Honeymoon trip to Europe - Would love your recommendations
 

Hi everybody! This is my first post so I hope i get everything right.

I recently got married and now I am planning to go to Europe (from Jeddah, where I live) for around 15-16 days for my honeymoon. I would like to explore art, culture, history and nature mostly, but I am open to anything that would make my trip more memorable.

For the time being my itinerary is as follows:

1. Rome - 2 day
2. Florence - 3 days
3. Vienna - 3 days
4. Zurich - 2 days
5. Paris - 4 days
6. Rome - 2 days (because I am booking a return trip to an from here)

What do you think, what cities should I add/replace and what do you think about the time I planning on spending there? I'll appreciate open suggestion and recommendations.

Going by train? Cars are a poor idea in cities and trains are so so fine. for lots of info on planning a train trip check these IMO superb sources- www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

You can take overnight trains Florence to Vienna and Paris to Rome- save daytime travel time and the cost of a hotel.

Why Zurich? The essence of Switzerland is in the dreamy Swiss Alps - head instead for the Interlaken area - the awesome Jungfrau Region:

https://www.google.com/search?q=jung...w=1745&bih=868

I'd try to spend three nights there - it will be a highlight of your trip -much more romantic than Zurich, a busy modernbut nice enough city. IMO either head to the hills or skip Zurich and put time in elsewhere.

When is your trip? That might help give better advice.

I would put all your time in Rome at the end of your trip, go immediately to Florence upon arrival in Rome.

Caveat: if you can change flights to arrive Rome and leave from Paris, then do all your Rome time upfront and end in Paris.

I would rearrange your trip and buy open-jaw airline tickets - into Paris and out of Rome and save all the travel time and costs of backtracking.

I would dump Zürich.

How do you plan to travel from place to place, and when are you going?

I think you have too many cities with too short a time in each one. You'll be scrambling all over the place which isn't very romantic.

Have you already purchased tickets in and out of Rome?

If yes, then I'd suggest:

Rome - arrive and go directly on to Florence (or Venice
Florence - 3 days
Venice - 4 days
Paris - 5 days
Rome - 4 days

If you have not purchased air tickets fly open jaw -say into Rome and out of Paris - usually not much difference and saves a lot of time and money backtracking.

You're getting really good ideas from some of our most experienced travelers.

Post back!

Absolutely I agree with the "open jaws" ticket if you haven't bought one already. Into Paris out or Rome (or the other way around) would be a time saver and smooth out the itinerary.

You don't have as much time as you think you do, as you have forgotten to figure in travel time. It takes staying 4 nights in a place to get three full days, since you will lose half a day to most of a day each time you change locations.

I agree to book an open-jaw ticket, into your first city, out of the last.

I'd cut Zurich and Vienna. Suze's itinerary for you looks good, note that the number she gives for each place is the number of nights. So you will have 2 full days in Florence, 3 in Venice, 4 in Paris and 3 in Rome. That will give you enough time to sample these marvelous cities.

Ditto Suze's itinerary. If you must do Swtiz drop Zurich - a quite boring business city - and head for the magnificent mountains of the Berner Oberland, either from Interlaken or one of the towns in the foothills. To do this you would have to drop one of your other cities.

Also I don't see when you are traveling. Time of year will make a big difference.

That wouldn't be a honeymoon in my book. That would be a primer on dashing around train stations and airports.

In order to get even the minimal time you've allocated in those various cities would require 22 nights . . . to get two days in a place you need to stay 3 nights, 3 days = 4 nights, and so on.

If you only have 14 nights fly open jaw in to one city and home from another and pick 4 cities max (three would be better IMO to give you time to relax and just 'enjoy). . . and don't stay in any city twice.

Lovely replies!

PalenQ: I am planning to go mid-september and I think I'll have to dump Zurich, as you said and as everybody else is suggesting. Interlaken it is. I will check out those websites now.


inspiredexplorer: I still haven't bought the tickets, so I can do that. There is a an additional $100 in tickets if I land in Rome & leave from Paris.


StCirq: I am planning on leaving mid-September and most probably will be traveling by trains. I thick I'll change Zurich with Interlaken area.


tuscanlifeedit: I am so happy to have input for my trip!

suze: So you are saying that I should see these 3 cities in Italy? What if i want to replace one of them with a city in France, what do you suggest?


Kathie: That's what I think, Zurich is out, but I really wanted to visit Vienna; the thing is it is very far away from any of these cities I plan to visit, it is at least 9-10 hours away and that seems a bit inconvenient to me.



nytraveler: I am traveling in mid-September; where I live, winter is just a dream so I am really looking forward to some chilly days and possibly snow, and Berner Oberland looks magnificent!

janisj: 'relax and enjoy' is my motto for this trip! But I only do have 15 days for my trip, otherwise it costs me a lot.

you are getting good advice here... so i will just add this.
i chuckled when i read that this is your honeymoon and "I would like to explore" and "...would make MY trip..."

Ha! Welcome to the gold ring club, anonyzious. All those "I's" will be changing to either "We" or "I want, but s/he would rather" soon.!!

planning a trip with another person adds SO MANY other layers to the task. we're here to help...

>> 'relax and enjoy' is my motto for this trip! But I only do have 15 days for my trip, otherwise it costs me a lot.<<

So -- you have 15 days -- Do you want to enjoy your trip (and each other) or do you want to run around not really seeing very much? The more time you spend moving from place to place the less time you have free to see and do things. ESPECIALLY on a honeymoon where you are tired after all the wedding planning and festivities.

in your plan you are spending nearly five full days just moving from city to city in Europe (not counting the two full days it takes getting to/from Europe). So fully 1/3 of your time is checking out, traveling to the next destination, checking in. That is a lot of time wasted out of your honeymoon. You can't see everything in 2 weeks so don't try. Go fewer places and see MORE . . .

<<suze: So you are saying that I should see these 3 cities in Italy? What if i want to replace one of them with a city in France, what do you suggest?>>

You can go anywhere you want. I've only been to Paris in France so have no particular place to recommend from personal experience.

I was just trying to give you longer times and in places that were closer together than you originally proposed.

You can pick any 3-4 cities you like!

I've never been to Zurich but I adore the area of Lac Leman outside Geneva, for example, and I'd go there if you want to see a bit of Switzerland... Vevey, Montreux, Lausanne, are all lovely and right on the lake with the mountains in the background. Stunningly beautiful countryside.

So if it were MY 15 day honeymoon (which it is not, haha) I would pick... Paris, Lac Leman region, then Venice as my itinerary.

>>I would pick... Paris, Lac Leman region, then Venice as my itinerary.<<

That would be very nice

something like 5 days (6 nights) in Paris, 3 days (4 nights) Lac Leman, and 3 days (4 nights) in Venice. If you actually have 15 nights -- add one more to Paris.

http://montreux.ch/

:-)