miumiu

Hi all,
I am tentitively looking into a trip to Italy with my new husband! We originally were going to spend an all-inclusive week in the Caribbean, but maybe we should attempt something different this time....
If anyone has general info that would be great. First, is can we spend a week in Italy on a $3000 budget? I know we will only be able to spend time in a couple of cities, maybe Rome and Tuscany? Any suggestions? If there is an expert out there that can give me an idea of a timeline and how to get from one city to the next that would be great. We want to see main amazing things, but still sort of relax and enjoy time with each other!

yk

miumiu-

Congratulations on your marriage!

To answer your question, Italy is a great place to go for honeymoon. I myself just returned from my honeymoon in Venice for 1 week.

Re: Budget
Does the $3000 include airfare? If not, they you should be fine. If it does include airfare, you need to decide when you're going and where you're flying from. For us, our plane ticket from Dallas to Venice was almost $1000 per person (economy), so obviously, a $3000 budget would not be enough.

For 1 week, I suggest either Rome and Florence, or Rome and Venice, or Florence and Venice. Do you know what time of year you'll be going?

You'd also be better off if you fly open-jaw (ie, fly into one city and fly out from a different one) as that will save you time from back-tracking. Trains are the best way to connect between these cities.

There is a lot of info on this board and lots of expert. One of the very helpful threads here is called "Helpful Information Italy." If you type that into the search box above, that thread should show up in the L hand column on the screen.

Happy planning!

miumiu

Thanks for that! Rome is definitely on the top of my list. Should I spend a week there or would that be too much time?

rex

Good question(s) from yk, to try to make YOUR question(s) answerable. But so far, you didn't answer!

Does the $3000 need to cover the airfare and everything else? or just the everything else?

If airfare is relevant to the budget, from where are you traveling?

And almost equally important, what month will this travel be?

Looking forward to trying to figoure out how to help...

and... whatever your answers,

congratulations on your new life in marriage... and...

Best wishes,

Rex

rex

And one other common newbie "thing" ("mistake&quot...

... your post will be better received by everyone if you will note the recommendation from Fodors... to mention the <i><b>destination</b></i> in your message header. In fact, it would be a good idea to completely re-post and use a message header like

&quot;Can we afford to travel to Italy for a one-week (month) honeymoon, and stay within a $3000 budget?&quot;

Fodors doesn't make it easy to find its recommendations... click on &quot;HELP&quot; (little red letters in the upper right hand corner)... there, in particular at http://www.fodors.com/forums/faqs.cfm#Q6 is the advice to...

&quot;Finally, create a title - make sure it is concise and clearly describes your message (<b>and destination</b>, if applicable)...&quot;

(my own emphasis added)

miumiu

HI Rex!
Thanks for the tips, you are definitely a veteran! As for the budget, I didn't really think it through, I would say $2000 for flight, and another $2000 for everything else? We are flying from Toronto.
I don'r know why but when I looked into the open-jaw flights, one way was more expensive then a round trip to Rome? I don't get it....
I guess we want to see lots, but not be running around stressed for a week. So, is a week too long in Rome. If we go to a second place, where would you recommend, and how would we get there? I am having trouble finding info on that, how long? How much etc?
We will be going maybe Mar-May? Dates very open still....

Thanks for any info!!

SusanP

miumiu, An open-jaw flight is not really a one-way flight. It means flying from Toronto to one city and flying back to Toronto from another city. This is the most efficient method if you want to visit more than one city. If you're happy with one city, there is certainly way more than enough to do in Rome for a week. I was recently there for five nights and barely scratched the surface!

Flights will almost certainly be less in March than in May, but of course the weather will most likely be better in May which also means more crowds. Which is more important to you, better weather or smaller crowds?

rex

You don't look for an open jaw itinerary by looking at one way fares for each segment. You use &quot;multiple destinations&quot; to search Toronto-Rome, then Venice-Toronto, for example.

In March, perhaps you could find flights for under $700 - - but I'm saying <b>US</b>D - - are you asking about CAD?

yk

Rex has a good point. Are you talking about USD or Canadian dollars?

Assuming Canadian Dollars, is $2000 enough for &quot;everything else&quot;?

$2000 = $1700 USD
That equals $240/day x 7 days.

Assuming you spend $140/day on hotels (which is kind of budget/mediocre price range), you'll have $100 left each day for 2 meals and all other sightseeing expenses.

Does this help you?

BTW, even though the weather is not as nice in March and the days are shorter, you can probably get better flight and hotel deals for March than for May. Just a thought.

5alive

Hi, miumiu,
There is certainly enough to see in Rome for a week, but you might want some of it in a smaller town or somwhere a little quieter. So many beautiful small towns and regions.

I suspect that is part of why people are asking what month you are going. It makes a difference where you might want to visit.


The other sections of this Fodor's Website or a guidebook with pictures will help you determine your interests. Also, some on this board disdain him, but Rick Steves' videos of Italy from your local library (or on PBS) would be a good starting point.

Here are some key regions to look into:
-- Venice/the Veneto
-- Tuscany (includes Florence/Sienna)
-- Amalfi Coast
-- Cinque Terra (literally 5 Lands)
-- Sicily and Naples
-- Umbria (Assisi, Perugia)

Then email back when you want people's opinions. Also clue us in as to what you two like -- art, ancient history, beaches, outdoorsy stuff, fashion and clubs, what?

As other posters mentioned, to a second destination in Italy isn't difficult. Figure out what area you would like to visit. Then search this board or post your questions about how to get from Rome to the city/region you want.

Good luck!

LoveItaly

Hello miumiu, it is getting late and I am a little tired but scanning your post, an maybe I am wrong, it seems to me that a week in Rome might be just the place for your visit to Italy. You could fly into and out of Rome.

You could rent an apartment for the week which would give you a kitchen which would help save on food cost.

A week in Rome, in my opinion, is not to long. Rome is a city that is enjoyed more when one is able to slow down a bit and enjoy it. In fact a friend and I are thinking of spending a week in Rome next year. The last time I was in Rome we spent two weeks. It was delightful to not feel rushed.

If you spent a week in Rome you also would not have the transportation cost of going somewhere else be it Florence, the countryside of Tuscany, Venice etc. All very beautiful places but I would imagine this will not be the last trip you and your new husband will be taking to Italy.

Anyway, as I said I am a bit tired, but this is my thinking for what it is worth. I wish you a beautiful time and best wishes to both of you with your decisions.

jabez

Our last two trips to Italy included a week in Rome. No way close to &quot;too long&quot;.
You could do an easy day trip to Orvieto to taste what a hill town is like.
The dollars you mention are doable, but are budgeted tightly for a city like Rome. The price of the tickets make a big difference.
I would personally try for May, but I agree that March or April tickets might save you much.I did a quick search and found March tickets at $794 and May at $927.

Doble_Vergasser

Miumiu,

If your list of things to y'all want to see in Rome will take a week then a week is not too long. You might get a DK book on Rome or a 'top ten' book. (For something major like this some research is in order.)

You might consider a day trip to Orvieto in Tuscany.

The cost of airfare is seasonal (what is $500 in mid January can be $1,000 in August).

Flying open jaw saves you the cost of a return train trip and the lost day to get back to your starting city. It does costs more for open jaw but is well worth it.

Do you think you could stretch your week out to ten days somehow?

The day that you arrive will be of marginal value. Typically the planes arrive in Europe at 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning, personally I can't really sleep on an airplane, so I am very tired and the day is difficult (my wife has a picture of me sleeping on the top level of a London Double decker bus).
So seven days might be six useful days. It takes a day to fly back, so you have five useful days.

KikiLee

If you are willing to spend a whole week in Rome (and there is certainly more than enough to do for a week!) look into renting an apartment. You'll save money over a hotel, have more privacy, and can save money by storing breakfast foods in the kitchen and enjoying romantic breakfats in bed!

ira

&gt;....enjoying romantic breakfats in bed!

This is a respectable forum. Please, no kinky sex.

suze

A week in Rome, with plenty of sight-seeing and day-trips outside the city, staying in an apartment or central located 3-star hotel would make a fine first trip.

soupnazi

Congratulations on your marriage - my husband and I just got back from the Caribbean. We narrowly escaped hurricane Stanley. Something different sure sounds good, doesn't it. I think you may be able to do better than you think. After reading your post, I added up the numbers for me and my husbands 11-day (13 with air) Rome, Florence, Venice trip, and the total with hotels and air comes to $2,519.08. It breaks down as follows. I know these amounts are accurate because I have already paid for the air, of course, and I purchased the hotels through Orbitz and had to prepay, with the exception of the hotel in Verona on the last night, but I added that in along with the one-way air tickets from Verona to FCO on 3/27.

Two tickets on Air Canada Seattle to Rome RT w/one change $1,311.18 (that includes all fees, fuel surcharge, etc. Leaving Seattle on the 15th, returning on the 27th, weekdays.Two one-way tickets to FCO from Verona 3/27 a.m. $207.00.

Hotels: Rome, 4 nights at Hotel Giardino for $369.20; Florence 4 nights at Hotel San Giorgio $369.20; Venice 2 nights at Palazzo Rosa $162.50; and one night at Hotel Sienca for 85E.

If I add in another 1,550. for food, train, and excursions, the total comes to $4,069 for eleven nights. Considering that the plane tickets are a fixed cost (no difference between a week and eleven nights), the remainder of the trip costs $2,758 for 11 nights, or approximately $251 per night. Subtract four nights at $251 per night ($1,004) from the $4,069 = $3,065, very close to your goal.But please bear in mind that we do not stay in 4 star hotels and eat expensive dinners every night and we honestly prefer it this way.

I really want you to work this out and take this trip. I just know how excited I am and I know you probably feel the same.

Best to the both of you.