Italian Honeymoon locations
 

Hello all,

I stumbled across this website by chance and it has been great for research ideas for my upcoming honeymoon in late October (23-31). I think I have narrowed my choices down to these:

Rome - 2 nights - fly in, see the sights (can't go to Italy without seeing the Vatican, Colosseum, Sisteen chapel, etc.)
Siena - 3 nights, train from Rome - I'm a wine enthusiast, have been drinking Italian wine ever since I worked in a wine shoppe in college (20 years old, now 34) - plan to make days trips to Montalcino, Montepulciano, and maybe Umbria (or enjoy Siena)
Florence - 2 nights, train from Siena - want to enjoy the arts, food and mainly get there for flight back home (not have to rush to make the flight on last day from Siena)

My questions:
Rome - should I cut it down to 1 night, can I see the sights in 1 day?
Siena - is this a good central location to enjoy the wine in both "Mont" cities?
Florence - same as Rome, cut to 1 night?

We both want to spend as much time in the Tuscan wine region & hill towns as possible, but how can you not visit Rome & Florence while in Italy? :)

Again, much appreciation to all you posters out there for your help!

No way you should cut down your time in Rome. In fact, with your first day as travel, most likely (assuming your coming from the US) you will be a bit tired/sluggish. There is no way you can see it all in a day. You can't "see it all" in 4 days.

I would say first you need to determine you flights - are you flying into Rome and out of Florence or flying in/out of Rome? If it is the latter, I would suggest immediately heading up to Siena/Florence. With such a short stay, I would limit it to 2 hotels - 1 in Siena, 1 in Rome. You can take a train from Siena to Florence in just over an hour. I dont feel you need to waste a half day travelling, checking out and into hotels between Siena and Florence. If you'd much rather spend the time in Tuscany, I'd do your first 5 days there and your final 3 in Rome (or 4 and 4). You can get up to Florence a couple of times from Siena (rent a car and drive tuscany or train) and still be able to get around to Montalicno and Montepulciano. I love Siena and there is plenty to do there as well.

Again, alot will depend on your flight - once you have that squared away, you'll be able to make better plans.

I should have also added that the bus from Siena to Florence is actually under an hour! If renting a car is an option, I would advise on not driving in Rome or Florence, instead parking it outside the city. Siena can be tricky driving as well, very narrow streets inside the city.

You shouldn't drive anywhere in Italy if you plan to drink wine. The country takes this issue very seriously.

In view of your specified interest your programme is about right although normally one would spend more time in Rome.

I suggest you hire a car when leaving Rome as this will give you the flexibility to visit all the vineyards YOU want rather than be tied to public transport or tours which will not necessarily take you to the best. One area you have not mentioned is the Tuscan coastal area of Bolgheri - see http://www.bolgheridoc.com/ - home of Sassicaia, Ornellaia, Guado al Tasso and many other great names.

I trust that your future wife shares your passion! If less so then you may have to take her to the factory outlets to the east of Florence - Gucci, D & G, Prada etc.

Strongly suggest you have lunch at the Cantinetta da Verrazzano in Florence - http://www.verrazzano.com/en/how-to-reach-cantinetta/ - great wines and superb prepared on the moment tasting dishes. Also with a car you can easily get to what I believ is one of the best ice cream parlours in the world - http://www.buontalenti.it/ - their buontalenti ice cream is to die for! It is on the road to Fiesole.

Finally one of the most romantic hotels in the world and a wonderful place to have dinner on the terrace overlooking Florence is Villa San Michele - http://www.villasanmichele.com/web/o...an_michele.jsp This is also on the road to Fiesole but more than half way up the hill.

Auguri!

The Enoteca Italiana is in Siena, and I would make that the focus of your wine tasting and your agenda for visiting wineries in the region. As you probably know, most wineries are not open to people who just show up. The Enoteca can make appointments for you, plus you can sample wines there and get guidance.

http://www.enoteca-italiana.it/w2d3/...ca/esc_en.html

http://www.enoteca-italiana.it/w2d3/...no/esc_en.html

http://www.enoteca-italiana.it/w2d3/...zi/esc_en.html

You might consider renting a car and spending your nights in this wine-producing farm right outisde Siena. It also serves meals, so you can drink wine and not worry about driving. I've not stayed there personally, so I'm including the current Tripadvisor reviews:

http://www.agriturismomarciano.it/index_en.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...a_Tuscany.html

IMO, your itinerary sounds rushed. Indeed if one of your Rome days is arrival day, you will not be seeing much.

We love wine and very much Tuscany for it's beauty, vineyards and food. I agree with the poster who said not to drink and drive - this is why we always hire a car and driver for our days visiting the wineries. Late October is one of our favorite times to visit. Though harvest is over, the countryside is beautiful then and truffles are in season, a huge bonus!

We enjoy the smaller wineries and they always require a reservation.

Perhaps 3 nights in Rome and 4 in Sienna with a day visit to Florence would be more practical as your trip is very short and IMO 3 hotel stays not necessary or ideal. Or of you prefer a rural environment, then as zeppole suggests perhaps stay outside the city. For us, we prefer to stay in a small to medium sized city so we have lots of options and never have to think about renting a car.

Thanks for everyone's inputs! As far as visiting wineries, hiring a driver seems to be the best way. Any specific companies recommended?

Also, the only reason Florence is an option is for the flight back home (and of course for the beauty of the city). I am hesitant to stay in Siena for an extra day or so and try to catch the flight back home from Florence on the same day as I'm leaving. I'm not aware of an airport in Siena, and the closest one I'm seeing is in Florence.

You wrote:

"We both want to spend as much time in the Tuscan wine region & hill towns as possible" --

If so, hiring a driver is not the best way to do that, maybe especially for a honeymoon.

It is very easy to drive in Tuscany. You should consider renting a car.

In my book, wine tasting does not involve drinking whole glasses of wine -- or even swallowing. On a visit to a winery, if you explain you are driving, no one will be insulted if you don't swallow the wine.

If you make your first stop in the region the national institute of Italian wine in Siena -- the Enoteca Italiana -- you can sample and drink a lot of different wines of the region without having to drive home if you stay in or right near Siena. Even if you don't stay at the winery right outside that I suggested -- believe me, it's Okay! -- I still recommend that you rent a car, even if you are staying in Siena. That way you can go for scenic drives in the wine country. The Enoteca can set up some appointments for you to see wineries or even arrange for a wine tour. Scroll down this page:

http://www.enoteca-italiana.it/w2d3/...zi/esc_en.html

When does your flight leave from Florence? With a car, you might be able to stay close to the airport -- maybe in the Chianti district, and drive to airport yourself in the morning to drop off your car.

This is a honeymoon, so don't feel obliged to go on a art tour if what you and your betrothed really want is the beautiful countryside, the wine, the romance and the relaxation (plus each other of course!)

Come back with the kids to see the Colisseum and the Michealangelo.

How about fly into Rome, take a bus to Siena. 2 nights in Siena. On the third day, rent a car and base near Montalcino. Close to your departure, relocate to the Chianti district. Drive to airport on the morning of your flight. Fly home.

Is there any way you could add even 2-3 days it would double the pleasure of the trip. Personaaly I took 3 weeks on my honeymoon in Italy.

So here is what we have decided:

Fly into Rome, take bus to Siena (thanks zeppole), staying 4 nights in Siena here: http://www.aiamattonata.com/index.html (which look amazing, and the owners Mario and Elisabetta have already contacted me via email to tell me that they will pick me up at the bus station, I don't need a car and they will plan a winery trip for me & the misses, and transport me into Siena or around the countryside during our stay...wow!).

Then we will come back to Rome for 3 nights and see the sights. However, after looking at hotels, b&b's, etc. it's gets quite confusing:

We are looking at this b&b: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ome_Lazio.html
or
this one:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ome_Lazio.html

Any suggestions? Our budget is around $140-165 per night in Rome and want to stay in the historic district to see the sights. Thanks again for all of your help!

Much better plan than the original one, just one thing: PLEASE stop talking about "seeing THE sights" of Rome... for THE sights of Rome, you'd need about one entire year of continuous sightseeing, day by day, before noon and after, and no, it wouldn't be relaxed year: you'd still be hard-pressed to see them all. Rome has about as many sights as the whole rest of this planet summed up, and that's just slightly exaggerating. So you'll spend three nights in Rome, and you'll get half of what might be called a rough first impression. That's of course fine, and there's no reason to regret anything (everybody has to come back to Rome dozens of times to see - perhaps - half of THE sights), you just need to know what to expect: and that's not "the" sights of Rome.

Oh! How many typos are possible in one short paragraph? Quite many - the proof is here above. Relaxed/relaxing, A relaxing year, exaggerated/exaggerating... I need my dose of espresso. Sorry!

sorry to upset you franco, was just trying to give the impression of seeing some of the major attractions by staying in the historic section. caffeine addiction?

getting to you I meant say.....

Strong addiction, yes. I didn't mean to sound upset. I just wanted to prevent you from disappointment. I think it's always important to know what can and what cannot be expected, that was my point (perhaps I didn't make that clear enough, before having coffee).

We love Italy and not for the "sights" on so many lists but for the discoveries we make each trip. We leave a lot of time unscheduled and, even after a dozen visits to Rome, there are many, many "sights" we have not seen and quite a few I repeat every trip because they are personal favorites.

For us, the real joy is in the unplanned, the unpredictable and the adventures and people we encounter along the way - along with food and wine of course, which are the key reasons we make the trip over and over again! :)

Well, I love Italy for THE sights. That's why I moved here. There are lots of beautiful places in America, lots of unpredicatbility, lots of adventure -- and I'm a good cook who know how to buy wine.

But in America there is no Portico d'Ottavia, no Ostia Antica, no Pantheon, no Santa Maria in Trastevere, no ecstasy of St. Teresa, and on and on and on.

I find it impossible to hurry from sight to sight in Rome. After one or two knee-buckling "sights", I've got to quit for the day and let it sink in. After multiple trips to Rome, it shocks some people how many things I *haven't* seen. But I refuse to cram, because I know unless I move to Rome I'll never see but a fraction, and I want to understand what little I actually do see.

So, yeah. Franco is right. You are only go to be able to see *SOME* -- not *THE* sights. Better to see one or two well than a dozen like a blur.

" I'm a good cook who know how to buy wine. "

So am I. But the availability of products of the quality you have in Italy is far better than in the states. I cannot simply enter a trattoria and order fresh porcini mushrooms that were picked the day before or enjoy a bowl of trippa alla Fiorentina for lunch. And I can afford to drink Brunello and Amarone and Tignanello in Italy every day which I cannot do here at home.

I am not discounting the beauty of Italy with its amazing concentration of architectural wonders (I have been to the Colosseum every visit and cannot imagine skipping it in future visits), I return to Santa Maria Sopra Minerve again and again and I enjoy the Borghese Museum and Gardens each visit as much as my first.

My point is that for me the experience of Italy goes well beyond the "sights" which are around every corner. It is the entire experience that brings me back.

Chris - both of your hotels are outside the most central area so it will take you longer to get to the "sights" you are so keen on.

in October, it should be possible even with your restricted budget to find something more central. would you consider aa apartment? you don't have to cook at all if you don't want to [on our last week in Rome, we only used the kitchen to prepare hot drinks and store our supplies of oranges and prosecco!] but you will have much more space and privacy. they are norally available if you are staying for 3 nights or more.

this is where we stayed: www.lacasadiclelia.webs.com. it's really a little small for a family, but ideal for two, and more or less equi-distant from the piazza navona/pantheon in one direction and and the vatican/st. Peter's in the other. if you google, you will find many, many more.

good luck!