Re: Driving

Florence is a piece of cake compared to Rome or Paris and, as long as you have balls, the adventure of driving in Europe can't be beat, especially when shared. For Florence, I would avoid the city-center with a car since many streets are closed to traffic. Same with Rome. (Although getting lost or in a jam is part of the fun.) There are well-known garages on the outskirts of Florence that are very convenient for departing the city into surrounding Tuscany. Florence is so small, you can walk almost anywhere. It really has a village feel. For luggage transport, hail a cab. This goes for Siena, too.

It's nice to see a guy working so hard to please his woman. Imagine the rewards when you pull this off with terrific aplomb. Greece is only good for a tan line and some pretty pictures. Save that for a lazy anniversary.

For cheap air travel from Italy to England, check easyjet.com and ryanair.com.
Good luck!
Boots

Out of curiousty and boredom at work I checked out your previous post and I dont think you got flamed, you asked a question of seasoned Fodorites and got alot of answers.

I respectfully think you are over-doing it to compensate for the fact that you would like to just sit on a beach on your honeymoon. Since you have already lived together for six years, relaaaaaax, and take a calmer driving trip thoughout Europe.

I am sure you will be returning for anniversaries, etc. so why try to pack half of Europe into three weeks?

Pick out some key cities and drive between them with enough time to stop on a whim and take romantic picnic lunches, etc.

Now, I am through with my armchair advice, but my intentions are good.

Have a happy trip Mr. and Mrs. Pearce.

Now that I hear how long (and well) you two have been together a trip of this magnitude doesn't seem so daunting. It is more a matter of preference. I loved the "a different night-a different town" travel plan, but now older (and wiser?), we stay put longer at a time.

I can't see the benefit of a car in either Åmsterdam or Paris, personally. If your heart is really set on seeing Amsterdam, I'd train between the two...hassle-free and more restful to start with. I'd take a look at what is between Amsterdam and Wetheim and Paris and Wetheim that I was interested in. Maybe that would help decide where to start out from in the car.

Like many others, Pisa just wasn't that big a deal for us.

Lastly, if your love is the one interested in this kind of trip and you'd be just as happy on a beach for three weeks, how did YOU end up being the trip planner??! Just kidding, actually, the more you two can plan together, the more fun and the less surprises/disappointments there will be during the trip.

Sounds like a lot of fun to me; can hardly wait for the trip report!

My husband and I drove through Eruope a few years ago. We stopped at Brugge, stayed in a wonderful B&B, before heading to Amsterdam. We stayed in just outside the wall in Siena and made day trips to Florence and Pisa. Brugge and Siena are both wonderful, great places to stop.

Too aggressive. Still too many cities and too much ground covered. Not enough time in London, Paris, Venice or Rome. Too much time in Pisa.

Suggestion: Cut out Wethiem, Rome, Tuscany and Pisa. Just go to London, Amsterdam, Paris, Munich and Venice. Consider going via train - car not needed. Slow down. Relax. Don't make this trip a blur and add stress where none is needed.

Spend a week in Paris for romance and a week in London for the fish and chips and a pint. Estimated budget is around $4,000 for the two of you. Put the remaining $8,000 in a mutual fund or equivalent and in 40 years at 12% you would have $750K's (ignoring taxes) which would allow you to cruise around the world at your leisure and still have enough money left over to buy a Porsche for each of the grandkids.

I know what you mean about the drive between places is just as nice as being at your destination.
One year I drove around France for about a month without reservations and just jumped from town to town every day after calling a hotel for the night while I was at lunch.

It was alot of fun and I would like to do it again sometime, it is a free-wheeling type of vacation.

But, you are going to have reservations made far in advance and will have these deadlines to meet. This will mean that you won't have much time if any to stop and have romantic picnics, linger at a winerie or cafe, etc.

I would strongly suggest cutting way back on your destinations or just thrown all reservations out and blow around with the wind. Alot of advice you asked for is coming from many people who are very experienced travelers, so heed their advice, IMHO.

Natalia has a great point. From an UNexperienced traveler, the first time you to go Europe you have to figure out how to use the phone, how to read the road signs (especially at 100mph), how to read the train or bus schedule, how to use the electrical outlets, you're dealing with a different currency (although it seems simplified with the Euro) and countless other obstacles that take up time and cause stress, especially when you're on a tight schedule. It's unrealistic to learn conversational Dutch, French, German, and Italian, before you go, and English will only get you so far. And don't forget jet lag--you're pretty much useless the first day or so. Yes, you'll cover a lot of ground with your itinerary, but is that the main focus of your honeymoon? Good luck with whatever you decide and congratulations!

i would stay longer in venice and shorter in pisa. (also, why not base your stay in Lucca instead of Pisa? did you want to see Liguria or something?)

Do Paris before Amsterdam. You DO NOT WANT A CAR in Paris. Trust me. Just driving in to Paris to dump a car after 2 weeks driving around France nearly ended our 27 year marriage (and we'd been together for 4 years before that!) I think I would dump the Pisa/Tuscany portion of your trip and concentrate on Venice (where you could drop your car for good) and Rome (an easy train trip.)
Both are elegant and romantic cities and you will really enjoy a chance to luxuriate at the end of a fabulous trip. (Do Tuscany as an anniversary trip!) Congratulations and have a terrific time!

Having re-read your itinerary -- those extra days you would gain from postponing Tuscany for another trip could be designated over some of your travel territory -- you may want a night somewhere between Paris and Amsterdam...and another night on the road in Germany...our since you will be driving through the Dolomites on your way from Munich to Venice a night in the mountains (it is drop dead gorgeous) before you get to Venice.

Oh this is so awesome...
Last Night we booked our airfair..
We will be flying from Chicago to London on June 2nd and we will be returning from Rome back to Chicago on June 25th. That is all that is booked at this moment and the possibillities are so exciting.
Although our first purchase was way over budget already. Is this a sign of things to come?? We had budgeted $1,600.00 for airfare and it ended up costing $1,900.00. Although I joined cheaptickets gold and booked through them so I should get 10% back if I fill out all the forms correctly. These things always seem to make you jump through so many hoops you never get your money back. But we will remain optimistic and and believe that I am getting $190.00 back so my ticket price was $1,710.00.
I know many are wondering if I could have gotten it cheaper.. I thought about going RT Chicago to London and the either a plane from rome to london or train from rome to london. But the cost just didn't outway the hassle.
Did I pay to much?

Michael, my only comment (other than echoing others on dropping Pisa in favor of more time in Venice or basing in Florence or another area in Tuscany) is that I would spend the extra money for an open-jaw ticket. It's worth it for more actual travel/vacation time. Oh, I do have one more suggestion ... not basing yourself with a car in only large cities. The aggrevation of repeatedly driving into and out cities is compounded by the amount of time you lose in traffic, etc.

Have fun finishing up your plans!

Michael,
The air fare ($1900) seems outrageously high. However, it's water over the dam now. Plus - you still have $10,000 for the rest of the trip which seems more than adequate to me.
JoeG

start charging on amex and get those miles!!! trip sounds great!you will get so tired at the end with all the big cities I would have skipped amsterdam and pisa and spent more time chillin in the alps.just my taste.happy honeymoon

You might have an easier time booking more of the hotels in advance. That way you can also pick out inexpensive ones that will be nice. At least I would book in Paris, Munich and Venice. I would also base not in Pisa ...what about getting somewhere near to Florence that might have a pool and pleasant ambience to relax alittle too?

Regarding your air tickets, I hope you are at least getting non stops both ways. I just plugged your dates into the American website and came up with several choices of non stops both ways for a total of $930.40 each with all taxes. And that included that great daytime flight on June 2 to London, rather than a night flight. While your "discount" may get you some money back, I hope you didn't have to suffer inconvenience of plane changes to get those fares.

Regarding my airfare, yes it is non stop Chicago to London -- Rome to Chicago. I am kicking myself that I am not using a Credit Card that gets airmiles. Oh well water under the bridge.. I knew that tickets, since they were open jaw non stop would be higher, but I just have this feeling that I could have gotten it cheaper..
I am at Lauires parents for Thanksgiving. Her brother just did a three week Honeymoon in Tuscany this last June.. His new wife gave me the low down on where to stay and what to do.. basically she confirmed everything I have heard on this board. Off with Pisa as a base. We will now go directly from Venice to Sienna. With daytrips to pisa, florence, cinque terra and then down to Rome.
I also just got through reading The davinci code so I am on the case for the Grail as well..
We have made the decision that we are going to only book reservations ahead of time for hotels in London, Paris and Rome.. All other cities we are going to make reservations along the rode. I own Nextel stores so i will be using my Nextel oversees.. Hope the damn thing actualy works..Anyone used Nextel overseas??
Since we are not making reservations I am totally open to great little guesthouse recommendations like Lauda Konigshofen that was referred by Tomboy..
Thanks again for all your ideas and opinions. i really thought this was just going to be 3 weeks of fun but theplanning is really a ton of fun as well..

O.k its getting closer so I have to start getting a little more serious about our trip plans. I am looking for advice on two items. ONE - we will book hotels in London, Paris, and Rome only. We do not need expensive places just clean and cheap - around $75.00 per night. Any and all sugeestions welcome. London 3,4,5 Paris 6,7,8 and Rome the 22nd, 23rd, 24th. The other cities we will book as we travel, we will have a car and our phones "NEXTEL" will work over there so we will just call on the road.
SECOND - About the car. I will need to book a car from the 9th to the 22nd. Two weeks with a pick up in paris and a drop off in Rome. I am open to suggestions on this as well??