Helping plan daughter's honeymoon with Tripmasters.com

I always book directly with airlines and usually with hotels. Why go though a middle man which makes it especially difficult if there are any problems.
Pompeii, take a commuter train Sorrento to entrance of Pompeii.
And you take a fast train from Rome to Naples, then switch to a commuter train , bus or private driver.
Airport into city of Rome,a flat rate taxi or rome-limousine.com. This is all so easy to book online. There is lots of help available here too.

Had not been aware of tripmasters until now. I could not find a way to replicate the itinerary you outline, so will proceed on the assumption it can be done. Airfare for two and 9 nights hotel and the airport transfers in Rome looks like a good deal.

Food, admissions and in country travel you describe should be less than an additional $2-3k. If they choose to be lavish I am sure they can spend more

Be sure you know what baggage is included in the air part of the package.

Where are the hotels in relation to the central tourist areas?

Suki, thank you for your advice. I guess I just like the ease of booking through a third party, but will certainly take your suggestions under consideration!

Karan6184, remember when there was a vovanic eruption in Iceland that caused transatlantic flights to be canceled and messed up hotel reservations all over Europe?. Guess who were taken care of first by airlines and hotels? Those who had booked directly with them. This is just one case. Think hurricanes, blizzards, etc. This is a very simple itinerary to book yourselves.

Heed the words of Suki.

Suki is wise. There are many reports from travelers who used third party bookers who have trouble getting problems resolved. Book direct.

The exception I would make is for a professional planner like https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/. This is a person who books direct for you, works out the details of an itinerary, and is there to support the traveler in case of problems.

Congratulations to you & your daughter!

I would try doing it on your own. Do a search for flights using a fare finder site, good way to compare which airlines fly from your area. Then use a site like booking.com for hotel dates. Then you will see it is worth it. If you decide doing it on your own is cheaper, don't book on booking until you compare the cost with booking it directly from the hotels website. It was almost always cheaper to book directly from the hotels website. Do the same thing for flights.

It is a lot more steps but I saved a lot doing it all separate.

Happy planning!

Congrats!

Things to think about:
Luggage fee's with 3rd party international flights
Increase charges for hotel upgrades
rental car upgrades (typically you get a manual an automatic is upgrade)
Seating arrangements and charges for seats on the flights
Layovers-plane changes= cheaper =less time on the ground

We are doing a self-guided 14 days (appox 12 with travel) including Milan, Florence, Rome and Naples. So far my airfare (non-stop on British Airways) and accommodations is $ 2666.81

While September is the beginning of Shoulder Season, there are some attractions (Borghese Gallery is one example) that should not be booked "after arrival." They are simply too popular. OTOH, I wonder if you have done enough research to understand how trivial it is to do Pompeii on your own from Sorrento? It's just easier, cheaper, and better as an independent trip. (Setting aside the issue of whether one wants a professional guide at the site itself.) It is extremely wise to sleep in Rome the night before departure. After many years of travel, I personally would take a day or two from the front-end Rome and add it to the back end, just so it's not just a wasted travel day or a night at an airport hotel. (In fairness, the time of the flight home is a real factor. But it's usually possible to sleep downtown in most European cities before departure.)

I wonder if I should ask why you are planning the honeymoon and not the couple or the husband doing it? (I planned our honeymoon in 1980, pre-internet.)

I used Tripmasters last year to book our family of 4 from Greenville, SC to Munich. I just used them for flight & hotel-we went to Salzburg also, but I booked that B & B and the train trip myself. A friend who recommended them suggested that I call to book rather than do it online, which I did. This allowed me to get breakfast for both of our rooms when the online option would only give breakfast for one. The price was the main reason I used them and would do so again, but be sure to review hotel and flight info carefully. We had a tight connection in Atlanta that I would not have booked myself and should have caught before booking-we made it but I was sweating a bit. The hotel option should be reviewed for location and quality. I looked at the hotels I was interested in on Tripadvisor and Hotels.com to read other reviews before selecting one. Good luck!

karan,

I agree with the others and prefer to book directly with airlines and hotels directly, rather than through a third party website. I've seen a few posts here over the years from people who had trouble getting problems dealt with, as hotels and the website services just pass the buck.

Your Itinerary looks reasonably good. Where on "the Amalfi Coast" are you planning to tour?

The easiest way to get to Sorrento is to take a high speed train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale (either Freccia or Italo), and then transfer to either the Campania Express or the Circumvesuviana (watch your luggage carefully if you use that). You could also use a private transfer from Napoli to Sorrento.

Piling on here, Karan, I would listen up to the wise advance to book the flights directly with the airlines. As the others have said, booking through 3rd parties can be a real headache if problems arise with those flights. You want to be working with the airlines and not the 3rd party if that happens!

Also, book flights on the same airlines or codeshare family airlines if direct flights aren't possible. That helps ensure that connection times are usually adequate - don't book very tight connections! - and bags will be transferred through to the final destination. If for some reason a connection falls apart due to, say, aircraft delay, the airline will be responsible for getting them on the next available flight without penalty IF they're booked through on the same airline or codeshare family.

Hotels: I have used booking.com a lot for our European hotel arrangements and haven't had any issues, although more and more hotels, even small ones, do have their own websites now for booking directly. I'm a bit curious as well why the happy couple aren't making their own arrangements but maybe this is a wedding gift? :O)

I guess I just don't understand why anyone would want to use a travel agent for something that is so easy to do on your own. With the dawn of the internet, making flight and hotel bookings is a piece of cake. Also, I am very particular about the hotels I choose as that makes or breaks the experience for me. I wouldn't want someone else making those choices for me.

I also am curious if this is a real post, or an attempt to advertise tripmasters. I hope not.

You need to check airline tickets immediately after purchase to be sure the names match the names on the passports exactly. Nothing can be off, even by one letter when leaving the States. Be sure the computer didn’t revert back to another spelling. No Bill for William. You have 24 hours during which you can cancel and rebook the tickets free of charge. So if this 3rd party does your tickets, be sure you have access to see them immediately. You’ll have to cancel the whole package. Be sure the hotels allow the cancellation if everything is linked. After 24 hours, correcting names on a ticket can cost from $200 to the full price of the ticket.

I had my name troncated on a ticket last monh and had to cancel and reissue. The credit card was reimbursed one week later for the defective ticket.

Thank you for all the responses and advice. I should state that I am just assisting in the planning (doing some of the leg work), the groom has contacted a travel agent for comparison purposes. The first itinerary was for Economy seating, but I know they will want to pick their seats so they can sit together...so that won't work.
I am going to take the advice and look at booking myself and passing that info. along to the couple.
I have always just used Expedia and have had a good experience.

I have always just used Expedia and have had a good experience.

Understood. I just don't know if you've done so for International flights? Speaking strictly for myself and spouse, we're more cautious with those due to the considerable expense of those flights + overall trip, and for having support from the airline itself in a foreign country, should we need it. I also only make hotel bookings which can be cancelled without penalty up to 48-24 hours or so in advance.

In addition, the couple should make sure they have good travel medical insurance, OK?

“The first itinerary was for Economy seating, but I know they will want to pick their seats so they can sit together...so that won't work.”

Where do you get that idea? You can always pick your seats in economy. Rules vary according to the airlines. Seat selection in Economy is typically free within 24 hours if the flight on the airlines I use. If they really want to sit together, then pay the small extra fee to reserve in advance.

To take some of the guesswork out of picking flights use this site. You can't purchase here but thru the individual airlines. So make a note of flight #s and departure/arrival times.

https://matrix.itasoftware.com/#search:research=ORDFCO-FCOORD

I've put in my home airport for comparison, using your dates, with available seats. If you click on search, it will show all the airlines at the top of the page. Right now, it's showing a price range of $876-1018. For non stop flights. Click on the airline of choice, and the first one is usually non stop.

Hope this helps.

Here are some hotels in Rome that folks on the forum have recommend over the years.
The first is a little off the beaten path, but has good access to bus and metro. Quieter neighborhood. The others are in centrally located neighborhoods.

http://www.booking.com/Share-V8fR9R5

http://www.booking.com/Share-hFiL2c

http://www.booking.com/Share-VPyXhe

http://www.booking.com/Share-UExmcF

http://www.booking.com/Share-dO0dA1

Sorrento for your dates is probably going to be more expensive than Rome.

Please listen to Suki. If something gets fouled up, there's no better way to address it than directly with the service provider. Trying to do it through a third party will drive a preacher to drink.