Honeymoon Itinerary Help

A day and a half in Venice (plus the major backtracking involved) in late June would not be worth it, IMHO. If something has to give to fit your tight timeframe, this is the destination that I would drop. There will be other trips........Happy married life, young man!

If you have not already purchased your tickets, I would recommend that you fly into Venice vice Milan on Monday and spend 2 nights there (Mon/Tue). On Wednesday get the train to Vernazza and stay 3 nights. Saturday train to Florence with stop in Pisa. Stay in Florence until Wednesday lunch time (day trip to Siena one of these days) and then the remaining time in Rome and fly home from there. I have to agree that backtracking to Venice is going to use up one of your most valuable travel assets.....time.

Speaking from experience, if you are having any sort of big occasion wedding you will probably be exhausted for the first few days after. The excitement levels of the wedding can be really sapping. I would urge you to take things quite slowly at the beginning so that you enjoy the rest of your honeymoon.

I second the idea of starting in Venice. It's a wonderful city to recover from jet lag. Judy's suggested itinerary sounds perfect to me, although I might shift one of her Florence days to Venice (especially since it's your honeymoon and Venice is soooo romantic).

John,

My suggestion would be a more logical route, similar to the one that Judy suggested. The Itinerary you've proposed is very inefficient and involves a fair amount of "backtracking". Your trip appears to be about 14 days and with such a short trip, an efficient and logical travel route is essential!

My suggestion would be along these lines:

Jun. 27-Su: Depart U.S.

Jun. 28-Mo: Arrive Venice / VCE (use Alilaguna Water Bus to Venice?)

Jun. 29/30-Tu/We: Tour Venice (you'll have to pace yourselves, as you'll be jet lagged)

Jul. 1/2-Th/Fr: Train to Florence; Touring Florence (reservations for Uffizi & Accademia would be a REALLY good idea if you plan to visit there)

Jul. 3-Su: Train to C.T. via Pisa (you can determine the train details later but allow at least 2-3 hours if you're seeing the Tower); continue to Vernazza; arrive ~14:30.

Jul. 4/5/6-Mo/Tu/We: Tour Cinque Terre

Jul. 7-Th: Depart ~07:15 for Siena via Pisa & Empoli, arrive ~14:15 (3 changes, reservations compulsory on one section). Taking a Taxi from the station to the city (which is on a hill) is the quickest method.

Jul. 8-Fr: Tour Siena

Jul. 9-Sa: Train to Rome. This will be a full day! I found one train departing ~07:30, arriving Roma Termini at 15:58 (time 8H:26M, one change, reservations compulsory). This train has a layover in Pisa, so you might fit the visit to Pisa in here instead.

Jul. 10/11/12-Su/Mo/Tu: Tour Rome. Plan your touring carefully and pace yourselves as there's LOTS to see. Packing a copy of the Italy 2010 Guidebook would be a good idea as it's great for reference.

Jul. 13-We: Flight home (use Leonardo Express from Termini to FCO - €11 PP)

This Itinerary would fit all the places that you had on your list, but of course you'll have to adjust it to fit your time frame. This is a bit of a "blitz" so you could drop one place to provide a more relaxing trip.

Congratulations and happy travels!

To catch the train from Venice to Cinque Terre is a really long trip. I like your itinerary John, but agree that both Sienna and Venice in the middle is a lot. Have you considered skipping Sienna and adding Lucca which is directly on the train line to Florence, then going direct from Florence to Venice. Much more restful.

I think what I'm going to do is extend our stay in CT, eliminate Venice, have Florence and Siena, and then do our time in Rome. On a future trip we'll hit Venice using night trains, but it is out of the way on this journey.

Hey John:

Firstly, congratulations to you and your bride to be!

Secondly, your revised itinerary looks great. While Venice is quite lovely, opting to enjoy it another time is a wise decision. The CT will give you an opportunity to kick-back and relax with each other.

Have a wonderful wedding, honeymoon and most importantly...marriage.

Take care.

I agree with your revision leaving off Venice at this time. May also leave out Pisa and spend more time in florence. would rather spend half day in fiesole then Pisa

Sounds great, couple of suggestions.Skip Pisa not worth it on a tight schedule. Maybe consider taking the bus to Siena from Florence , taking the express one is a nice drive and it may put in better spot for your hotel. Have you booked Vernazza yet?

I haven't booked anything yet unfortunately. Although there is a slight chance I might add an extra week onto the whole affair!

John, we just got back mid october, and spent three nights in Vernazza. We enjoyed a nice small room overlooking the piazza in Francamaria rooms. They are on the web. Try to get room one or two, very few steps, great veiw, nice room. Jeff

Check out Maria Capelini rooms at trip advisor.com. Book the charming Room , no stairs great people.

skip Pisa. too much. Don't take train to Siena- take the bus-- if you really must fit that in too.