review: Hotel Europa, Suite 39, E140 for a suite (2 HUGE bedrooms one with a queen bed and one with 2 twin beds), huge private bathroom with a jet-massage shower, breakfast from 7:30 to 9:30, small refrigerator in room, and air conditioning. This was right off Via Cavour and about a 5-7 minute walk to the Duomo. Our favorite thing about the suite was that all our ceilings had original 16th-century frescos. The hotel was very quiet and having that large suite to ourselves was most luxurious! The windows were double paned so we did not hear any street noise. I'm not sure the regular rooms in the hotel are as nice... they were on a different floor and did not look to be as beautiful or large. Here is the hotel's website: http://www.webhoteleuropa.com/old/english/Eng-suite.htm Also, the hotel is only about 3 minutes from the Basilica San Lorenzo with the Medici Chapels and the market on the street in front of it. From the pictures (you can see pictures of each suite if you click on the photos link), I think our suite was the Giotto. It looks as if the rate has gone up to 150€ per night. I copied this from their website Price include: Private bathroom, buffet breakfast, air conditioning, taxes and service. Terms and rules: Check-in: 12.00 AM - Check-out: 11.00 AM Guests can leave their luggage at front-desk upon check-in and after checking out. Children under the age of 3 years don't pay if they share the bed with their parents. Cancellation Policy: Reservations must be cancelled 2 days before the arrival date, in order to avoid a no-show charge of one night's room to your credit card. |
You will have a wonderful time in Italy. Traveling independently, without a tour, gives you the freedom to stop and smell the roses--or drink the wine or sit in a piazza or go back to the hotel--whenever the mood strikes.
Here is a list of hotels that were in my files that I consider my "short list" for our next trips to Italy. The asterisks are where we have stayed (and which I recommend), the others were recommended highly either by friends or on forums. Florence: Hotel Brunelleschi Hotel Medici Hotel Casci Hotel Lungarno Hotel Loggiata dei Serviti Hotel Tornabuoni Beacci Rome: Hotel Santa Chiara Albergo Sole al Pantheon Albergo del Senato Hotel Due Torri Albergo Cesari Hotel Portoghesi * Colonna Palace Hotel * Venice: Antico Doge Hotel Giorgione* La Calcina Hotel Ala Hotel Flora Hope this helps. |
Lorac's list is a good one. These are also many of the hotels that ended up on my list as well after cross referencing websites, books and this board. I have also read good things about the Europa which I put on my list for future reference.
Since this trip is right around the corner, this list may be narrowed down just on the basis of availability. Email the hotels directly (just about all of them have websites), tell them it's your honeymoon. In most cases they'll get back to you quickly. |
here are the emails i have:
CAsci, FLorence - [email protected], website: www.hotelcasci.it Santa Chiara, Rome - i had 2, i don't know if they both work anymore, [email protected] or [email protected], website: www.albergosantachiara.com/ FLora, venice - [email protected], website: www.hotelflora.it |
<<MF just informed me that our flight leaving Nice has a layover in Milan. So we could actually could stay in Italy.>>
Do NOT assume that you can do this by just "showing up" in milan. You need an explicit, in-writing, change to your ticket (e-ticket or paper ticket) showing that they have changed your departure city. Without it, you could be socked with a huge change fee, or denied boarding altogether. |
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