11-Day Honeymoon Venice - Rome

Donna, Ron, Nicole, and Ken: Thanks all for the advice and well-wishes! The hotels are booked, the train tickets purchased and we are ready to go! Cheers,
Greg

I would do 3 nights in Venice, 4 in Florence and 4 in Rome. Do Pisa as a daytrip from Florence and skip Naples. A lot of time is wasted packing up and checking in/out of hotels so keep it to a minimum. As tempting as it is to cram in as many cities as possible just focus on a couple. "The big three" can easily keep you busy for 11 days and there a many possibilites for day trips from each one.

Brilliant! Almost exactly what we were planning. Thanks so much for the quick response. Do you recommend buying train tickets in advance between the cities; and are there any particular trains you'd avoid? As far as we are concerned, the faster the train, the better. Thanks,
Greg

I agree with the timeline set out above. As for train tickets you can buy the tickets for all of the trains except the regional train which you will probably use from Florence to Pisa. If you buy in advance you can save lots of money by getting the mini fares. Just be sure your travel dates and times are set as the change restrictions for these tickets are very restrictive. Donna

Just to keep it interesting, I'd suggest 4 nights Venice, 2 nights Florence and 5 Rome. But honestly if it were me, I'd probably do 7 Venice and 4 Rome.

We had 5 days in Rome and took a day trip to Naples for Herculaneum and Vesuvius, so it's doable, and we enjoyed it, but looking back, I prob would have used that day in Rome anyway as we kinda rushed thru stuff (it was our 1st trip, and didn't know better). And have been to Venice 2 times and returning this year again - 3 nights would be perfect. We spent a few hrs in Pisa to see the Tower, and can't speak for Florence (we are going this year for the 1st time). Have an awesome honeymoon - you picked a great country to visit!

Greg, As your preference for trains is "the faster the train, the better", you can save money by purchasing the discounted "Mini" fares in advance. However, these often sell-out quickly. One other point to note is that tickets on the "Freccia" (fast) trains all require compulsory reservations and tickets are specific to a particular train and departure time. If you miss that train, the pre-purchased tickets are useless and you'll have to buy new ones at full fare. If you're caught without a reservation for the fast train you're riding on, you may be fined on the spot (and it won't be cheap)! Tickets can be purchased on the Trenitalia website, but some here have reported a few "issues" with the purchase process. You may find it helpful to have a look at the excellent Ron In Rome website, as that has an extensive tutorial on buying tickets. You can also purchase tickets from the automated Kiosks or at staffed ticket offices when you arrive in Italy. Mini tickets MUST be purchased prior to midnight at least 48-hours prior to departure. At that late date, the cheapest tickets will probably already be sold out. If you're travelling on any Regionale trains (including the Leonardo Express from Rome to the airport), these MUST be validated in the yellow machine prior to boarding, or you may be fined on the spot! If you're using a B.I.G. ticket for the Metro / Bus in Rome, these also MUST be validated once prior to first use. There are other tickets, but I normally use the B.I.G. (daily) tickets, which expires at midnight each day. Congratulations on your marriage! Happy travels!!!

Greg, One further comment.... My suggestion would be 3 nights in Venice, 3 or 4 nights in Florence (with a day trip via Bus to Siena) and 4 or 5 nights in Rome (with a day trip to Orvieto). While it is possible to take a day trip to Pompeii from Rome, it's a VERY LONG day and not something I'd suggest unless you're intensely interested in the history of Pompeii. It would be better to plan another visit to that area on a future trip, and stay in Sorrento for a few days. From there you could also visit the posh island of Capri, hike up Mt. Vesuvius or have a look at Naples. Cheers!