Oct 2005 Honeymoon in Italy
 

Hello,
My fiance and I are beginning to plan our honeymoon to Italy in Oct 2005. Below is our curren plan of travel. We are planning to spend about 12-13 nights in Italy

Arrive in Rome: 3 nights
Train from Rome- naples and then take another form of transportation to Sorrento since there is no train. Spend 3 nights in Sorrento and from here go on some excurions to Capri, Almalfi Coast, I guess Positano and Pompeii included
Take a train to Naples/Florence
Spend Three nights in Florence with a visit to Siena/ S. Gimignano/Chiani wineries
Train to Venice and spend 1-2 nights there then fly home.

Some tell me to stay over in Sorrento, othes say stay over in Capri. I've also been told that Siena is ok..and we should definitley go to Assisi.
Any recommendations would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thank you... :)

Hi Riz,

More traveling than I would do, but OK.

When in October?

From Naples you can take the Curcumvesuviana train to Sorrento.
http://www.vesuviana.it/orario_ol/orari.asp

The SITA buses run from Sorrento to Amalfi.

The ferries run from Sorrento to Capri, to Positan and to Amalfi.

We are leaving around October 8th or 9th. You think that is too much to cover? Lord knows when we will be back and I guess we are trying to see as much as possible, but also trying not to overdue it. Is Siena adn the chianti wineries worth the trip? Tahks for the info on the trains...

In that time I would only do 3 destinations---Florence/Tuscany, Amalfi coast, and Rome--and in that order. It takes 4 trips like this to see Italy--this is just your first. Everyone will tell you " not to miss XX". Well, you do not have the time and it is your honeymoon. Pick 3 destinations and enjoy it.

I agree with Bob. Add one night to Rome and one night to Sorrento. The local Circumvesuviano train can take you from Naples to Sorrento in about an hour. It will also take you straight to Pompei from Sorrento in a half-hour. Don't miss Pompeii - it will be one of the highlights of your trip. From Sorrento you can get to Positano by ferry or SITA bus or to Capri by ferry.

I agree that this is too much and the best way to see Italy is not to try and see everything the first time.

I would bag Venice and add a day in Florence. Keep Rome and Sorrento as planned. There are easy day trips from Florence and the city itself is wonderful. I often go there and nowhere else for week to ten days. And October in Tuscany is beautiful!

May I suggest my favorite romantic inn in Florence? Antica Torre Tournabuoni. Well located, lovely rooms, small and intimate with a lovely terrace. Some rooms have private terraces as well. Of all the places I have stayed in Florence, this one is special.

In Rome, I would splurg on the Grand Hotel de la Minerve.

Enjoy!

Hi Riz! Congratulations! I just went to Italy for the 1st time last August for 15 days for my anniversary. Originally I planned on Venice, Tuscany, Amalfi Coast & Rome. But the more I researched, the more I realized how much Tuscany deserved more time alloted to it than 3 nights. So we ended up flying to Venice, spending 4 nights, flying (quite cheaply, especially since Alitalia has YET to charge us for the flight!) to Naples, staying in Capri and Positano for 6 nights, then Rome for 4 nights. It was FABULOUS!!

We plan on returning to Italy this year, devoting 16 days mostly to Tuscany (& Rome for 2 nights.) Having at least 4 nights in each spot was wonderful (the exception being Capri for 2 nights.) You'll be surprised how quickly the time flies, and it is nice to not be packing up the suitcase so often. While we were there, we both kept saying how glad we were that we had changed the itinerary. It was much more pleasant to be hanging out together at a cafe, sipping wine & people watching, than being in transit.

Also, Capri was nice BUT we LOVED Positano and Ravello! Whatever you decide, Italy is a fantastic way to start your marraige!

Hi Riz,

You will be in the shoulder season for the Amalfi Coast.

I suggest:

Fly into Naples and go to the AC for a week.(We stayed at the Le Sirene in Praiano).

You can get there by bus (http://www.curreriviaggi.it/) to Sorrento and then SITA bus or hire a limo (about 90E).

Back to Naples, where you fly www.volareweb.com to Venice for a week.
Fly home from Venice.

You will be in the two most beautiful and romantic places in Italy.

Save Tuscany for early June or early September.

You might find my trip report helpful.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

Enjoy your honeymoon.


Save Rome for some other time.

Riz, Italy is a great place for a honeymoon. We had an amazing first family trip to Italy in June. Travelled with my husband and teens.

Rome was our favorite place in Italy and I recommend 4 nights for Rome. Rome is exciting, romantic, fascinating, and fun. rome is awesome!
Stay someplace central where there are interesting neighborhoods to walk through from your hotel. (We liked the Hotel Nazionale a Montecitorio on Piazza Montecitorio, Rome.)

Venice is one of the most romantic and most unique cities in Italy. You deserve 3 nights in Venice on a honeymoon!

That would leave you with 5 or 6 more nights to put somewhere. I would suggest somwhere in the Tuscany/Chianti region. I loved Siena, stayed at the very romantic Palazzo Ravizza with a view over the garden, over the wall of Siena, out into the hills of Tuscany. Saw couples falling in love all over again, standing in the back garden of the Palazzo Ravizza, looking out over Siena and Tuscany!

We stayed in sorrento for 2 nights as a base to tour the Amalfi coast area. I DON'T recommend Sorrento for a honeymoon...of all the towns we saw in Italy, I consider Sorrento to be the LEAST romantic. If you really want to see the Amalfi coast stay in Positano, or Ravello for a more romantic honeymoon stay.

However, you don't have much time, and I wouldn't sacrifice Venice for the Amalfi coast area. If you have to, skip the whole Amalfi coast area and spend 3 nights in Venice. Venice is more unique...you can find beautiful coastal areas similar to Amalfi elsewhere in the world, but Venice is more unique in the world.

Near the Amalfi coastal area we saw Sorrento, Praiano, Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello.. Yes, they were beautiful. My 22-year-old son said he would consider spending his future honeymoon in Ravello. (That was before he saw Venice. The girls chose Venice as their future honeymoon site.) However, I have to say that although they were beautiful, I enjoyed the coastal areas of Northern California just as much.

What was unique about Italy to us was Rome, and Venice, and Chianti, and Siena. Chianti is best seen with a local who knows where the good food is and who can tell you something about the area!

Buon viaggio...happy honeymoon.

Oh...you'll have a much more romantic time if you try to resist the temptation to squeeze too many destinations into your trip. Romance happens when you have leisurely time to spend in a beautiful place...rushing about to stay on schedule kills romance. that's my advice...I've been married for 23 years.

I also highly advise you take restaurant recommendations with you because food is expensive for us USA travellers in Italy...and the bad food costs just as much as the good food!!! We made the mistake of not bothering to take restaurant recommendations with us and had some expensive bad meals. The only guidebook I had brought with me was Rick Steve's Italy so we began using that for restaurants and had outstanding, memorable meals, sometimes for less money than we had paid for the bad food!

I have Fodors Italy guidebook too, which I used at home to help plan my itinerary. but I decided to only bring 1 guidebook with me as I didn't want to be weighed down with books.

WOW thank you EVERYONE for all of your wonderful feedback! Overall I think what I got from everyone's responses...was DON'T put too many desitnations in your schedule b/c there is nothing romantic about rushing to get here and there then packing up your bags every few nights off to another town. Now I'm confused about exactly WHERE we should/should not go. My fiance is totally set on going to Venice, ...it seems as though the majority of people say Rome is also a must....Tuscany would be nice in October, but others have a point that it is so large. Then I hear the AC and Capri are like Heaven on earth....too many beautiful places and not enough time. I think what I need to do now is go out and purchase some books, research and see which places appeal to us the MOST then decide on only a few towns/cities. The rest of our destinations will be an excuse to make it back. Although since I am 100% Sicilian, I have to make it to Sicily one day. Perhaps he'll take me back to Italy my 30th in a few years...now that would be a great gift. Once I ponder over this for a while I'm sure you'll hear back from me on additional recommendations. Thanks Again :)

Hi riz,

>My fiance is totally set on going to Venice, ...it seems as though the majority of people say Rome is also a must....Tuscany would be nice in October, but others have a point that it is so large. Then I hear the AC and Capri are like Heaven on earth....<

There are reasons why millions of people have done the Big Three - Rome, Florence and Venice.

One of them is that it is a very good itinerary for about 2 weeks in October of 2005. :)