wonderlush

I and my fiancé are planning for our 17 days honeymoon end of September to Italy, Switzerland and Germany (does not have to be in that order). We'd to spend 9-10 days in Italy to visit Venice, Florence, Tuscany and some other places (we are not going to Rome this time), and the rest in other two countries. It is our first time in these countries so we would really appreciate your help with our itinerary.
1/ Should we fly in Germany and fly out of Italy or fly in Italy and fly out of Germany ? and which city? (considering transportation and weather changing) (We are from Canada and will fly via London)
2/ What places we should visit in those countries and how should we go from one place to another? We are open to taking train, renting a car or flying.
We are in our 30s and 40s. We like to have a mix of city and countryside, lake, beach, mountain... Something we like to do : easy hiking, walking around the city, see a concert, go to some wineries, driving/ biking in the countryside, see some castle, museums, and any other cool things that you could suggest.
Thank you for your help.

kja

Definitely fly into and out of different locations - no reason to back track!

Given your interests, you might want to consult the Lonely Planet guide books. You'll learn about all sorts of options you would never otherwise know exist!

Happy planning and congratulations/best wishes!

nytraveler

I would rethink flying in and out of London - you should go directly to and from the cities you want to visit. If you can;t do this from your home airport - change in Toronto or something - much faster, easier and probably cheaper than changing in London.

As for your itinerary I think you are trying to cover way too much territory. If the 17 days includes the day you land and the day you leave you really only have 15 days on the ground and you could easily just sped that much time in the places you seem to want to see in Italy.

If you are willing to cut back on Italy you could spend 4 or 5 days in someplace in switz or Germany (not both) but in 15 days you should stick to at most 4 different destination/hotels. Or you will spend more time just getting to places than actually doing or seeing anything.

In Sept I wuold start in the north and head south to be in Italy when it is as cool as possible.

But I think you really need to do some research so you can pick out 4 must see places - and know what yuo want to see there and how long it will take.

Jean

"We'd to spend 9-10 days in Italy to visit Venice, Florence, Tuscany and some other places...."

How many days will you need in Venice and Florence to see/do the things on your sightseeing list? Have you checked the open/closed days and hours for everything? What do you plan to see/do in Tuscany, and what exactly are the "other places"?

I suggest you lay out your schedule day by day to see how much time you'll need for sightseeing in each place and how much time would be required to move from town to town either by driving or riding public transportation. Don't forget to factor in time spent checking in/out of hotels, getting to/from train stations, walking into towns from wherever you park the car, time for lunch, etc., etc. You may find that 9-10 days are not enough for the first part of your itinerary.

adrienne

You're going to spend your time moving around and changing hotels. In the first 10 days you're going to two cities, a region (I presume you mean Tuscany outside of Florence), and some other unknown places in Italy. This might work if you base yourself in one location in Tuscany (Florence, for instance) and take day trips and if the unknown locations in Italy are near Tuscany.

That leaves 7 days to see 2 countries.

You have a lot of things you're interested in which is good. You could sunbathe at the end of September but I doubt you would want to swim.

You need to firm up your itinerary before you determine your mode of transportation. In cities such as Venice and Florence you would not want a car. If you want to explore the Tuscan region a car is a good way to get to small towns and to visit several towns each day.

If you rent a car in one country and drop it in another country you'll pay a stiff drop off fee - it could be as much as 400 or 500CAD.

If you keep Germany in your itinerary I would limit your sightseeing to the southern portion, around Munich. Same with Switzerland - stay in the areas that touch Germany and Italy.

Question for you: Why did you choose these locations if you don't know what you want to do?

Make a list of everything you want to see in each location and see if there is enough time to cover this much in 17 days. I think you'll find that you'll be short of time before you get out of Italy.

kybourbon

I would forget about London flights and fly into Germany (Munich? Frankfort? - depends on what you want to see in Germany) or Switzerland (Zurich, Geneva or Basel).

For your Italy list, you probably need to add more days.

I would drop either Germany or Switzerland. You don't have as much time as you think. Does your 17 days include travel to and from Canada?

Christina55

June is a great month to go both in Greece and in Italy, taking advantage of the still low season prices.
I live in Capri from several years and I can tell you that here you'll find few beaches, but this part of Southern Italy has a charm all its own, if you love the "Dolce Vita" moods.
Same goes for the Amalfi Coast: the beaches are not white and sandy and some are even difficult to get to, but you'll never forget the bays lapped by warm and crystal clear waters.

Here a collection of all the beaches of the Amalfi Coast: http://www.positano.com/en/beaches

And here of Capri: http://www.capri.com/en/beaches

I hope you enjoy Italy