m_thomson09

Hello All,

My fiance and I are getting married in May of 2011 and we both LOVE Italy, so naturally we would like to honeymoon there. We would like to keep this trip as relatively budget friendly as possible, but realize that this is will be expensive.

The cities we would like to see the most are: Rome, Venice, Florence, and maybe Naples or the Tuscan countryside.

Which city do I visit first?
What are the best things to see in each city (I will not leave without seeing the Colosseum, Vatican City/Sistine Chapel)?

This is what I thought about an itinerary, but looking at some of the other forums, maybe I should do something different:

Sunday Leave for Italy
Monday Day 1: Arrive in Rome (overnight)
Tuesday Day 2: Rome (overnight)
Wednesday Day 3: Rome (overnight)
Thursday Day 4 Florence (overnight)
Friday Day 5: Florence (overnight)
Saturday Day 6: Travel from Florence to Venice
Sunday Day 7: Venice (overnight)
Monday Day 8: Venice (overnight)
Tuesday Day 9: ???
Wednesday Day 10: ???
Thursday Day 11: Leave Italy to come home

After Venice, I dont know what to do. From looking at most of the airlines, the cheapest flight options have us arriving in Rome, and Departing from Rome, so I'm not sure if I should cut one of the first days in Rome and add it to the end so it will be easier for our return flight? If anyone has any suggestions, I will be greatly appreciative!!!

fmpden

When you factor in return costs to Rome I doubt if RT Rome is your cheapest ticket in part because Rome is an expensive airport. Look to returning from Milan. And Milan is worth a day or two and would be a nice end to your trip. Or you could hit Como on the way to Milan.

lindy27

If you have to fly into/out of Rome I would look into removing Venice and doing either:

Rome, Florence, Tuscan Countryside, possibly Cinque Terre if you are interested in the coast
or
Rome, Florence, Naples area

bobthenavigator

In only 10 days you should plan a max of 3 destinations and fly open jaw. I suggest starting in Venice. We often travel to Italy in May and love that time of year. We will again in 2011. Do not assume you have to see Rome on your first trip. Plan 3 trips in advance since you will return.

Mimar

When you compare roundtrip to open jaws flights (into one city, out of another = multi-city), include the cost of getting back to your starting point. In Italy, you must be in Rome the night before you fly (can't rely on trains the day of your flight). So you'll have to spend another night in Rome.

Whereas if you do an open jaws, you get more real vacation time.

You could fly into Venice and fly out of Rome. Train to Florence, then spend a couple days in the Tuscan countryside, with or without a car, and end up in Rome.

Venice is the perfect honeymoon destination. And the perfect spot to get over jetlag and post-wedding exhaustion. So allow several days there. Maybe less time for Florence unless you're rabid fans of Renaissance art and architecture.

If you really must fly in and out of Rome, use that first jet-lagged day to continue by train to the furthest point on your itinerary. Then work your way back.

(I'm assuming you're arriving after a long overnight flight.)

caroline_edinburgh

We found we were exhausted after our wedding and more or less spent the first 3 days of honeymoon sleeping. Are you sure you want to visit cities with lots of tiring walking about, getting lost and (in the case of Rome & Florence) battling heavy traffic, for your honeymoon ? Even if you do really want to visit cities, I'd spend the first few days somewhere quiet, beautiful and relaxing, then do the cities. With only 10-11 days I'd also recommend only 2 centres. It sounds like Rome is non-negotiable, so what about somewhere in the countryside or on the coast for 5 nights followed by 5 nights in Rome ? Or if you really want 3 centres, what about 4 nights in the Tuscan countryside, 3 nights in Florence and 3 nights in Rome ?

m_thomson09

Thanks for all of the feedback so far. This is helping me make easier decisions. I don't necessarily have to fly in and out of Rome. I like the idea of flying into Venice and then working my way to Rome and flying out from there. If we were to fly open jaw, that would get expensive quick wouldn't it? We really want to keep the cost down as low as possible.

ellenem

Flying into Venice and home from Rome should not cost more, or that much more (especially when you consider the extra time and expense of returning to Rome if you had to fly only through Rome).

Use the "multi-city" function on airline websites to price an open-jaw ticket. Kayak.com is a good place to begin. (Do NOT try booking two one-way flights, which would indeed be expensive.)

nytraveler

You actually have only 9 days on the ground - so I wuold do no more than 2 locations - or you wilkl sepdnd a significant amount of your time just getting from one place to another.

IMHO for a first trip Rome requires at elast 4 night (3 days) and Venice or Florence 3 nights each - minimum.

For a honeymoon I woud do Rome and one relaxing place (Amalfi coast or Tuscan countryside with a car) and split the time evenly. You will get to see the other places later - and won;t want to spend your honeymoon with lots of 7 am starts and no time to just sit in a cafe with a drink and enjoy la dolce vita.

bobthenavigator

Good advice from Ellen--open jaw is not more expensive in most cases.

lindy27

If you fly into Venice out of Rome I'd just stick with 3 places. Venice, Florence or a smaller town in Tuscany and Rome. Venice 2 fully days, Rome 4 full days, and the rest wherever you want to go. If you stay in Florence you can do daytrips out of it.

fmpden

Personally, in all of our travels, we have never found open-jaws to be more expensive. Two years ago into Rome and home from Zurich was $200/person cheaper than RT Rome. Last year it was Amsterdam and Rome which very close to the same for RT Amsterdam. What can add to the cost is these short extra legs to smaller cities. For example, flying into Florence or Venice because these airport did not regularly handle direct international flights. Which is what I suggested earlier to consider Milan as departure/entry point and Rome.

kfusto

"Venice is the perfect honeymoon destination. And the perfect spot to get over jetlag and post-wedding exhaustion. So allow several days there. Maybe less time for Florence unless you're rabid fans of Renaissance art and architecture."

This is a very broad statement and I do not agree. Ideal honeymoons are not the same for everyone.

Venice is not magical for everyone and my husband and I much prefer Florence - and are not "rabid fans of Renaissance art and architecture."

We are rabid fans of great food and great wines and Tuscany for us is far more magical than Venice.

I agree with open jaw flights if your plan includes Venice and Rome and would agree that starting in Venice is preferred. I would choose 3 destinations with only 10 nights max.

Do you want a car or rely on public transport? That would factor into my decision as well.

I would plan 2 nights in Venice, 4 in Florence (day trip from there to the countryside) and the last 4 in Rome. Or 3-4-3 if that works better for you.

So much depends on what your personal priorities are and what you are looking for in your honeymoon. Only you can answer that.

Mimar

Yes, kfusto, different strokes for different folks.

To the OP, see JillDavis' trip report about Venice. It's at http://tinyurl.com/275qdzz. That's the way many of us feel about Venice.

Peter_S_Aus

Or you could take a look at the trip report I wrote while spending a while in Venice a couple of years ago. (We do like Florence too.)

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...st-verbose.cfm

Chris_G

I just got back from my honeymoon in Italy, where we stayed in Siena from Sunday afternoon through Thursday morning, then we went to Roma until Sunday morning. We both found that we loved the countryside, however Rome is definitely a place to be visited as well.

One thing that we both lucked up on though was that Rome was the last few days of our trip. Rome will wear you out if you let it, walking everywhere. After dealing with your wedding and family for a few days (or weeks) prior, the last thing we wanted to do was to walk several (I'm talking 20-30) miles because we were exhausted from the wedding.

We made Siena our base in Tuscany, visited Montalchino and the wineries (I love Brunellos), Florence (which was only about an hour's drive), and Siena as well. Montepulciano is close by if you choose to go there too. Definitely rent a car though if you go to Tuscany.

Tuscany is very calm compared to Rome and was perfect for us to relax for a few days, but you make of it what you want. The Tuscan countryside and food were absolutely great and the locals are much more easier and polite in my opinion and was what we were looking for.