Italy Honeymoon- Should we do a guided tour or explore on our own? Any tips appreciated!

daniellemartens33

My FI and I are thinking about possibly going to Italy for our honeymoon next June. We would appreciate any tips on anything! The airfare I've found is ranging from 1200-1500 per person. I would also be interested in knowing about how much to budget per day. We plan on eating nice dinners a few times, but otherwise we are pretty casual and like budget friendly places. We also don't plan on renting a car and would like more info on how to get around. Thanks everyone!

girlinchicago

We just got back from a 16 night trip to Italy.  We did Venice, Florence, Tuscany (Montepulciano), Positano, and Rome (in that order).  Some things -

1. $1200-1500 for airfare is typically what you'll find for June travel dates

2. Consider doing an open jaw ticket (flying into one city and out of another).  We flew into Venice and out of Rome; this eliminates the need to travel back to your original city and just makes things a lot easier.  It's typically not a big price difference to do this.

3.  I wouldn't recommend doing a guided tour (do you mean like a large tour group?), but that's not the way H and I like to travel.  Italy is definitely VERY doable on your own.  That said, you can find some really cool tours (walking tours, food tours, other fun activities) through Internet resources like Viator or Dark Rome.  Those I definitely recommend.

4.  Budgets are difficult because everyone has different priorities.  H and I are definitely foodies and eating good food is high on our list when we travel.  Typically we spent around 30 euro for lunch and anywhere between 60 - 90 euro for dinner, but it's tough to say how much you "should" spend.  Some days we split things, some days did more courses than others, some days drank and others not.  

5.  Depending on where you want to go, renting a car is usually not necessary and, in fact, it can be a huge pain in the butt!  We took trains from Venice to Florence, Florence to Naples, and Naples to Rome.  We did rent a car to get from Florence to Tuscany and drove around the hilltowns - that wasn't a huge deal.  We booked a private driver to get us from Naples to Positano.  The trains are great, super efficient and easy to use, so I definitely recommend that.  Don't drive unless you absolutely feel you have to.  

Congrats and happy planning!

monkeysip

PP had some great info.

I also wouldn't do a big tour because I don't like being on other people's schedule, but little mini tours are great (for example, if you just want a tour of the Vatican museum and St. Peter's basilica, or a tour of the Coloseum and Roman Forum). 

I know other people like to be able to relax and have everything planned, so an Italian cruise or large tour group might be better for them.  It's just not my thing.

Food can get pricey if you want really good food.  Meat is expensive.  But there are also some cheap eats if you're on a budget (typically pizza, sandwiches, or cheap restaurants with pasta dishes).  FI and I are planning on staying in an apartment in Rome instead of a hotel (we're going to other cities, but we'll be in Rome at least a week).  That way, we can have a kitchen and cook at home, plus we can also do laundry if we get one with a washer.

I spent 4 weeks in Assisi, Rome, and Florence a few years back.  I walked A LOT, but I also used the subway and bus systems.  In Rome, especially, public transportation is GREAT.  I literally walked across Florence and back many times though because it's really not that big of a city. 

I'm sure it depends upon the other cities you're visiting, but generally speaking, other than an occassional cab, I would recommend just using trains and busses.  

Between cities, you can get a train pass for Italy for a few hundred dollars so you can bounce between cities. 

daniellemartens33

Our budget is about 6,000-7,000 USD including airfare. We have access to a time share for lodging so I don't think that will be an issue. Was it pretty easy to find budget friendly things to do there? I know food can fluctuate a lot!

monkeysip

I think your budget is totally doable, especially if you're not paying anything or much for lodging.

Your only other big costs are food, transportation and activities.

For activities, depending upon where you're going, there may be some big things you have to pay for, such as the Uffizi or Academia museums in Florence, the Vatican museum in Rome, or the Coloseum.  Sometimes you can discount tickets, but they'll still cost you.  Although the Vatican museum is actually free on the last sunday of every month.

Depending upon what you like, you may spend money on shows, tours, or water activities.

But really, Italy can be enjoyed for CHEAP or FREE.  There are a lot of gorgeous churches, some of which hold amazing original pieces of art.  They're like little free museums.  Some churches have begun to charge for entrance (usually just a few euro), but if you want to attend the mass, you can get in free (obviously I'm not recommending that people use this just as a loophole to save money, but if you care to attend mass for whatever reason, you don't have to pay, and you can enjoy the beauty of the church free of tourist crowds).

There's just so much to enjoy just from walking around.  We can give you more specific recommendations when you decide on your cities. 

There are also sometimes free festivals or shows outside for the public. 

JoanE2012

I did a guided tour last year.  My FI and I were very hesitant as we are more independent and like to do things at our own pace and had never taken one before.  However, we loved it!  We didn't have to worry about transportation between cities.  We loved bypassing the long lines (sometimes an hour or more) and not waiting at all to get in tourist attractions.  We never once handled our bags when we arrived and left hotels.  We also found there was plenty of free time to see additional sights, eat meals out on our own and generally just wander around.   I wouldn't have changed a thing and I would do the tour again in a heartbeat. 

swanrat

I did a guided tour of Italy through Trafalgar and thought it was great! We got to see lots of different places without having to worry about how to get there and booking different hotels.

mica178

I dislike most tours in general, and I'd really dislike a tour on my honeymoon.  It's nice to have the freedom to sleep in every so often or to skip seeing one attraction in favor of spending more time at another.  You can do that when you explore on your own.  You can't do that on a tour.

If you don't like to pack/unpack and managing multiple train trips sounds overwhelming to you, I'd reduce the total number of cities you visit and/or take find a centrally located homebase and take some daytrips.

You can use tripadvisor or a major guidebook to get an idea of the cost of the attractions you want to see and the average costs of restaurants in a given city to help with budgeting.

Snippylynn

If you want to eat well in Rome, the key is to get away from the touristy areas. It's SO expensive for such crap food.  BUT, I will say that I was really spoiled when I lived there because I was in the best food region in Italy.

In general, I always thought food prices there were pretty decent. You get a pizza each, a bottle of wine for 5 Euros and it's maybe 20E? Darn skippy. Plus, you don't have to tip so that helps a lot. 

Personally, I'm not into doing museums unless the weather is bad. There is just SO MUCH to see when youare just walking around!

Meegles4

I went to Italy with a friend several years ago. I agree with PPs that it's very easy to get around on your own, and it gives you freedom that a guided tour wouldn't. It was my first time overseas and we navigated just fine (though my friend would probably tell you I got us horifically lost most days).

We did Rome, Florence & Venice and did a 10 day trip. We were in Florence the longest (4 or 5 days) and used that as a jumping off point to see Pisa, Montevarchi (where the Prada outlet is), and also did a wine tasting tour in the Tuscan countryside.

We booked our trip through a travel agent (only time I've used one), and that was helpful, so if you're not used to planning long trips or international trips, it's something to consider. We didn't really know where to start, so she helped us get set up with decent hotels and also booked a couple tours so we had SOME guided portions. I definitely recommend a group tour if you're trying to do the Vatican, then you bypass the lines you'll wait in if you just go on your own one day. Our wine tasting day was also a tour.

For the rest of it, we just explored on our own with our trusty Lonely Planet books. I can't really remember what we spent on food, and that can certainly vary on what you like. We did pizza or something simple for lunch every day, and then had pasta and wine at dinner and I recall that being very reasonable. If you are more of a meat or seafood person, you might spend more. Most of our hotels included breakfast.

To get between cities, we took the trains. I think our tickets between the major destinations were purchased ahead of time (through our TA), but when we were in Florence we purchased train tickets as needed to get to the other towns each day. It was fairly simple, though we did get slapped with a fine one day because we didn't know to validate our train tickets after purchasing them. That was the worst part of the transportation and had I actually paid better attention to the instructions when purchasing, it wouldn't have happened.

MrsGandthebeag

We did a mediterranean cruise last year for our honeymoon, in and out of Rome.  At the end we stayed in Rome for four nights.  We had a private tour guide for the Vatican which I definitely recommend.  She was fabulous, spoke great English and explained everything to us rather than reading all the plaques, etc.  We also skipped a line that looked to be about 2 hours long.  We went in early July and our plane tickets were about $1500 each.  We also had a driver/private guide for the coloseum, forum, and some churches another day.  We walked everywhere and never took public transportation.  Even though it's not a small city I still found it to be very walkable.  I loved how cheap the wine was, and how tasty.  

I would agree with everything from the pp's.  The train between cities is great.  If you do Venice, you only need a couple days, like 2.  It's my favorite city in the world.  My grandma lives about an hour north so we always take the train in for a day trip when we go.  Anywhere you go in Italy will be beautiful.  If you can speak any Italian, do it.  They love to hear the Americans speak their language.  

sbradke

I am going to Italy for my honeymoon in September. Airfare was $2500 for two from Detroit to Florence and then Rome to Detroit. We are staying in an apartment just outside Florence for a week and have a rental car for daytrips. We will take the train to Rome for three nights and then leave from there. I can't wait.

We are doing the florenceforfoddies tour as well as the Scavi Vatican tour (need tickets way in advance). That's all I presently have planned.