Honeymoon cost
Hi Ladies,
So FI and I are loosely planning our honeymoon to Italy for two weeks. Air fare is going to be at least $3,000 total round trip for both of us (that cost is the fore sure one I know). We of course want to do a LOT of things in Italy and its looking like about a $7,000 trip! Is this normal? Has anyone gone to Italy who would know more? We would like to visit, Florence, Venice, and Rome for sure. We are also looking at going to the Mediterranean as well and possibly if time allows, northern Italy near the Alps. Would going to a travel agent help us figure out cost? Cause online its looking pretty steep. Please keep in mind the other $4,000 (which seems like a LOT to me) includes; hotel, transportation (car, boat, train, bike, etc), food, site seeing tickets, spending money, and anything else that we may do/need.
Re: Honeymoon cost
that's completely reasonable...generally i like to allot $200-250/night for hotels (and that's a regular trip, not a honeymoon). So if you're doing two weeks, assume you'll spend $3k on hotels. Italy isn't cheap, unless you go in February, and even then the exchange rate makes it pricey. it's your honeymoon - provided that you have the cash to pay for it, do it! but don't go into debt for it, or assume your cash wedding gifts will cover the cost, or anything like that. that would be bad for your future.
For reference, i went to italy in 2009 with my mom and spent $3k - but keep in mind that i used miles for my flight and hotel points for 8 of the 16 nights we were there (mom paid for the other nights). That $3k was basically 100% train fare, food, shopping, and entertainment. and to be fair, mom probably picked up more than her fair share of the food costs as well. even though i was 27 at the time, and gainfully employed, she still couldn't really accept me sharing some of the expenses! We did go to London/Paris last year, and she actually agreed to spilt it about 50/50, so she's coming around. :-)
We did 2 weeks in Ireland & the trip was in the same price ranges you're talking about. Don't fret; it's your HM. As long as you're not going into debt for it, you'll be fine.
Heck, I'm trying to plan a 2 week trip to Hawaii & can't figure out how I'm going to do this for less than $12-$15k.
DH and I traveled to Italy this past May (middle of the month). I had originally worked with a travel agent because our trip included three cities, trains, planes, and automobiles. When I ran the numbers myself, I was able to shave off a couple thousand dollars from her original quote. Even though I had to do the work myself (which I love), it saved us a bunch in the end.
I was pleasantely suprised at the cost of hotels at that time of the year. I spent about $150/night in a nice hotel 3 blocks from the Duomo in Florence (Art Atilier Hotel). I picked that hotel because it was within walking distance of the train station (no need to get at taxi). I also spent about $450 for 4 nights in a beautiful 2-bedroom apartment in Tuscany (near Montepulciano). The rental car for four days probably ran us about $600. That includes the cost of $150 in gas and a GPS (very useful tool).
Raileurope.com can give you price information for all your train travel. If you book through them, you will be paying a heft surcharge ($30). But I didn't want to wait until I got there to book tickets. The site was great for mapping out itineraries.
The food was also pretty reasonable as well. You can save money by doing cheaper meals here and there. We cooked a tasty pasta dinner one night in our apartment. The other night we just did cheese, cured meats, and bread for dinner. DH loves wine and he found that the house wines served in the restaurants were usually of high quality at lower prices.
Yes, we went in May (over Memorial Day weekend) from the East coast...and the flights were $1,200 each. I think the flights can vary in price pretty widely seasonally and depending on what part of the mainland you are coming from - also if you have to add island-to-island flights, etc.
Keep in mind that food there is VERY pricey. Especially in hotel restaurants. So you're going to want to work that into your budget as well.
I'm super jealous of your cost! We're going to St. Lucia for 4 days in December and it's costing us $3k. But it's for a wedding, so that's allowed under my current "shopping and travel probation" budget. :-)