My Honeymoon trip to Italy - what do you think?

Congratulations on your wedding. Venice is one of the most romantic cities in the world, many people feel. Therefore, it's perfect for your first stop and should not be deleted from your itinerary.

The comped nights at Westin are sweet, as long as business doesn't interfere with pleasure. ;-)

You mentioned the wine. Be very careful about drinking much wine (on the cooking class day) and then driving. Italy has a strict DUI law (.05 or .06 blood alcohol level versus .08 here) and they enforce it with random stops, among other methods--in Italy a lighter person or one drinking on an empty stomach will be nearer the legal limit faster than here. The police there are empowered to not only confiscate the car, but also levy an on the spot fine that I have heard (fortunately no personal experience on this) can be in the range of $1,000 (800 euros).
Obviously, having the car confiscated would not be a good end to your honeymoon trip.

Think about where you want to return the rental car in Rome, people have been stressed out driving into Rome for even a short period of time. Perhaps the Westin will provide parking. It's possible the Westin even has a rental car facility, like hotels do here? If these don't work out, you want to avoid even one night with the car in Rome, if possible.

Thanks for your feedback. You don't think we are moving around too much? It seems like a good plan to me, but I don't want to overdo it either. Thankfully, I won't be working while I am there!

Now that you mention the part about "moving around to much," let's think about it.
I count 14 full days "on the ground", not counting your arrival and departure days.
The time in Venice is good.
Time in Florence is good.

Then, as we go down your itinerary, we have to think more carefully:

In European travel a useful rule of thumb is that it takes basically two nights to get one full day of seeing and doing things. If you stay only one night, you probably only get a few hours to see that town, before you have to move on.

Many travelers to Europe find one-night hotel stays stressful and a waste of valuable time, because you spend so much time finding the hotel (not as straightforward as here), finding parking (if the hotel doesn't provide it on site, many do not), checking in, partially unpacking, and then doing the same thing on the way out in the morning.

Considering the above, maybe you'll decide to eliminate a destination?
Obviously, every traveler would see and do these destinations in a different way that would correspond to their personal travel style and preferences.

It's a busier trip than I would plan. You have two full days in several cities that you could spend weeks enjoying. Personally, because I am eternally fascinated with Venice and don't just love southern Italian food, I would drop the Amalfi portion and give more time to each of your cities, and to the Tuscan countryside (keep in mind that only Cortona is in Tuscany; Soriano nel Cimino is in Lazio). Obviously, a matter of personal preference. But do check the weather in the Amalfi in April, that may help you make further decisions.

If you keep the Amalfi piece, your drive there and back will take longer than you expect (it always does). The furthest south I've been is Sorrento, and I will say, the driving in that part of Italy was "interesting" - and this coming from someone who was comfortable driving in Boston. We did the same thing that you're planning - drove to Sorrento from Tuscany, then drove back to Rome and dropped the car off there. Driving in Rome is also pretty difficult. We found ahead of time a rental car dropoff somewhat on the outskirts of the downtown portion, parked the car, and took a cab from there. It worked pretty well.

Seeing how the bride is a ballerina, this might interest you.
http://www.operaroma.it/ita/balletto-ailey-limon-forsythe.php

As Lexma says, a number of travelers reporting in here have found certain aspects of driving in Italy to be challenging, if not stressful.
Parking has been one of those, probably won't be a problem for you at the Westins but could be in smaller towns.
Another driving stress issue in Italy has been driving in larger towns or cities--this probably is to be avoided if possible.
Auto-Route driving is fine, just like here, although traffic congestion on the A-Routes, at certain times of certain days, has been a problem.

Roberto could tell you more about this.

idk....seems a reasonable itinerary to me....... this summer I traveled w friends and we stayed only 2 nights per place.... 2 of us had not been to Italy before and we wanted to check out a lot of places. you don't mention how old you and your new bride are.....but I think your euphoria at being abroad, your love, and your comped rooms will propel you thru Italy!!!

Congrats on your wedding and upcoming trip to Italy.

My husband and I spent our honeymoon in 2010 in Europe... so I can offer a few suggestions.

I think your itinerary is largely fine. However, if it was my journey I would probably drop off the car either before or after arrival in Ravello. Public transit and trains will most definitely be less stressful (and maybe faster) as you head into Rome...which is a fantastic city to walk, but terrifying to drive in.

The only other thing I would change would be to fly into Venice even if it meant a lot more cost for the airline tickets. But that's just me. :)

Congrats on the wedding and your itinerary is doable. I suggest to slow down and plan your trip like it won't be your last.

I would fly from Rome to Venice. You won't have to transfer to the train station, it'll take less time and be about the same price, maybe cheaper. I would cut the Amalfi Coast and add the time to Rome because it is amazing. It's too bad you are locked into the resort dates as I would have added time in Tuscany and then gone to the resort before heading to Rome.

robb,

First of all, congratulations! A few thoughts on your Itinerary......

• It would have been preferable to fly directly into Venice, but I suppose it's too late to change that now.
• I suspect your trip from the airport in Rome to Venice is going to be longer than planned. If you're able to connect with one of the direct trains from the airport, it will be a minimum of about 4.5 hours. The first direct train departs at 11:08, arriving at 15:35. It will probably almost be supper time by the time you get settled in your hotel (basically, you will have used a full day for that trip).
• When travelling on the fast trains such as the Freccia high speed which have compulsory seat reservations, note that your tickets will be specific to one train, date and departure time and can only be used on the one train listed on the ticket. If you use another train, you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!
• If travelling on the slower Regionale trains (or using Metro or Buses), you MUST validate your tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel. Those caught with unvalidated tickets will also be fined on the spot.
• Note that for driving in Italy, EACH driver must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. You can easily obtain an IDP at any AAA office for a small fee.
• Packing along a GPS or at least a really good map would be prudent.
• You'll also have to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas which are common in many towns and cities. Driving into these areas will result in hefty fines for EACH violation, which you may not know about until several months after you return home. Florence is just about saturated by automated ZTL cameras, but Roberto can provide information on which route to use to avoid them.
• If driving to Cortona, as I recall there's a car park on Viale Battisti, just below Hotel San Luca (free, I believe). Getting up to the city is easy as you just have to cross the street and there are two outdoor Escalators that exit right onto Piazza Garibaldi by the hotel (which is also the stop for the Bus from the station).
• I suspect your drive to Ravello could take somewhat longer than 3H:45M, but I've never driven that route so not sure! I've found that driving in Europe often takes longer (sometimes considerably longer) than the best laid plans from the internet or maps.

My initial impression is that the Itinerary is reasonably well organized (except for flying inbound Rome instead of Venice), but a bit too "busy", especially considering the occasion. I would have suggested slowing it down a bit and perhaps skipping the stops south of Rome. Another point to consider is that at the end of March / beginning of April, it could be somewhat cool and rainy. I've been in Tuscany in April and that was most certainly the case on that occasion.

Buon Viaggio!

Ravello is beautiful, but if you want a small hotel with parking close to the water, La Maurella in Praiano may fit. Only five rooms, new, tastefully decorated, rooms have terraces.

I think your itinerary is fine, but driving times may be longer than estimated.

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to share your thoughts and insight. We've decided to fly from Rome to Venice since the tickets are only $54 and it's 1 hour. I'm excited for that and it will eliminate one of the longest days of travel!

Sam, thanks for the heads up regarding the ballet. My fiance literally was freaking out. She knows all about both companies and we will definitely be seeing a performance while we are there.

The only one night stays we have are in Cortona. The cooking class is on our must do list. We also look forward to driving through the countryside of Tuscany and Italy. We plan on picking up a car on our way out of Florence. I will get all the details regarding booking it and be sure we have everything lined up. The only major driving we will be doing is leaving Florence and heading through countryside to Cortona and Soriano. From there, I'd prefer to leave the car and take a train to Amalfi Coast, but I don't know if that's even possible. If not, we will drive to Amalfi and drive to Rome and leave it in Rome. Hopefully there are car companies that will allow us to pick up a car in Florence and leave it in Rome.

Ken, thanks for the heads up regarding the Drivers permit. I will need to get that.

We are considering leaving the Amalfi off the schedule after reading the reviews. Is there another town somewhere by Soriano on the way to Rome that would give us that Amalfi feel? Seaside picturesque village with good food and relaxation.

robb,

It's not exactly on the way to Rome, but Sorrento is another place you could look at. It may not "officially" be part of the Amalfi Coast, but it should provide a similar ambience. From there you can take day trips to Capri, Pompeii or Positano. I'm not sure what that area will be like in March, but hopefully one of the others can fill in the blanks on that point.

id suggest you both get the international drivers permit just to be prepared....... have a great trip!!!