Help with Honeymoon!!
 

Hi there - My fiance and I are beginning to plan our honeymoon to Italy in mid Oct. The trip will be 14 days including travel days. From what I have read, we should obviously do Rome. But what after that??? Florence, Venice, Amalfi coast, Lake Como??? HELP! I am not sure what can be done in that time frame. Neither of us have ever been to Italy. Any itinerary suggestions or hotel suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

What is it that you like to see and do? Museums? Beach? Scenery?
In 14 days, we might be inclined to do all of that stuff....but we are crazy and approach our trips like a military assault.
A few suggestions:
Rome 2 or 3 nights, rent car, drive to Assisi (1 night) Sienna (one night or use it as a base to go into Florence). Cinque Terre for 2 nights. Then....go for the Lake Como area or Venice. Can you fly open-jaw and fly home without returning to Rome?
I love seeing mountains, so maybe a night in Castelrotto near Bolzano in the Dolomites.
EK

Hi sally,

I think that mid-late Oct is a little late for the AC and the CT, although the AC is still open.

How about
Fly into Venice - 4 days
Train to Florence - 5 days
Visit Siena
Visit Bologna
Train to Rome - 4 days
Visit Ostia Antica or Orvieto
Fly home

Return to Italy in late spring or early fall and visit the AC.

Happy honeymoon.

((I))

We honeymooned in Italy in October, two years ago, and also spent fourteen days there. I had been there before, but my wife had not. To give you an idea of a breakdown--we did 4 days in Florence, 6 days in Rome, and 4 days in Positano. I think that division worked out well--not too rushed, but we were never bored.

One thing you should consider in putting together an itinerary is to save on travel time. So consider getting an open-jaw ticket and work your way south (for example, Venice->Rome->Amalfi Coast) or north so that you don't backtrack.

Ira is right that the AC is a bit cold in October, but everything was still open and it was actually good not to have the towns be overrun, as they can be in the peak summer months. The drawback is that most of the boats will have stopped running by then (although we did manage to catch a ferry from Positano to Amalfi in late October).

There are many, many Italy itineraries (many of them honeymoon itineraries) on this board. Doing a search may be helpful so you can get some ideas of what is possible, although ultimately it depends on what kind of travelers you are and how much you want to do and see. I'd also suggest that you and your fiance go to the travel section of a bookstore, browse through some guides (particularly ones with good pictures--maybe the DK Eyewitness Guides), so you can get an idea of what you would like.

Congratulations! Planning our honeymoon was definitely more fun than planning the wedding!

THANK YOU!! For each of your suggestions. I am just starting. We were going to be married in Nov and go to Costa Rica for the HM but then we moved the wedding up and Italy became our choice. And I know nothing about Italy so your advice helped a lot! Thanks. I will do some more research and I am sure you will hear from me again!

coffeeaddict - funny about the wedding planning - ugh! The HM lasts longer too! : )

I recommend three nights in Positano. See Town and Country Traveler Magazine, April or March issue. Positano is on the cover. It's very romantic. We stayed at Villa Rosa hotel. It's across from the five star hotel Le Sirenuse. We dined at the Sponda at Le Sireuse. It was magical. Again, it depends on your personalities. But Positano and the Amalfi Coast are a switch from the vibrance and history of Rome, so it's a nice complement.

Happy Travels!

Hi Sally
We had a week each in Rome and Florence in September / October a few years ago. Sant Angelo Hotel in Rome - not sensational but prefectly adequate. Be aware that Rome is a big capital city so anywhere near the centre will be pricey and probably noisy - day 6 of our stay we both woke up about 2 a.m. because the street cleaning lorry didn't come round on a Sunday! The hotel is quite near the main entrance to St Peters Square but on the "wrong" side of the Tiber so it's not right in the middle of the busiest tourist area. Wandering near the hotel or a short walk back from the Tiber we found lots of places to eat at very reasonable prices. I'd recommend at least one evening meal somewhere in Trastavere - a shade more expensive but the atmosphere here is worth the extra. Please don't do what a couple of middle aged Americans at the table next to us did and ask the waiter to accept a $100 bill.... Among the less obvious sights, if you have any leanings towards Christianity I found St Peter's Prison a more meaningful experience than some of the grander and better known monuments. If you read up before you visit about the architecutural advnaces that were needed to build the Pantheon it will definitely impress you. The Vatican Art Treasures and Sistine Chapel will be bust unless you get there very early but are worth seeing. After a visit to Rome, read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons (the one before The Da Vinci Code) which is pure fiction but brilliantly set among some of the city's most important monuments.
Florence - yes - definitely. Feels on a much more human scale than Rome. Central Florence is more or less closed to motor vehicles so the whole place feels much more relaxed than Rome. We stayed in the hotel Orto De Medici which I would definitely recommend. Officially the same star rating as the one in Rome, we got it quite a bit cheaper and our room was in a different class entirely. If they have a wine tasting while you're there, go for it. It cost me about 10 euros / $10 / £7 for at least a bottle of quality wine and so many different snacks I didn't need anything else to eat that evening. The whole feast was served by Joseph, an African Italian who spoke perfect English and who knew the local foods and wines inside out. Our hotel was near the university so there were loads of places to eat out, not as flashy as the main tourist traps but half the price and the food was at least as good. There was a brilliant delicatessan on the same street where we often went to stoke up on lunches, either to sit outside or to sneak back to the hotel. From Florence a short bus ride takes you to a small town called Fiesole. We wnt to see an exhibition of machines recently built to original designs by Leonardo Da Vinci. The town itself is worth a visit, sensational views back across Florence, and the supermarket sells top notch Chianti Classico at a fraction of the price you pay in Florence. Obvious attractons in Florence include the Uffizzi gallery (again - go, but get there early to avoid the worst of the crowds). The Boboli gardens and surrounding area give a more tranquil few hours and have some great views over the Tuscan countryside if you get decent weather.
Wherever you go and whatever you do - enjoy your big day and have a great time in Italy.

Here is a quick itinerary of what I will be doing when I go to Italy within the month. My sister went a few years back and agreed with the duration at each of the areas. I will be flying into Venice and traveling South down Italy. Also, while I am there I will be traveling to Greece via ferry. It is a little over 14 days for the entire trip. Enjoy!
Venice: 2 days
Florence: 2 days
Rome: 4 days
Sorrento (Almafi Coast): 2 days
Naples-Bari: 1 day travel and overnight 15 hour ferry to Patras Greece
Olympia: 1.5 days
Athens: 4 days with a day trip to Delphi
Hope this helps.

Interesting how our perceptions of places can differ. We didn't like Florence at all because of the crowds that are all packed into the relatively small area that the major sights are located in--Rome we found very pleasant with its major sights more spread around.