my travel ignorance
 

Hi folks - I'm brand new here..so forgive any missteps.

I'm getting married in October. My fiance is a world traveler with trips to Thailand, japan, 20+ days in Africa, and tons of time in across Europe. I, on the other hand, have never left the United States.

We've been discussing our honeymoon. She has talked about Italy. But to me (here's the ignorance,) Italy seems very one-note. By that I mean, Old buildings, beautiful architecture, charming streets, wine, and then some bread and cheese (clearly, a sarcastic summary.)

I was hoping for more of a Crystal beach on day 1. Hiking to a volcano or a waterfall on day 2, amazing architecture on day 3, deep sea fishing on day 4. and then some bread and cheese.

She's open to places like Costa Rica, st. Lucia, and Hawaii, but she really wants Italy...and I want to give her Italy. I'm just not sure what to "do" in Italy. I keep reading about museums, vineyards and food. But I want those hikes, and animals in the trees, and the ability to photograph things other than buildings and vineyards.

YES - i'm 100pct ignorant...The internet is my friend, and I need to do more research, I was just hoping someone might have some ideas.

Oh - we're on the East Coast of the US, so places like Bali, and Fiji sound amazing - but neither of us want to give up 2+ days in each direction for travel...

Thoughts?

Thanks for your help and patience.

You obviously need marriage advice, not travel advice. Happy wife = happy family. Let her pick your honeymoon destination. You will survive Italy like the millions before you. Go to "Europe" on Fodor's, "view by tag" Italy, and start reading.

Welcome to Fodors: Listen to Dayenu - a <i> very</i> wise woman ;)

But honestly - if you want ideas about Italy - you need to re-post on the Europe forum (see the "Change Forum" pull down menu)

Then if you aren't convinced, you can start another thread(s) on the Central America or Australia/Pacific forums.

But IMO -- Costa Rica or Fiji are wonderful but MUCH more "one note" than Italy or anyplace in Europe. You just need to read up a bit.

just go where your other half wants - resistance is futile

Everything Dayenu said. You may wind up having to vacation separately, or at least take turns picking destinations.

If you think Italy is "one note" why are you suggesting Hawaii? And if you've never left the US, perhaps your impressions are a bit off? Give it a try before you write Italy off.

But I would suggest the Amalfi Coast and Sicily, or just Sicily if you only have a couple of weeks. That will get you a volcano, two if you do the AC, great food, loads of history including some of the best mosaics and Greek ruins (Sicily) and Roman ruins (Pompeii and Herculaneum) anywhere. Don't know about the fishing, not my thing, but tuna fishing used to be a big industry in western Sicily.

Head over to the Europe board and you'll find a lot of people in love with Italy, and plenty of trip reports. Meanwhile, here are mine on Sicily and the AC:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ing-sicily.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...om-s-italy.cfm

Have you looked at Italy? There's tons of coast line. There's mountains, cities, art, culture, history. You want a volcano?
Remember Pompeii? There's volcanos.

Then, and I'm not a foodie by an stretch, there's food! Some of the most incredible food.

Look into Italy. You might be amazed.

(Italy isn't even my fav European country but I'd love to spend a couple of more weeks there)

Don't worry my friend, you are not ignorant. if anything the fact that you have not left the United States is more of an indication that you MUST go to Italy and discover it for yourself. Also congratulations on the engagement! I'm assuming that you guys are scarce on cash if you guys are trying to save money then definitely do your research prehand and find all the good deals you can get in Europe. Theres a lot of websites that can help with this. Also if you wanna buy your fiancee something nice and have it waiting for you in the airport (I did this with my fiancee) go on shopnfly and preorder liquor or cosmetics, she'll love it.

good luck on your trip and have fun!

What thursdaysd said. :-)

Yep, what Dayenu said.

As far as this:
<i>> But to me (here's the ignorance,) Italy seems very one-note. By that I mean, Old buildings, beautiful architecture, charming streets, wine, ... </i>

One photo worth a thousand words should suffice to put that idea to rest:
http://500px.com/photo/63182273/sant...y-hans-debruyn

I think the OP forgot he posted :?

(sometimes, first timers think they'll get some sort of alert when there is response to their thread)

You can do whatever you want in Italy. You don't even have to set foot into a church or museum. You could research and find some cool European beach resorts to go to... yes even in Italy.

She asks for Italy. Give her Croatia. That's a sufficiently different country that you can find everything you want (except the volcano). There are hundreds of islands and in a couple of weeks you can see a lot of the country, and it does have an Italian flavor ... with the best preserved colosseum outside Rome (in Pula), Holy Roman Palaces (Split), and ancient walls (Dubrovnik, which stands in for Kings Landing in Game of Thrones).

Take a look at that and see what you think.

@Doug - please stop pushing Dubrovnik. It is totally overrun with cruise ship passengers, unless you are able to visit on a rare day when there is only one in port.

I appreciate all of the suggestions - and the photos. Sorry I hadn't responded sooner. The people on this site are generous and helpful. Even the folks that didn't have a 1st hand suggestion, still were able to point me in solid directions. :)

Looking at some of the ST. islands now...but after research, Italy is absolutely on the list :)

Thanks again.

She wants Italy, go to Italy! This is about the easiest question I've ever read on this forum (lol)!

Italy does not have to be "one note". You could spend time in cities, time in the countryside, stay at a vineyard, go to a seaside village, etc. etc.

Sorry, but I won't apologize for recommending a wonderful place. But as I pointed out Dubrovnik is only one of many wonderful places in Croatia. And if you spend the night, it's a whole other experience once the cruise-ship passengers depart.

But she WANTS to go to Italy!

@Doug - I have spent the night in Dubrovnik. Been there twice, 2004 and 2012, and it was MUCH more touristy the second time, after hours or not.

I've been to the Balkans twice and Italy four times, and I stand by my recommendation for Sicily.

none of this matters -- the OP seems to have disappeared.

He is back, janisj. You must have missed it above.

I should have mentioned when I posted the link to the Dolomites photo that my wife wanted to go to Italy. We went to Italy. My wife wanted to go to Paris. We went to Paris.

The only problem with both trips: they were too short. I had a fabulous time.

Now she wants to go to Spain ...