Yet Another Italy in 10/11 Days Trip :-)
 

My first post:
I would really like to thank the contributors of this forum for all the advice on this forum and I have spent almost a week going through this forums looking for as much advice as I can.

Background:
My fiancee and I are planning our Honeymoon in Italy. I understand that the itinerary published below is probably optimistic and we seem to be doing a lot of things in a very short time. The only constraints that we currently have are that we are landing on Aug 11 on Milan and leaving Aug 24 from Rome.

Itinerary:
Aug 11 - Land in Milan
Aug 12 - Look around Milan for entire day and go to Bellagio, Lake Cumo in the evening.
Aug 13 - Entire Day in Lake Cumo and stay the night.
Aug 14 - Leave early to Venice (~4 hours travel) and reach by afternoon. Half a day in venice
Aug 15 - Look around Venice (I understand this is a holiday, but I heard that since it is high tourist season, most stuff should be open)
Aug 16 - Leave Venice early to go to Florence, reach by afternoon. Rest of the day in Florence
Aug 17 - Day trip to Pisa and Cinque Terre
Aug 18 - Visit Modena and Bologna.
Aug 19 - Leave for Sorrento. Day trip to Capri
Aug 20 - Drive around Amalfi Coast (hopefully renting a Vespa). Come back to Sorrento.
Aug 21 - Leave for Rome. 3 Days in Rome. Leave back to the US on 24th.

Please feel free to provide all your opinions and criticisms.

Too many locations in too short of time. You are going to be spending a good chunk of your vacation getting from one place to another. You don't really have time for the day trips you listed. You barely have enough time to see the cities you are planning to stay overnight in.

Way too many locations! With that amount of time I would choose 2-3 bases so you don't spend half your waking hours in transport.

Couple things - I don't think you can do Pisa a cinque terre justice in one day from Florence. You only have a half day in Florence as it is let alone trying to cram 2 day trips from Florence into 1 day.

I am also not sure you can do Modena and bologna in a day when you take into account leaving the Florence hotel, getting to the train station, waiting for the train, the train, putting your luggage in storage, seeing Modena, getting back to train, getting luggage, waiting for train, train...you get the point. You aren't considering logistics in you plan.

Have you looked at travel time from bologna to sorrento, then ferry times to Capri? Where are you staying, Capri or sorrento? Where will you store luggage if returning from Capri to stay in sorrento? I don't think this is possible in 1 day if you want to actually see anything.

Do not rent a Vespa in Italy!!! I know this sounds romantic but I think it is crazy....do a search here for posts on this! Especially on the amalfi coast in August when it will be packed to the gills with tourists and drivers!!!!

I would drop the south this time. August will be extremely hot and super crowded and since your flights are booked I would stick to places north of Rome.

Hope this helps!

Hi,

You said you welcomed all opinions and criticisms.

May I suggest you drop the all-Italy 5* sightseeing tour and start with your own personal interests? Most people do not ever include Bologna-Modena or the idea of renting a Vespa on a first visit to italy, and I am hoping that the reason it peeks out of your plans is that it represents a clue to your personalities which is not about textbook sightseeing that is supposed good-for-you-to-see, but there is something that appeals to you personally about coming to italy instead of France or Costa Rica for your honeymoon.

If so, I think you should scrap your itinerary and start with that: Why are we going to Italy of all places? What do I dream most of DOING in Italy on my one-and-only HONEYMOON? How much of it can I do all the time for as long as we like?

I cannot believe it is spending so much time in train stations in the sauna-like conditions of an Italian August, or battling the absolute MOBS of people you will be jostling against in the sticky heat in places like Pisa, Venice, Sorrento, Bellagio, Capri, le Cinque Terre. It will be like going to the Super Bowl every day in the faint-inducing heat of August.

Italy is EXTREMELY hot in August and its famous destinationas are EXTERMELY crowded. If neither makes you bat an eye, fine. If you are even remotely like most other people, you will find dragging your luggage in the steaming heat through crowds of confused, self-centered people (your fellow tourists, not Italians) when you need a restroom makes your temper very short -- and a short temper is what spoils a honeymoon.

If you would like to rent a Vespa, there are beautiful breezy places you could go without the crowds and you would see magnificent views and have fun. (The Amalfi is one long traffic jam.) If you would like great pasta, cheese and balsamic vinegar, there are great ways to make that the centerpiece of an Italian stay (and OK, put Venice and Rome in there for a few days).

Get the picture? Why is Italy calling you? Trust me: Nobody has ever liked ALL the places on your list Not even close. Even Italians don't like their whole country!

Have fun getting together with your fiance and planning a honeymoon just for the two of you. When you have kids, drag them all over the place in the heat as "education." (Just kidding. Please don't.)

In your short time pick 3 destinations that speak to you.

It just occurred to me that maybe your combo of Modena-Bologna-Vespa rental is about an interest in Ferrari, Ducati and such. In August, focusing on that and enjoying some moto excursions could be cool trip, but not in the cities.

Is this a honeymoon or "The Amazing Race". Take the advice of those above and pick three destinations in 10 days. Most of the people who post here are experienced travellers and can provide good advice once you decide what you want to do in Italy.

We did an "Amazing Race" type of honeymoon and it was the worst decision we had made up to that point in our lives. Pick 2-3 places and just breathe. I personally love Santa Margherita, Roma and the Amalfi Coast (never would I ride a vespa on that road however).
Travel and Leisure recently did an article about the Romantic drive along the Ligurian Coast that you might want to check out.
Bellagio is very pretty and relaxing but not for one day. Venice is wonderful at night, but during the day in August there are a ton of stressed out travelers coming at you from every corner.
Congratulations and have fun with whatever you decide to do.

Thanks Everyone for your advice. I think the amazing race analogy struck a chord. I am currently re working my plan. I will post it here soon.. Thanks again for your advice.