HONEYMOON in Switzerland and Italy: Ideas and Help Needed Please
 

Hi Everyone! I am hoping for some help in planning my honeymoon to Italy and Switzerland. My fiance and I will be going June 2016. (Yes I know its far away, but we are both teachers and this will be the best time due to our school schedule and will allow us to take time to enjoy what these countries have to offer. As well as being able to figure out cost ahead of time to save up.

We are looking to make this a trip of a lifetime. We are both in our 30's and looking for scenic beauty, strolling the streets, and sightseeing. A great day for us would be to spend some time just walking around, relaxing by the sea or lake, visiting a spa, some light sightseeing, and a delicious dinner drinking wine.

I have been to Florence, Rome, Ravello, and Capri. My fiance has never been to Europe. We are not interested in going to any kind of museums. I was lucky enough to visit the many beautiful sights in Rome and Florence with tour guides so that is not as important to us on this trip.

We have come up with a list of places we would love to see, however we also know we do not want to rush our trip and try to see too much. I would appreciate some help coming up with possible itineraries for us to think about.

Its so hard to see everything, but these are some places we are very interested in:
1. Switzerland-We are very interested in taking one of the train rides (bernina or glacier express)
2. Lake Como
3. Venice
4. Tuscany?
5. Positano

Any other ideas or cities that anyone would recommend would be wonderful!

I would suggest Salzburg and the nearby lakes

I don;t see where you have mentioned how many weeks you will have in europe. Really need that to make useful suggestions.

I apologize ny! We should have between 2-3 weeks. We would also be interested in the cinque terre/italian riviera if that region made more sense being closer than Positano.

Switzerland is expensive (my multi-millionaire BIL has to breath in pay for a round) so only go if money no object. You can visit the Alps in Italy, France, Austria and Slovenia at sensible prices.

Venice is worth it, book early and get good prices.

I'd also look at the whole PO valley, Padua, Verona, Ferrara, Bologna all lovely places with lots of walking and holding hands potential.

Over in Tuscany there are a whole bunch of which Siena/Florence/St Gim/Pienza will be busy in June, focus on the smaller cities there.

There's a big difference between two weeks and three weeks. You need to either make an itinerary and calculate how much time you'll need to cover the geography and see the destinations -or- you need to decide exactly how many days you have and what you can realistically see in that amount of time.

IMO, you'd need 3 weeks just to cover your #1-5 list.

First, best wishes for your upcoming marriage.

If I were on my honeymoon, I'd want to spend a good bit of the time in Venice. Venice offers you most of what you want; it's a great place for just walking around.

Anywhere in Italy you'll find delicious food and wine.

Even though you've seen Florence, I think you should show it off to your new spouse, so I'd spend some time in Florence and then head off to Tuscany. There is a world of difference between seeing someplace with a tour group and seeing it on your own with someone you love.

Bilbo's suggestions for Tuscany and other areas of northern Italy are all good.

I'm not a fan of the CT and it will be jammed in June anyway, so I'd look a little further north along the Riviera.

Congratulations! You are going to have a wonderful honeymoon in Europe. You are smart to be starting the planning so far in advance. You've made good choices for romance with the places on your list. I've been to all of them except Positano, so I can offer a few thoughts...

Regarding Switzerland, search the boards here for loads of information about the various scenic trains. Lots of great choices. There's also various different rail passes available in Switzerland, which you will want to research carefully to get the best deal for your specific itinerary. Generally, the passes include all rail lines, boats, funiculars, etc, but there are a few exceptions.

If you do opt to spend some time in Switzerland, I'd strongly recommend a few days in the Berner Oberland, in a smaller town such as Wengen or Lauterbrunnen. You will really be IN the Alps here. Glorious opportunities for hiking, walking, and general gazing at scenic beauty.

It will typically take at least half a day to get from one place on your list to another (more from BO to Italy), so you will probably find it difficult to keep everything in. If you end up spending time Switzerland, you might have your fill of mountain and lake views there and opt to drop Lake Como, beautiful as it is.

Regarding flights, be sure to use the "multi-city" option on airline websites so that you fly into one city and out of another to maximize your travel efficiency. Perhaps into Geneva or Zurich, and out of Naples (if you keep Positano in the plans). Though I think it might make more sense to limit the Italian portion of your trip to the north and fly home out of either Milan or Venice. The suggestion above to visit some of the other smaller cities in northern Italy like Verona or Padua is a good one.

Planning is a half the fun of a trip like this! This hardest part will be deciding what not to visit. Have fun and best wishes for a wonderful honeymoon!

Tough call.
You've listed 5 possible destinations in Italy, plus Switzerland. That could be pretty hectic for two people who say they want a "relaxing" honeymoon.

I have limited experience in Switzerland, so I won't comment on that part.

As for Italy:
For me, seeking the kind of vaca you say you want, I'd do 4 days in Venice -- making sure to stroll around at night, as the city takes on a different feel when the day-trippers have left.

Maybe 3-4 days at Lake Como, probably Varenna, a small town with easy access to the bigger, busier cities on the lake.

3-4 days in Tuscany. You may want to rent a vehicle for this part of the trip.

That puts you at 10-12 days, plus a couple of travel days, without even taking in the Switzerland part. If you're talking about 3 weeks, then I'd probably go to Positano as a base and explore some of the Amalfi Coast from there.

"Switzerland is expensive (my multi-millionaire BIL has to breath in pay for a round) so only go if money no object."

NO, NO, NO. Get over this obsession with deciding where to go based on your budget bilboburgler. If someone wants to visit Switzerland, they want to visit Switzerland. NOT somewhere else.

YOU may consider it expensive but that does not mean it is beyond everyone else's ability to afford or that it is only for those for whom, "money no object." Just write, 'I can't afford to visit Switzerland, so I can't comment on it.'

Nowhere compares to the Swiss Alps, the Swiss food and the Swiss culture. They're unique just like everywhere else in the world.

I agree with others Goldengrl that you need to define your time as a start. There are 2 ways people go about planning. Many start with a list of places and then try to squeeze them into the time they have available. They call it, 'to see as much as possible'. What they confuse is the word 'much' with the word 'many', they are not synonymous.

The way to see as 'much' as possible is to spend your time IN places, not in BETWEEN places. In travel as in many things, less is more. The less you move the more you see and do.

other way to plan is to decide how much time you have and then figure out how many places that will allow you to visit. Then and ONLY then, come up with a list of places.

Personally, I don't like to stop anywhere for less than a week. I'd rather see a lot of a few places rather than very little of a lot of places. So for example if I had 2 weeks I would not plan to visit more than 3 places and preferrably only 2. If I had 3 weeks it would be no more than 5 places and preferably only 3. Quantity is not synonymous with quality and in fact is usually the exact opposite.

Sojourn, the OP kinda asked these questions

"I would appreciate some help coming up with possible itineraries for us to think about.

Any other ideas or cities that anyone would recommend would be wonderful!"

I hope I answered them in my own way. Please don't shout at me, I'm just trying to help.

Love and Hugs to all :-)

Bilbo

Thank you all for your kind words. It is very exciting to be planning a wedding as well as a honeymoon.

I appreciate all of your ideas, input, and opinions. I know it is a very good idea for us to start planning early because its going to be difficult to choose only a few places to visit and spend time in. At this point I know we will definitely be able to go on a 2 week honeymoon and most likely will be able to add on a few extra days, so for now I will say we can plan a 14-16 day honeymoon. Planning so early on will give us plenty of time to hopefully add a few more days if possible, but for now, we can stick with that number in order to begin coming up with an itinerary.

Bilbo~Thank you! Verona looks beautiful and Venice is a MUST visit for me. Where smaller cities in Tuscany do you recommend looking into?

DWD~Thanks for the suggestion about visiting Florence again. I would have no problem heading back there. Where would you recommend staying and spending time? In regards to the CT, I would much rather spend time on the Amalfi coast (especially Ravello & Positano) however where would you recommend looking in the northern riviera area?

MSTeacher: Thank you for your suggestions of Wengen or Lauterbrunnen. What is the best way to arrive to these areas? Should we stay in a bigger city near them and then travel there? Or are there accommodations in these smaller cities? (Sorry, i dont know as much about this area but they sure do look beautiful)

Vincenzo~Your idea of Venice, Lake Como, Tuscany, and Positano are where I would LOVE to spend our honeymoon. Where would you recommend in Tuscany? If I have to cut out Positano I would in order to give us more time some where else I would be kind of ok with that. (although i truly love the Amalfi Coast area) But when it comes down to it, I do not want a honeymoon where we are spending more time traveling to the cities instead of enjoying being in them.

SoJourn~I totally agree about how important it is to not spend most of your time traveling to cities...I would much rather be in the cities exploring and enjoying. Where do you recommend staying and exploring in Switzerland?

Thank you all for your replies! Looking forward to hearing more of your opinions and using your help to plan our trip!

Tuscany has the big drawers of
Florence, Siena, St Gim, Volterra, Pienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino. Nothing wrong with any of them, but they can be a bit crowded especially at midday, all are much better in the evening when the coaches depart.

Smaller towns/cities
Colle di Val d'Elsa, looks like a modern city but the upper town (access by car or a lift) is pretty splendid and includes covered walkways which were restricted to women (as the men had to go on the main street where they were allowed to kill each other...), (stories vary depending on how much you have drunk ;-) )

Montopoli, tiny little hill top place, built around a half bowl of fields hidden away off the motorway. Looks like nothing but still very splendid for a couple of hours (or an overnight (multiple night stay) if you want a well placed town for trips and very old buildings. Needs a car to make it work.

San Querico; very much the small walled city closer to the plains than a hill fort. Nothing much to see (I think a rose garden is its high point) but I could imagine growing old here)

Buonconvento; another plains based walled city, close to one of the more important monestries in Italy (just to the East in the hills), again a good base for a car trip

Chiusi (old town), a very old town again on a hill with Etruscan foundations, a Roman tower built over a well (go figure) and a nice square, fine views towards the west. Not many tourists come here, despite the motorway being relatively close.

Then there are spa towns, some further south which I know nothing about, but others might. My favorite is a bit touristy but you can vist for a day and rent space in the pool or go and bathe (au natural) at the bottom of the cliff. Bagno Vignoni even has a hot pool in the market square (contact with water best avoided)

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allt...uscany-part-2/ this may help if it interests you. Italians generally have rules about wearing plastic hats in their spas (I know it is like another country :-) ).

And there are others. Basically, if as a city, you survived during the period of Siena's or Florence's expansion you had to have walls and a defensive position. As a result you can see when the city was finally captured by those two larger cities (as development more or less stopped then) and the old buildings often still stand.

What I would recommend is, if you are going to Italy in June then you need access to a pool. It can get very hot and damp, no matter what A/C you think you are getting, nothing helps like getting into a pool.

Something you may not have spotted yet about Italy is the passeggiata have a look at http://www.fodors.com/news/story_4117.html which makes even the smallest town come alive in the evening.

Golden, there are some real experts on Tuscany (I'm not) who normally come on (maybe over the weekend they will pop out) some have already contributed above but there are some more. I'd keep this tread bubbling over the weekend to see who else can give you some ideas.

Hi Goldengrl,

It's good to see you are reading through all the advice and taking it all on board. As for the Swiss portion of your trip, you would travel by rail. Trains in Switzerland are efficient, comfortable, and fast. In fact, that's true for Italy too. The only portion of your trip where you might want to rent a car would be for driving around the Tuscan countryside. But for the rest of your trip, trains will likely be the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to travel (with maybe an occasional bus).

And yes, you would want to stay in a town like Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, or Murren in the BO. The nearest larger town (I can't really call it a city) is Interlaken, so you would take a train to there, then another to Lauterbrunnen. Some people enjoy staying in Interlaken, which has two beautiful lakes, but personally I would prefer to stay in and among the main attraction... the glorious mountains. Google some pictures and you'll get the idea.

On a separate note, I just want to make you aware that the Amalfi coast and Cinque Terre are not your only two options for coastal beauty in Italy. Both can get very crowded, and can be difficult to get to/from quickly. Italy has miles and miles of coastline. Depending on the rest of your itinerary, you might find some other places, such as Tuscan beaches or Ligurian coast, more convenient and relaxing.

So I think the first big decision you will need to make is which places on your wish list are realistic to keep and which to save for another trip (yes, there will be another trip). No matter how you do it, I think you'll end up with a nice variety of scenery and have a lovely honeymoon!

Try Sesti Levante. Haven't been but looks good on tripadvisor.

I also would prefer the Amalfi Coast. I think that area and the Bay of Naples are more scenic and there is more to do than the Italian Riviera.

"Where do you recommend staying and exploring in Switzerland?"
What are your interests?
Where will you land: in a Swiss or in a Italian airport or somewhere else?
You may have a look at
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en

Thanks again for all your suggestions!!

Taking into consideration the fact that my fiance and I would like to visit Switzerland as well as Italy, it seems to me that we leave the Amalfi coast for another visit. I just think it does make more sense to concentrate on more of the northern Italy areas this time. So with this in mind, there are a few places I have ALWAYS wanted to spend time in.

I would really like to spend some time in Venice. The Belmond Cipriani looks beautiful (my parents stayed there on their honeymoon many years ago) Does it make sense to stay here or in the main areas of Venice?

I also have always wanted to stay in Portofino. At the Hotel Splendido. Any advice on this area?
I also think the Imperiale Palace in Santa Margherita looks lovely.
Which city/hotel would you choose?

I do love the beauty of the lake area in Italy as well. Specifically Lake Como. The Grand Hotel Tremezzo really caught my eye.

I do love Tuscany as well, but if we do not have time for this area that is ok for this trip.

Bilbo~ Thank you so much for all your input. I think if we are able to visit Tuscany this trip, I would like to visit one of the larger cities. Which would be your suggestion?

msTeacher~ When we visit that area of Switzerland, what hotels would you recommend? Thank you also for all your advice! Although it is hard to decide between all the wonderful places in Italy, I know I needed to begin eliminating. The places that I mentioned above are all beautiful areas I would LOVE to see if possible. And if this is possible, how many days in each area would you recommend? We may be able to cut out the Italian lakes area if we spend some time in Switzerland and see that beauty.

So sticking to Switzerland and Northern Italy, I would love to begin coming of with a few different itineraries if you all could help?

Thank you all again for your help!!! I, along with my fiance really appreciate it!

Golden,
Florence; stay here if you are using the train system only to get around and want to wander around looking at fine art but happy with a lot of people being present day and night.

Siena; stay here (probably with a car) if you like the idea of being on the top of a small mountain but get rooms with a view and chill out with some walking to little restaurants. The better restaurants will need to be booked but the places in the main square you just queue up for (mainly), use this for a base to see some of the countryside and the town around.

St Gim,
Volterra, treat these two as the same, since they are such small towns you can book into farm/country park type places around and walk in or stay in the centre. Each is only really worth a day's study but as part of a relaxed summer holiday might fit in well. Volterra is a bit further away from other sites.

Pienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino.

Three cites, more or less in sight of each other. While all are old, Pienza is a bit odd as a Pope had it built over 20 years and it is basically flat, unlike the other two hill towns. I prefer Montepulciano. All three have agritorismo (i think this is spelt incorrectly) nearby if you want a more countryfied stop.

For me Siena is wonderful, but I've never stayed there. Florence; I rented a medieval house for a week away from tourist town and found the locals very friendly and helpful.

I'd focus on these 2, especially Siena which is where I'd have spent my honeymoon if I hadn't gone to Lecce in Puglia.

Bilbo~ Thank you! If we are able to visit this area, I believe Siena would be our pick to enjoy some relaxation as well as some wonderful food and wine. Can you suggest any hotels?

I have been doing a little more research on Switzerland. We are considering flying into Zurich and heading to Lucern. How many days should be spent here?

There is one attraction that is a must for us. This is the ZipRider in Grindelwald. Knowing we want to do this, where should we stay in this region of Switzerland? We would also like to take one of the well known train trips into Italy. How can we make this work? How much time should we give ourselves in Switzerland if we would like to visit in Lucerne, the BO, and take a train to Italy?

Looking forward to more help! Thanks everyone!