honeyluna

This is our itinerary so far-thanks in great part to input from this forum!

Day 1- Arrive in Rome
Train to Orvieto
Stay Palazzo Piccolomini

Day 2- Visit Orvieto, Todi, drive to Bevagna
Staying at Genius Loci

Day 3, 4
Based in Bevagna
Visit Piano Grande/Norcia
Visit Spello, Assisi, Perugia, Spoleto

Day 5-Drive to Montepulciano
Visiting ???
Stay in Montepulciano at Villa Cicolina

Day 6, 7
Based in Montepulciano
Visit Montalcino, Pienza
Visit Siena

Day 8-Tuesday
Drive to Florence
Stay in Florence at Hotel Davanzati

Day 9-Wednesday
Explore Florence

Day 10-Thursday
Train to Pisa-back to nyc

ira

Hi H,

A little more changing of hotels than I would do, but looks nice.

Enjoy your honeymoon.

bobthenavigator

Excellent---you have done your homework. You will not make all of those stops but who cares. Drop the car at the airport in Florence--do not drive into town.

honeyluna

thanks for the tip-should we cab into florence from the airport? i'm used to driving in nyc but want to do the easiest thing.

BarbaraMH

Second that on driving into Florence. They have a bizarre tracking system and know every car that enters and exits the town. You need to get a little device to put in your car window or you'll get a major fine. We had the device and still got a 90 euro fine (6 months later in the mail) for allegedly driving in some off-limits area... who knew!!! But a great trip nonetheless!! Enjoy!!! And congrats!

charnees

Congrats on your honeymoon trip!!

I am going to be a contrarian and say that on my honeymoon I would want to spend less time driving around and more time in one location getting to know the town and its surroundings, relaxing in cafes and taking long walks. (It's been 53 years since our honeymoon, but I still remember how nice it was to be unhurried, relaxed, and taking time to enjoy where we were.)

You are going to "see" a lot of places, but that is all. You will "know" very little about them. In fact, I suspect when you get home you'll have trouble remembering where you saw what. I would cut out half of the stops at least.

Believe me, you WILL go back to Italy!! So save half of your trip for another time. A second honeymoon, perhaps!

honeyluna

These are our goals, but I imagine when we get there we might just end up seeing orvieto, bevagna, montepulciano and florence!

Jean

I agree with Ira and Charnees.

Days 3,4. I doubt you'll make it to all these towns, and I'm not sure you should try. Perugia could take the better part of a day to see well, and driving into the city can be like entering a black hole. The drive between Bevagna and Spoleto is beautiful, but I'm not sure you should take the time to park and walk into Spoleto on this trip. (And I love Spoleto.) Give yourself time to explore Bevagna (Roman bath, opera house, paper-making factory, etc.).

ParrotMom

We spent our 50th wedding anniversary touring Orvieto and it was the highlight of our trip..I think we had lunch at the Estrucian..Stopped by Multipulciano and Pienza..but not for long. In Pienza went on a wine buying trip.Good Luck

TarheelsInNj

Congratulations!

Only one suggestion I would make... allow yourself a little time to be IN Montepulciano. My husband and I honeymooned there 3 years ago, and absolutely fell in love with it.

Against general advice, we opted not to rent a car, and spent an entire week in Montepulciano (with one day hike/bus to Pienza). We really loved exploring every inch of the town, trying all the restaurants, etc. It's a beautiful town, so just make sure you don't spend all of your time driving out of it!

honeyluna

thanks-we almost wanted to just rent a place for the whole week and look at the view, but ended up with a bit more of a tour of the region! montepulciano looks great and i can't wait to go!

ekscrunchy

Lovely. I will be interested in reading your impressions of Norica and the Piano Grande..hope you will have time for lunch in Norcia. Should be some wonderful eating in that neck of Umbria! Famous for pork and for castrati!

honeyluna

I'm now wondering if we should make Orvieto into a day trip and spend our first night in Bevagna as well to cut down on hotel changes-thoughts?

Jean

I think that would depend on what time you arrive in Rome and how jet-lagged you might be. Some people don't like to drive immediately after a long flight, and you certainly don't want to be looking for your hotel in Bevagna in the dark.

Rome to Bevagna
2 hours (plus time to rent car), 150 km.

Orvieto to Bevagna
1.25 hours, 77 km.

socaltraveler

I would recommend that you spend two nights in Bevagna (the Genius Loci looks lovely; I met the innkeeper in Italy last summer). This would give you less moving around, and you could do Orvieto on a day trip (or not). It is your honeymoon, enjoy some leisure. You will return.

Looking at days 3 & 4, do not seriously try to visit Spello, Assisi, Perugia and Spoleto on one day. Pick one, wander around, enjoy the wandering. Or two at most, just driving and parking in Assisi and Perugia took us way more time than we thought. Again, you will return.
Stop, drink the vino, enjoy.

honeyluna

I think I wrote this in a confusing way. We are staying in bevagna for 3 nights, montepulciano for 3 nights, and florence for 2 nights. The first night is still up in the air-we're arriving in rome around 11am and will either train to orvieto or train to bevagna.

bobthenavigator

Stop in Orvieto---worth your time.

socaltraveler

That does make a difference I think. At what point do you pick up a car? Orvieto? Since you arrive in Rome mid-day, you should take the train to Orvieto, wander around before the jetlag hits.

honeyluna

yes-thinking of picking up the car in orvieto-perhaps the second day. thanks kindly for all your help!