oceanangelbeauty

Hi again

We are going for 15 days. We have round trip tickets to london. Right now all we have is plane tickets.

I think we would like to go to Itally for most of the time on our trip.

I think we would like to rent a place with a kitchen. We have a budget of 6,000 total.

Please help me. I am really excited about the plane tickets.

adrienne

Congratulations on getting plane tickets for your honeymoon!

You're leaving within 2 weeks for Italy and want to rent an apartment.

Do you have any idea where in Italy you want to go? Do you want cities? Beaches? Countryside? You don't have much time to book a place and it's the height of the travel season.

Here's a some web sites to get you started looking for an apartment.

http://initaly.com/
http://www.italyperfect.com/
http://www.venicerentals.com/
http://www.summerinitaly.com/

I would get a couple of guidebooks right away and start reading them to determine where in Italy you'll be going. Then you can narrow down your lodging search. You'll need to book within the next couple of days. Good luck finding accommodations.

dmlove

Adrienne, where does it say the trip is in two weeks?

oceanangelbeauty

We are actually leaving aug 9th. Yikes! I am freaking out. I am so happy and excited and under prepared for this suprise trip.

zeppole

Which London airport are you flying into?

You should look at the apartment reviews at Slow Travel.

www.slowtravel.com

oceanangelbeauty

Ok we like beaches best!

We also would like to take a side trip to Rome.

oceanangelbeauty

Our airport is Heathrow

adrienne

dmlove - on the other thread the OP said they're leaving in 13 days.

dmlove

I just saw that other thread!

Oceanangelbeauty, you could fly to Italy fairly easily on EasyJet, from Gatwick to Pisa, and then spend your time in Tuscany and on the Italian Mediterranean. It isn't that easy to go directly from Heathrow to Gatwick but it can be done. Saturday the 9th is expensive, but Sunday the 10th is fairly inexpensive (EasyJet's prices fluctuate wildly by capacity).

Zeppole lives on the Italian Riviera -- I'm sure she can give you some ideas where to go once you get there!

travelgirl2

www.whichbudget.com to see which low cost airlines fly from Heathrow (or Gatwick) to various cities in Italy

janisj

oceanangelbeauty: That's better - we now have at least some info to work w/

But, you are leaving in 10 days and finding places to stay will be very, VERY difficult. Instead of working out an itinerary first - I'd IMMEDIATELY start looking for a place to stay. <u>Anyplace</u>, since most special properties will have booked up long ago.

Most any place highly recommended by fodorites are probably full unless they've had a cancellation.

So, you really have to sort of work backwards -- find rooms first and then we can help you figure out how to get there . . . . . .

janisj

meant to add - don't expect to find much in the way of cheap tickets on easyJet or other budget airlines. They can have really cheap fares, but the cheap ones sell out first - often the day they are released months before the travel date.

zeppole

If you are flying into Heathrow and know you want to visit Roma and beaches, you should look for flights out of Heathrow and into either Roma, Napoli.

If you fly to Roma, you can get an apartment in Roma, and stay several days. Then you can proceed either to an island, like Elba or Ponza, or to a beachside town in Latium (south of Roma) like Sperlongs. You will need to move fast. Even if you don't spend a lot for accommodations in Italy, they will almost always be very clean - unless you are terribly unlucky -- so don't be afraid to book cheap if it is available. If you have money to spend, great.

If you fly into Napoli, you should look for accomodations with access to the beach along the Amalfi coast, between Sorrento and Salerno. Or you can go to the islands of Ischia, Procida or Capri. Don't be afraid to book bed-and-breakfasts in these places. They will be clean.

If it's not too hot, try to make time to visit Pompeii and Napoli while you are based in the area. Near the end of your stay, make time to spend days in Roma. Don't do it as a day trip.

Once you've decided whether you are flying into Roma or Napoli from Heathrow, start another thread asking for help with accommodations and sightseeing.

zeppole

Sorry for a typo:

I should have written &quot;Sperlonga&quot; when referring to the beach town in Latium.

zeppole

And one more thought;

Don't be afraid to book Alitalia, to either Roma or Napoli.

janisj

Let's be practical here folks. They are leaving a week from Saturday. Talking about where they can fly won't be a great deal of help if they can't find rooms.

oceanangelbeauty

Thank you so much for all your help. My man is shopping plane tickets and train tickets as we speak.

zeppole

janis,

They can find rooms in Roma and certainly they can find rooms in Napoli.

zeppole

PS: I would be more concerned they can't find plane seats out of Heathrow to Italy.

zeppole

oceanangelbeauty,

You do realize, I hope, that you may not get dream honeymoon accommodations?

Your choices will either be the low-end, problematic, possibly inconvenient b&amp;bs or the super-expensive suites.

But you might luck out with last-minute apartments if you go to the slow-travel website and start furiously e-mailing apartment rentals you see recommended there. It's possible the weak dollar has left some landlords looking for last-minute August customers.