John_and_Katie

My fiancee and I are planning our honeymoon for 11/3-12, and here is what we came up with. Please give us some feedback on how we can enhance the trip. It might seem like a lot of jumping around for a honeymoon, but we're up for it.

Day 1 - Fly to Amsterdam in the afternoon
Day 2 - Arrive in Amsterdam early morning. Check in to hotel, sightseeing and early to bed
Day 3 - Spend a full day sightseeing in Amsterdam
Day 4 - Fly to Rome in the early AM, check into hotel, sightseeing in Rome.
Day 5 - Spend a full day sightseeing in Rome
Day 6 - Spend a full day sightseeing in Rome
Day 7 - Take an early train to Florence. Sightsee and spend the night in Florence.
Day 8 - Take an early train to Naples. Sightsee and spend the night in Naples.
Day 9 - Take an early train back to Rome. Enjoy our last night...
Day 10- Back to Chicago!

zeppole

Since Firenze is a 90 minute trip by train from Roma, you should it as a day trip.

On your other thread, I had posted that there is an overnight train from Rome to Munich.

John_and_Katie

Thanks Zeppole..

So you don't see any reason to spend the night in Florence?

If we did include Munich, where would it fit? What would you replace?

nytraveler

Sorry - but with so few days I would either do 1 city - and relax some - or do 2 nearby cities (like Amsterdam and paris). Staying in more than 2 hotels in so few days - and all that trekking back and forth will be very earing. And in Nov - when it gets dark so early - your sightseing will be somewhat limited.

Any - if I may make so bold - why Naples - of all places?

ira

Hi J,

Is this a honeymoon or an expedition?

You have 9 days on the ground and you want to visit 4 cities.

Not to mention that Naples is in the opposite direction for Florence.

Why are you returning to Rome? You can fly out of Naples.

Why are you skipping Venice?

You have enough time for a nice honeymoon in Italy. Why don;t you work on that?

WebVisionItaly

Naples rocks! That's a good reason to go. I think going up to Florence and down to Naples is too much back tracking.

As Zeppole suugested (BTW, see video of delicious Zeppole here!
http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=266)

you could do Florence in a day and Naples can be done in a day from Rome too. Fast trains are EXPENSIVE, however, so check that diea out and your budget.

If it was me I would choose either Florence or Naples but not both. And if it were me, in November, I'd opt for Naples because I love being immersed in Italian culture and I like Italian cities with less tourists. And the weather in Campania is nice that time of year. I also absoultely love Campania, Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri, etc. all day trips from Naples.

If it were me I would take Day 4 to get to Naples, sicne I am going to be tired anyway this day I may as well do all my travelling. Stay for two nights, then stay Day 6,7, 8, 9 in Rome. If you find you are bored in Rome ;-) take a train to Florence. hehe.

When I travel I hate to backtrack b/c I feel like I am just buring up my time on vacation for no productive end and i always try to be in the city where i am leaving from for the last few days. This maximizes my time in ristorante, sight seeing, and talking to the people!!

hetismij

Much as it pains me to say it, I would drop Amsterdam from this trip and concentrate on Italy if you really want to go there. Or as nytraveller suggests do Amsterdam with Paris, or Brussels/Brugge.
It's your honeymoon, give yourselves some downtime for heavens sake. As it stands you have a lot of travelling and sightseeing, but little relaxing enjoying each others company time -isn't that what a honeymoon is for?

ellenem

I've watched the different permutations of your trip on your different threads, and actually think that you've got a pretty reasonable plan compared to some of your earlier ones. I would almost be willing to take this trip.

It's not worth it to stay in Florence one night if you are visiting from Rome and then planning to travel past Rome to go to Naples the next day. You'll waste time changing hotels plus the trip from Florence to Naples is about 4 hours, so you'll use up a good part of that day changing locations.

I like WebVision's idea to fly from Amsterdam either directly to Naples or to Rome and continuing by train to Naples. Maximize your time in Rome at the end for your departure. Your itinerary becomes:

Day 1 - Fly to Amsterdam in the afternoon
Day 2 - Arrive in Amsterdam early morning. Check in to hotel, sightseeing and early to bed
Day 3 - Spend a full day sightseeing in Amsterdam
Day 4 - Fly to Rome in the early AM, and take train to Naples or fly directly to Naples. Sightsee and spend the night in Naples.
Day 5 - More sightseeing in Naples/Pompeii.
Day 6 -Take an early train to Rome. Check into hotel, sightseeing in Rome
Day 7 - Spend a full day sightseeing in Rome
Day 8 - Take an early train to Florence. Sightsee and return to Rome on a late train.
Day 9 - Spend a full day sightseeing in Rome
Day 10- Back to Chicago!

I would not at Munich to the plan.

ellenem

I would not ADD Munich to the plan.

bobthenavigator

Nine days=3 destinations--preferably in Italy.

zeppole

Well, I wouldn't add Munich to this plan either. I just thought if you were still trying to cram in a lot of countries as your priority, the overnight train -- if you even were willing to take an overnight train -- was something to know about.

But I like Ellen's plan. Bear in mind you can stow your luggage in Pompeii.

As for spending the night in Firenze, of course I think there are plenty of reasons to spend nights in Firenze, but I don't think it makes sense for this trip.

Were it me, I would stay in cozy, cheap B&Bs in Amsterdam and in Roma, but spring for a wow hotel in Napoli with a view of Vesuvius.

John_and_Katie

Thanks you all for your help! We'll review tonight or tomorrow and let you know if we have any questions.

Have a pleasant weekend!

knickerbocker

I'd add my voice to the 'slow down' chorus thus far. As much as I love Florence, I'd suggest you forget about it as you guys are intending to do WAY too much for the time you have available. Mrs. K. & I did 8 days in Florence and environs alone last spring and enjoyed ourselves immensely; it's that kind of place.

Don't forget that not only will you be recovering from jet-lag, you'll be recovering from wedding-lag. Make your honeymoon an enjoyable oasis of each other in the middle of everything else that life will throw at you. It isn't like Florence and the rest of Europe isn't going to be around for a while.

tuscanlifeedit

Ok, if it were me, and it's not, I would skip Naples.

I went to Italy many times before visiting Naples, and I now think I could have skipped it. It's not an "easy" city to see on a fast visit.

I would leave Florence in the mix, because it is easy to see.

Rome, Florence and points in between would be perfect for me if I had your time frame, but if I had to add a choice between Amsterdam and Naples, I would pick Amsterdam. On the other hand, sticking with Italy makes the most sense.

Rome, Florence and Naples...