Honeymoon in Italy: Venice, Tuscany/Umbria, Rome?

Question: Why not fly into Venice and out of Rome? You'd save two days travel and when you add in the train tickets probably cost less.

unfortunately, we booked our flights in and out of Milan awhile back when I was pretty uneducated on the whole trip which was a big mistake it seems. I can change the flight but it's $210.00 per person change fee, plus difference in cost of the flights :-( then, i'd lose the $200 room I booked in Milan the night before our flight, for a total loss of about $620 plus whatever the difference in cost of flights would be edit: it also looks like Aer Lingus doesn't fly to Venice from Boston, MA :-(

Sorry. It looks very good otherwise. Sleeping three to four nights everywhere will reduce stress enormously. Make sure you allow ample time in Milan the first day for your plane to be late or customs to be on alert etc. Drop off the car on the outskirts of Rome or maybe at Assisi. Actually taking the train from Florence or Sienna might not be a bad idea. Driving Rome is not for the faint of heart, or even the brave but realistic. You are skipping Florence (my favorite) but I'm assuming your are not Renaissance art museum fans, and that omission is purposeful. You will love Tuscany.

Looking at your itinerary, when is it that you're going to enjoy wandering around in Montepulciano? You're there for 4 nights, but plan on seeing four cities/towns. I prefer a slower approach myself. I would drop Perugia and maybe Assisi, even though I really loved Assisi.

If you want to rent a car in Tuscany, the Hotel Minerva in Siena has an enclosed garage parking right on the property. Some rooms have views of the Siena skyline - very close by. The hotel is at one of the city gates, easy enough to get in and out of town for daytrips, and a short walk will get you into the center of the city without worrying about ZTLs. After the daytrippers leave Siena, the old streets and beautiful squares are very romantic. Montepulciano is beautiful, however. If you will be in Assisi for more than a daytrip, a nice side trip is Spello, about 7km away (there's actually a footpath from the Rocca Maggiore fortress at the top of one of Assisi's hills to Spello, some friends of mine on their honeymoon walked it and took the train back to Assisi).

Dan, this is a triple posting. You've got responses going in all three. You might delete the two that only have one comment so far, so you don't have to keep checking all three and to avoid confusion by those trying to give suggestions.

As Michael mentioned, this is triple posting. Here is the reply I left in another version, in an atempt to consolidate. You are smart to plan to sleep in only three places! I have not been to Bologna yet, so others may have more insight, but it seems to me you have enough going on that stopping there is an "outlier" for your trip. Why Bologna when there is so much else on your list? Tuscany and Umbria: It took us two trips and about 13 nights to see most of what you have pinned in blue and green. Admittedly, almost half of that was by train and bus, not car. Remain flexible and don't be too disappointed if you cannot fit it all in. The drive from Montepulciano to Montalcino is fabulous, stopping in Pienze, San Quirico d'Orcia, etc. Check http://www.gemut.com/ for car arrangements. Very helpful folks and best rates I found. We picked up in Siena and dropped off in Orvieto on one trip. I'm confident you can pick up a car in Montepulciano, but I haven't researched that. Check with your B&B or hotel about parking. Many include parking in a public lot in their rates. If you don't have lodging in Tuscany and Rome yet, you need to take action. October is still a busy time. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage and buon viaggio!

thanks for notifying about the triple post! I don't know how that happened. Here is Karen's post from the other thread so this is now the consolidated one: Karen: "In Montepulciano we stayed at Hotel Mueble Il Riccio. We first parked below in a lot and had quite a hike to the top of the hill and town. The owners gave us a special pass so we could unload and then move the car to a side lot near the hotel. The hotel was fine but when we stayed in 2008 the hotel was using plastic mattress covers that we found annoying. We preferred Hotel El Giglio in Montalcino as we got the beautiful patio room and enjoyed the ambiance more. We parked in a lot not too far away and visited many lovely wineries. However there are less dining options there. I have found that I personally prefer the countryside in the day but in the evenings I like a larger town for strolling in and dining. Our favorite for that is Orvieto. Last year, on our sixth visit to Italy, we stayed in Bologna for somewhere new and many on this forum like it, but we found it a bit grimy and had better food in Ferrara."