Honeymoon in October rough itinerary
Jan 27th, 2006, 08:52 AM
#1
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Honeymoon in October rough itinerary
My fiance and I are beginning to plan our late October honeymoon for this fall. It has always been our dream to go to Italy, and although we know that there's no way we're going to be able to see everything we want to see, we want to get at least a taste. We are interested more in searcing around and observing culture than packing ourselves full of museums, but there are a couple of things we don't want to miss (for instance, the only thing I NEED to see in Florence is the David, but I wouldn't be heartbroken to skip the Uffizi gallery, especially since I'm mentally planning our second trio as I think about this one)
Anyhow, what do you all think about this as a beginning itinerary?
Sunday: Travel overnight
Monday: Arrive in Florence (stay in Florence)
Tuesday: Florence , pick up rental car; Late afternoon drive to Volterra (stay in Volterra area)
Wednesday: Volterra/San G (stay in Volterra)
Thursday: Greve, Wine tour, drop car in Florence, train to Parma (stay in Parma)
Friday: Parma, cheese tour, train to Bologna (Stay in Bologna)
Saturday: Bologna (Stay in Bologna)
Sunday: Ravenna (Stay in Bologna)
Monday: Train to Rome (stay in Rome)
Tuesday: Rome (Stay in Rome)
Wednesday: Travel home
Anyhow, what do you all think about this as a beginning itinerary?
Sunday: Travel overnight
Monday: Arrive in Florence (stay in Florence)
Tuesday: Florence , pick up rental car; Late afternoon drive to Volterra (stay in Volterra area)
Wednesday: Volterra/San G (stay in Volterra)
Thursday: Greve, Wine tour, drop car in Florence, train to Parma (stay in Parma)
Friday: Parma, cheese tour, train to Bologna (Stay in Bologna)
Saturday: Bologna (Stay in Bologna)
Sunday: Ravenna (Stay in Bologna)
Monday: Train to Rome (stay in Rome)
Tuesday: Rome (Stay in Rome)
Wednesday: Travel home
Jan 27th, 2006, 11:47 AM
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Hi Emma,
Congrats on your upcoming marriage
We also honeymooned in Italy (June 2004), and returned in May 2005 for another two weeks.
The advice Bob has given you is VERY sound. You really don't want more than 3 destinations max in only 9 days, 2 would be better. Every time you switch desinations it will eat up half-a-day. Your current planned itinerary is crazy busy once you account for all your travel time, time checking in and out of hotels and re-packing your suitcase every night or every other night.
How about this:
Arrive Florence Monday (remember you will be jetlagged and EXHAUSTED from your wedding). Plan on seeing the Duomo and Baptistry and possible meandering through the leather market near the Basilica San Lorenzo.
Tuesday - all day Florence. See David, but also consider seeing some of the other museums (Uffizi for one), and other amazing churches. The Pitti Palace is beautiful.
Wednesday morning - head to Volterra. Spend the remainder of the day exploring Volterra
Thursday - daytrip to San Gim, possibly tour a winery in the area there
Friday - daytrip to Siena. Explore Siena for the day
Saturday - daytrip to Montepulciano and/or Montalcino
Sunday - return the car (you might be able to return in Siena and avoid backtracking north to Florence) and train to Rome. This will take the better portion of the day.
Monday and Tuesday - Rome. Trust me, you will not run out of things to see!
----
The reason I eliminated Ravenna, Bologna, etc. is because it made little sense to be traveling north of Florence with such a short amount of time and with Rome being your last destination. Save these cities for a weeklong+ trip to the Veneto where you can explore Venice, Verona, and Vicenza.
Congrats on your upcoming marriage
We also honeymooned in Italy (June 2004), and returned in May 2005 for another two weeks. The advice Bob has given you is VERY sound. You really don't want more than 3 destinations max in only 9 days, 2 would be better. Every time you switch desinations it will eat up half-a-day. Your current planned itinerary is crazy busy once you account for all your travel time, time checking in and out of hotels and re-packing your suitcase every night or every other night.
How about this:
Arrive Florence Monday (remember you will be jetlagged and EXHAUSTED from your wedding). Plan on seeing the Duomo and Baptistry and possible meandering through the leather market near the Basilica San Lorenzo.
Tuesday - all day Florence. See David, but also consider seeing some of the other museums (Uffizi for one), and other amazing churches. The Pitti Palace is beautiful.
Wednesday morning - head to Volterra. Spend the remainder of the day exploring Volterra
Thursday - daytrip to San Gim, possibly tour a winery in the area there
Friday - daytrip to Siena. Explore Siena for the day
Saturday - daytrip to Montepulciano and/or Montalcino
Sunday - return the car (you might be able to return in Siena and avoid backtracking north to Florence) and train to Rome. This will take the better portion of the day.
Monday and Tuesday - Rome. Trust me, you will not run out of things to see!
----
The reason I eliminated Ravenna, Bologna, etc. is because it made little sense to be traveling north of Florence with such a short amount of time and with Rome being your last destination. Save these cities for a weeklong+ trip to the Veneto where you can explore Venice, Verona, and Vicenza.
Jan 27th, 2006, 12:51 PM
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Hi Emma and Peter,
I like TexasAggie's itinerary. Totally agree that you need to slow down a bit.
Siena and Orvieto car offices will probably be closed on Sunday. Maybe go to Rome a day sooner? Dropping the car in Orvieto would be ideal.
Congrats & buon viaggio!
I like TexasAggie's itinerary. Totally agree that you need to slow down a bit.
Siena and Orvieto car offices will probably be closed on Sunday. Maybe go to Rome a day sooner? Dropping the car in Orvieto would be ideal.
Congrats & buon viaggio!
Jan 27th, 2006, 04:34 PM
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OUt of curiosity, how many days would you suggest if we want to see those cities? We can probably take more time if we're careful to get budget hotels, which we're ok with since we tend to only go back to the hotel to sleep. Also, would it make more sense to switch days around, for instance, go straight to Tuscany after landing in Florence, then drop the car in Florence, spend a day and go on to E-R?
We're actually much more excited about the E-R portion of the trip than the Tuscan part, so I'd rather not drop Bologna, Ravenna and Parma.
TexasAggie - We've already been warned about the post wedding exhaustion, the ceremony is Friday evening and we've got NOTHING planned for Saturday other than sleeping in and resting, so hopefully all we'll have to deal with in Italy is the jet lag which is why we're planning the night flight, Peter can sleep anywhere, and I'm quickly knocked out by Benadryl.
We're actually much more excited about the E-R portion of the trip than the Tuscan part, so I'd rather not drop Bologna, Ravenna and Parma.
TexasAggie - We've already been warned about the post wedding exhaustion, the ceremony is Friday evening and we've got NOTHING planned for Saturday other than sleeping in and resting, so hopefully all we'll have to deal with in Italy is the jet lag which is why we're planning the night flight, Peter can sleep anywhere, and I'm quickly knocked out by Benadryl.
