Hi Everyone, I'm new the forum and hoping to get some advice! I'm planning my honeymoon for the beginning of July to Italy. I'm looking for advice on our itinerary and hotel recommendations/what to do. My biggest concern is making sure we are travelling to the right places.

The trip is 10-14 days depending on hotels and airfare. We love wine, coffee, food and being active. Not huge beach bums but I LOVE the water and definitely need to cool off in the summer. My hubby is more into museums so we need some of that but i'm not a huge fan.

The trip:
I want to go to Rome, Florence, a villa in tuscany with possible day trips and somewhere by the water

Was thinking:
- Fly into Rome and stay 1-2 nights
- Train to florence and stay for 3 nights
- Drive to Villa (we found one in Chianti that is very nice) and stay for 3 nights
- Not sure what the water area should be. I originally thought about going to Lake Garda but was discourged by some people. Then I thought about cinque terre but im' not a fan of the hotels there.

Thanks in advance!

What kind of water area and what kind of hotel were you looking for? On the coast of Tuscany, there are some very upscale places (as well as any kind of more modest accommodation)--see Castiglione di Pescaia and Monte Argentario areas. If you end up returning to Rome for your flight out, Lago di Bolsena sounds nice.

Your pace is a bit more quick than I would want for a honeymoon, but we all have different travel styles. If you can get a flight to Florence or Pisa instead, I would save Rome for an anniversary trip though.
congrats!

I am curious as to what discouraged you from Lake Garda. We loved it. We did go in the fall. Summer in Italy will be hot and crowded but generally worse in August. But that will be an issue in most of the popular places.

Our trip to Lakes Como, Iseo and Garda is in two trip reports.

Trip Report: Part 1 Northern Italian Lakes & Cities (12 days October)

Trip Report: Part 2 of 2): Northern Italian Lakes & Cities (12 days October)

I would add one night to Rome. We have always found the city to be romantic. We were less enamored with crowded Florence, and if museums and art won’t be your focus, you might get away with one fewer day there. Maybe more time in the villa and perhaps only a day trip to Florence.

Yes, Lake Garda to me was the nicest lake - actual lake - of the three most famous lakes I visited -and it has a lot of nice places along its shores with frequent boat service. I especially like the northern fjord-like tip of the lake. The southern part of the lake has two nice towns with rail service. And Sirmione is the lake's Bellagio - swamped by tourists in day and gorgeous when most are gone at night. Sirmione also has some lovely Roman ruins overlooking the lake.

Sirmione:

https://www.google.com/search?q=sirm...ih=625&dpr=1.5

Lake Garda:

https://www.google.com/search?q=lake...iw=645&bih=613

I think you have to figure out a couple of things before you plan your days.

Will it be 10 days or 14 days? Big difference.

Do you want a go-go-go honeymoon (likely in hot, humid weather), or do you want a leisurely pace? FWIW, I don't do well in hot/humid weather, so I'd want a chance to really slow down in the middle of the day. Not every building in Italy is air conditioned to the glacial temps found in the U.S. (if that's where you're from).

Will/can you fly into one city and out of another?

These issues will determine the pace of your travels and whether a fourth destination is even realistic.

All good questions! I'm looking to leave July 1-14 so that means i would arrive July 2nd in the morning giving me 12 nights at most.

I want a mix of activity and leisure. I thought about flying from other cities but I'm coming from Toronto Canada, so Rome allows us to fly direct and it's cheaper.

This is what I'm currently thinking.

Day 1- arrive in Rome (stay 2 nights)
Day 2 - Rome
Day 3 - Travel to cinque Terre (stay 2 nights)
Day 4 Cinque terre
Day 5 - travel to Florence (stay 3 nights)
Day 6 Florence
Day 7 - Florence
Day 8 - travel to Chianti (stay 3 nights in villa)
Day 9 - chianti
Day 10 - chianti
Day 11 - travel back to Rome (stay 1 night)
Day 12 - Fly to Canada

My priority is having time to relax in Tuscany and take a cooking class and go wine tasting. We want to relax here. I'm a bit limited based on the availability at the villa though.
Also, do you think I should stay in cinque terre a day trip from Florence and instead spend more time in rome or somewhere else?

>>> Day 1- arrive in Rome (stay 2 nights)
>>> Day 11 - travel back to Rome (stay 1 night)
Try not to stay in Rome twice. If you can bunch up all your stay in one, you can save at least half day by completely eliminating one check-in/out cycle.
Once way to do this is to fly into Milan, Malpensa or Linate, and go straight to Cinque Terre on the arrival day if the plan lands in the morning in Milan. If you have to fly into FCO, you can take a high speed train to Florence. Trains run until into the evening.

I think I would be divorced before the honeymoon was over if we spent time in the Cinque Terre in July.

I would go to a beach in Tuscany rather than the Cinque Terre, for a relaxing time in July. Suggestions have already be made for a few here. It would make more sense to go to these places on your way from Rome, than to go all the way to Cinque Terre for 2 nights in July (it will be noisy and full of tourists), which would then involve backtracking to Florence.

Ditto StCirq!
We don't know enough about you or your wishes to make any more suggestions at this point, but make sure the two of you think and talk about what kind of trip you want to have. It is SO easy to overdo it in Italy. Be sure to look at train schedules--it kills me to lose time on a vacation. That time in a train could be spent sitting in a cafe, etc. etc. Have you searched multi city flights? A quick layover in Germany for example (Heathrow is the only airport I actively avoid) is not painful when it saves you backtracking.

I also would avoid the Cinque Terre in July. The crowds can be unmanageable unless you head out early in the morning to hike the higher trails.

I also can't immagine why you were discouraged from Lake Garda. We were there in July two years ago, three generations of my family, and we all loved it. We stayed in Pai, one of the smaller quieter towns, in a mini apartment right on the lake, which also had a pool.

Does the sentence I highlighted in bold above mean you will fly home on the 14th? If so I think you are incorrectly counting your time in Italy. See your day by day schedule above where I have added the dates in bold. I apologize if I misunderstood what date you are flying back to Canada.

My opinion agrees with the advice you have received above. I would save the Cinque Terre for another trip at a less crazy time of the year. I would go directly to Florence on your arrival day and move all your time in Rome to the end. It sounds like you like the villa you found in Chianti a lot and want to stay there but you are limited by it's availability. If staying there is a priority, that might complicate coming up with an efficient schedule. In my opinion, you have plenty of time to have a great honeymoon - you just need to tweak it some to make it a little easier. Congrats on your wedding.

thanks for the input everyone!

I think we found the right plans

Fly to Milan and go straight to Lake Como
- 3 nights in Lake como
- Train to Florence and spend 4 nights
- Rent a car and stay in Chianti for 3 nights
- Train to Rome and spend 2 nights
- Go back home

Does anyone know if you need a special permit to rent a car in Italy? I've been getting mixed answers on this?

You need an international driver's permit, if that's what you mean.

You may not need to show IDP to pick up cars but it is a requirement to drive the car in Italy. Get one quickly a your local AAA.

Bring two passport photos to the AAA office. The charge for the IDP (which is basically a legally authorized translation of info on your driver's license) is $20. For a fee, AAA will also take the photos. You don't need to be a AAA member, although the photo fee is less if you are.

Consider renting your car via broker AutoEurope which has great US-based customer support, good rates, and they usually offer prepaid full insurance that can be a fraction of what you might be charged at the desk.

I think we found the right plans

Fly to Milan and go straight to Lake Como
- 3 nights in Lake como
- Train to Florence and spend 4 nights
- Rent a car and stay in Chianti for 3 nights
- Train to Rome and spend 2 nights
- Go back home

I think that's a huge improvement. You will be so happy you're not returning to the same city where you arrived.

My only suggestion might be to take one night from Florence, and add it to Rome.

Happy Honeymoon!