Italy Honeymoon in May 2004 - Itinerary question
 

Hi,

We just purchased our air tickets for our honeymoon in May 2004. :) We will be arriving in Milan and departing from Rome. I am working on an itinerary and currently have the following in mind:

Arrive Milan
3 nights - Bellagio (Tues - Fri)
3 nights - Venice (Fri - Mon)
5 nights - Florence (Mon - Sat)
3 nights - Cinque Terre (Sat - Tues)
4 nights - Rome (Tues - Sat)
Depart Rome

Do you think we have the right number of nights allocated to each location? Would you recommend using the train or renting a car?

Thanks in advance for any advice or feedback!

I have found that itineraries are a very personal choice, depending entirely on what you like to do, i.e.: art, antiquities, food, churches, wine tasting, etc. I noticed that you have dedicated 5 nights to Florence. Unless those 5 days include some days trips outside Florence, or you are a die-hard art lover, I would say that 5 days in Florence is about 3 days too much. I would add a couple of days onto Rome otherwise.

Thanks for your feedback. I am thinking about doing one or two day trips outside Florence, maybe Pisa, Siena, San G - haven't decided yet... Taking this into account, would you recommend having 5 nights in Florence or in Rome?

Florence is wonderful and 5 days is not too long but certainly provides for a day trip or two.

I would also think that 2 or 3 days in Florence would be enough. And as far as I know, there is no train to Bellagio, so you would have to take a boat or bus, or rent a car.

If you do travel by train and don't want to go any other way, the trains do operate up the east side of lake Como. There are lots of lovely villages along that shore as well.

Perhaps others more familiar with the train situation can correct me if I'm wrong about Bellagio. Good luck.

I would probably drop one of the nights in Bellagio or Cinque Terre (or both) and two of the nights in Florence. With the extra few days, I would rent a car and explore Tuscany and Umbria.

I might base myself in a place like Pienza or Montalcino. There are great hilltowns to explore, wonderful drives and, best of all, terrific wine and cheese.

Have a great honeymoon. May is a great time of year.
((H))

Hi mwc,

We have just returned from 12 days in Florence, of which 6 were spent in the city, and we did not see all there is to see.

I would not reduce your time there.

Excellent itinerary. Agree with others that Florence appeals to the art-lover. As to allocating 5 nights in Florence? You'll have time to explore Florence itself (2 to 3 days) and then use other couple days for daytrips in the area.

Here's a good thread to review on the Lakes area, which may help in your decision re: Bellagio and whether to train or rent a car.

>>Italian lakes: best town(s) for getting aound without car?<<
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34424757

The rest of your plan, Venice to Florence, then the CT and lastly to Rome is all easily done by train.

Thanks for all your responses. I think I'll leave the itinerary as is for now... I'm sure I'll go through a few more iterations before we go. :)

Based on your itinerary, I'd stop off at Pisa on my way to Le Cinque Terre. Pisa is doable in a couple of hours tops. The leaning tower is about a 10 minute walk from the station. They also have a baggage storage area. (Anyways they did before 9/11) If they have baggage storage, it's worth the quick stop to check it out.

Siena, San G. and Lucca all make good day trips from Florence.

I would stay in Varenna instead of Bellagio, but I am sure you will love either one! Otherwise, I think your itinerary looks great.