Honeymoon in Italy
 

Hi! My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon to Italy (early May). We need some help!

We've never been it Italy before - we want to do some wine tasting in Tuscany and would love to do a 1-2 day bike tour.

Right now we're thinking of 10 full days (+ 2 travel getting to/from the U.S.) and thinking of Rome, Tuscany, Venice, Cinque Terra.

I'd love some input on suggested itineraries!!!!

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

You will get input from many here on Fodors that 4 locations in 10 days will entail too much moving around. You basically lose 1/2 to a full day each time you move around.

Definitely consider an 'open-jaw' ticket where you fly into one city and out of another. This eliminates a lot of backtracking. Not sure where you are coming from, but you could fly into Venice and out of Rome, for example.

For 1st timers many recommend the big 3. Venice/Florence/Rome, but a lot really depends on your interests.

Do you want cities, churches, historic sights, museums. Or are you more interested in slower pace, small village, lots of down time.

Rome is large city. The historic central district is compact and easy to navigate, but it is still a big city. There is always something to do, which is a plus for many.

Florence is also a big, bustling city. Venice is simply magical, offering the benefits of a big city without scooters, buses, cars, etc.

Once you get into Tuscany or Cinque Terre the pace drops 3 notches. In Tuscany count on basically all shops to close from 1 to 4. Many hill towns can look nearly deserted during this time but spring back to live in the evening.

Rural Tuscany (if you are staying outside of a town) is an even slower pace. (i.e. agritourism). You can hang out all day if you wish, or drive to a winery, or a hill town for lunch or dinner on your own pace.

Many people find rural Tuscany to be a little too slow paced. Not me, as I like a lot of down time on vacation myself.

For 10 days, I'd recommend something like this.

Assuming you are flying round trip to Rome.

Fly into Rome, spend 3-4 nights - gives you enough time to see many of the top sights without being rushed, but you will find you've only scratched the surface.

Train to Venice (4.5hrs), spend 3 nights - gives you plenty of time to enjoy the quieter, more relaxed, more romantic side of Venice. If you buzz in and buzz out on a shorter trip you see the main square, hop in a gondola, take some pictures and say you've 'done' Venice, but you've not given it enough time to soak in.

Here's where I'm not sure next. I like Florence, but I really recommend 3 days in more rural Tuscany, either the Chianti region or southern Tuscany in or near Montepulciano. If you had more time I'd say spend a night or 2 in Florence then head out into other parts of Tuscany. The problem is that getting there means you must have car, which can chew up time getting one, navigating out of the city etc.

I'll let others chime in with their ideas.

hi, ju,

first of all, congrats on your nuptials, and congrats on deciding to honeymoon in Italy.

my suggestions would be as follows:

fly open-jaw into Venice and out of Rome. that avoids your having to retrace your steps unnecessarily. also , you will be flying into Veince which is a most romantic thing to do, especially if you then take a water-taxi to your hotel from the airport.

give yourselves 3-4 days - you need to allow for jet-lag and wedding fatigue, so don't be too ambitious.

then hire a car, and drive to tuscany. there is a current thread about "agriturismo", which allows you to stay on a farm-type establishment, in the countryside. lots of them have bicycles, which would enable you to enjoy the surroundings. you could also do some wine tasting at this stage. stay 4 nights.

finally, drive to orvieto, return your hire car, and train to Rome. stay 3 nights. fly home.

the CT is a bit out of your way, and IMO is too much for 10 days. if you had 14, you might manage it. hopefully, you'll be coming to italy again.

it's a honeymoon, not a route march.

regards, ann

Ten days just isn't enough time (IMO) to do justice to the destinations you've listed. Essentially, your itinerary would look like a big "Y"---Rome at the bottom, up to Tuscany, up and left to CT, then all the way right for Venice.

I would drop Rome or CT, probably Rome since you can't devote much time to it anyway. How's this...

Day 1 arrive in Venice. 3 nights (2.5 days).

Day 4 Leave Venice for Florence. Spend night in Florence in preparation for bike tour.

Day 5: Start your 2-day bike tour. (Let's assume you go from Florence to Siena, spending Night 5 somewhere in the Chianti region.)
Day 6: Bike to Siena, stay 2 nights.
Day 7: Tuscan countryside/winery

Day 8: Train or bus to Cinque Terre. Stay 3 nights.

I meant to add "Fly home from Pisa".

I like annhig's Itinerary with Rome left in, too. I had presumed you wanted a guided bike tour. But even better would be an agriturismo with bikes available!