Getting there and home...help!
 

My fiancee and are honeymooning in Italy. We leave from Boston the day (or two) after our wedding on September 20th. Our first four nights will be in Santa Margherita on the Riviera. Then we are going down to Tuscany where we are renting a house just north of Pienza. Any suggestions on how this exhausted newlywed couple will be able to get to, around and home from this trip with the least possible hassle?? <BR><BR>I just put this question to a travel agent, but found this site to be so helpful when it came to planning the honeymoon thus far. Thanks!!

I am unclear what you mean about least possible hassle? Are youi talking passports.. taxi's, air travel?? Or just tips for an easy journey (I would suggest a couples massage after the wedding and before the journey, you will be exhausted after your wonderful big day). Are you talking security??? Have you been overseas before??? <BR>If you are talking just transpo. Then for the easiest if not least expensive. I would say, taxi's to and from airport to city hotels and trains in between cities.. much easier then trying to drive and deal with strange maps and driving conditions.

Hi Thyra --<BR><BR>I do mean no hassle in the sense of getting from one place to another. What airports to fly into, when/where to rent a car. Neither of our stops are in major cities.

Florence or Pisa may be your best airport options, centrally located between your two destinations. Neither is an international airport and so would require a connecting flight. Carriers to Italy (Rome or Milan) would offer connecting flights but don't discount other options. I've seen excellent fares connecting through London, Amsterdam, and Paris. You might decide based on mileage or your frequent flier membership. If you rent a car when you arrive, you will experience a beautiful but treacherous drive (dark one-way tunnels with local drivers disobeying the one-way regulations) to Santa Margherita. If you will be that drained by the wedding--relaxing by the sea without much local travel--consider taking a train to SM. Then, when heading to Pienza, pick up a car somewhere for your Tuscany stay.

Oh.. ok.. well then I am sure someone else can give you better info on this then I could. But here is what I would do (we went to the French Riviera for our honeymoon).<BR>#1 you are pretty wise to give yourself a few mights after the ceremony!!! <BR>#2 I would fly to the aiport closest to your destination.. that is a in major city.. I am guessing Milan.. but I could be incorrect about that.. then you can either stay one night in Milan. And take a train to Santa Margherita. Or hop a train right away to SM.. I wouldn't suggest hopping right away into a rental car. From SM you could either A) train it to Tuscany and then get a rental car to explore the local area or B) Rent a car in SM and use it for the time you are in Tuscany. <BR>Then you can either train it back to Milan if you have RT tickets to and from the same destination, or you can purchase tickets (usually more expensive) that are open jawed and allow you to depart from a different city then the one you fly into (I am guessing Florence) . Either way, be sure to get to your departure city one day in advance so you can rest up for your return flight. <BR>Have a wonderful wedding and honeymoon!!! September is a great month for a wedding.

You should first look at the airfare <BR>options from Boston. I have seen great<BR>fares to London, where you could then<BR>take RyanAir (very inexpensive) to Genoa or Pisa. Although you do not need a car in SML, you could pick one up upon arrival. If not, train<BR>to SML from either Genoa or Pisa, a very short ride. You will need a car in Tuscany and will, of course, have to<BR>turn it in at the end of your trip. I<BR>have sometimes ended my Italian holiday<BR>in southern Tuscany and then driven to<BR>Rome to turn the car in and also spend<BR>a few nights. As another person pointed<BR>out, an open jaw ticket might be your<BR>best option. Fly into Genoa, out of<BR>Rome.<BR><BR>Another option, which would have you making a circle: Fly into Florence,<BR>train to SML, drive to your Tuscany rental, return car to Florence and either fly home from there or, ideally,<BR>spend a few days in Florence and then<BR>head home. The Florence airport is tiny and easy to maneuver for jet lagged<BR>travelers.