Honeymoon Review-Venice, Tuscany, Sardinia
Oct 20th, 2004, 08:11 AM
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Honeymoon Review-Venice, Tuscany, Sardinia
We were in Italy for 2 weeks for our honeymoon. Since these boards were helpful in our planning, and in the spirit of sharing i wanted to provide a review.
Venice
Arrived at the Marco Polo Airport in the early afternoon and we caught the water bus to Venice for 10 Euro each. We later found out we could also catch the bus for 2E each. Our hotel DD.724, part of Design Hotels, was near the Guggenheim, and the Accademia in Dorsoduro. Our hotel was very charming, and the staff was extremely helpful, and friendly.
http://www.dd724.it/
We are so glad that we stayed in Dorsoduro as it?s not as touristy as San Marco, and in the evening there are hardly any people around except locals.
Florence
We took the train to Florence. DD.724 booked our train tickets the day before online. From the train station we caught a taxi to our hotel
We stayed at Locanda De Ciompi for 2 nights. You can?t beat the location as it?s proximity to everything is ideal. The owners are very hospitable. We paid 115E a night and included a small breakfast that is brought to your room.
http://www.locandadeciompi.it/
Tuscany
We rented a car in Florence. Since it was Sunday and everything was closed we had to pick up the car from the airport. We originally planned to stay 3 nights in Tuscany, but due to our flight being cancelled to Sardinia, we had to take an earlier flight, and shorten our stay in Tuscany.
On our drive to our hotel we stopped in Cortona for lunch. This is a real quaint hill town, and it wasn?t as big as I expected it to be.
We stayed at La Costa, this is a charming hotel located in the small town of Montefollonico. The town has 2 restaurants, and 2 small café/markets. Our room had a balcony that overlooked the hill, and a great bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub.
http://www.tuscany.net/costa/
After we checked into our hotel, we spent the afternoon in Montepulciano, which is about 15 minutes away.
The next day we stopped by Siena on our way back to the Florence airport. Siena is filled with people, and way more packed than I expected it to be. I?m sure once the crowds leave it would be a great place to explore.
Sardinia
It was too late for us to rent a car when we arrived in Sardinia, since everything was already closed. So, we ended up taking a taxi to our hotel, La Coluccia, for 100E. It was about 50 Kilometers from the airport, but we didn?t have a choice.
La Coluccia is part of the Mobygest hotels. Actually all three hotels we stayed at in Sardinia are part of Mobygest. We originally had planned to stay all 6 nights at La Coluccia, but decided to take advantage of the island and stayed at two other properties which La Coluccia arranged for us. We got good rates on all three hotels as it was off season.
La Coluccia is a very trendy, and young hotel that has only been opened for a year. It has a nice beach in front that is about 50km from the hotel. The staff was very helpful and friendly. Most of the Mobygest hotels include half-board which is a good idea if you don?t rent a car as this hotel is pretty remote from everything else.
After 3 nights, our rent a car was delivered to us,and we headed south to Cala Caterina. The drive took us about 3 hours. Cala Caterina had more of a Mediterranean feel to it. We found this hotel to be more of an older crowd, as we were probably the youngest couple there. We found the beaches to be warmer in the south. There is also a cute beach town about 5km away, Villasimius. We also enjoyed the white sandy beaches along Costa Rei.
After two nights,we drove back up North to be near the Olbia airport as we had to catch a 1pm flight back to Venice. We stayed our last night at Pellicano D?Oro. We loved this hotel as well. Again the staff was very helpful and friendly. The beach infront of the hotel is beautiful. They plan to add a pool next year, and additional rooms.
http://www.mobygest.it/
We flew back to SFO the next day via Venice. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Venice
Arrived at the Marco Polo Airport in the early afternoon and we caught the water bus to Venice for 10 Euro each. We later found out we could also catch the bus for 2E each. Our hotel DD.724, part of Design Hotels, was near the Guggenheim, and the Accademia in Dorsoduro. Our hotel was very charming, and the staff was extremely helpful, and friendly.
http://www.dd724.it/
We are so glad that we stayed in Dorsoduro as it?s not as touristy as San Marco, and in the evening there are hardly any people around except locals.
Florence
We took the train to Florence. DD.724 booked our train tickets the day before online. From the train station we caught a taxi to our hotel
We stayed at Locanda De Ciompi for 2 nights. You can?t beat the location as it?s proximity to everything is ideal. The owners are very hospitable. We paid 115E a night and included a small breakfast that is brought to your room.
http://www.locandadeciompi.it/
Tuscany
We rented a car in Florence. Since it was Sunday and everything was closed we had to pick up the car from the airport. We originally planned to stay 3 nights in Tuscany, but due to our flight being cancelled to Sardinia, we had to take an earlier flight, and shorten our stay in Tuscany.
On our drive to our hotel we stopped in Cortona for lunch. This is a real quaint hill town, and it wasn?t as big as I expected it to be.
We stayed at La Costa, this is a charming hotel located in the small town of Montefollonico. The town has 2 restaurants, and 2 small café/markets. Our room had a balcony that overlooked the hill, and a great bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub.
http://www.tuscany.net/costa/
After we checked into our hotel, we spent the afternoon in Montepulciano, which is about 15 minutes away.
The next day we stopped by Siena on our way back to the Florence airport. Siena is filled with people, and way more packed than I expected it to be. I?m sure once the crowds leave it would be a great place to explore.
Sardinia
It was too late for us to rent a car when we arrived in Sardinia, since everything was already closed. So, we ended up taking a taxi to our hotel, La Coluccia, for 100E. It was about 50 Kilometers from the airport, but we didn?t have a choice.
La Coluccia is part of the Mobygest hotels. Actually all three hotels we stayed at in Sardinia are part of Mobygest. We originally had planned to stay all 6 nights at La Coluccia, but decided to take advantage of the island and stayed at two other properties which La Coluccia arranged for us. We got good rates on all three hotels as it was off season.
La Coluccia is a very trendy, and young hotel that has only been opened for a year. It has a nice beach in front that is about 50km from the hotel. The staff was very helpful and friendly. Most of the Mobygest hotels include half-board which is a good idea if you don?t rent a car as this hotel is pretty remote from everything else.
After 3 nights, our rent a car was delivered to us,and we headed south to Cala Caterina. The drive took us about 3 hours. Cala Caterina had more of a Mediterranean feel to it. We found this hotel to be more of an older crowd, as we were probably the youngest couple there. We found the beaches to be warmer in the south. There is also a cute beach town about 5km away, Villasimius. We also enjoyed the white sandy beaches along Costa Rei.
After two nights,we drove back up North to be near the Olbia airport as we had to catch a 1pm flight back to Venice. We stayed our last night at Pellicano D?Oro. We loved this hotel as well. Again the staff was very helpful and friendly. The beach infront of the hotel is beautiful. They plan to add a pool next year, and additional rooms.
http://www.mobygest.it/
We flew back to SFO the next day via Venice. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Oct 20th, 2004, 12:44 PM
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LAwoman:
Sorry if i did't make it clear. The 2E bus, isn't a water bus, it's a regular bus. You can catch the bus right outside the airport,and it's the NO.5 bus,and it's orange.
Bighil:
Here is our itinerary:
Venice-- 4 nights
Florence-- 2 nights
Tuscany-- 1 night (it was orginally 3 nights, but our original flight to Sardinia was cancelled so we had to take an earlier flight)
Sardinia--6 nights
Venice--1 night
Sorry if i did't make it clear. The 2E bus, isn't a water bus, it's a regular bus. You can catch the bus right outside the airport,and it's the NO.5 bus,and it's orange.
Bighil:
Here is our itinerary:
Venice-- 4 nights
Florence-- 2 nights
Tuscany-- 1 night (it was orginally 3 nights, but our original flight to Sardinia was cancelled so we had to take an earlier flight)
Sardinia--6 nights
Venice--1 night
Jul 26th, 2005, 06:47 PM
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Cleo,
We are traveling to Italy for 5 days in August and are booked to stay at Cala Caterina. You mention that the crowd at this hotel was older. We have two boys 7 and 8. Do you think this hotel is appropriate for children this age?
Thanks.
We are traveling to Italy for 5 days in August and are booked to stay at Cala Caterina. You mention that the crowd at this hotel was older. We have two boys 7 and 8. Do you think this hotel is appropriate for children this age?
Thanks.
