Please help with our Italy honeymoon!!
 

Hi! We are planning our honeymoon for late August in Italy. We have an itinerary but we are unsure if it is doable. We want some touring and some relaxing. Any advice would be great!<BR>In roughly 11-12 days:<BR>Fly into Milan-Rome at 11:00AM, 3 days in Rome (one in Vatican)(We will plan what we are seeing in Rome prior to arrival)<BR><BR>Train to Florence after breakfast, tour,<BR>next day walk/tour Florence,<BR>next day with private transportation travel to 5 Terre along the Ligurian riviera,<BR>next day with private transportation travel to Pisa &amp; Lucca,<BR>next day private transfer to Lake Como and relax for about 4 days. <BR>Maybe take a short trip up to Lugano, Switzerland.<BR><BR>Should we squeeze in Siena or San G. . . One of has been to Italy but for a very short time.<BR>Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.<BR>Grazi

<BR><BR>I don't see anything there that is not logistically &quot;doable.&quot; It all depends on how you want to spend your honeymoon: seeing a lot of places or spending more time in fewer places. I'm sure you'll love your four days in the Lake Como area. <BR><BR>Unless you are planning to spend a night in Siena or San G., and need to make reservations ahead of time, you could simply wait until you're there to decide about both of them.

Thanks for your response. We are planning on staying in Florence for 4 nights at Hotel Cellai while we take a few day trips. Is Lucca worth it over Siena or San G.?

Certainly doable, but I doubt you'll have any time for relaxing. You're going to be moving every day from morning to night. <BR><BR>Have you factored in travel times between Milan and Rome, Florence and Cinque Terre, Florence and Como? Have you considered how crowded every place will be as you're driving, parking, sightseeing? <BR><BR>Why stay in Florence if you're travelling every day to another place? <BR><BR>How can you possibly find any time to &quot;squeeze in&quot; San Gimignano or Siena or Lugano?<BR><BR>Why are you torturing yourself on your honeymoon?<BR><BR>

If you have 12 days total, the first and last day are used up by travel. You really should try to narrow down your focus a bit since train, bus, car travel can take a bit more time than you might realize especially during the summer season.<BR><BR>So, you really have 10 days to honeymoon. Fly into Rome since you plan to stay there 3 days. You will then train to Florence but have only allowed one day there. You might want to add another day just to see the sites in Florence. <BR><BR>That leaves you with 5 more days. I would choose either Cinque Terre or Tuscany or Lake Como based on your interests and spend those remaining days in the area of your choice. <BR><BR>Have fun planning.

<BR>...Yeah, what they've said.<BR><BR><BR>Half your time is going to be spent traveling and not doing anything. I'd drop at least two destinations from that plan so that you have enough time to catch your breath. Fly into Rome, spend a few days there, then travel to Florence, spend a couple more days just in Florence, then travel to Destination #3. for the remainder of the trip. LEave yourselves enough time just to sit in a piazza, drink some wine or have a gelato, and let the world pass you by.<BR><BR>As Rick Steves says, assume you will be back.<BR><BR><BR>Try this as an alternative itinerary, flying into Rome and out of Milan:<BR><BR>Day 1: Flying<BR>Day 2: Rome<BR>Day 3: Rome<BR>Day 4: Rome<BR>Day 5: Florence<BR>Day 6: Florence<BR>Day 7: Florence<BR>Day 8: Travel, maybe stopping en route in Emilia-Romagna for a day trip to Bologna or Parma<BR>Day 9: Lake Como<BR>Day 10: Lake Como<BR>Day 11: Lake Como or Milan (whichever provides better logistics to MXP airport)<BR>Day 12: Flying

sounds like a wonderful trip. Glad you found this site so that we can all help you on your trip.<BR><BR>Have a gret honeymoon. Hope you can use the books I left for you.<BR><BR>David