Italy Honeymoon Itinerary
 

Hi All,

Looking for some feedback for an initial draft of our itinerary of our honeymoon trip to Italy in Nov/Dec of this year. We are big foodies and want to travel to Modena for the Osteria Francescana if we can get a reservation in the next month. Is this too many destinations? We would have to move our base 4 times in this trip. Not seeing much of a way to reduce that unless we stay longer at an Agriturismo in Tuscany and do multiple day trips to Florence. Anyone recommend doing that? Thanks for all the help in advance!

Fri 11/25 Fly to Venice
Sat 11/26 Land in Venice afternoon/evening
Sun 11/27 Venice
Mon 11/28 Venice
Tue 11/29 Travel to Bologna
Wed 11/30 Bologna
Thu 12/1 Day trip by train to Modern
Fri 12/2 Day trip by train to other
Sat 12/3 Train to Florence
Sun 12/4 Florence
Mon 12/5 Florence
Tue 12/6 Rent car and drive to Agriturismo spot in Tuscany
Wed 12/7 Tour small towns in Tuscany
Thu 12/8 Tour small towns in Tuscany
Fri 12/9 Return and Fly out of Florence

13 nights. 12 full days.

It's a fast-paced trip but doable. I would want something slower for a honeymoon, esp. when daylight hours are short. (Sunset will be around 4:30 p.m.) But this is your trip and you have your own interests and priorities.

If your sightseeing in Florence includes all of the major, famous things like the Uffizi, Accademia, Bargello, etc., you need to see what will be open on your dates as not all of these places are open every Sunday and/or Monday. A few sights used to be open and free on the first Sunday of the month, but I don't know if that program has continued post-Covid. You might re-order your itinerary, pick up the car as you're leaving Bologna and tour the Tuscan countryside before heading to Florence. This would mean sightseeing in Florence mid-week and also put you closer to the airport for your departure.

Personally, in December, I'd rather stay in Florence or in a smaller town than at an agriturismo, but, again, your choice. Which Tuscan towns do you want to visit?

Yeah you bring up a good point about this being really face-paced trip with the days also ending early. It's switching 4 spots and after thinking more about it, I think we'd like to maybe only change locations three times - so maybe Venice, Bologna, and base in Florence to visit other small towns in Tuscany using the trail system. Don't know which towns yet, still doing research - any recommendations?

Any reason why you'd stay away from agriturismo in December?

"Any reason why you'd stay away from agriturismo in December?"

Most are closed in winter, so you're starting with a much shorter list to choose from. At the ones open, farm activities are reduced and different from what you might be able to experience in summer. So, if farm activities are a reason for staying at an agriturismo, you should find out what any property you're considering will be offering, including what the dining will be like.... We like to stroll around the towns in the evening (la passegiata, a very Italian tradition) which isn't easy or convenient to do if you're several kilometers from a town. If you have dinner in a town but stay in an agriturismo, one of you (the driver) has to be very careful about alcohol consumption at dinner. Italian laws are strict and enforced.

There are several day-trip options from Florence using trains and buses (or combination). Fiesole, Siena, San Gimignano, Pistoia, Montecatini Terme, Lucca, Pisa, Arezzo ... You can also join a day tour or hire a driver/guide for a day of exploring. But don't underestimate what you'll want to see/do in Florence and how much time that will take. IOW, don't take so many day trips that you run out of time for Florence.

If relying on public trans, my day trip priorities would be (in order): Siena (full day), Pisa/Lucca (one day, timed reservations required to climb the Leaning Tower, dinner in Lucca), Montecatini Terme (morning, lunch) + Pistoia (afternoon, dinner). You can also take a bus or taxi from Florence to Fiesole. There are things to see (archeological site, duomo, museum, etc.) or you can just go there for a stroll, the views of Florence and dinner.