I was hoping I could get some advice regarding a honeymoon to Italy from 11/13-11/23 (thinking about possibly spending a few more days...making it 2 weeks)
Our budget is $10,000 (hoping to spend less) and are interests are cooking, wine and relaxing. Not sure if that is enough?
We were thinking originally staying the entire time in Florence and taking day trips..
Then after reading this site I noticed that Venice seems to be a good honeymoon destination...so we were thinking 5 or 7 days in Venice and the same in Florence.
We love food, wine, cooking all the romantic type things...but of course will definetely want to see some of the historic sites of Italy.
My family comes from Naples but this would be my first trip to Italy....any advice, suggestions?
If your family is from Naples I think that part of Italy would be more interesting for your first visit...and honeymoon. November in Venice could mean acqua alta, you'll have better weather the further south you go. Your budget sounds OK and if you are off season, rent a car and stay in family run hotels and/or rentals you'll save a lot of money. Most importantly, study up, read this forum, guidebooks, to get an idea of what your priorities in Italy are. And brush up on your Italian.
Just to clarify we would be arriving in Italy 11/23 those dates are not including travel! I was originally thinking about visiting naples and the history of my family...but I decided that this would be a better trip for me and my sisters to do with our significant instead of our honeymoon.
Another thing, I was thinking that a honeymoon should be a about luxuary....
Originally posted by Nick z: High water. But they aren't really tides.
But they are tides...that flood the city. fly to paris from florence, but I would head for a smaller town like Lucca to contrast with Paris, for example.
I like the idea of a week in Florence and a week in Venice; another thought, could be a week in the country side somewhere e.g., Tuscany, Piedmont, Umbria (if you don't mind renting a car) and a week in a city. I suggest the countryside b/c I'm thinking with a love of wine, visiting some wineries could be fun for you.
Really, the possibilities are endless and there are no bad suggestions on what to do.
You know what might be good, if you take a look at our Italy Trip Reports (and there are tons of them), you might get some ideas of from other travelers of things that sound appealing to you.
I'm with Kim. One way to vary your locations, yet minimize travel, would be a week in Tuscany (for wine, cooking and relaxing) and a week in Florence (for city stuff, museums, etc.). In November you can find good rates at wonderful places, and treat yourself to some luxury at less-than-peak prices.
One question vigorously debated in the past is should the more relaxing, quieter week be the one immediately after the wedding, or the one just before coming back and diving into "real" life again.
ellen
Posts: 3678 | Location: mahwah, new jersey, usa | Registered: 10 December 2003
Florence is definitely a romantic part of Italy. I would put that on your list, since it's one of my favorite cities. You can keep busy with sightseeing and have romantic dinners and walks throughout the city. You can take many day-trips out of Florence to visit the different towns/cities in Tuscany. I also enjoyed my trips to Venice. I don't think you need a week in Venice though. A few days would be fine. However, it may be a little cold in Venice at that time.
A week in Venice and a week in florence is a really great first trip. You can take daytrips out to more rural areas if you decide, but I would leave that up to optional depending on how you feel. To me Venice is the Most romantic city anywhere, and a week is not too long.
I would recommend apartments as they have a more luxurious feel for a lower price. High end places in cities can easily be $500/night! Our nice very comfortable apartment in venice was under $200/night(with windows out to the Grand canal!) RR
P.S. My first Italy trip was my '93 Honeymoon (3 plus weeks Venice/Florence/Rome plus a few more 1-2 night stays in Montalcino/siena), we decided to spend little on the wedding and 90% on the Honeymoon, no regrets there!
I haven't gone on my honeymoon yet (2 months and counting!) but we decided to stay in the Tuscan countryside rather than Florence, and just do a daytrip to Florence. We're staying at the Fattoria Voltrona, near San Gimignano. There are all kinds of farmhouses and several castles that would make a wonderful honeymoon spot. I was also tempted by Castello Vicchiomaggio in Chianti - we will probably go there for dinner one night.
Obviously, I haven't been to either of these places (yet!) but I thought you might want to browse around some of those websites to see if that's the kind of place you two might be interested in.
I think you have time to plan. As a matter of fact, I remember fall airfare sales starting in July/August, which is when I've usually booked my airfare for our November trips.
Thanks again everyone...this has been SOOOO helpful. We are luxuorious kind of people (without the money he he he) But I am still unsure about Venice during this time period due to the previous poster mentioning the high tides....
Originally posted by AngelaK: I haven't gone on my honeymoon yet (2 months and counting!) but we decided to stay in the Tuscan countryside rather than Florence, and just do a daytrip to Florence. We're staying at the Fattoria Voltrona, near San Gimignano. There are all kinds of farmhouses and several castles that would make a wonderful honeymoon spot. I was also tempted by Castello Vicchiomaggio in Chianti - we will probably go there for dinner one night.
Obviously, I haven't been to either of these places (yet!) but I thought you might want to browse around some of those websites to see if that's the kind of place you two might be interested in.
These are EXACTLY the types of places we are interested in!!! Thank You so much this is so great!
Glad I could help! You'll really enjoy doing your research. There are so many places to choose from, and they all have such gorgeous pictures on their websites. And they all offer something a little different - some have wine tastings and olive oil tastings, some offer cooking classes, etc.
Look at the reviews on this site for some more recommendations. I also looked at tripadvisor, and tuscany.net for some ideas and reviews.
As for your budget, I would think 10,000 would be plenty. We are only spending an average of 125E a night on hotels - which took a lot of work to find good deals, but at the time we started planning the exchange rate was almost $1.50/Euro and we wanted to stay under $200/night, an almost impossible task at the time. But, you can definitely save some money on accommodations if you spend some time outside of the major cities, which is what we decided to do.
High tides are not a big deal. It's not like they are a surprise. High tide is twice every 24 hours so may be at 3 in the morning when you might be sleeping. It is not like you need to swim everywhere!
Here is our venice apartment. Look at the Tiepolo, those 2 windows look out on the grand canal! I can't imagine a honeymoon in Italy without venice!
I see you already have some good replies, so wont add to that, but I would say Florence is the best city and I agree with basing yourself there...but why not take advantage of the easy train access from there and visit Lucca, Pisa, Bologna...even Venice...just.
Originally posted by Robert Rainey: High tides are not a big deal. It's not like they are a surprise. High tide is twice every 24 hours so may be at 3 in the morning when you might be sleeping. It is not like you need to swim everywhere!
Here is our venice apartment. Look at the Tiepolo, those 2 windows look out on the grand canal! I can't imagine a honeymoon in Italy without venice!
Also I have heard that a week is too much for Venice, should we find one more destination? OR stay the remainder in Florence....or somehwere in the tuscan region
Originally posted by T27: Also I have heard that a week is too much for Venice...
Mai! Never! A week in Venice means you won't have to try and see everything at breakneck speed.
I am certainly biased, but everyone I know who comes here wishes they had booked more time. And for a honeymoon? I don't think they make a more romantic city, not to mention there are NO CARS.
(But I would combine it with a country or city destination...)
Originally posted by T27: Also I have heard that a week is too much for Venice...
Mai! Never! A week in Venice means you won't have to try and see everything at breakneck speed.
I am certainly biased, but everyone I know who comes here wishes they had booked more time. And for a honeymoon? I don't think they make a more romantic city, not to mention there are NO CARS.
(But I would combine it with a country or city destination...)
Soooo sorry to be such a crazy woman...but do you think that 1 week venice and 1 week florence would be a crazy waste? I was thinking from florence we would be able to take a day trip or 2 to rome...to see some of the amazing history. Is naples ridiculous far from Florence...another though (My grandparents were all born there!)
Originally posted by T27: ...but do you think that 1 week venice and 1 week florence would be a crazy waste? I was thinking from florence we would be able to take a day trip or 2 to rome...to see some of the amazing history. Is naples ridiculous far from Florence...another though (My grandparents were all born there!)
Ugh this is so stressful!
I will tell you a secret.
You can't make a mistake. Whatever you choose will be fine. Relax, read a little more about what's where, decide how you would like to spend your time, and choose accordingly.
You can't make a mistake. Whatever you choose will be fine. Relax, read a little more about what's where, decide how you would like to spend you time, and choose accordingly.
It's all good, really...[/QUOTE]
Now that's some of the BEST advice I've heard here.......Brava!!
My suggestion will be a bit different. I would spend one week in Tuscany and one in Piedmont, or one week in Tuscany and one in Umbria if you want a romantic and relaxing holiday which brings together cooking, good food and art and culture.
The countryside is generally lovely in November: with the new olive oil, the new wine, the mushrooms! Beautiful.
Originally posted by T27: I was thinking from florence we would be able to take a day trip or 2 to rome...to see some of the amazing history. Is naples ridiculous far from Florence...another though (My grandparents were all born there!)
My brother and I went to Rome for a day while spending a week in Florence, it's quite easy as the train stations in both cities are right in town and very accessible. Direct high speed trains take about an hour and a half each way - nice for a rest in the morning (get up and get out early, then nap on the train) and for a rest on the way back after a long day of sightseeing.
As for Naples, that's too far for a one day trip. My family is also from Naples and I'm going back in a few weeks for the fourth time. I've found the parish church where at least five generations of my mother's family were baptized and married - it's fascinating to me. However, it doesn't seem like a honeymoon kind of activity, maybe this would be better saved for a subsequent trip.
ellen
Posts: 3678 | Location: mahwah, new jersey, usa | Registered: 10 December 2003
Originally posted by Robert Rainey: High tides are not a big deal. It's not like they are a surprise. High tide is twice every 24 hours so may be at 3 in the morning when you might be sleeping. It is not like you need to swim everywhere!
Here is our venice apartment. Look at the Tiepolo, those 2 windows look out on the grand canal! I can't imagine a honeymoon in Italy without venice!
I agree I will stay there on my next visit as well. It is also in a great location just across from San Marco near a Tragetto a gondola that acts like a taxi and for 50 cents you can cross to San Marco! It is priced in the same range as a Budget range hotel 110 euro/night.
A week is not too much.You can escape the hubbub with easy boat trips out to the islands some of which are not crowded at all, or take a short train to Verona or nearby town. Venice is one thing I would not skip on a honeymoon. If I was chossing one rural location and one city it would be Venice and southern tuscany or the Maremma.
Contrary to others I would not go to Venice for a few days on a first trip. I feel that is why many just don't care for it, as they fill their days at the must see crowded sites and just don't have time to discover the magic.
So unless you plan 5 plus full days better a week I would leave it till next time. RR
I am taking my first trip to Italy for my honeymoon in October. We are doing 3.5 days in Rome, staying in an apartment in Trastevere for 100 euro/night (Scala), followed by a week in Greve (Le Bartoline) We plan on taking day trips to Florence and Bologna as well as smaller "hill towns" like Montepulciano. I've had people tell me it is not a good idea to do the countryside for so much of our first trip, that we should stick to the "major cities". But we are into food & wine and relaxation, and my fiance is into ancient Roman history (we're thinking of Pompeii, because I love him enough to give up one of my few Rome days!), so this is a perfect balance for us.
Originally posted by charise: I am taking my first trip to Italy for my honeymoon in October. We are doing 3.5 days in Rome, staying in an apartment in Trastevere for 100 euro/night (Scala), followed by a week in Greve (Le Bartoline) We plan on taking day trips to Florence and Bologna as well as smaller "hill towns" like Montepulciano. I've had people tell me it is not a good idea to do the countryside for so much of our first trip, that we should stick to the "major cities". But we are into food & wine and relaxation, and my fiance is into ancient Roman history (we're thinking of Pompeii, because I love him enough to give up one of my few Rome days!), so this is a perfect balance for us.
I assume your daytrip to Bologna is from Greve. Quite a long way, It involves time getting to the station,waiting train and then to location so Rt is half a days time. RR
Originally posted by charise: my fiance is into ancient Roman history (we're thinking of Pompeii, because I love him enough to give up one of my few Rome days!)
There are plenty of ancient Roman things to see in and right around Rome, no need to use a full day (out of very few, presumably one your arrival/jet lag day) from so few in Rome.
ellen
Posts: 3678 | Location: mahwah, new jersey, usa | Registered: 10 December 2003
Hi, Based on the fact you are traveling in November, I would also recommend to stay in Venice only a few days. Then, consider taking the train from Venice to Florence. After your time in Florence, you can consider renting a car for a few days so you can enjoy the Tuscan countryside after 1-3 nights in Florence. I lived in Venice for a few years and November can tend to be very cold and rain quite often...typical winter weather. Overall, it is a nice time to visit if you would like to have Venice practically to yourself (I just came back from there this past February and it was also very quiet but I prefer it that way). Another thing to consider, as someone else mentioned, Venice can tend to have several high tides in Nov..making the trip more "exciting" (or annnoying for some that hasnt experienced it) if you like slushing around in boots around the city for a few hours.
Florence and other hilltowns in the countryside are definitely a must!
If you want to make it to Rome too, it IS possible but now you might be starting to cram a lot in and this can take away from you actually relaxing on your honeymoon and absorbing your surroundings.
Have you booked your flights yet? If not, consider flying into Venice and out of Pisa or Florence. OR Consider flying into Venice and out of Rome. That way you prevent backtracking and reduce your overall travel time to visit all these places.
Hope this has helped. Good luck and congratulations!
So we have really done a TON of reserach and have kind of COMPLETELY changed the plan.
We are thinking now about arriving in Naples (staying in Sorrento) from November 10th-17th Then we are thinking of going to Florence (or somewhere in Tuscan region) from November 17th-25th and from there taking day trips to rome/venice or wherever...Rome is a must but 1.5 hours is like my commute one way into the city anyway no biggie!!!!
So thank you all for your helpful advice and information. I would be very open to any hotel recommendations or any recommendations at all! Again thank you SOOO much everyone!
