Help me plan our Italy honeymoon...

[annkaley]

There is a fabulous little boutique in Portofino called Kristina, owned by an American girl, you must stop by!

[CaboDate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jessalyn We leave for Italy on the redeye on Sept 18th and come home on Oct. 5th. We are flying into Rome and that is all that we know. We've made a list of the cities/sites we'd like to see, but have no idea how long we should plan to visit each place, nor do we have any idea about where we should stay or if we should book hotels before we leave or play it by ear when we get there. So, if anyone has any insight, please share. ...planning this trip is feeling more stressful than planning our wedding. We want to visit the following places and probably in this order (we'll be traveling by train...if you have any tips regarding traveling by rail, please share). Rome Florence Bologna Venice Modena (Tony wants to see the Ferrari exhibit) Parma Milan (maybe) Geoa Portifino Cinque Terre Pisa If you have any other location suggestions that are on or near our route, please share those too. Thanks for your help. We're feeling overwhelmed.

OOOHHH.. I'm very jealous. Todd and I actually got engaged in Rome! It was sooo beautiful. He proposed ontop of Gianicolo at sunset.. one of the 7 hills of Rome.. it's gorgeous up there.. you can see the entire city.. and a beautiful view of the Basillica and St. Peter's Square.
We stayed at a B&B in Trasteverino called Acro Del Lauro.. it's a fantastic little place.. further away from all the tourist traps.. very romantic.
Here's the Trip Advsisor page on it.

Arco del Lauro in Rome, Lazio - B&B Reviews - TripAdvisor

It may seem further away.. but it's really not. Nothing is all that far in Rome!!!
If you're looking for places to eat.. let me know.. we found several great places!!

[gkashmira]

We spent like 3 nights in Venice and honestly it was our least favorite of all the places we went on our honeymoon. I wouldn't spend more than maybe 2 days there. It's VERY crowded and expensive and while it's definitely a sight to see it's so overrun with other tourists that it's hard to really enjoy.

 

If you're running short of time I would actually just skip it. Sadly that's the only place in Italy I've been so it' snot a ton of help I know.

 

I hear fantastic things about the art in florence. great food in tuscany.

[Jessalyn]

Thanks girls for all your insight and tidbits....I'm feeling better about the trip....i also found a great book today at AAA by Rick Steves...he gives good ideas about how long to allot for each city.

 

Amy, i'm going to research the hotel you suggested. It has great reviews and I'll definitely check out the boutique in Portifino.

 

And Kash, I was thinking the same thing about Venice. I'm most looking forward to the Liguira coast/tuscany.

[REBECCA]

I went to Italy 10 years ago, so I'm sure it has changed! But Venice is a must. I remember going ther with my girlfriend and thinking, I need to come back here with a man! SOO romantic. Also went to Florence. I think that is where the statue David resides, plus it is just a beautiful city. I had some of the best italian food of my life there!

 

Pisa really surprised me. I sorta just stopped there bcz mygrandma really wanted to go there. We made it a day stop and when I came around that corner and saw the leaning tower...it was soo friggin cool! I think it was built in like 1025 bc or something. It is really cool to see.

 

I have always wanted to travel to Tuscany. That seems like a romantic city?

 

I didn't go to Rome or Milan, but I wouls love to someday!

[calyx6]

I looove Italy! And I'm feeling overwhelmed by your list! That seems to be a lot of places to hit in 2&1/2 weeks. I've never been to Cinque Terre but definitely want to go some day. I have, however, been to Venice twice and enjoyed it both times. The first time, we stayed two nights, and the second time I was only there for the day. There are a lot of tourists but I find the city to still be charming and romantic. The best thing to do there is to go ahead and let yourself get lost. I did not enjoy Florence as much but David is a must see. Rome is full of sights to see so I would recommend staying at least 3 days there. It took us that long to actually get in to see the vatican (we were too late one day, my bf's attire did not meet the dress code the 2nd time, everything was right the 3rd time.) My advice is actually to not try to do too much at a time and watch out for pickpockets. Take the time to enjoy yourself and really take in the sights/sounds/culture - which is not as easy to do when you're running around trying to see places A to Z in one day.

 

-Vi-

[ThompsonFrump]

Jessalyn & Tony,

 

We just got back from Italy a few weeks ago. You will love it and have an amazing time! We actually went for a wedding in Venice. We traveled by train once we got there... We weren't great with the trains, but we can share what we learned. We had a pass through Trenitalia, but I'm not sure it made things any easier or much cheaper. I think the pass is cheaper if you only use "regional" trains (older, slower, lots of stops, sometimes smelly:-) but definitely cheaper). You can buy tickets before you leave on RailEurope.com or you can buy your train tickets point to point once you get there... the best trains we were on were the ES or IC trains...

 

We visited some of the cities you mentioned... Venice(4 days), Florence(3 days--could have stayed another day), Cinque Terre(2-wish it had been longer), Pisa (stopped passing from Cinque Terre to Rome--it's all you need in Pisa:-) ), Rome (5 days--could've cut out a day), and a quick day trip down to Pompeii. Don't miss Cinque Terre... it is incredible!!! I can send you links to where we stayed in each city and how we liked it if it would help.

 

You are going to absolutely love Italy!!! Please let us know if we can help with train, hotel, tips people told us... anything at all... we'd love to share...

 

Carrie & Mike

[ThompsonFrump]

Check out the La Mala in Vernazza (Cinque Terre)... absolutely breathtaking!!! La Mala only has 4 rooms and it is wonderful!!! Monterosso is a great beach area, but only a short train ride... Vernazza was our favorite.

[Jessalyn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REBECCA I went to Italy 10 years ago, so I'm sure it has changed! But Venice is a must. I remember going ther with my girlfriend and thinking, I need to come back here with a man! SOO romantic. Also went to Florence. I think that is where the statue David resides, plus it is just a beautiful city. I had some of the best italian food of my life there! Pisa really surprised me. I sorta just stopped there bcz mygrandma really wanted to go there. We made it a day stop and when I came around that corner and saw the leaning tower...it was soo friggin cool! I think it was built in like 1025 bc or something. It is really cool to see. I have always wanted to travel to Tuscany. That seems like a romantic city? I didn't go to Rome or Milan, but I wouls love to someday!

Rebecca ~ I was also in Italy a while ago...9 years ago. we did a quick tour on a bus (something like 13 country in 3 weeks...hardly enough time to enjoy any one spot). I'm pretty much viewing Pisa as stop to see the leaning tower too. My Italy books say that trains go through there every couple of hours, so we won't have to stay a long time. And, Venice is definitely a must...it was so romantic. Florence breezed by me while I was there...I only remember going into a leather shop and a gold store...lol. I'll let you know all about Tuscany when we get home.

Quote:

Originally Posted by calyx6 I looove Italy! And I'm feeling overwhelmed by your list! That seems to be a lot of places to hit in 2&1/2 weeks. I've never been to Cinque Terre but definitely want to go some day. I have, however, been to Venice twice and enjoyed it both times. The first time, we stayed two nights, and the second time I was only there for the day. There are a lot of tourists but I find the city to still be charming and romantic. The best thing to do there is to go ahead and let yourself get lost. I did not enjoy Florence as much but David is a must see. Rome is full of sights to see so I would recommend staying at least 3 days there. It took us that long to actually get in to see the vatican (we were too late one day, my bf's attire did not meet the dress code the 2nd time, everything was right the 3rd time.) My advice is actually to not try to do too much at a time and watch out for pickpockets. Take the time to enjoy yourself and really take in the sights/sounds/culture - which is not as easy to do when you're running around trying to see places A to Z in one day. -Vi-

Vi,
Yes I'm overwhelmed by my list as well. Tony wanted to go to Lake Como too....but, we decided that would just be too much for this trip. So, we'll save it for our next trip.

I'm certainly going to read up on the dress code for the vatacan. I think it's no bare shoulders, shorts or mini skirts. I'm hoping we'll get to explore Florence a lot more than I did when I was there years ago. my friend actually was an exchange student there in college and she has promised to give me the name of her favorite restaurant.

thank you so much for sharing your experience!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThompsonFrump Jessalyn & Tony, We just got back from Italy a few weeks ago. You will love it and have an amazing time! We actually went for a wedding in Venice. We traveled by train once we got there... We weren't great with the trains, but we can share what we learned. We had a pass through Trenitalia, but I'm not sure it made things any easier or much cheaper. I think the pass is cheaper if you only use "regional" trains (older, slower, lots of stops, sometimes smelly:-) but definitely cheaper). You can buy tickets before you leave on RailEurope.com or you can buy your train tickets point to point once you get there... the best trains we were on were the ES or IC trains... We visited some of the cities you mentioned... Venice(4 days), Florence(3 days--could have stayed another day), Cinque Terre(2-wish it had been longer), Pisa (stopped passing from Cinque Terre to Rome--it's all you need in Pisa:-) ), Rome (5 days--could've cut out a day), and a quick day trip down to Pompeii. Don't miss Cinque Terre... it is incredible!!! I can send you links to where we stayed in each city and how we liked it if it would help. You are going to absolutely love Italy!!! Please let us know if we can help with train, hotel, tips people told us... anything at all... we'd love to share... Carrie & Mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThompsonFrump Check out the La Mala in Vernazza (Cinque Terre)... absolutely breathtaking!!! La Mala only has 4 rooms and it is wonderful!!! Monterosso is a great beach area, but only a short train ride... Vernazza was our favorite.

Carrie and Mike ~ Thanks for all your insight. I am so worried about traveling by train. I'm going to check out the train website you mentioned. I found one today (a different one) but it was all in Italian...so frustrating! If you can share your train experience or any helpful tips that would be great. Do you think we'd be okay buying tickets along the way? Did you encounter full trains? Were you able to get where you wanted to go pretty easily? what is the ES and IC trains?

Cinque Terre is the area that I'm most excited to see. I want to stay there at least 2 nights.

If you wouldn't mind passing along the hotel info for the places you were pleased with and any info about them, I'd really, really appreciate it. You can either post it here or pm me with the info. THANK YOU!


You are all making me really excited to start our (delayed) honeymoon....I'm so ready for a vacation! Thank you!

[mrsmark08]

Thanks girls for all your insight and tidbits....I'm feeling better about the trip....i also found a great book today at AAA by Rick Steves...he gives good ideas about how long to allot for each city.

 

My FI and I planned our entire trip to Italy using Rick Steves' guidebook when we went to Europe three years ago. It was a God send! Every hotel we stayed at was one that he recommended and we were never disappointed. The Cinque Terra is a must see. Make sure to hike between the "5 lands" or at least between a couple of them for wonderful views of the Mediterranean Sea. You can even take a dip! We bought A eur-rail pass that was good for 30 days (I think) once it was validated (it gets validated the 1st time you use it) and we traveled throughout Italy with stops in Rome, Venice, Florence & the Cinque Terra. The pass allows you unlimited travel between locations in the area you choose. It should all be explained in the book. The best part was that we didn't have to spend any money on rental cars or tour guides because everything was laid out for us in the book! Train travel and other public transportation was so convenient everywhere we went.