Honeymoon Europe Nov - Dec 2015

Regarding your proposed itinerary number one:
You should look at your time schedule with regard for the fact that getting from one country to the other will require most of, if not all, a day. This will reduce the amount of time you have to spend in any one location. The time of year you will be traveling means that the weather might not be optimal for outdoor sightseeing activities either. I would suggest you decide which things in each country you find most valuable to do or see, and then refine your travel plans to accommodate those activities. Europe is a much larger place than you are imagining, and you are not allowing sufficient time for transit between locations. The help you will get from this travel forum will be much better if you can suggest what things are important to you, and which sightseeing locations you want to see in each country. Suggesting two days in a country is much too vague to elicit helpful comments. Try for a starter reading Rick's flagship book, "Europe Through the Back Door" and then come back with more definite plans.

First of all, congratulations!!!

It would help to have a bit of further information on your circumstances. For example.....

• Where are you flying from?
• What is the exact duration of your trip (I'm assuming about 10 days)?
• Do you have a preference for cities in Italy and France?

Of your two ideas, my preference is Door No. 1, with some modifications. With a short time frame, I'd suggest no more than three cities, perhaps with a few day trips. If this is your first trip to Europe, my first suggestion would be to read Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip, as that has a lot of good information on "how" to travel well in Europe. After that use the country-or city-specific guidebooks to plan hotels, transportation, sightseeing, etc.

With more information, I'm sure the group here will be able to answer the questions you've listed.

First things first...Congratulations! Now for reality - Idea 1 will not allow you see everything you have listed while idea 2 is a little more tenable. We went to Italy for our honeymoon in early November 2012. We spent 3 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Florence and 5 nights in Rome. My general rule is to try to spend 2-3 nights in one location. Here is an example itinerary for your idea 1:

Nov 26 - Fly from US to Rome
27 - Arrive Rome (and fight jet lag) - Hotel Smeraldo near Campo de Fiore
28 - Rome
29 - Rome
30 - Early morning flight to Paris (approx 2 hours, skyscanner.net for cheap airfares) - Hôtel Les Jardins d'Eiffel near Rue Cler
Dec 1 - Paris
2 - Paris
3 - Early morning train to Amsterdam (Thalys high speed train 3+ hours; as low as as 35 euros per person) - Hotel Fita
4 - Amsterdam
5 - Amsterdam
6 - fly home

On Nov 30 and Dec 3 you will lose at least 1/2 day travelling between cities. I left out Belgium because you really don't have enough days to spend much time there. This obviously limits the amount of time you have to actually enjoy each city. You can book the trains 120 days in advance to save yourself some money. One thing to bear in mind - the weather probably won't be too great in northern Europe and will be slightly better in the south. Happy to answer more questions.

Good news: you will be on your honeymoon & your 1st trip to Europe- it will be fantastic!

Not so good stuff:

You have 2 to many countries- cut it down & enjoy the trip- you WILL be back!

It gets very dark very early in December

Congrats!! We wish you the best and can't think of a better place for a honeymoon than Europe. Remember this. It almost always takes more time to go from any one place to another than anticipated. As a result, a certain amount of time is going to be lost in transit and you want to keep that to a minimum. Since this is your honeymoon, and considering the amount of time you have, our suggestion is that you limit yourselves to only two places. Fly into Venice (very romantic and very unique) and then finish up in Rome which is also romantic but totally different. We've spent a good bit of time in both places so let us know if you need specific information.

Ten days, not long, thinking cap on, honeymoon, LET'S GO !!

City Nightlife Option
London (4 nights)
Amsterdam (3 nights)
Berlin (3 nights)

Romantic Paris & Italy Option
Paris (3 nights)
Venice (2 nights)
Florence (2 nights)
Rome (3nights)

Scenic Swiss Option
London (4 nights)
Geneva (1 night)
Zermatt (1 night) then Glacier Express train to
St Moritz (1 night)
Lucerne (2 nights)
Zurich (1 night)

Sunny Spanish Option
Barcelona (3 nights)
Granada (2 nights)
Sevilla (2 nights)
Madrid (3 nights)

You picked a heck of a time of the year to visit Europe. Most people don't realize that NYC and Rome are at about the same latitude. Its freeking cold. That being said, all is not lost. I would do all sorts of research and find a place or places that celebrate the weather or have a lot of really interesting (to you) inside events. We go to Europe in the winter because we enjoy the Operas and Concerts, wine bars and great food for instance and the winter is the high season for such things. We also go places with great thermal baths and ice skating on the lake. We once went to Moscow in January for Orthodox Christmas and Jerusalem in December for the first day of Hanukkah. So look for the special moments and events you can become part of. Don't believe any place is sunny and warm. For instance if you interpolate the November and December averages for "sunny" Barcelona you might have 5 hours of sunshine a day, a 20% chance of rain and temperatures between 45F and 60F. So find an attraction or attractions and go participate.

But with the time you have, and since its a honeymoon if it were me I would keep it to two locations.

Hello jainmolshree. In a honeymoon trip, I think frequent travelling, checking in and out of hotels, is not a good idea. I guess you will arrive at an airport in Europe the second day in your trip. You will have 8 whole days at Europe, not including the day you arrive at an airport in Europe. In the last few days in November, and first week in December, I think a good place for a honeymoon is Taormina on the island Sicily for five nights, and Rome for 3 nights. At Taormina, hotel Villa Belvedere is wonderful. It is at the top of a cliff, 500 Meters above the Mediterranean Sea, with a big patio, green trees, swimming pool, buffet lunch at the patio. It is near a cable gondola for a ride down to the beach. Taormina has an ancient theatre with a view of Mt. Etna, and a botanical gardens on a hill, artistic churches, ... Sicily is not as cold as the other places in Europe that you mentioned, the days you will be at Europe.

Sicily: 47 to 60F, 7 to 8 hours of daylight and 15 days of rain each month. http://www.holiday-weather.com/sicily/averages/

Thank you guys so much for taking interest and bearing with my ignorance.

I knew i am over reaching while typing the first idea but i just wanted to put it out there...
Will definitely read backdoor and then get back with more specific questions.

Meanwhile some more details..
1. Wel fly to and from Mumbai - India.
2. How can i get a fair estimate of the travel time between cities and countries - google map? Ricks book??
3. I am not sure what i "must" see since all of europe is so gorgeous... So maybe suggest what i must cover?!
4. Geographically speaking is italy-france or italy-france-spain is more doable in 8-10 days?

Thank you all once again!
Will definitely get back after more reading.

Try using rome2rio.com for a start on getting from place to place. You can use the German train site bahn.de to find train schedules from city to city.

The big Christmas markets start at the end of November. Look at some of the threads on this forum for ideas.

There's no scenic beauty at that time of year . . . winter takes its toll on the countryside, so not much to look at, even if you get a little good weather.

I wouldn't rule out Rome based on the earlier comment about very cold weather. I've been to Rome several times in the winter, and each time the weather has been mild with occasional rain. I hate cold weather, and I found Rome to be very pleasant. In fact each time, it was warmer when I left Rome than when I arrived back home in San Francisco.

Being your honeymoon, and first time to Europe I would recommend Paris and Italy ...
From Mumbai
Fly to Paris for 3 nights
Fly to Venice (1hr 40min) for 2 nights (remember time to get to the airport, check-in, security)
Train to Florence (2hrs) for 2 nights
Train to Rome (1hr 30min) for 3 nights

Hello great people!
So we have set out hearts on BENELUX. Its quite a deviation from what I first asked here but I think my heart wanted Amsterdam then and wants it now <3

Like you guys suggested, I will stick to only 2-3 cities (as Bob said ..i WILL be back!!) in the given time frame which means - Based out of Amsterdam + Brugges + Brussels and Day trips or lesser time in other smaller cities like Ghent, Antwerp, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Maastricht, The Hague and Luxemborg.
I know this is still a rough draft and needs a proper Itinerary to make the best use of time..so yes..work in progress.

Any comments/suggestions on the above please?

Also very tempted to fly in / fly out of Paris and spend a few hours there. Lots of people have said its overrated and not worth it but its PARIS and I am 6 hours awayy...should I let it go?!

Definitely fly in to Paris, and out of Amsterdam, with Belgium in between.
Paris (3 nts) will give you an idea at least if you like Paris
Brussels/Bruges/Ghent (3 nts) decide how you want to split your time
Amsterdam (4 nts) with day trip to The Hague

I agree with djp. Fly into Paris and out of Amsterdam or vice versa. Either way, 3 or 4 nights in Amsterdam and Paris with Belgium in between. There are fast trains between Amsterdam/Brussels/Paris that make it a breeze. I would spend at least one night in Bruges.

Good plan for Benelux, and Paris too. It's definitely "worth it" if you're willing to give it a few days. Paris may have its detractors, but we encounter more people, on this board anyway, who'd love to spend a month there, or have already done so.

By sticking to a compact area and flying open-jaw, you're minimizing travel time and maximizing enjoyment of the places you flew so far to see. The Thalys high-speed train will take you between Paris and Brussels in under three hours.

And by sticking to big cities, you're minimizing the discomforts of winter weather and maximizing the chance to see and do indoor things like concerts, opera, nightlife, and such. I'd add museums to that list but you're less interested in them.

Congratulations to you both!