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13 day honeymoon help needed

Posted by on

Hello all, I just booked flights and will be slowly filling in the details. I am more of the "pack the day full" type of traveler and my fiance is more of relaxed pace type of person. I have been to Rome as a teenager but my future husband has never been to Italy. I have been reading through other itineraries to get ideas. But wondering if I am trying to fit too much in and if we should perhaps slow down? We plan to travel exclusively by train unless it seems we need a car and are a fit late 20s/early 30s couple. I just bought the Rick Steeves 2018 book and plan to read through that as well but want to get some feedback before I go booking hotels.

Sun April 22: Arrive in Venice around 9am, plan to relax/ explore around hotel, not sure how much is available as a tourist on a Sunday
Mon April 23: Venice
Tues April 24: Venice
Wed April 25: Travel via train to Cinque Terre (would it make more sense to go to Florence First)
Thur April 26: Cinque Terre
Fri April 27: Train to Florence
Sat April 28: Florence
Sun April 29: Florence/ possible day trip to Pisa
Mon April 30: Bus from Florence to Siena
Tues May 1: Spend day in Siena then head to Rome early evening
Wed May 2: Day at the Vatican (we are Catholic so going to go marriage blessing in the morning and then plan to tour St. Peters in afternoon)
Thur May 3: Borghese Gallery (I have yet to make reservations)
Fri May 4: Colosseum/Pantheon/ whatever else we have missed
Sat May 5th: Fly home in AM

Thank you in advance for your help!!!

Posted by
699 posts

Here's how I would tweak it. I would do Sienna as a day trip from Florence . If you are set on staying overnight, I would do it before Florence so you can take the train from Florence to Rome. We took a lovely day trip that included Sienna, Pisa , a hill town and lunch at a winery. Yes, it was a little rushed but we enjoyed it. If you don't want to do a tour, I would still just base yourself in Florence .
I also would skip Cinque Terre and add that day to Rome. Others may say 2 days in Venice is too much but I think it is a charming city that is wonderful for wandering and it will set a nice relaxed tone for your trip.
I remember my wedding and honeymoon . Was very glad we had a more relaxed start to our trip as we were both exhausted from the wedding.
You might want to attend Mass at St. Marks in Venice. It was lovely.The entrance is on the side of the cathedral away from the canal. You will not see the whole cathedral, but they do allow a short amount of time after Mass to look around discretely.
Enjoy.

Posted by
4833 posts

It sounds like a good plan if you do not mind going full speed during the entire honeymoon. You might want to consider, however, cutting back the number of places you visit. Perhaps eliminate Pisa and / or Siena and maybe even the Cinque Terre. Then just concentrate on Venice, Florence, and Rome. The rational for that suggestion is that it usually takes much longer to go from one place to another than one anticipates. It's not just the travel time, it's also the time spent checking out of the hotel, getting to the train or bus station, getting to the new hotel, checking in, and etc. Considering the stress and frantic activities associated with most weddings, both of you may need / want some downtime to relax and just "be". Don't mean to sound like Debbie Downer, just something to think about. May you love long and prosper.

Posted by
198 posts

I think I would reorder the trip to:

Venice (sleep 3 nights)
Florence (sleep 4 nights) -- day trip to Sienna
Cinque Terre (sleep 2 nights) -- stopover enroute to Pisa
Rome (sleep 4 nights)

1 fewer hotel change and less backtracking. Easier maybe for your "more relaxed pace" fiance?

Posted by
15582 posts

I like Pam's itinerary. CT to Rome can be done without a train change (other than getting to the main CT station from whichever vilage you're staying in). You can either day trip to Pisa from Florence (1/2 day) or stop on the way to the CT and check your luggage at the train station.

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