Italy- all inclusive?

she18

Hi Everyone,
Does anyone know any good sites for planning a honeymoon to Italy? I would like to plan a trip that requires the least amount of organizing on my part. We are looking for beach, good food, and some culture. I would say our budget for flight and hotel would be in the $5k range. Any help is appreciated!

hz80408

Your best bet may be to look up "italy tours" or contact a travel agent.

cs026a

We searched and searched, and couldn't find anything to compare to the planning required for an all inclusive. We just booked Meixco for our honeymoon for that reason.

We were looking at flying in and out of Rome, but incooporating a 3 night beach stay somewhere. All in all, the planning requierd was just too much for us to take on right now.

Good luck though!

bmoruzzi

I don't know of any AI's in Italy.  It's more of a culture experience to go to a country like Italy, rather than a beach experience.  If you want a beach, I'd suggest going to an AI in the Bahamas or Jamaica like Sandals.  I've been to both and they're great.  You may want to consider a mediteranean cruise if you do want to go to Europe, although they are pretty expensive.  We did that for our hm.  We flew into Rome, then took a cab to Civitavecchia to get the boat.  We went to Sicily, Athens, Turkey, and Crete, then back to port.  When we were in Crete we chose to do a beach excursion so just got a bus to the beach rather than do another tour.  

AdeleDazeem

You don't go to Europe to sit in one place and eat at their restaurants.  You go to see the world, experience the culture, eat at hole in the wall restaurants, sample local fare, etc...

You won't find AIs in Europe.  If you want one, you are missing the point of traveling there.

monkeysip

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_italy-inclusive?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:01bbffdf-7469-4b61-8feb-e9a416ce3cb9Post:88f32ced-0027-4e87-9611-1a25b70921da">Re: Italy- all inclusive?</a>:
[QUOTE]You don't go to Europe to sit in one place and eat at their restaurants.  You go to see the world, experience the culture, eat at hole in the wall restaurants, sample local fare, etc... You won't find AIs in Europe.  If you want one, you are missing the point of traveling there.
Posted by Joy2611[/QUOTE]

<div>This.</div>

she18

Yikes what a comment.
By AI, I mean more like packages that inclujde tours, guides, etc. Culture is a must in the trip, but I was wondering if anyone knew of any pre-set packages. I've never been to Europe and do not want to wander aimlessly.

AdeleDazeem

Have you ever traveled, she?  I can totally understand that it might feel overwhelming and like there is so much to do.

I would honestly recommend picking one city in Europe - whatever city that is - and booking a hotel and a flight.  Save ~ $1000 from your budget to pay for cabs, food, museums, etc while you are there. 

Buy a book on that city and read about all the things you can do there!  People discount travel books and I have no idea why - they tell you everything about the city: how to get around, where the best places to eat are, where the good museums are, things you should know since you've never been there, etc.  It's less intimidating when you know exactly what you're getting in to and you don't have to worry about traveling between cities.  Start small!

If this doesn't sit well with you, then I'd recommend looking into mediterrean cruises.  You fly into one city, hop on the ship, and the ship takes you to different places where you have time on shore in different cities/countries. 

Good luck!  AIs are definitely not the only way or (in my opinion) the best way to travel. 

monkeysip

If you want to see some nice beaches, go to southern italy.  The amalfi coast has some beaches (not like the caribbean, but they're still beautiful), and a nice mixture of culture too.

Also, Sicily might be a nice choice.

Either way, joy is right.  Pick a city (or two at the most) and start looking at hotels.  You might find good recs on here.  After that, just make sure your transportation plans are all set and bring a good guide book.  Part of the fun of Italy is exploring--so don't worry too much about making concrete plans (unless you wanted to reserve tickets to specific museums and stuff--but if you just want to relax, you probably don't want that anyway!).

If you just want a casual vacay, just find a nice hotel and enjoy walking around.  Enjoy exploring, eating, and enjoying the view.  The italians are relaxed people, so just be like them!  

alithebride

Sicily has some nice beaches. my opinion-ask family and freinds for travel agent recs and have them help you plan it.

actually there are some AIs in europe. i think it's the occidental company that has them in spain.

aloisk57

I say check out the Amalfi coast or Cinque Terre.  My fiance and I are going to Paris, Cinque Terre, Rome, and Pompeii for our honeymoon...I think we're just going to wing it and not book anything except our flights, but we like adventure lol.  You probably won't find any all inclusive resorts, but like the other posters said, if you buy a book and read up on it, you should be good to go. 

lopezalonso

Europeandestinations.com consistently gave me the best prices when we were considering Greece and Italy. My family and I have also taken many tours in Italy booked through travel agents and have unfortunately learned the hard way to not pay the extra money to include food. The restaurants they take you to are shitty and a totally waste. The tour guides get paid by these shitty restaurants to bring people. We ended up going to other restaurants eventhough we had paid to include the food (not sure how much though since this was a family trip sponsored by our parents).

lopezalonso

I second the Mediterranean cruise idea. You get to see several cities and the food is all inclusive! My recommendations are Celebrity and Royal Caribbean International. Holland America is nice too but the crowd is much older.

phfiely

When I was in high school I went on several trips that might be considered "all inclusive" but they were all about touring around, not laying on the beach or anything like that. I went through a company called ACIS, but I believe they're geared towards younger students.

I dont see those type of options as great for honeymoons. You are touring around from like 8am-late afternoon with set places to go for meals, etc. And you stick out as a tourist like a sore thumb. It;s not difficult to plan your own trip, you just need to research extensively.

After you're there, you can hire guides for tours when you want them without being confined to a rushed itinerary the whole time! After you book your flight and hotel, you can research different tours and things to do during the day. good luck!

sarilynnep

I agree with the prior posters. If you want to go anywhere in Europe, you need to do a good bit of research and get a travel book. They will tell you everything you need to know. A decent tour where you don't have to really plan anything is probably beyond your budget. Not to mention the issues that phfiely listed above. It's not an ideal honeymoon. I have been to Europe numerous times and never heard of pre-packaged plans for Europe that you are describing unless you do a full on tour.

As far as just going and wandering around aimlessly, that is the point of going to Europe. You can plan to go to certain sites, but the best thing to do in Europe IS to wander around aimlessly. Soak in the sites, the sounds, smells, etc.

I would also say that although I am definitley a beach person, but I would never go all the way to Europe for just a beach. There is too much to see to just head to a beach for more than 2 or 3 days. And I would only go to beach in Europe if I was there for 10 plus days and had the time to see other sites.

In my opinion, going to Europe with minimal research and planning is just not realistic if you want to get the most out of it....

sprinkles27

Read Frommers guide of Italy. It will tell you about hotels, how to get around and lots of great information.

ItalyAsh

hello - Have you found what you are looking for?  While Italy does not have "all inclusive packages" per se, you can certainly have all of the details taken care of for you through a travel specialist.  I think that if you want to enjoy the beach and the magnificent natural beauty of Italy without necessarily doing all the "touristy" things, that is just fine. It is your honeymoon after all.  Let me know if you would like some advice on places and options.