Honeymoon in Italy

In My Humble Opinion
1

The fiancée and I have settled on Italy for our September honeymoon and are slowly in the process of planning it. We have about 7 days to use (plus one to recover with) and would like to see Rome, Florence and Venice. She wants to see Venice because she’s always had romantic notions of it. I want to see Florence for the medieval/Renaissance historical aspects and we’re seeing Rome because… well, because it’s there, I guess. And we probably won’t get back to Italy any time soon so it seems dumb not to see the showcase Rome stuff & the Vatican.

We probably have lodging through her brother and his participation in many, many time shares. He said his wedding gift to us would be making sure we had one to stay in wherever we went and is confident that he can provide us with a place. So just assume we’ll be lodging that way.

Does anyone have experience in Italy and advice on how to best do this? How would you allocate your time between cities? What would be the best way to get from A to B to C (we’re thinking Rome-Florence-Venice)? Train? Rental car? I don’t speak any foreign languages and she speaks Spanish and a tiny smattering of Italian. Is it feasible to fly back to the States from the Venice region or should we allow for travel back to Rome?

I know this is a lot of requested info but I don’t expect anyone to plan our trip for us. Just give whatever helpful advice you can. We’re debating talking to a travel agent but, with lodging handled, there’s not much in it for an agent besides airfare so I don’t know how enthusiastic a response we’d receive.

2

What a wonderful honeymoon! I think you’ve made a great choice.

A few years ago I made a similar trip (similar in the sense of Rome-Florence-Venice, not similar in the sense of got married). The primary difference is that we had two weeks, not one. But we flew into Rome, spent several days there, then drove up into Tuscany and Umbria, hitting Florence on that part, then Venice and environs, then Lake Como (no George Clooney sightings, though), and then to Milan. We flew home from Milan (through London).

I’d probably spend the least amount of time in Venice (or, frankly, with only a week, skip it entirely). It’s expensive and crowded and frankly not that great, compared to some of the wonderful smaller cities around it.

I’d spend most of my time in Tuscany, so maybe a base in or near Florence. From there, Cinqueterre is nice – San Gimignano particularly as I recall. It was a walled city, and you can walk around the entire wall. Very picturesque and peaceful. As was Siena.

So if it were me, skipping Venice, I’d spend two or three days in Rome, then rent a car and drive northish to Assissi, from there to Siena, then hit San Gimignano, Lucca, and other cities in and around Florence.

If I were you, I’d spend three or four days in that region, heading out to Venice for a day only, then on to Milan to fly home.

The language thing shouldn’t be an issue; get a good guide book and do your best. If your fiancee is fluent in Spanish, she’ll be fine with Italian, because they’re so close.

I’d also recommend renting a car. The trains are great, but you’re dependent on their schedule. Other than getting out of Rome and getting into Milan, driving was a piece of cake. (I’d recommend a copy of Rick Steves’ book, because it describes where the parking is in all the cities – it was invaluable for the nuts and bolts, although skimpy on history/significance.)

My two cents, for what it’s worth. And I’ll admit to a bit of jealousy. I love Italy; it is, outside the United States, the only other country I’ve been to that immediately felt comfortable, like I belonged there. It’s a great choice for a honeymoon!

3

Italy is a great place to spend your honeymoon.And if you will have the accomodation taken care of by your brother-in-law, you will escape the biggest expense in Italy : hotels.

Rome-Florence-Venice itinerary. 3 days in Rome, 2 days in Florence and 1 in Venice.
From Rome you take the Eurostar highspeed train to Florence, it takes only 1 1/2 hours for 300 Kms , so it is pretty fast.
Fron Florence the train to Venice takes around 3 hours.
After one day or one half day trip in Venice, you either get on a train back to Rome, or you check in advance of your trip about some low-cost flights from Venice to Rome.

Each train trip costs around 40 Euros ( 50 $ ).

4

Renting a car + the numerous road taxes that you have to pay + fuel price ( 1,1 Euros/Litre ) is more expensive than riding the train.You have the chance to see more of Italy from the car, you can stop whereever you want, but in such a short visit, it`s better with the train.

5

I’d say that one day in Venice, and splitting the rest of the time equally between Florence and Rome, is the right thing to do. Taking the trains is also the right thing to do–but I don’t think the Venice-Florence route actually takes three hours. More like one and a half? Maybe I’m wrong.

You seem to have your ideas about what museums, cathedrals, and other monuments you want to see. I’ll just chime in about the consumer opportunities: Venetian glass beads are cheaper in Venice than anywhere else in the world. If your wife likes the glass beads, let her buy as many as she wants. The cups and sculptures however tend to cost as much or more as they would if you bought them from the internet, and would probably have to be shipped home–so consider skipping them.

If you are interested in leather goods, wool goods (like pashmina shawls), and silver, then get acquainted with what they cost and know the Euro conversions. Florence specializes in these things, and you can find real steals on them. There isn’t really a need to set aside a special time for shopping, because you’ll be passing the stores everywhere you go.

Rome I don’t know about–never made it there.

6

From Florence to Venice, the fastest train, the Eurostar takes 2:45 hours.You see, even if it is the same distance between Roma and Florence, the rail track for the Eurostar train is not so well developed , so the top speed is around 130 Km / h , not 250 Km/h.

Anyway, if you go to Venice and fancy a coffee in the Florian Cafe at Piazza San marco, beware that they charge even for the music that is playing, and it can possibly be the most expensive espresso you will drink in Italy.

7

The italian train website is trenitalia.com
You see everything there.

8

It’s worth pricing it out. There were four of us, not two, and we found that the car was significantly less expensive than the train would be, plus at least one member of the group is kind of high maintenance (I say “at least,” because I had my moments, too). The car meant that we could have our fits in the privacy of the vehicle instead of out in public. There were also a couple places we wanted to go that we could only have reached with significant difficulty (i.e., cabs or multiple buses) from the train lines.

But if you’re staying on the beaten path, and there are only two of you, and you don’t mind working with the train schedule, it likely is worth the train.

9

Milan sounds glamorous but is is most assuredly not for the most part. It is the Cleveland of Italy. I love Venice and it is both unique and romantic but it isn’t all that big. Verona is home to the Romeo and Juliet story and it is charming but a little bit tacky in its own way. It has a Roman era colosseum that you can walk around that is more authentic and less crowed than others. Florence is great and it would be a good place to go. I have never been to Rome but it might be mixed from having the obvious history to little Italian people being rude and darting around.

10

Not all Italians are little, rude, and dart around

Most, but not all.

In all seriousness though, I did find Rome and it’s citizens, to be somewhat jaded and rude. I assimilate to a 60 year old prostitute that knows she’s the only game in town … , tired, worn out, and she’s not going to try too hard to please, if you know what I mean.

Venice is a beautiful city, if for nothing else, it’s uniqueness.
Florence I could take or leave, but I went to Italy for the food and wine, not the art.

11

When you’re in Rome, do not miss the Pantheon. The Collisseum and the Forum are amazing, but the Pantheon still has its freaking roof on it after nearly 2,000 years.

12

Agreed - and even more impressive when you remember that it was made from concrete. 2000 years ago.

13

A year ago we (our two adult 20-something children came along with us) spent a wonderful 10 days in northern Italy.

Our base was in Florence and from there we took the train to Venice and Bologna. And did a bus tour to Siena and San Gimignano. All wonderful cities.

Given the time we had, we decided to skip Rome. Didn’t feel we could do it justice. We decided that we’d do southern Italy some other time.

There is a recommendation in the thread to skip Venice, but I wouldn’t. We all loved Venice. Granted it was Christmas so it wasn’t as crowded as it would be in the summer. (But even then it shoulder-to-shoulder in the narrow passageways near the Rialto bridge.)

Bologna isn’t a typical tourist destination, but it’s a terrific city. Though it sounds like you probably won’t have enough time to spend a day or so there. But don’t miss Siena. You can see it in a day and it’s well worth the time.

For lodging, we rented our Florence apartment through Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO.com) and just did hotels in Venice and Bologna.

Have a great honeymoon.

14

I wouldn’t skip Venice. The week we spent there was the best part of our 2nd anniversamoon.

It helps that we stayed in the City itself, just off San Marco (guestinitaly website has apartments for rent). Gave us a chance to wander about away from/ at different times from the tourists. Gave us a chance to buy food at the markets and cook for ourselves, too, but that’s not really a honeymoon thing.

15

Our Honeymoon was almost exactly that: Rome-Florence-Sienna-Verona-Venice-Rome in August. We took the train and bought a flexpass (forgot the exact name) that allowed us to get on and off the train 10 times over the course of the month. This way, in addition to the commutes from one stop to the next, we were also able to take daytrips (Pisa, Bolzano) whenever we felt like. We bought the tickets for 1st class, which was comfortable but not richy-rich and nowhere nearly as crowded as 2nd class. Taking the train was beautiful, economical, and allowed us to see a lot of the country. We spent 3 days in each place, which was perfect as a healthy introduction to the various cities, and had an absolute blast. Feel free to ask more specific questions, but it looks like you’re closely mirroring our trip (which was 8 years ago, so some things may have changed).

16

I’m doing nearly the exact same thing as you, except I have 10 days. My girlfriend and I are doing Venice, Rome, and Naples. I had originally planned Florence in there but we simply do not have time to do it effectively.

Just think about it, each day you travel you lose at best only half the day. You have to wake up, get all packed up, check-out, get to the station on time, get tickets, catch the right train, arrive, find your new hotel, check-in, and then finally relax. If you only have seven days, including your arrival and departure day… you are crazy to do Venice, Florence, and Rome.

First, you’ll be constantally running to see the sights without actually getting to enjoy them. Second, if you miss a single train, or your schedule is upset at all (which WILL happen) you’ll have missed out on seeing something entirely.

My advice, fly into Rome and go directly to Florence (or just fly directly into Florence). Enjoy Florence for three days, hike it back to Rome. Enjoy Rome for 4 days and fly home. Sure you completely miss Venice, but you will have enjoyed your Honeymoon instead of having run around (and fought with the new spouce) the entire trip.

Just my two cents. Whatever you do, I hope you love it. (If you want to remember me and write me a PM in late May and I’ll give you any tidbits I can about Venice and Rome.)

17

Part of any recommendation is what do you like to do? Do you like art? Architecture? Shopping? Picturesque countryside? Ancient History? Religiouse sites? Depending on what you want to do, my suggestions would change. If you’re a major art buff, then I’d suggest Rome for 3 days, then Florence for 2 days. (I’m actually assuming a day off on each end for fly in/fly out). If you like to look more at architecture, then I’d do Rome for 3 days, day trip to Pompeii, then overnight train to Venice for your last day.

I highly suggest that you don’t rent a car. Unless you’re used to driving overseas, Rome will give you a heart attack. I lived in Italy for 3 years, and I didn’t like driving in Rome. I usually just parked my car in the garage, and walked every time I went.

Carefully planning is important on shorter trips. You really want to research what you want to see, and try to plan out your days in a general way. I’m not talking 7:05 - breakfast 7:35 Roman Forum 8:10 - Coliseum…that will drive you nuts. But rather get an idea of what you want to see, then find out what is close to other things…this will help you group your days, and save backtracking.

For specific advice about some of these locations, see this thread. I made a post there that also points to some older threads similar to yours. One good thing about Italy is that the major sites have been there thousands of years…so they’re not likely to change…:slight_smile:

Most of all, have a great time. Do what you want, and don’t get so caught up in trying to fit in everything, that you miss the granduer that will be all around you.