Honeymoon to Italy...venice is certain..then what?
 

My fiancé and I are going to europe for a honeymoon. We fly in to barcelona, spend a few days there, then go on a 7 night cruise (florence/ pisa, rome, capri, etc) and after our cruise we will spend another week in europe. We have decided that Venice is for certain, but are trying to plan out the remaining honeymoon. Thoughts? We both love shopping, fine dining, sightseeing, lounging beachside, to name a few.

These are some options for the time we have sept 8-13 (flying home on sept. 14)

venice, florence, rome

venice & sorrento

venice & paris

Could use advice!!!!!

Do you have your plane tickets yet? If so, where do you fly home from?

Although you won't have seen much of Florence, Rome and Sorrento on the cruise, I wouldn't re-visit these places when you only have five days.

If it were my trip, I'd spend all of the time in Venice and take a day trip or two to, say, Verona, Bologna or Ferrara.

If you don't already have your plane tickets, you could fly into Barcelona and home from Paris. Fly to Paris from Venice. Five days is a great amount of time for Paris. If you already have your tickets, choose a place or places convenient to your departure city.

Hi AT,

Your ship won't dock in Florence. It docks in Livorno. You will have barely enough time to get there before you have to return. (Well, not quite that bad.)

Ditto for Rome. The ship docks in Civitavecchia.

From whence does your cruise depart and where does it end?
From where will you be heading home?

((I))

Have dinner at Ristorante da Ivo in Florence (http://www.ristorantedaivo.com/). The food is amazing, and the restaurant is very small (approx.10 tables) and romantic. It is very expensive (even for Venice) but worth it. You can reach it on foot and by water.

Sorry, I meant to say Ristorante da Ivo in Venice. I had been thinking of Florence earlier.

Hello!

Thanks for the responses!

Here is the itinerary so far: fly in to barcelona (spend 3 nights there)

Leave on cruise (from barcelona)

Fly from barcelona to venice (spend few days there)

Then.....??

We have a week total after cruise (to include venice and ....suggestions?)

We have not booked our flights yet- we will fly in to barcelona, and either out of naples (if we go to sorrento) or Paris (if we go to paris)

Thoughts?

I would fly from Barcelona to Nice, spend a few days on the Cote d'Azur, then fly from NIce to Venice. If you still have extra days do day trips out of Venice like Padova, Verona, Ferrara. Catch a return flight out of Venice or Bologna.

Good idea to spend a couple days in Barcelona pre-cruise. I assume the cruise will end someplace other than Barcelona....will that be Venice or elsewhere in Italy, from which you plan to travel to Venice? If so, I would suggest you stay 3 nights in Venice, then fly or take the train to Paris nd spend the rest of your time in Paris, fly home from there.

If you like to shop, I'd go to Florence directly after the cruise (best shoppin, imho). Spend one or two nights and then the remainder in Venice.

You want to make sure you <i>remember</i> your honeymoon... and not just the pictures. Those five days are not enough for both Venice and Paris, imho.

Do Paris on another trip.

Buon viaggio!

Hey there

As a 1st generation Italian, I have been all over Italy and to several spots in Europe. It seems that you want romance and culture, fun and exciting yet relaxing and cool. Here is my suggestion:

Venice is amazing and romantic, but you only need to stay 2 days tops.

Florence is OK. It's very American and the food is not a good representation of what Italian food really is. Honestly, I say skip Florence completely. (If you are dying to go, make it a stop off day trip. Trust me, it's plenty of time)

If you want to really eat, Bologna is the most incredible and affordable food in all of Italy (my family is not even from there so this is not a bias opinion) Near there is Perugia. Both are extremely tiny "cities". Mostly you go for the food, not for the environment or sites.

Rome is my favorite city, as every corner is a breathtaking cultural romance. The Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum, piazzas, Vatican, cafes. I was only sup. to stay there for 2 days and ended up staying for 4 because I fell in love with that city.

From Rome, you can take the train to Amalfi Coast, which I have to HIGHLY suggest you go to! I took train from Rome-Naples and then ferry from Naples to Capri. Capri is unbelievable. The air, the food, the people, the sites. The blue grotto is incredible. You can spend a night or two in Capri, then take Ferry back to mainland and go to Positano, Ravello and Amalfi. Choose homebase in one of those places and then do day trips to the others.

If you don't want to go too south in Italy, and want to stay North, I suggest doing Lake Como. Bellagio is very beautiful and the little towns around there have amazing food!

Good luck. I have more tips if you need! Congrats on the honeymoon.

The suggestions I have depend on this: Is your cruise returning to Barcelona? If it does, what is the last port before Barcelona? If it does not return to Barcelona, where does it end? When are you going?

I just reread your question and realized you are going to Capri on the cruise. But if you are not doing the mainland of Amalfi, I still suggest it!

Also, Paris is amazing. If you want to get the most out of Europe then def. go there. I spent 4 days there and was so sad to leave. Just so romantic and special. If you go there, you MUST eat at Les Papilles (http://www.lespapillesparis.fr/EN_index.html) The best food I had (besides in Italy of course).

Amsterdam is fun too. If you are coming across from the states, you'll be amazed how close all these places are..1.5 hrs in a plane will get you between most the places mentioned.
Also, Prague is beautiful.

Hello fellow travelers!

To clarify...our cruise leaves from Barcelona, and returns to Barcelona. Once we dock in Barcelona (after our cruise) we will fly to Venice (sept 8) and spend a few days there....and we are having a hard time deciding where to finish off our honeymoon.....these are the contenders: Rome, Paris, or amalfi coast!

We need to buy international tickets soon...and will fly in to barcelona, and out of ???

I am having a hard time deciding :( and fiancé is pressuring me to make a decision ASAP! :-/

All of your input is really helpful- the more details you have (about cities) the better- thank you so much!

I too would opt for amalfi coast, it may be quicker to fly direct from Venice to Naples early morning if it's possible. Ravioli is a lovely looking romantic spot with lovely but perhaps expensive looking hotels with amazing food. Amalfi also a great choice. Wile sorento is nice, it is what I think of as the gateway to amalfi coast rather than the amalfi coast proper. It is mvery nice and pretty all around the coast with the most amazing blue sea and delicious food.

Or the cinque terre or lake como in the north so better suited for Venice would also be romantic spots in my opinion.

Ravello sorry! Silly auto type,!

What is your last port of call before returning to Barcelona?

Alina_T

What kind of trip are you looking for after Venice? Quiet and relaxed in a small town or hustle and bustle trying to see everything you can?

I think that will matter a lot. Rome and Paris are incredible, and there is a lot to see, so you probably will want to do as much as you can which means a lot of walking but also seeing incredible things. Picnics under the Eiffel Tower or picnic dinner on the Spanish steps or Trevi. Either city you can slow down at some points and make it really special.

Amalfi is much more laid back. If $ is a concern, there are PLENTY of hotels to stay at. (i.e. don't stay in Capri, stay in AnaCapri) etc. There are still things to do and palces to see but you have the option of going to the beach and doing nothing as well. The surrounding cities (Ravello, Amalfi, Positano, Sardinia etc. all all a short bus or taxi or boat ride away.