Trip Report -- Bellagio, Venice, Florence, Positano, Rome
 

I promised myself I would write a detailed trip report upon our return from our honeymoon in Italy and unfortunately, things have been so busy that I just haven't had the chance --- so here is my attempt at a condensed version.

Bellagio -- We flew into Milan and had our hotel arrange a driver to bring us to Bellagio. We stayed at the Belvedere and loved it. The room was a nice size (although the bathroom was quite small) and the view from the balcony was spectacular! We visited the Villa Carlotta, the Serabelloni (not the hotel but rather the sight up the hill where scholars can come to study), Varenna, Villa Balbionello (not sure I'm spelling that right), etc. The weather was overcast and a bit rainy so overall we didn't enjoy Bellagio quite as much as we would have liked.

Venice -- We had the same driver in Bellagio bring us to the Milan and then we took the Eurostar to Venice. Once in venice, we immediately stood in line at the train station to get the Rolling Card (which gives discounts for vaporetto passes, museums, restaurants for those under 30 yrs old) and get our discounted 3 day vaporetto pass. We then got on the #1 vaporetto but took it the wrong way by accident... instead of going down the grand canal we went the other way which really wasn't scenic at all... but we finally got to Piazza S. Marco. We stayed at the Locanda Orseolo, which we would HIGHLY recommend. The room was huge, as was the bathroom (which had both a bathtub and a stall shower) and Franesco, Igor and Barbara (those who run it) were incredibly helpful!! We spent most of our time in Venice, just wandering and getting lost and finding our way again. The highlight was our first night in Piazza S. Marco listening to the competing orchestras and waltzing in the middle of the piazza (we learned how to waltz for the wedding!).

Florence -- we took the Eurostar to Florence and stayed at the Tourist House Ghiberti. We really liked it there too... again big room and nice sized bathroom and the price was great! We walked around Florence and bought leather jackets in the leather market. We also used Alessandro Camilli to drive us around Tuscany for one day (we visited a few wineries and a few of the towns including Greve, Radda, etc.). For dinner, our favorite restaurant was a bit touristy but we really liked our food. If you cross the Ponte Vecchio to the Oltrarno side, and take a left, it's called Golden View Open Bar. We ate dinner there twice and had a great view overlooking the water and the Ponte Vecchio.

Positano -- We took the Eurostar to Naples and then had Giovanni/Giancarlo of tourofitaly.com pick us up and drive us to Positano. We stayed at the Poseidon, which we LOVED! We basically just relaxed in Positano, going to the beach, sitting by the pool, etc. We also spend a day visiting Amalfi and Ravello. Our favorite restaurant in Positano was called Meditteraneo...it's just up the road from the Poseidon. We ate dinner there twice b/c the food was so good!!

Rome -- We had Giovanni pick us up to drive us from Positano to Rome. We only had half a day in Rome so we mostly just walked around. We stayed at the Albergo del Senato. You can't beat the location and the hotel itself was great.

One last comment -- We bought all of our train tickets on the trenitalia website before we left for italy. The website was totally in italian and i don't speak or read a word of it but I sort of just figured it out and it worked out perfectly.

So, that was the short version -- if anyone has questions, just ask -- We had such an amazing honeymoon!!

What a great honeymoon---love your hotel choices. I am delighted it worked well for you. Sure beats our honeymoon trip to New Orleans in 1959.

I did the same thing in January--took the Vaporetto #1 the wrong way when I arrived and had to shiver through a long, cold, journey to San Marcos. Thanks for making me feel like I'm not alone!

Sounds like you had a great trip, nbs. Thanks for the update.

Nice report....we did a weekend in New Orleans in 1969....like Bob the Nav in 1959. How did you arrange all those drivers? We just rent a car and go in Italy. Not too hard to do that. All the coordination for the planes, trains and drivers seemed to be too much. Just curious.....

Tell us about your visits to Villa Serbelloni and Villa Balbianello please. Was the former only open at odd times (I've been to Bellagio 3 or 4 times and never found it open) and how did you get to the latter? Any other helpful info on these two places appreciated.

Sounds like a wondeful honeymoon! How was your day with Allesandro? Did you set the itinerary or did he? Do you remember which wineries you went to? Did you set the day and time with him in advance or did he contact you in Florence? Sorry about all the questions but I'm considering him for a tour. Congrats on your marriage!

What a wonderful "report" on your trip!Thanks for taking the time. How did you fair in Positano for the heighth? We are going there and has me a bit anxious.Would love your input! And congradulations!

I'm glad to hear that you had such a wonderful honeymoon! And I'm happy that you enjoyed the Poseidon. It's one of my favorite hotels.

Are you already planning to go back?

Hi everyone -- let's see if I can answer all of the questions.

1. Drivers -- we arranged everything in advance via email. In Bellagio, we emailed the hotel to ask them to arrange for the airport pick up and then for the train station drop off -- it was really easy -- the driver was waiting for us after we exited customs and was holding a sign with my name. In Florence, we had emailed with Alessandro in advance and had picked our itinerary (more on Alessandro later -- see below). For the naples to positano and positano to rome trip, we had arranged with www.tourofitaly.com in advance. It is a father and son driving team -- both of whom are really great -- in fact the son drove us to positano and he was the one who suggested going to dinner at Medittaraneo which was our favorite restaurant. And the father is the one who drove us to Rome and he bought us a small bottle of lemoncello as a honeymoon gift for us. (you can reach giancarlo and giovanni at [email protected])

2. Bellagio (Serabelloni & Barbianello) -- for the tour of Serabelloni, we bought tickets in the small tourists office in the corner of the piazza chiesa. There were 2 tours each day -- one at 11am and one at 4pm -- the tour lasted about 1 1/2 hours and you just buy the tickets 15 minutes before the tour -- they don't accept reservations for earlier than that. For the villa barbienello, we took a tour of that too. It cost 40 Euro per person and it was a 2 1/2 hour tour with about 10 other people or so. I forget the name of the company that we used... but it was a wife/husband run boat (the wife is actually originally australian and the husband is italian) and their "dock" is down by the water in from of the Hotel Suisse or Hotel Metrople.

3. Alessandro Camilli -- Alessandro was really great. We found him on this forum actually and then emailed him to see if he had availability on the date we wanted. He did and so we booked it and then we worked with him to set the itinerary in advance. We told him we wanted to see wineries and castles and then he emailed us back with all the various options and so we chose what we wanted and then he made all the tour reservations and even made us a lunch reservation too. He picked us up at about 9am in his car and then drove us to Piazzale Michelangelo to see the view of all of florence from above. We then went to Greve and he just parked and let us walk around. We then went to Radda and did the same and same thing with Gaole. Radda was our favorite b/c it had these little shops and we bought some food to take home with us (some fun sauces and an olive paste, etc.). We then had lunch at Badia e Coltibuono and the food was INCREDIBLE. We were so pleased that Alessandro had made that reservation for us. Then we went for a wine tasting and tour at the Meleto castle and then the same at the Volpaia castle and then we drove back to florence. For those that want to get in touch with Alessandro his email is [email protected]

4. Positano -- we did fine with the heights. It is really breathtaking there. The whole town is literally built right into the side of a cliff. As I mentioned we stayed at the Poseidon (which we highly recommend) and that hotel is directly on the main road, so it was easy to get our bags into the hotel etc. (ie., we didn't have to carry our bags down or up flights of stairs, etc.) Also, as long as you walk along that main road which winds its way down to the beach, we didn't find it all that strenuous. However, one afternoon when coming back from the beach, my dear husband decided it would be worth seeing what the stairs up to the top would be like.... ie., instead of walking leisurely up the main road which has a slope to it but again, isn't all that bad, we tried the steps which literally go up vertically -- That was one of the worst decisions we made on the trip -- We made it to the top and to our hotel but I had to take lots of breaks b/c it was really hard.

Weadles -- we actually booked the Poseidon based on your suggestion here on this forum, so we are really grateful to you. Yes, we would love to go back to Positano and to the Poseidon --- if/when we go back, we see no reason to explore any other hotel -- we really liked the Poseidon -- unfortunately, we now have to save to buy a house so luxurious vacations aren't in the near future for us!!

A few other observations/comments I forgot to write about:

1. Too many places to visit in 2 weeks? --- we got a lot of advice that we were trying to cover too much ground in just 2 weeks but we actually loved our itinerary. We are on the go type of people and would have been bored just covering 1 or 2 places. We wouldn't have changed a thing -- plus, the train trips were nice b/c it gave us a chance to read up on the next stop and figure out what we wanted to see and how we would divide up our time.

2. Secret Tour of the Doge's Palace in Venice --- also got the suggestion from this forum to do this while we were in Venice. Our hotel made the reservation for us in advance. And this tour was really great. We would highly recommend it!!

if anyone else has questions, please just ask --- we really enjoyed our trip and put so much into planning it and reading up on this forum (i became an addict actually on this forum!!) that we want to give back in any way we can!

Yes, a question...I realize it was your honeymoon (congratulations!) but you had to EAT sometime, right? (LOL) Any highlights on restaurants you could share with us?

Thanks and best wishes.

What a great Honeymoon! Welcome back.

Eating... right... yes, we did eat, didn't we? we mostly grabbed lunch on the go, so don't have a lot of comments, but here's a bit:

Bellagio -- the first day we ate lunch at Art in Flower... the food was really good -- my husband had gnocchi and i had vegetarian lasagna. the first night we ate dinner at the hotel florence... we ate outside overlooking the water and again the food was great. The only other place I would mention is the Hotel Suisse -- we ate dinner there on the 2nd night and we really didn't like it... it was partially just a cultural thing --- i ordered fish and the fish came with all of the bones in it and the head still intact on the plate... my husband ordered steak and it came so that from the outside it looked cooked but once he cut into it, it was mostly raw... we probably just should have said something to the waiter but we were slightly embarassed and didn't know what to say so we just sort of pushed it around our plates and then went to get gelato...

Venice --- we really didn't eat anywhere all that memorable in Venice... one night we ate at a place near the Rialto Bridge and one night we ate dinner in the Dorsoduro area in the Piazza Santa Margharita....I should probably mention that my husband and I are sort of difficult eaters... I don't eat meat or shellfish and my husband doesn't eat any fish at all.... so mostly I stuck to pastas the whole trip and he stuck to meat...

Florence -- We really enjoyed the Golden View restaurant that we mentioned above. We also ate lunch one day on the go and grabbed Greek/Meditarranean food from this tiny place off one of the streets leading off of the Piazza della Republica... my husband had a chicken gyro and I had hummus and babaganoush... it was fantastic!... also, we loved our lunch at Badia e Coltibuono as we mentioned above.

Positano -- Again, our favorite dinners were the ones at Medittaraneo... we also ate at La Cambusa one night and that was pretty good as well. For the day where we went to Ravello, we ate lunch at Cumpa Casina... it was this little restaurant that is run by this wonderful grandmother-like woman. Our food was great -- really homemade and she was really sweet. We were too stuffed to order dessert but then after we paid our bill, she came running back to our table with a piece of cake explaining that she just couldn't let us leave without trying some cake!! Also, on our last night in Positano we ate dinner at Le Sirenuse. It was a really romantic setting as we dined as we looked out on the twinkling lights of Positano. The food was good but I didn't necessarily think it was THAT much better than the food at Medittaraneo.

Rome -- we just ate dinner at one of the places along the edge of Piazza Navona... no place really all that memorable and then we had dessert at one of the cafes next to the Pantheon where our hotel was...

... so I'm sorry that our food experiences weren't all that helpful... we just didn't want to spend too much money splurging on food. Some of our favorite food moments in Italy was when we would just buy some bread and fresh cheese from a local market and ate on the go...

Thank you for the information. My husband and I have been married over 22 years (!) and we still don't like to overpay at restaurants, which is why I asked for some recommendations (and stay tuned to this forum).

Thanks for you report! May I ask, how long was the euro star to naples from Florence? We will be going to Positano from Florence and have not figured out how... have thought of flying, train, driving?? Any advice?

Hi vinorosso,

We took the 9:29am train from Florence and it arrived in Naples at 13:07. And then we had a driver meet us at the Naples train station and drive us to Positano which was another hour or hour and a half.

We didn't find the trip to be bad at all. This way, both of us could nap and neither had to worry about finding our way on the roads, etc. We also could both read (as opposed to reading in a car which gives me a headache) and we could plan how we wanted to spend our time in Positano.

Then, the driver we hired for the last leg of the trip was great... he entertained us the whole way to Positano giving us restaurant and activity recommendations, etc.

Yet another question, if you don't mind. Can you tell me what the costs of the transfers arranged by the Belvedere were?

We are also staying there, and we would like to be picked up and then taken to the airport, as we are then flying to Naples.

Your information has been wonderfully helpful, and hope you don't me asking for even more.

Thanks, debbie

Hi! Sounds like a great honeymoon! My husband and I are going to Italy next month. We are also staying at Locanda Orseolo in Venice. So glad you enjoyed it! How long did you stay in Venice? Was it enough time to do all you wanted? How was your room at Locanda? Courtyard or Canal view? How many nights in florence? Just curious as we plan our itinerary.

tuscanlifeedit --- the cost for the driver from the airport to the Belvedere was 150 Euro paid in cash. It was same price on the way back going from the Belvedere to the Milan train station.

tennis girl -- we spent 3 nights in Venice -- we loved venice and probably would have opted for one more day there. we decided we didn't want to be cooped up in museums on this trip so we really didn't spend any time going inside of museums (i know that will seem like blasphemy to some). instead we planned our venice itinerary as follows:

Afternoon 1 -- arrive in venice, took the #82 vaporetto the wrong way to p. san marco (to the san zaccaria stop)... note that that is the wrong way to go from the venice train station to the locanda orseolo... first of all you want to go in the direction down the grand canal, not around past the parking lot...secondly, it is easier if you take the vaporetto that stops at Vallaresso... that is the stop closer to the Locanda Orseolo and it makes a big difference especially if you are wheeling or carrying all of your luggage!!) After we dropped off our luggage at the hotel and asked the front desk of the hotel for a map including a map of how the vaparetto's work, we went to the bell tower in p. san marco -- we went to the top to take pictures of the views. We then took the #1 vaporetto up the grand canal so that we could just see the views (we eventually got to sit right at the front of the vaporetto so it really was an amazing ride and we got some great photos)... we then got off the vaporetto back at the train station and then crossed over to the San Polo area to wander our way through that section back to the Rialto bridge -- that section didn't have a whole lot that we thought noteworthy but it was still a nice walk as the sun went down... we then ate dinner by the rialto bridge (no place particularly noteworthy) and then walked to p. san marco to listen to the competing orchestras and dance.

next day -- we had pre-arranged for the Locando O. to book us for the morning Secret Itineraries Tour of the Doge's Palace. (we had wanted to get up early to go into the Basilica before the tour but we didn't get up in time... we just decided to sleep in a bit). After the tour and finishing walking through the Doge's palace, we took the vaporetto #1 up to the San Marcuolo stop and walked to the Jewish Ghetto. We took the tour of the Ghetto and the synagogues which was quite interesting. We then walked through the Cannareggio area shopping along the way and shopping again by the Rialto and ending up back near San Marco. We then decided to an oil on canvas from one of the vendors...we scoped out a bunch of them and then decided on our favorite... we just loved the view depicted in this painting. We then asked the artist where we could find the actual view and he showed us on our map. The view was in the Castello section so we walked there, got a bit lost, but finally found our "view" and then took photos of it so that we could compare the "live" photo to the painting when we got back home. We then dropped off the canvas at the hotel, changed and went to the Dorsoduro section for dinner. We ate dinner at just some little place we found (again, nothing too notable) and then after dinner walked along the Zattere to Campo S. Marghareta (sort of the student hangout section) to the San Tomo vaporetto stop and then took vaporetto #83 back to the hotel.

next day -- again we slept later than originally planned -- by the time we awoke, the Basilica was again too busy so we decided to skip it. We had seen a lithograph the previous day at a store in the Cannareggio area so we decided to go back to get it. We ambitiously set out from p. san marco to walk there but somehow ended walking in a big, circuitous circle, so we gave up and just took the vaporetto back to the San Marcuolo stop and then walked to the store. From there we walked to F.Nouve to talk the vaporetto to Murano. We went to the glass museum in murano and walked into one of the churches there and then took the vaporetto back to p. san marco. We then decided to change into bathing suits and spend the rest of the day at Lido on the beach. We had a cocktail and played travel scrabble and just relaxed for a few hours on the beach. We then went back to the hotel (via the vaporetto) changed and went back to Dorsoduro to the Campo S. Margherita for dinner.... we found that that campo had the most "nightlife" in venice b/c of the student draw, etc. We had a leisurely dinner and then went back to p. san marco to listen to the orchestras and dance again and then the following morning left for florence.

The Locanda Orseolo room was big... king sized bed, plenty of walking room, huge bathroom with bathtub and then separate stall shower. We did have a view of the canal but to be honest it didn't really matter b/c the windows were sort of up high and there was no balcony so i'm not sure that there was much value in having a room "with a view."

In terms of Florence, we really didn't see the city and we knew our itinerary didn't afford us enough time to really even try... so again, we opted to just skip the museums and instead walk around, see the churches, get a sense for the life of the city rather than the museums, etc. We only spent 2 nights in Florence.

Hope that helps. Please keep the questions coming!

tuscanlifeedit --- the cost for the driver from the airport to the Belvedere was 150 Euro paid in cash. It was same price on the way back going from the Belvedere to the Milan train station.

tennis girl -- we spent 3 nights in Venice -- we loved venice and probably would have opted for one more day there. we decided we didn't want to be cooped up in museums on this trip so we really didn't spend any time going inside of museums (i know that will seem like blasphemy to some). instead we planned our venice itinerary as follows:

Afternoon 1 -- arrive in venice, took the #82 vaporetto the wrong way to p. san marco (to the san zaccaria stop)... note that that is the wrong way to go from the venice train station to the locanda orseolo... first of all you want to go in the direction down the grand canal, not around past the parking lot...secondly, it is easier if you take the vaporetto that stops at Vallaresso... that is the stop closer to the Locanda Orseolo and it makes a big difference especially if you are wheeling or carrying all of your luggage!!) After we dropped off our luggage at the hotel and asked the front desk of the hotel for a map including a map of how the vaparetto's work, we went to the bell tower in p. san marco -- we went to the top to take pictures of the views. We then took the #1 vaporetto up the grand canal so that we could just see the views (we eventually got to sit right at the front of the vaporetto so it really was an amazing ride and we got some great photos)... we then got off the vaporetto back at the train station and then crossed over to the San Polo area to wander our way through that section back to the Rialto bridge -- that section didn't have a whole lot that we thought noteworthy but it was still a nice walk as the sun went down... we then ate dinner by the rialto bridge (no place particularly noteworthy) and then walked to p. san marco to listen to the competing orchestras and dance.

HI - we are going to be taking our 1 yr. anniv trip to Italy in about 4 weeks. After reading your trip report - I got a lot of usseful information. I have a couple questions: 1) I don't understand what you mean by going the wrong way on the Vaporetti. Which way are you supposed to go? We will be going from the Venice Train Station to the Ca' D'Oro stop on Line #1. So which way should we go to ensure we get the best possible view on the Grand Canal?
2) We are also planning on getting the Rolling Pass. What other places beside the Doges Palaca and Vaporetti's do you get dicounts? How does it work in restaurants? Is it a flat percentage off?

3) we only have 2 full days in Venice and were planning on spending time in the SAN MARCO region the first day. We then wanted to see one of the islands on the 2nd day - which would be the best to see if you could only do 1?

Thanks in advance!

hi hawaiihoneymoon --

1) The "wrong way" -- basically the vaporetto system makes a loop.... in other words -- the vaporetto goes up or down the grand canal and then around through the canale della giudecca... so when you get on the vaporetto from the train station, you want to make sure you are taking in the direction that goes down the mainn big seciton of grand canal, not the direction where it finishees the grand canal, loops around past the car park and then down the canale guidecca... here is the easiest way to make sure you take the #1 in the right direction -- The vaporetto stop where you get on, by the train station is called Ferrovia... if the vaporetto is going the direction that you want, the next stops after Ferrovia will be in the following order: Riva di Biasio, S.Marcuola, S.Stae, Ca'd'Oro.... on the side of the vaporetto is a sign with the next stops down the line... so that is how you can check it out... if the stops are in this order (P.le Roma, S.Marta, S.Basilio, etc.) then the vaporetto is not going the direction that you want...


2) When you get the Rolling Pass, it comes with a pamphlet that tells you all the places where you will get a discount... from the museums to the restuarants, etc... the discount isn't a flat discount... it is different at each place, but the pamphlet tells you what it is for each place...

3) The only islands we really went to was Murano(ie., the one known for the glass) and Lido (ie., the beach). We did not see Burano or Torcello. It really depends on how you want to spend your time. If you are looking to just relax on the vacation but not necessarily sight see all the time, then relaxing on Lido is nice... but again, it is just a beach and a beach is a beach is a beach so although you do experience local culture by observing those around you, most don't go to Venice for the beach. Murano was nice and it is good to go there if you are fascinated by glass blowing, etc. but isn't an absolutely necessary trip if you just have 2 days to spend in Venice and want to see all the museums. I would also try to walk through the Cannaregio area... we liked it there a lot and it also had fun shops, etc.

hope that helps.

Hi - thanks so much for the info! I have written down your order of stops, and will definitely check those out before getting on the Vaporetta.

About the lagoon islands - well after writing that question (about which island to visit), I did a lot research on the islands and we decided that Burano is definitely something we want to see. It looks so amazing with the colorful houses. And it sounds like it doesn't take that much time out of the day, which means we can come back and see more of Venice.

So I wanted to ask you what else you recomment to see in Venice. So far our itinerary includes San Marco, secret itinerary tour of Doge's palace, checking out the bridges, the Rialto Market, walking, eating, take a gondala ride, etc. What else, in your opinion, would you recommend we see/do. What exactly is in Cannaregio?

Hi. Thanks for your report - most helpful. Just one quick question. How long did it take you to drive from Positano to Rome? We are catching a flight in Rome and would like an approximate time if possible.

Dear nbs_mjs

Thanks so much for the info on the Bellagio driver. I think we may rent a car, but your info is helping us to decide. Thanks!

hawaii -- i think you have it covered... sounds like you have the highlights of venice figured out. in canareggio is the jewish ghetto and also some good shopping, etc... it is also how you get to one of the points where you can take the vaporetto to the islands (murano, burano, etc)

Girlie -- i don't have my notes with me on how long it took to drive from positano to rome... but i seem to recall it being somewhere around 3 hours maybe? i think if you go to the tour of italy website i referenced above it may actually tell you more specific driving time estimates.

Hi nbs_mjs, your report has been so resourceful as we are planning an itinerary similar to yours.

For each of the locations, how many nights did you spend there ?

Congrats!

jd2jc --

I'm really glad that my report is of use!

We spent 3 nights in Bellagio, 3 nights in Venice, 2 nights in Florence, 4 nights in Positano and 1 night in Rome.

We got a lot of advice that we were covering too much but as I mention above -- we loved our itinerary and really felt like we got a good introduction to Italy!

Great reoprt---Question for you.
In Bellagio, we are torn between the Belvedere Hotel and Hotel Florence.
Since you have been to both (at least to eat) do you have a preference based on location in the town? Thanks

klapenta --

this one is really a toss up... the hotel florence is right on the lake in a very central area -- it is in the middle of the main area in bellagio -- we did not see the rooms at all but the outside of the hotel is nice -- if it is a particularly busy time and your room overlooks the front it could potentially be noisy but again, i don't think this is a bad choice.

Personally, we were very pleased with the Belvedere -- it is a bit outside the main area of Bellagio -- you walk up a hill (a 5-10 minute walk) to get to it... we loved the room we had which was quite big and the view was incredible... b/c you are a bit higher up (b/c you are on the hill) you have a nicer perspective of the whole lake from your room and it is just breathtaking... we also enjoyed the walk to the main area of bellagio and at night after some great meals we liked the walk home b/c we got to "walk off" dinner.

Also the belvedere has a pool -- so that is another reason we chose it... although the weather was too overcast to use when we were there.

Hi nbs_mjs,

I will be honeymooning this summer in Italy also. We will be going to Rome, Venice, Florence and then Greece. Funny, I have chosen all the same hotels that you stayed at for Rome, Venice and FLorence. What did you think of each? Did you stay in standard rooms at each? How were the locations? In retrospect, would you have chosen to stay anywhere different that those you stayed at? I am going to be booking this week, so all information is appreciated!! Thank you and Congrats!!!!

BB

jamesandi --

we wouldn't change a thing!! We loved all of those hotels and thought the locations were perfect!

Hi
Your honeymoon sounds wonderful! We are going to Italy for our honeymoon next June (I have a thread going looking for advice). Our tentative itinerary sounds very similar to yours. We fly into Venice (2 nights)(also at Locanda Orseolo)and from there planned on going to Bellagio (3 nights), Positano (4 nights), and Rome (2 nights).

Some of the advice I am getting is to extend our time in Venice, based on your trip do you think 1 more night would be enough? Would I be missing a lot if we skipped Bellagio?
Also I did not have Florence scheduled in, what were your impressions of Florence?
Since your itinerary seems so similar to the one we are planning I would love any advice.

Thanks!

Jesssica--

I think the trip from Bellagio to Positano is too far -- unless you restructure your trip to fly into Milan and go to Bellagio first, then venice, etc. (like we did) -- otherwise, I think you should save Bellagio for another time.

It looks like you will be in Italy for 11 nights. It really depends on your goals for the trip. If you are the kind of couple that likes being on the go and wants to skim the surface of Italy, taking in a few places without doing a deep dive into any (btw -- my husband and i wanted to do that rather than deep diving into just 1 or 2 places, then you can do 3 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Florence, 4 nights in Positano, 1 night in Rome. Here is my rationale for structuring your trip in this way...

Bellagio/the Lakes/Milan -- is too far north to go if you start in venice and then plan on going all the way south to positano -- even an ambitious couple will feel that this is too much traveling time and not enough enjoying time.

Rome -- if you haven't been, you need a lot more than just 2 nights -- so unless you plan on spending quite a few nights to make sure you cover all of it, just skim the tippy top of the surface by staying on your last night -- you can hire a driver from positano to take you right to rome -- if you leave in the morning, you'll get to Rome by early afternoon and can walk around a bit (we spend our afternoon in rome walking around the trevi fountain, spanish steps, the forum) have a nice dinner (we ate dinner in piazza navona), enjoy your last night (we had dessert right in the square by the pantheon which was where our hotel was -- the albergo del senato).

continued.....

3 nights in venice is perfect for your first time -- some love venice, some don't -- we LOVED venice and could easily have spent 1 more night there. We got to venice late in the afternoon and spent our first afternoon/evening by going up to the bell tower in piazza san marco to watch the sun set, taking the #1 vaporetto down the grand canal back up to the train station, got off at the train station but walked over the bridge to the other side, and then walked around that area (i can't remember the name) down to the Rialto and then crossed the Rialto and had dinner and then walked back to piazza san marco to listen to the competing orchestras, etc. The next day we just walked and walked and walked... we started by taking the tour of the doge's palace (in p.san marco) and then took the #1 vaporetto up to the jewish ghetto area and toured the synagogues and then walked our way back to piazza san marco down a street with great little shops, etc... we then had dinner that night across the accademia bridge (can't remember the names of the areas very well) in the section near the university and hung out in that square by the university that night... and then of course back to san marco for more music late at night... the last day we went to Murano and walked around there and saw he bovolo staircase and then packed a picnic and went to Lido and spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach... Notice -- we didn't do a lot of museums... we aren't really museum people and instead rather spend our time walking around, meeting local people and absorbing the local flavor just by being there... generally we thought 3 nights there was perfect.... if you want to account for more relaxation time, then maybe spend 4 nights so that you can have 1 day to be at the beach at Lido (maybe have that be your first day so that you can unwind from the honeymoon).

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Florence is an important city to see and is a good way to break up the trip down to positano (to get to positano you need to take the train to naples anyway... and florence is on the way to naples if you are coming from venice)...

If you love art, florence is a must see... personally, i had already been to florence and we really didn't want to spend our honeymoon in museums, so we just spent 2 nights in florence... we arrived in florence in the late morning and spent the afternoon walking around the whole city... literally... we even made it to the other side of the arno... and had dinner by the ponte vecchio... the next day we hired a driver so that we could see tuscany... but if you instead want to go to museums that could be another way to spend the other 2 days... personally, we loved tuscany and had the BEST lunch at one of the wineries as I mentioned in my original posting....so maybe 1 day of museums and 1 day in tuscany.

then 4 nights in Positano is amazing... if you just want to relax and enjoy, this is the perfect place for you.... to be honest, another alternative is to skip florence and increase your time in positano if what you really want to do is relax and enjoy... it would make the day of travel really long but then you would have a nice few days there.... or you could even look into flights from venice to naples and then get a driver to take you to positano which would cut down the travel time... in positano you can easily spend a few days just on the beach but can combine it with a day to see Ravello and Amalfi (you can do both in 1 day) and a day in Capri... (ie., 3 nights in Venice, fly to naples and get to positano on day 4 so that you spend 7 nights in positano before going to Rome).... a different option is have the driver drop you in Sorrento and spend 1 night in Sorrento and then have the drive pick you up and take you to Positano on the next afternoon and then spend 6 nights there)...

or split it and then spend more time in Rome...

the possibilities are endless...

bottomline is find the right balance of touring around and relaxing... the balance that works for your personalities and interests... but concentrate on venice and southward to avoid excessive time traveling around....

happy to continue to help if you'd like... just let me know what questions you have....