Honeymoon Travel Advice

This is a bad summer for last minute travel to Europe. . Europe is packed from all the pent- up COVID demand, and lodging is expensive and in short supply. Also, August is hot and humid in Italy.
Stay away from the crowds and congestion in Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast. You may not find anything available in Lake Como, based on reports here. Also, folks are reporting that Florence is also extremely crowded. Do some research on Booking.com.
Frankly, I'd stay as north as you can, maybe go to the Alps in Switzerland.
Read recent posts here on the Forum under the Italy and Swiss sections. Get some guidebooks. You are all over the place in your projections. What is your budget and travel style?
Safe travels

Last Sept-Oct, we did Milan-Ravenna-Padova-Turin-Pisa-Siena-Florence. We stayed 2 nights in most, 3 in Florence, 4 in Turin (food festival). If you stay in the smaller towns, there may still be cheap places to stay.

Set up a limited area. Don't try to do everything. Most of the towns in Italy have something going for them. But I would get on booking.com after you figger your itinerary.

Is this your first trip to Italy?

My first reaction is to say "no 1 or 2 night stays." You'll spend way more time than you think moving from one place to another, checking into and out of lodgings, finding your way around each new place...

This may seem too commonplace or stereotypical, but I'd suggest something like Venice-Florence-Rome, with 4 nights in each place. Or Lake Como-Florence-Rome, with a day trip to someplace else in Tuscany (Not to be too pedantic, but Florence is in Tuscany.)

I'm chuckling a bit here, remembering our "honeymoon:" moving from our hometown to our college town (just a few hours after the wedding,) moving into our new apartment, treating the friends who helped us move to pizza, then getting up the next morning to find a job at the local Dairy Queen. Ah, good times!

But we're making up for it now, 55 years later!

Have a wonderful trip, but do slow down a bit.

Thanks everyone! You’d be surprised to know I spent awhile in Florence but that was 12 years ago so my memory is a little blurred. Good advice to slow down and stay away from touristy places. My fiancé has never been to Europe so just want to explore the culture together and are not ones to want to stay somewhere too remote or more where we can’t get out and walk. We love water, exploring and trying/exploring new spots which all of this will be new.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I can see you are planning an active and ambitious trip. A few thoughts and suggestions on your itinerary that might help you in your planning:

• The rule of thumb in transferring cities it is that you will take up to half day in moving locations. For example, the travel time on the train from Florence to Cinque Terre is 2.5 to 3 hours (and that is just the train time). Given you only have 12 days, you may want to reduce the number of locations, planning to spend at least 3 nights in each location.
• If you love being on the water, then choose at least one water location (Lake Como or Cinque Terre). I really like the Amalfi Coast, but with the limited time you have and the transportation challenges, if it were me, I would save it for another time.
  
• Water locations: I have not been to Lake Como, so I can’t provide any personal advice on this area, but RS has some really good video resources. I have been to the Cinque Terre before in early June. Yes, it is crowded and it may be a challenge finding lodging, but I really enjoyed it. I would highly recommend one of the sunset cruises and if you have some time take one of the hikes. While Cinque Terre is crowded during the day, it is lovely in the early morning and evening.
• Tuscany: if you want to relax, wine taste, and take a cooking class, then staying in the countryside in Tuscany is lovely. However, it is challenging to explore without a vehicle. The alternative is to stay in Florence for 3-4 days and take a day trip into the Tuscan countryside. I have done both, the last time staying in Florence and I truly enjoyed staying in one place for 3-4 days rather than splitting 2 days in Florence and Tuscan countryside. Florence has a great food scene and if you decide to go to Florence, private message me and I will provide you with the names of the guides and cooking classes, including a guide that can take you into the countryside.
• Rome: this is one of my favorite cities. While it is crowded and a lot of tourists, it is also a vibrant city with a great local culture. If you have one day, you can hit the highlights, you will just need to curate what you want to see. Rome at night is very romantic.

If Italy is the primary place for your honeymoon and you can alter your flights, it might be more efficient to start in either Milan (for Lake Como) or Florence for Tuscany and then fly out of Rome.

Again, congratulations and all the best for you and your fiancé.

Are your plans flexible? Can you take a honeymoon in September or October when it may less crowded? August is a popular month and you guys will be competing for limited space. Have you thought about enlisting the services of a travel agent who can help you prioritize and organize? Congratulations on your wedding.

What’s easy about Luzern is you can take a direct train (no transfers) from Zürich Flughafen (airport train station) to Luzern (1h 15m): https://www.sbb.ch/en/timetable.html.

You’re trying to see too much. If a place is a hassle to get to cut it out. When multiple connections are involved it makes your day longer and no matter how light you pack it's still cumbersome.

You can fly nonstop from Zurich to Florence. You need four nights in Florence and this includes a day trip to Siena by direct bus (1h 15m). If you explore the Chianti wine region add another night. Also, buy tickets for the Uffizi Gallery now or you won't get in.
The Cinque Terre is also a hassle to get to since a connection is involved but it’s easier than going to Zermatt and Lake Como.
You can take a direct train from Florence (Firenze) SM Novella station to Rome’s (Roma) Termini station (1h 45m): https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html. You want to spend a minimum of four nights there if you include Vatican City. With that said you don’t have time for the Amalfi Coast.

Since you are flying into Zurich, this would be my suggestion for the first part of your trip:

Take the train straight to Luzern as you plan. Spend 2 nights. Then take the Treno Gottardo direct train to Locarno on Lago Maggiore, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland. This train is one of the few that goes over the Alps instead of underneath in a long deep tunnel.

Locarno is a Mecca for sailboat enthusiasts. Here are a few opportunities to consider:

https://www.ticino.ch/en/commons/details/Sailing-schools-and-sailing-clubs/116298.html

This guy will take you out on the lake and have you take the helm:

https://lagomaggiore.cruises/

Lots more possibilities if you look on Google. You can even sleep on a sailboat—-look on AirBnB for options I saw several, at least one with availability’s in late August. I cannot post a link because my iPad defaults to the app, but Google will find it for you).

I suggest 3 nights in Locarno so you have time for sailing and another day for hiking and exploring the nearby Val Verzasca::

https://www.ascona-locarno.com/en/explore/valle-verzasca

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/experiences/verzasca-valley-cool-green-water/

Locarno to Varenna via Milan is an easy trip by train for your next stop. You may have trouble finding accommodation in Varenna, as the town is tiny, but maybe Bellagio or other town nearby will have rooms.

I would advise skipping Cinque Terre for this trip. It is so crowded these days that I cannot imagine it being a pleasant and relaxing place for a honeymoon. And you have too many destinations on the list. Focus on what is important for you both. If a seaside destination is important, there are other towns that might work. Or stay with your original idea of lakes and Tuscany, or consider the wine region of the Veneto or Alto Adige for cooler weather.

Things will slow down after September 4th when most schools in Europe will have started again after the summervacation. So if you’re able to stretch it a bit and go as late as possible in August starting in Switzerland. I would narrow the number of places staying at, down to 4 at most. Otherwise you’ll loose too much time traveling. If you stay in Luzern and want to hike you can look into the Gradwanderung Stoos (Klingenstock-Fronalpstock). You could then make your way into Italy Lake Como ( or Lago Maggiore as an alternative?), from there you can either go to Cinque Terre or Tuscany. As you have already been to Florence you could also look into Lucca. We love Lucca. Not as spectacular as Florence but much more quiet and relaxing. And Lucca is not too far of a drive to for instance Bolgheri (with the road of cipressen leading to it), San Gimignano, Volterra. And then end in Rome.

take the Treno Gottardo direct train to Locarno on Lago Maggiore, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in Switzerland

This train is direct taking 3h 15m. To get from Locarno to the Varenna-Esino station takes 3h with a connection in Milan as Lolo mentioned. Tremezzo is less convenient.
To get from Locarno to Monterosso which is the only Cinque Terre town with a beach takes a full day and requires a change in Milan. The train from Locarno to Florence takes longer and requires more transfers.
To get from Varenna to Monterosso takes 4h 45m with a change in Milan. The train from Varenna to the Firenze (Florence) SM Novella station takes 3h 45m and also has a transfer.

I think Mary Pat is suggesting that Locarno is an inconvenient location due to the longer travel time to the subsequent destinations of Varenna, Monterosso (Cinque Terre) and Florence. If that is a concern, an alternate choice for the journey south to Italy from Luzern would be the Gotthard Panorama Express, a boat plus train journey from Luzern to Lugano, another lakeside Swiss city that is much closer to Milan, the connection point for onward travel to Lake Como, etc.

https://www.sbb.ch/en/leisure-holidays/trains-trips/rail-travel-specialtrains/panorama-trips/gotthard-panorama-express.html

However, I recommended Locarno for the sailing and other water sports opportunities on offer there. Lugano is on a much smaller and narrower lake, making sailing more challenging (capricious winds). My quick search did not find any sailing opportunities there, ut they may well exist.

This Swiss rail map help Kathryn to visualize the cities and lakes in the the area, their locations relative to one another, and the train routes connecting them.

https://cdn-doc.myswissalps.com/docs/default-source/rail-network-maps/swisstravelpass.pdf?sfvrsn=7788603a_56

The Gotthard Panorama Express is shown as No. 5 on the map, in blue. The Treno Gottardo uses the same train tracks over the Gotthard Pass, but omits the lake cruise on Vierwaldstättersee, and ends at Locarno rather than Lugano.

The red dashed line to the right of the Gotthard route, from Erstfeld south to near Biasca, represents the long deep tunnel used by the fast trains between Luzern and Milan. Note that there is also a tunnel on the Gotthard Pass route, but it is higher in the mountains and much shorter than the deep Gotthard Basistunnel, and does not deprive one of scenic views. The route also includes interesting features such as the switchbacks near Wassen, and two sprirals on the way down the south side of the pass.

I can't recommend Lake Como highly enough. If you go, Varenna is best. You can visit all the other locations via ferry. Visiting the Hotel Grand Tremezzo is a treat, including the gardens/views there. Book ASAP, I wasn't able to get a reservation in October, so I am going to Cinque Terre instead.

I just want to thank everyone on this. I can’t believe how much time you have all spent responding. This has been incredibly helpful and also you’ve mentioned places I have never heard of and I’m doing research on and also ideas on places so thank you so much!!

Lucerne was lovely and very international. It had wonderful restaurants and my husband and I had Italian food, Moroccan food and Spanish tapas. it is also a very walkable town and you could always do a boat tour of the lake for a few hours. Yes, it will be very hot that time of year.
I would skip Florence and go to Siena instead. Siena is so unique and it is my favorite place in Italy. Absolutely wonderful food. If you both enjoy the outdoors and are fit, you can handle all the hills. A great activity was to climb the bell tower in the campo. It was difficult for me but totally worth it when you reach the top.
Everyone skips Milan, but don't. It is a wonderful city with lots to do and see. Just looking at the outside of the Duomo takes some time and for a small fee you can ride the elevator to the roof - what a view! The great think about Milan is that it is modern Italy - there is a metro and two train stations! The food was absolutely the best - I have two restaurant recommendations in Milan - Prime and L'Immagine and at this place I had the best meal of my life. L'immagine will probably require a taxi ride, as it is outside of the city center.
Another reader mentioned the heat and the crowds and mentioned staying in northern Italy - I second that! It's great up there.