Hello,
I would like to plan a trip to Italy for my husband and me. We are in early to mid 30's. We never took a honeymoon (which we wanted to do in Italy) when we got married a few years ago, and now I would like to make it happen. Of course, as great as a romantic vacation sounds, we don't need to stay in remote little villas throughout the trip. He's never been to Italy before and I've only been through Venice, Florence and Rome once in 5 days about 10 years ago. We'd like to see the sites that Italy has to offer while being able to relax and enjoy ourselves. However, we probably won't be able to travel like this again for a while, so we'd like to get in as much as comfortably possible too. Oh, and a touch of romance is good too!

I am thinking of a 2 week trip (14 days) and can possibly add on a couple of days extra. I'd like to visit the following places and was hoping some of you could give me advice, travel planning suggestions (transportation, accommodation, order of cities, etc.), and suggestions on things to do and sites to see.

- Lake area (Como, Maggiore, Lugano)
- southern Switzerland which is easily accessible and fits well with our itinerary
- Milan
- Venice
- Florence
- Amalfi Coast (Capri, Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Positano)
- Rome

As for a buget, I'm trying to get a ballpark idea of what it might cost for this itinerary. We'd like to stay in at least 4 star places, but we are willing to mix it up but no less than a 3 star place. We can take the train and drive as well, if it is safe and relatively easy to get around by car.

Thanks!

Welcome!
Congratulations on being able to take a much deserved, belated honeymoon.

For the kind of travel you described, relaxed, enjoyable, comfortable - in 14 days, really you should pare your list down to 3 places, tops. Otherwise, you will spend the lion's share of your wonderful trip getting from place to place, checking in and out of accomodations, packing and unpacking.

It would be hard for me to suggest which of the places you listed would be best, since I don't know what your priorities are. What is at the top of your wish list from the locations you listed?

As for budget, I think accomodations are at the key factor. Instead of going by stars, what is your range per night for a hotel? (for example, $200 to $250 per night? $250 to $300 per night?)

I am sure you will get some other opinions other than mine. Oh, one more bit of info you may want to supply is what time of year you are planning for your trip.

Hi Faredolce!

My husband and I move pretty fast, even when we are moving "leisurely". I'm afraid paring down the list to 3 places would be rather hard. Although, I definitely want to check out the Lake area, revisit Venice (as I was there for less than 24 hours last time), see the Amalfi coast and since my husband is a history buff, I wanted to take him to Rome. Unfortunately, I know that means crossing pretty much all of Italy from north to south, east to west.

Can you tell me how long it take to travel between these cities? Can some places be day-trips?

As for budget, I keep forgetting the the Euro is on the rise, so sadly I have a feeling this trip will be costly. I would love to say $150 per night, but I don't think that will even cover a Holiday Inn type hotel in Europe! I suppose maybe around $200 - 250??? Perhaps you can tell me what types of accommodations go for $200 - 250, etc.

I'd like to go sometime next year, between April and October. Would love to see the Blue Grotto if it's as spectacular as people say. Wouldn't want to go when the water is too cold.

As for the prices per night, I would think you could find lovely places to stay that are less than the price ranges I mentioned - I was taking a stab in the dark on the higher end, based on your 4-star requirement.

But it all becomes a moot point until you figure out where you want to go!

Since you want to criss-cross in that manner (and you won't be able to convince me to stop begging you to narrow your choices down a bit - how about 4 places?) you will maybe want to consider flying open-jaw, in one city and out another. How about into Venice and out of Rome? Or you could do that in reverse.

One thing I can suggest with confidence is that you can skip Milan. In the face of everything else you want to see, it just won't make the cut.

Another suggestion would be to skip the Amalfi Coast, so that you don't go travel south and then north again. Maybe you could do the Cinque Terre instead, going from Rome, to Florence, to the Cinque Terre, to Venice. You could fit in the Lakes area (though it starts to wind down in October), or Southern Switzerland somewhere in there, I suppose. In that way, you are traveling in the same direction, roughly.

This is going to get painful for me because I like to travel slooooow. I am traveling to Italy in a few months and am only hitting two places in 15 days! I am probably the wrong person to be assisting you, but I thought I would give it a try!

Maybe some other Fodorites can chime in?

Hi,

faredolce has given you good advice. I agree that 3 places would be ideal, but 4 would really be fine. Any more than that, I think, is not a great idea.

It sounds as if perhaps your top priorities are Venice and the Lakes (relatively close to each other in the North) and Rome and the Amalfi Coast (relatively close in the South). I would definitely say to fly "open jaw" into one area and out of the other. I believe it is around 5-6 hours by train from Venice to Rome to give you some idea of timing. Another few hours from Rome to Amalfi, or Venice to Lakes.

Or, perhaps choose Southern Switzerland, Milan, Lakes and Venice for this trip and save Rome, Florence, Amalfi for another (or vice versa). Husband and I visited Rome, Florence, and Tuscany last October. Next summer, we are visiting Berner Oberland(Switzerland), Milan (briefly), Lake Garda and Venice with our kids. Still haven't made it to Amalfi or Sicily so we'll have to go back!

I would say to read up on this site and look through a few guidebooks to really narrow down your priorities. Pick 4 places at most (JMHO), then repost with more detailed questions once you have picked your spots.

I also agree that you will be able to find something nice in the $200-250 range....don't worry as much about star ratings as finding the right spot. European star ratings work a bit differently than in the US.

Hope this helps. You really can't go wrong.

As the old song says, "Slow down, you move to fast..." Relax, it's a vacation not a contest. I would honestly pare it down to perhaps 3-5 places as suggested. You don't want to breeze through things and come home and feel as though you didn't see ANYTHING well. Take your time, relax, see the sites at a leisurely pace, not a sprint. You'll be glad you did. There will be other trips, and that will give you even more reason to go back. We go for 3 weeks every time and our itinerary is not as aggressive as your 2 week. I would suggest starting in the lakes region for about 3 days, on to Venice for 3 days, then to Florence for 3 days, and finish up on the Amalfi Coast for about 5 days. With a travel day at each end you're at 16 days.
I think you would find 3 star hotels very pleasing and also you can find them that are below your listed price range.
I wouldn't rent a car, utilize the trains. Cars are really handy in Tuscany, but not a lot of other places, especially the Amalfi Coast; parking is a commodity.
Slow down, enjoy the scenery, smell the roses, and enjoy. Just my opinion.
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I'd plan your trip for late Sept. or early Oct. when the weather is still warm enough to enjoy the wather sports of the Amalfi Coast, but not as expensive, or as crowded as the summer months. Same could be true for late May.

My itinerary suggestion would be the following:

Fly into Venice-3 nights
Florence or Lakes-4 nights
Rome-4 nights
Amalfi Coast-4 nights
Fly home from Naples

You could go from Florence to Naples and the Amalfi Coast and then end in Rome if airfares are alot less to fly home from Rome rather than Naples.

Since the majority of this trip is in major cities, all well connected by trains, I would skip the car and use train travel for the entire trip. You could rent a car for a day while in Florence to drive to Siena or other surrounding hilltowns (Lucca, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, etc.)

As much as you say you'd like to go to the Lake area, it would fit in perfectly with a second trip including Milan and Switzerland. I read on this forum once, and it has stuck with me that everytime you move to a different location/hotel, you lose at least a half day of precious vacation time. Your original itinerary has you moving 7 times in 14 days, often with 3-4 hours driving/train time in between, which amounts to half of your vacation on the move!

I think you would have a much more relaxing and romantic belated honeymoon if you slowed the pace down and settled in to places for longer than a day or two.

Check www.venere.com for hotels in the cities of your choice, or just google, Venice accomodations, Florence accomodations, etc. and you will find a multitude of choices, and once you have definately decided on what cites you are going to, people on this site will help you find reasonably priced accomodations within you budget.

A good site for finding the distance between two cities is www.viamichelin.com. It gives the driving distance and time, as well as tolls and fuel charges for the trip. YOu can check out trains at www. trenitalia.com for pricing and times.

2Italy has posted a similar itinerary, however, since you said you husband is a history buff, I would include Rome and skip Florence in 2Italy's itinerary. That is if the Lakes are a must, and I must admit that we started our first trip to Italy 10 years ago in Lake Como, and it remains as the most romantic place in the world!

Have a wonderful honeymoon!

For an incredibly romantic place in Venice check out www.camariaadele.it. I didn't stay there, but took a tour with a friend and would next time in Venice.

Have a great trip.

(I agree with slowing down, but you are young and it is your trip, so you have to do what feels bet to you.)

Ditto!

With only 14 days -- minus 2 to fly to and from Italy -- I would say to keep this to a trip with only 3 destinations if you want to see Rome and/or the Amalfi Coast, or 4 if you go no farther south than Florence.

First and foremost, I will dissent and say that Milan is worth it. It provides a welcome contrast to the other cities, and adds some variation to a trip other than just seeing the Big Three. Moreover, it can be made into a daytrip from Lakes Como or Maggiore, rather than a separate destination. I would recommend a 3-city, northern-Italy-only trip:

Day 0: Fly to Venice
Day 1: Venice
Day 2: Venice
Day 3: Venice
Day 4: Travel to Lake Como (with half a day in Verona)
Day 5: Lake Como
Day 6: Milan (day trip only)
Day 7: Lake Como/Switzerland
Day 8: Lake Como/Switzerland
Day 9: Lake Como/Switzerland
Day 10: Travel to Florence
Day 11: Florence
Day 12: Florence
Day 13: Fly home from Florence

I am using the term Lake Como generically, to include other lakes, like Maggiore or Lugano. Also, this clustering of destinations allows you to establish a "home base" in potentially just three places: Venice, Florence, and Como City. Como City may not have all of the atmosphere of another town on Lake Como, such as Bellagio or Varenna, but it is a good logistical base to go to Switzerland, Lake Maggiore, Milan, etc.

Even if y'all have ADD that requires Ritalin IV's, the fewer number of home-base-changes you have to make, the more you will likely enjoy your vacation. Packing and unpacking, traveling, and schlepping sucks the fun out of a vacation really quickly. Plan <b><i>at least</i></b> one day out of your vacation where you don't do anything more strenuous that sit in a cafe all day and watch the world go by or have your most difficult decision be what wine to drink. Downtime is important!

I am a huge fan of Milan, but with the list the original poster included, I couldn't imagine fitting it in! It makes sense with the northern-only itinerary, but not with one that includes Rome and the Amalfi Coast.

Put me firmly in the Milan-is-worthy camp in terms of my overall opinion of the city. I loved my two days there!

Annimal - have any of us convinced you to trim things down a bit?

thanks for everyone's input so far. I am glad to know that the hotels won't be as expensive as I mistook them to be when I saw Faredolce's original post. (phew!) and taking the train sounds like the way to go which I am happy about because I can just hear the arguments driving around in circles through Italy, lost.

I am definitely open to the &quot;open jaw&quot; flights if it's not over expensive. As for paring down the places, I like the idea of staying at the Lakes for a few nights and possibly making a day trip to Milan (if we're up for it at the time), staying in Venice for a couple of nights and then making our way over to the Amalfi coast for a night or so (with day trips to Sorrento, Pompeii, Positano, etc.) and end up in Rome. Perhaps I'll need to stop through Rome to get to the Amalfi coast... When I visited Florence years ago, it was very charming, but I don't think I can deny my husband of Rome's rich history. However, I think I can probably curtail the sites in Rome.

Does it cost more to fly from Naples, Venice, Milan, etc. than it does from Rome?

As for why it may seem like we take on a lot for a trip, let's just say when I did Venice/Florence/Rome 10 years ago, that included 3 nights in Paris at the beginning of the trip for a total of a 7 night vacation!!! (That was a bit insane.) I guess we just want to see a lot (without getting stressed out) as we are thinking of starting a family soon after and I don't know when we'll have the chance to go back without worry about funds, kids' meals, etc.