Honeymoon trip to Italy

In May, CT shouldn't be too crazy, but keep in mind it is a small place. We stayed in Vernazza and really liked the location. Good place to hike from. Venice is so very rich in experiences, I wouldn't shortchange that at all.

You will love Venice. Don't shortchange it.

Would it be better for CT to be may 26-28 check out and then venice gets may 28 noon l, may 29, may 30, check out may 31 for my flight to Greece.

according to Rick Steves he allocated 2 days for CT. I don't need to go to every village :). Just 2-3 will be fine and a hike.

Did anyone find CT to be a bore? Or overrated?

I've been to Venice 2x and to CT this past September. I liked CT, spent 4 nights there but I don't need to go back. Venice is BEYOND beautiful, charming and unique. Spend as much time there as you can.

Hmmmm... OK, well Im just going to give you my opinion... I LOVE hiking/biking ANY outdoor activity and hate crowds. We have traveled in all the places you are mentioning that time of year. My favorite place by far for hiking was the Dolomites, which isn't far from Venice. The crowds in Venice drove me nuts so we actually left early to have more hiking in the Dolomites. In the CT we stayed a little out of town (in Monterosso) at a winery that was a short hike into town but had trails the other direction. If we didn't have this place to retreat from the CT crowds we also may have left early from there. I know I'll hear lots of gasps but I was done with Venice after 1 day. But if Im reading this right you are only in CT for 2 nights and 1 full day? I would not shorten that at all. You'll really only have 1 full day to hike around there. If anything I'd add 1 day to CT and shorten Venice. But most people LOVE Venice. I will never need to go back there but am already planning another trip back to the Dolomites. You really will love whatever you decide on.

My original plan was to stay 2 nights in CT, correct. Mainly because I hear it is smaller and per Rick Steves his guide suggested 2 days for it. Of course for the trouble to get there via train and 5 hr train to venice I have contemplated staying there longer and shorten Venice (much easier to get to then CT for future visits). It is funny because I have some friends that adore CT. Even preferring the food in Florence to Venice. It's really hard to say :). I just want to make sure I don't ruin our honeymoon rushing from Paris - CT - Venice. I understand there will be crowds. I imagine a horde of people like that which I face on Sundays at Costco or on a crowded day at Disneyland. haha.

I can cut out CT all together and make my stay in paris longer and add more time to Venice. But I figured 5 days in Paris was enough.

Your May 26-31 plans sound rather harried to me. 6:00 AM flight out of Paris? 3:30 AM check-out in Venice? And this on your honeymoon. We are seize-the-day people and love early morning, but even after 32 years together we wouldn't put ourselves in that fray.

I'd say drop one or the other, and I absolutely love both places. I am inclined to say add one night to Paris (there's never enough time), fly to Venice (not at 6:00 AM) and spend 4 romantic nights there. We disagree on the food in Venice. After some 30 nights spent there over the past 5 years, we always eat well and do not break the bank; You just have to research it a bit.

The flight from Paris to Pisa has another flight at 1pm (1 hr 40mins) plus train to CT (1 hr 11mins ) where I can get to CT by before 4:30-5 roughly. That is another option as well. Maybe less stressful as I get to sleep in a little more before heading to CT.

Basically my flight to Santorini from Venice at 5:30am is not changeable. They only offer very few direct flights via Viotea and Vueling that are 2 hours and 25 mins. So we decided that Santorini was a must for our honeymoon and also that it was the most honeymoon destination for us :).

completely understand how it looks hurried from May 26-31. This is the same thing I am contemplating before I make any moves to book CT / Pisa flights.

The crowds in Venice are mostly day-trippers who show up at 9-10 am and are gone by 5 pm. They will in the most popular parts of the city. It's easy to walk 5-10 minutes in the other direction and wander the charming "back" canals and squares, shops and cafes, churches and museums. You'll have hours before and after the crowds to enjoy the more popular spots.

Maybe it's the same in the CT. Venice is larger, so - at least to me - it seems to absorb the crowds better.

Most people love Venice. Some don't see it. You won't know which camp you fall into until you visit it yourselves.

When were your friends in the CT? Was it years ago, before the hordes of cruise ship tourists started coming or was it in the last couple of years? Was it very crowded when they were there?

Without considering the merits of these two places, reconsider your itinerary.
May 26. 6 am flight from Orly (?), so get up at 3 am, taxi to airport for 6 am flight. Land at 7.40 am, pick up checked luggage? (the cabin limit is 1 piece, 10 kg), get from airport to train station. 8.30 am (probably won't make it) or 9.50 am train (with 1 change) from Pisa to Vernazza, arrive in Vernazza 1.5 hours later. Now eat breakfast.
May 27. Hiking and exploring the CT
May 28. Get up at 6 am, 7.12 am train, change trains in La Spezia, Pisa, and Florence to arrive in Venice at 12.20.
May 29. Venice
May 30. Venice
May 31. Get up at 3 am I think you are optimistic about the time you need for a 5.30 am flight, but 2 am or 3 am doesn't matter much. Again, cabin baggage limit, 10 kg. though they do also allow one small handbag.

So over the course of 6 days, you have 3 days with either middle of the night or very early morning travel. Do you really want to do that? Are you going to enjoy that week?

when you put it like that it seems pretty awful!

My other option is to take the late flight at 1pm to Pisa so as not to rush to the airport. However this makes CT 2 nights but really 1.5 days. I figured it would be fun to do a bit of hiking and have some delicious pasta/ signature dishes. But it doesn't seem so enjoyable if we are on the move. I figured a restful 4 days in london, 5 in paris, and some suffering from CT- Venice - Santorini was doable. but then again I've never traveled to Europe before. And have only Rick Steve guide books and word of mouth to help me plan my trip. thank you all for your replies thus far! I am going to show the Fiance and see if it is worth keeping CT in.

Unfortunately for Santorini that was the only and best flight so I assume we will be up by 2:30-3am and found the only options we had were to take a water taxi or a 24/7 taxi to Marco Polo airport.

My girlfriends who went did go recently. My matron of honor actually just went this past Sept during peak season.

can anyone suggest any day trips from Venice and Paris that might be worthwhile if I cut out Cinque Terre from my trip.

I can give Paris 6 or 7 days (May 21-May 27th or May 21-28th) which in turn would leave Venice with 3 or 4 days (may 27 - 31st or May 28- 31st ).

I was suggested Annecy, bordeaux, Verona...

I thought about Tuscany or even a day trip to Florence from either Venice or Rome.

Any recommendations would be very appreciated! :)

Venice has so much to see, you can day trip to the islands. Or you could day trip to Verona, about 1 hour by train.

Florence will be about 2 hours, each way, and Rome is about 4 hours each way. I personally don't like to spend my day trips travelling on the train, but would rather see the city.

" Does anyone how around the end of May if CT is as crowded as they say, making our visit/ hike more than likely miserable?"

Sadly, yes. Since the big ships started coming into La Spezia, it has been a nightmare.

panda,

While the crowding in the Cinque Terre can be an issue at times with the cruise ship groups, I've also found that to be the case in Venice and other places. I was in Venice in September and Piazza San Marco was so packed with tour groups that I almost got back on the Vaporetto and left there in a hurry.

If you're only in the C.T. for a few days, it's possible there may not be any ships arriving at that time. In any case, it's possible to ameliorate the situation to some extent by being elsewhere when the cruise groups are in town, either in your hotel or in one of the other towns. The most severe crowding seems to occur in Vernazza, so just don't be there in the afternoon.

We were in Monterosso (CT) early june last year and the crowds weren't bad at all (and my husband and I hate crowds), maybe we were just lucky. As a few other people have said Venice is crowded close to the square during the middle of the day, but as most are day trippers from cruises, enjoy those spots in the evening, and go for a wander during the day (try to get lost - hard to do in venice as it is so small - but best way to find hidden gems). Even if you dont want to pay the ridiculous drink prices at the square in venice (and you cant sit at the tables unless ordering) it is worth walking through to enjoy the live music in the evening.. When we go back I will fork out the huge price for a drink and sip it as slowly as possible to enjoy the music) personally loved both spots so would struggle to recommend skipping either - sorry no help there. I don't think it matters which you choose - the only mistake is to try to fit too much in and spend a lot of your trip travelling. Save whatever you skip this time for your 5, 10, 20 year anniversaries!

How many days did you stay? Or how many do you recommend minimum? Would may 26 and check out be sufficient ? May 26 we can arrive by 11am or 4 pm depending which flight we take ..