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venice, bellagio, cinque terre -- reasonable itinerary?

Hi, My fiancee and I are planning to honeymoon in Italy in June (4th-14th). We've read some guidebooks and have found that Cinque Terre, Bellagio, and Venice appeal to us the most. We'd like to visit them all, but aren't sure if we're trying to pack too much into too short a time. Here's our plan: June 5th a.m. -- arrive in Milan and head to Bellagio June 6th & 7th -- in bellagio June 8th -- take the train to Cinque Terre June 9th & 10th -- explore Cinque Terre June 11th -- train to Venice June 12th and 13th -- explore Venice June 14th -- fly home from Venice Does this sound like a reasonable schedule? Any other advice for us on making this a relaxing and enjoyable trip? Thanks! Best regards, Ann Marie

Annmarie- I do think that your plan may be a bit ambitious. Although I haven't been to the Lake District yet, going this fall, I have been to both Venice and Cinque Terre. In my opinion, you will absolutely LOVE Venice. The beauty of Venice is the pace of life (no cars, less noise, etc). I believe that you will want at least 3 full days in Venice. As an example, my new wife and I were there 2 years ago for 4 nights (while seeing Cinque Terre, Rome, Florence as well) and Venice was by far the place we enjoyed the most. IMO, the Cinque Terre is beautiful, but again it's the relaxation/scenery, more than anything. There's not much culture at all in this area (compared to other Italian sites). I believe that you would lose some of this beauty/relaxation by having to travel across the country so much. Venice to Cinqe Terre is quite a hike, especially when you consider what it takes to get out of Venice. Let me know if you want to know about a romantic place to stay in Venice or if you have any other questions. J

Hello Annmarie, Not only is that doable but it is my favorite honeymoon itinerary--very romantic. I wish you had 2 more days, but so do you. I would book hotels ASAP--you are already a bit late. Early June is wonderful.

Thanks for the info J! Would you suggest limiting the trip to Venice and Cinque Terre only (with about 3 days in CT and 4 in Venice) or does a venice-bellagio trip seem more reasonable in terms of travel? Also, I'd love to hear your suggestions of romantic places to stay in Venice. Our budget probably limits us to moderately priced places.

Bob the navigator, If we were able to add one more day, would you suggest adding on to our time in Venice? Or one of the other 2 places? Thanks!

I agree with Bob. It's a great itinerary, especially for a honeymoon. Sure, we'd all like for time there, but the three destinations are not too much for 10 days.

Annmarie- From what I've seen of the Lake District, it's absolutely beautiful, but again my first trip there will be this October. However, it's very close to Milan, so that's a plus when it comes to ease of travel. I may be somewhat alone on this, but to me the Cinque Terre is beautiful but not "all that". If you plan on doing the hikes, maybe it's much more captivatiing (we couldn't because of weather), but just about EVERY little town in Italy is charming. Now, the CT towns are more charming because of being next to the water, built into the hillsides,etc...but there's not a lot to do there and they are certainly no longer any kind of secret. That ship has sailed (probably even more so in the summer, each town is so small...I can't see going there during the summer without it being overrun). You should know that my idea of traveling is to stay away from the hordes of tourists, yet still seeing the sights. I time my visits to places/sights so that I don't have to wait much in line, sit next to dozens of American's, etc. if possible. For this reason, I read books like Rick Steve's but I don't stay at the places he recommends, it's ALL Americans. I can get that at home. I do suggest that you do tons of research before your trip and try to visit the major sites "off peak", like San Marco. Now, onto Venice. It's your honeymoon, congratulations! We were just married this past November and we're going to Italy/France this October for our "official honeymoon". Venice is quite expensive, but you're lucky that I have already found the perfect place for you, please email me @ [email protected] and I'll give you the details (it's not a scam, it's just a small place that I don't want to get overrun by overly publicizing it). The best part of Venice, especially if you're in love, is to just wander! The main area's, San Marco, Rialto Bridge, train station area WILL be crowded (more so on the weekend and/or if a cruise ship docks), but it is VERY easy to just enjoy the wonders of Venice by yourselves. I strongly encourage you two to walk and get lost, especially at night (of course, do bring a map just in case). Our favorite memories are just getting turned around and listening to absolute quiet along the canals, sitting on a bench in an empty square, etc. etc. The best advice I received about travel...."take the time to drink it all in", sometimes that means having to schedule time to do absolutely nothing. Venice is perfect for that. The Sites: The San Marco is cool, but it's another Italian church, kinda dark. The Doges Palace Tour was just OK. We didn't go up the Bell Tower, but the view should be great. Definitely take a trip to Murano, but DO NOT buy anything custom to be shipped to you. We ordered a couple of "Christmas Tree's" and instead of red/green stripes, it came to us ORANGE/green stripes. Not very X-Mas like, haha. Plus it's expensive to ship and takes weeks! Buy little glass trinkets, such a bottle-stoppers or paperweights. They're small, cheap and easy to carry. They can also be unbelievably beautiful. I look forward to your email. J.

I don't think that is too much at all. We are doing 14 days for our honeymoon and hitting those places also in late June! I think it depends how active you are as travellers. I do think you might want to go from Bellagio (all relaxation) to Venice (city) to CTerre (relax hike) so you have your big city and touring in the middle of the trip. You could possible do a quick stop/overnight in Florence in between Venice and CT also. We are active travelers but I want at least 2 nights in any place we stay so it's not all pack & go. We are in and out of Milan: Head first to Varenna (Albergo Milano) 2 nights, then to Padua/Venice (Hotel Galleria) 2nights, then 5 days in Tuscany, 2 nights in Cinque Terre, last night in Milan (early flight back to Chicago). Use this hotel board for suggestions. We are staying at reasonable (cheap)hotels, the most expensive are the Lake Como and Venice ones. Tuscany, Milan and CTerre are cheap. CTerre try Edi's rooms, you can search on google or find info on Fodors posts. Congrats and good luck!

I would add it to Venice. So much to see, and your travel time will make your first day there very short. I like 3 nite stays and often plan that way. But, I also like a max of 4 hours travel time between destinations. We did a week in Venice last Oct. and needed it all. Here are some good options for moderate hotels: Varenna--Albergo Milano Levanto--Villa Margherita Venice--Locanda Barbarigo

The way I read your schedule you have two cities with one full day each and Venice with two full days, way too much! other days are travel days.To me that is a four day vacation and alot of traveling between

Robert, reread the original itinerary. It calls for 2 full days plus in each of the three stops. Where did you come up with the 1, 1 and 2?