cjacob

I started a thread on a possible honeymoon in Portugal but have been researching many other places, and wanted to get some more ideas from fellow Fodorites.

The latest on my list is Sardegna/Sardinia (after reading an article in National Geographic Traveler) and the Aeolian Islands. I have been reading many posts and articles about these places, and am very intrigued by them.

We want to go to a max of 3 hotels as we'll only have 10 - 12 nights (not including travel days). We wouldn't mind having 2 totally different experiences (we tossed around a fire&ice type of itinerary!), so I worry that these two destinations are too similar. Advice on these locations would be great along with ideas for other possible Honeymoon spots. We like to be a little "off the beaten path" and explore places many others have never been.

This is from the previous post, but it sums up what me and my Fiance are looking for:

We are at the VERY beginning phases of planning our Honeymoon as it isn't until June 2010, and have been tossing around tons of idea of places to visit for 2 weeks. Our idea of a perfect honeymoon is to be surrounded by natural beauty, culture, and great food and wine.

We live in NYC and enjoy cities, but don't need to spend our Honeymoon in one. We're also not big museum goers and would much prefer to spend our time wandering cute cities and villages. We also enjoy the beach, but get bored pretty easily. We realize after the little planning we've already done for the Wedding that we are going to need some major relaxation the first few days!

Thank you in advance for any suggestions on places and your personal experiences!

bobthenavigator

Not a good combination IMHO.
With 3 destinations in mind, and your stated scenario, I would consider Sicily and the Aeolians. I would stay at Taormina, Lipari, and Palermo. You may have to connect via Rome to Catania and Palermo. Here are some good reasons why.

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3828

SeeDee

Enjoyed some time at the Capofaro resort on Salina, one of the Aeolian islands. Might be a little quiet, we were there in April; perhaps it might be livelier in June. Plenty of scope for island hopping but the resort is not close to the boat dock.
We resumed our honeymoon in July, visiting Northern Italy - Stresa, Bellagio and Milan and had a ball. The lakes are quite spectacular and Milan will give you a bit of a city buzz after all that water....

cjacob

Thanks for the replies.

What about Sardegna and South of France? Or Sardegna and somewhere else? I would rather go to Sardegna than Sicily after what I have read.

cjacob

I should add that I've traveled all over Italy, and don't want to go somewhere I've already been too.

Is it easy to get from Sardegna to other countries besides Italy?

Steve_James

Hi CJ - For flights from Sardinia check -

www.whichbudget.com

Ryanair have flights to Marseilles from Cagliari

Hope this helps ...

Steve

lisabelina

We've enjoyed the Aeolian islands and Sardinia immensely! We love Lipari and have enjoyed swimming in Canneto and we also really enjoyed Cagliari and Alghero in Sardinia (we will be returning to Cagliari this October). Another possibility is Crete...I would say that our favorite islands thus far are Crete, Sicily (especially the Aeolians) and Sardinia!
Let me know if you have any questions!
Lisa

SeeDee

Regarding the South of France, Beaulieu sur Mer is only minutes from Nice by train and yet has all the benefits of the regular service that makes Monaco, Menton, Cannes an easy (car free) connection. Cap Ferrat is on the doorstep and Villefranche is reachable on foot. Beach is not of particular note but it's a beach. La Reserve is an upscale hotel in town if you want to splash some cash.
Our favourite day trip would be to Eze, which is quite tourist driven but has great costal views - and one or two restaurants for lunch that share the panorama.

cjacob

Thanks for all your replies.

Lisa- Do you think staying on Sardinia for all 10-12 days is too much? I have read a lot of reports on here that people have done this, but we do want some variety on our trip. Do you have other suggestions on what else we can pair Sardinia with?

Priscillotta

Hi, Italian speaking here.

Sardegna in June is wonderful, and if you wanto to be off the beaten trails, just rent a car, not plan too much, go around and make the whole tour.

I mean, if you want what you said, food and wine and countryside, and sea, and skies... Sardegna is your place, it's like Ireland + the caribbean.

You can find great scenery, but also white sand beaches.
I would travel there like an italian, not just taking some bites of it and then going to France, it's not worth it.

Go there, enjoy yourself!

lisabelina

cjacob,

I agree with Priscillotta...Sardinia is a place to explore and drive/walk around but I am thinking that 12 days might be a bit much. Last year we coupled Sardinia with Corsica and that worked out very well. I think that you will really enjoy Cagliari and Alghero. We also went to Santa Teresa di Gallura and took the ferry to Corsica from there. We stayed away from the Costa Smeralda. I do wish that we had visited the mountains last year and hope to do that a bit this year since I understand that this is the way to see the "real Sardinia" and lots of goats!There's also an area outside of Cagliari where you can see flamingos and all sorts of other birds...I hope to go there this time.
Please let me know if you have other questions...
Lisa

sardiniasarena

Hi there,

Having lived in both Sardinia and Sicily (Milazzo, where you get the boats to the Aeolian islands) I can't think of anywhere better for a honeymoon!

If you're thinking of Sicily, Stromboli is just the ost fabulous place... no cars (just electric golf buggies) and utter beauty. I used to take my shoes off the day I arrived and not put them back on until I got back on the ferry... it's all so laid back.

For Sardinia, there's so much to do... I reccommend the Pula area as being well equipped for tourists with plenty t do but still authentic and unspoilt. Stay away from the touristy disneylands like Villasimius, Torre delle Stelle and the Costs Smeralda if you want a taste of authentic Sardinia. I hope the following sites help

http://sardinia-guide.net/
http://thesardiniavillacollection.com/
http://www.sardiniaholidayconcierge.com/

TravMimi

I love Sicily. Can't count how many times I've been. In fact, I just got back from another week in the Aeolians. I think it's a perfect spot for a honeymoon. The islands need at least 4 full days. Rent scooters for the day on lunar like Vulcano, charming Salina and busy Lipari. Views you will find along the way are absolutely out of this world! Food is fantastic, people wonderful, and prices are quite good. Climb a volcano or two - take boat cruise to see gorgeous sea grottos - mud bath? - spa treatment? So much to see and do. Beautiful hotels to pamper yourself, or rent an apartment and play local. Do a google image search of the islands and visit flickr.com, but remember even these great photos just can't capture the true beauty.

I agree with bobthenavigator. Lipari, Taormina (or the beach town of Letojanni where I like to stay) and Palermo. Palermo is one of my favorite large cities.

We usually fly to Rome, take the train to Naples, wander the historic center, then take the overnight ferry (fun and romantic) to Lipari. To get back, fly out of either Palermo or Catania - your choice depending on where you go.

Just don't do this in August !! It's a favorite vacation spot for Italians and you won't be able to move around Lipari! May/June or September are best.

No matter what you end up doing, have a wonderful honeymoon and life together.

cjacob

Thanks so much for these responses-- I am more confused than ever now! I am thinking about this trip way too much, because no matter where we go, it will be perfect!

markrosy

Sardinia is very well served by a short ferry journey from the mainland making Tuscany and Sardinia very possible. Also consider Elba out of season - June/ September are the only times to go to Sardinia - in high season you will be over-run by the spoilt brats of Italy and the Middle East. Last time we were in Porto Cervo we were run off the road by a 14 year old Arab type driving a Ferrari very very badly.

The north east coast of Sardinia makes a lot of sense simply because of the attraction over a longer stay - we prefer the south coast as its more "real".

From say Santa Teresa you have easy day trips to Corsica, Alghero, Costa Smerelda and the La Maddalena islands.

caroline_edinburgh

We've been to Sicily a number of times but for our honeymoon, we had 8 nights on Panarea bookended by 3 nights at each end in Taormina, which provided a good contrast.

Taormina is beautiful as a small town with fantastic, romantic views, busy and full of good restaurants. We've never done much there (in 3 trips) except a bit of sightseeing, relaxing, swimming, eating & drinking, reading & enjoying the views; but if you got bored you could do daytrips to Etna and whatnot. For our honeymoon we stayed at the San Domenico Palace.

Outwith the high season, Panarea is beautiful and very quiet -our stay there was idyllic. There's not much to do except relaxing, swimming, eating & drinking, reading & enjoying the views, maybe taking the odd gentle walk. Well, we could have taken day trips to the other islands, but couldn't be bothered - but if you get bored easily, you could do that. We stayed at the Hotel Raya which was quiet when we went in late spring (I gather it gets full of the beautiful people in August), beautiful in a very simple way and served fantastic fresh seafood every night. It was perfect.

Re "We realize after the little planning we've already done for the Wedding that we are going to need some major relaxation the first few days!" : we didn't travel (and then only shorthaul) until 2 days after our wedding, but we still spent the first 3 days of our honeymoon sleeping - weddings are exchaustimg !

markrosy

In forty years of travel and 200 plus trips - Sardinia is the second most relaxing (after Hopetown, Abaco) and Sicily the least relaxing place I have visited.

I personally would go no further than Tuscany for a honeymoon. It is a tried and tested relaxing, romantic and easy option.

Spending a week in Sicily following a hectic wedding would have left me divorced within two weeks.

Peter_in_Sardinia

I don't think 10-12 days is too much in Sardinia. We see lots of people who try to see the island in a week and never get out of their cars/away from the tourist hotspots, and consequently never see the "real" Sardinia which (if you read the posts here) is the unique aspect of the island worth seeking out. Which is also what you seem to want "We like to be a little "off the beaten path" and explore places many others have never been." "Our idea of a perfect honeymoon is to be surrounded by natural beauty, culture, and great food and wine." Stay at Su Gologone for a week and then spend 5 days in Alghero taking some day trips out of town, eg Asinara, Sassari, or maybe Cagliari if you want to get a feel for the town (v different to NYC). We live in a town of 2000 people, when we go to Cagliari it seems like NYC to us but we do live next to a coastline which is exceptionally beautiful and unspolit. If you like hiking, kayaking, cycling it is brilliant here, that's why we came to live here.
cheers Peter