Italy???

Tiffy1102 · August 2009

Hi knotties!!!Just wondering if any of you are/have been to Italy for their honeymoon? If so, did you book everything separate or did you go through a tour company? We are booking through Liberty Travel but they are suggesting a tour but not sure if I want to be stuck on a schedule or stuck with old people during my honeymoon. We want to do Rome, Venice, Florence, and Capri for 10 days. Any suggestions or comments would be great!!!

kateowen1 · August 2009

If possible, you should definitely stay away from any organized tours - Italy is the land of romance - and like you say, what's romantc about being stuck on a coach with the blue rinse brigade. Really in Venice you can wander around alone - same in Florence and Rome. If you want a guide, you can ask at the actual monument eg. Colosseum for a guided tour. You should try speaking to a specialist in honeymoon travel who can suggest young, hip restaurants etc. to avoid the masses.. We book with WAC Travel who are fabulous! They have a great Italy trip: http://tortribe.com/italyhoneymoon.html which has 20% off and if the price is still a little high, they can adapt something for your budget - good luck!

KappaUCF20 · August 2009

Do not do a tour!!! I've been to Italy twice, and my first trip was a singing tour. While I had fun, it was way too much of a whirlwind and for a honeymoon, it would take a lot of the romance anyway. You're packed into a bus with a million other people like sardines, and you're stuck with them (and also subject to their schedule). Certainly not the best way to visit Europe. Italy is sooo easy to explore on your own that a tour isn't necessary at all. Four cities in 10 days might be a bit much, but if you don't mind going at a really fast pace then I guess it could be done. Just keep in mind that you won't get to see as much in each city, and you may have to skip a lot of the good stuff. Rome needs a minimum of 3 days to see the highlights. Most people recommend 3-4 days there. You could get away with only a day in Venice, two at the most (there isn't a lot to do there). Your best bet is to book everything separately. Purchase your plane tickets directly through the airline. This is really important because if something happens and you booked through a third party website like Travelocity, you might be SOL (the airlines won't be as willing to work with you in that case... if you go to the Nest Travel board, you'll find a lot of horror stories from people who made that mistake). TripAdvisor.com is great for researching hotels and looking up reviews. When we were on our backpacking trip in Europe, we also used www.venere.com a few times. For everything else, all you need to do is read some guidebooks (Rick Steves and Let's Go are the best), and read some good travel forums on websites like fodors.com, frommers.com, and TripAdvisor. GL!

atlcatlover · August 2009

Ditto pp. That is A LOT for 10 days. We spent a week in Rome alone. When you add in the travel time between all those places you will really be limiting what you can see. I'd take another look at things and make some adjustments.

AmoroAgain · August 2009

Remember that Italy is long, but not very wide, so traveling east to west is fast. Traveling north to south- not so much. It is about 3 hours by train from Rome to Florence, and about 4+ hours from Florence to Venice.Personally, I don't think much of Venice, and I know other girls here don't either. I'm not sure where its reputation as the most romantic city came from, but it isn't to me. I would also repeat what others have said, and don't do a tour. Ugh. How is it romantic to spend your entire day with a bunch of strangers being told what to see? It's honestly very, very easy to travel here with the train system. I would give Rome 2-3 days, maybe hit up Capri for a couple of days, and then do Florence. From there, you can do a lot of smaller side trips to amazing, out of the way places that a lot of people don't know about, like Cinque Terre. Or, while in Rome, you could head south to Pompeii or Herculaneum. If you want an idea of how long it takes to train between places, go to www.trenitalia.com change it to English and then start messing around with where you want to go and from which city. Main stations are:Rome- TerminiFlorence- Santa Maria NovellaVenice (in case you really want to go)- Santa LuciaAlso, remember that Europe works on the 24 hour system, so after noon, you have to do the 13, 14, etc. Another tip about using the Trenitalia website- there's a little button on the bottom of the schedules that says "tutte le soluzioni" always hit that. I don't know why, but they don't show you all the options unless you push that button. When you are in a train station, look for the kiosks that are standing apart, and you can purchase your tickets there with cash, credit or bank card- and it can be done in English.

Tiffy1102 · August 2009

Thank you all so much for all of your advise!! I will be sure to take them all into concideration and make a few adjustments. I didn't really want to do a tour thing in Italy, I travel internationally a lot by myself with work so I'm used to be out on my own and you get to see more of the country this way I think.If you don't mind me asking, how much did it all cost for you?

AmoroAgain · August 2009

Tif- it's really going to depend a lot on what time of year you head over. Anytime between June through August is going to be really expensive. If you travel a lot for work, then you know how to find the best deals online. I feel like it's just going to cost you a lot to book through an agent. If you're flexible with your dates, you can get some serious deals on flights. Check tripadvisor for great hotels, that aren't necessarily overly priced.I can't honestly say how much it costs because I live here, so... I can really only tell you that food isn't expensive. You can have an amazing meal (talking 5 course meal here) for 40-50 euros for two, including wine. Train tickets depend greatly on the type of train you take. The long the train takes to get from point a to point b, the cheaper it is. If you take the Eurostar, it's about 50-60 euros per person. Do not pay extra for first class tickets. It's a waste.

KappaUCF20 · August 2009

I agree that the cost varies a lot depending on the season, the type of accommodations you're looking for, price of airfare, etc. All I can tell you is that Italy is a fairly easy country to visit on a small budget. On the last leg of our backpacking trip, my DH and I spent 8 days in Rome for about $1500 (not including plane tickets), and we didn't have to stay in a hostel either. When it comes to restaurants, I find that if you go off the beaten path, prices are usually better. We found a great place down this dark little alley, and we had a huge dinner there with appetizers for about $20 U.S. per person (and we got a free bottle of limoncello with it).

Italy???

Re: Italy???

Choose Another Board

Search Boards