Salve! Please critique our 2-week itinerary in Italy!

Please dont' take this the wrong way but I think you're over planning your trip. When I read things like stopping for a gelato or "cafe on the terrace" or a swim ...... it just sounds like you're planning every single minute without any time for spontaneity.

The overall plan sounds good but don't plan your time down to the minute.

Have a great trip.

Donna

Great plan, but do remain flexible. Opportunities may present themselves that you do not foresee.... Haviong a plan means you can deviate from it. :-) You will have a wonderful time.

Roland, you have a great plan. Plenty of time for spontaneity. If you write this convincingly before you go, you should definitely write a trip report when you return! Happy honeymoon!

I think it looks good! I too like to really plan (just about) every minute - part of the fun for me! But of course willing to ditch off the plans if things change! :)

Two things: Why aren't you climbing the Leaning Tower? We did it last summer - and it was really cool. I just can't really describe the sensation... it's hard to keep your balance, very very interesting. Just throwing it out there....

Be sure to check the hiking trails in the Cinque Terre - I don't know much about it, and looks like you are planning actual hiking (vs. walking which is what we wanted to do last summer with the kids) but some trails were closed... I think this is the website .... I could never quite figure out how to read it...

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/sentieri_parco.asp?id_lingue=2

Looks awesome! Have a great time!! :)

Kim

Be sure to check the hiking trails in the Cinque Terre - I don't know much about it, and looks like you are planning actual hiking.

Always a good idea as you never know when one of 'em will have a problem and need to be closed for maintenance. I'm guessing you're looking at the 587 from Corniglia, to 586 through Volastra, to 506 and then 531 into Manarola, and it's all marked open right now. Just be a little careful on the legs marked in yellow (587/531)?

And yes, do be flexible! A day of rain or clouds (no sunset in Venice) or any number of things can throw a wrench in the machinery if you let it. Oh, and you might consider hanging out at Piazza della Repubblica instead della Signornia in Florence. I don't remember if there was was much of anywhere to really sit on that one unless at a cafe. There's a bench along the Loggia dei Lanzi, maybe you could perch on the steps of Palazzo Vecchio? There was more going on for music and whatnot at della Repubblica when we were there. There are a few benches but not many so you may have the same issue with a place to sit unless going to a cafe.

roland,

First of all, congratulations!

Your itinerary looks well organized,albeit a bit too tightly planned. I'd suggest allowing some time for spontaneity and to enjoy those serendipitous moments that will no doubt happen. One other comment......

"We'll take the FrecciaBianca and arrive mid-morning in Vernazza, our homebase."

I haven't checked but is your train direct to Vernazza, or will there be changes? Most of the trains on that route are a combination of Freccia / InterCity / Regionale. As this is your first trip to Italy, you'll need to be aware that locally purchased Regionale tickets MUST be validated prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!

I think you have a lot of time open, which is a great thing for add ons.
For that spare day in venice you might want to take in a day at the Biennale.

Good luck, we'll be landing in the middle of September for about 30 days

Congratulations on your upcoming honeymoon!

As others have mentioned, make sure you enjoy, "il dolce far niente", the sweetness of doing nothing!

I am also intrigued as to why you're not planning to climb the tower of Pisa?

Years ago when I traveled to Pisa with my mom, I was determined to climb the tower, but my mom decided she was not up to climbing all those steps. When I was at the very top, I yelled her name & tried to get her attention, but she didn't hear me.
Afterwards, I asked her why she didn't want to climb the tower with me, and she replied... "I was afraid it would fall over!"

If you change your mind & decide to climb the tower, you may want to book your tickets in advance here:http://boxoffice.opapisa.it/Turisti/

Have a wonderful honeymoon trip!

I do not know what you do for a profession, but whatever it is I think you should give it up and become a travel writer and/or a vacation planner!

I have only one suggestion, but it could result in a happier married life for both of you! if you have not already done so, and I'm sure you have, make sure you ask your wife the key things that she really wants to see on the vacation, incorporate those items if they are not already there, and enjoy. For example, her image of Venice may be related to seeing all of the pigeons in st. Mark's Square, or taking a gondola ride, or shopping at some knick knack shop in Florence, whatever it is, you want to make sure her favorites are included!

Best of wishes to you and your wife ---have a terrific time.

SuzieeQQ

Not enough gelato! This is your honeymoon after all, so don't skimp on the important things.

Congrats, and best wishes for a wonderful honeymoon.
Remember it's August and with the summer heat you will find big heavy meals less appealing. Keep it light and simple, and alternate sorbet with gelato, it's next to no fat content !!
Oh, and no 'David' in Florence ??

Oh, and no 'David' in Florence ??

Just IMHO but Bernini's 'David' in the Borghese trumps Mike's any day.
Which of multiple 'David' versions are personal favorites could be a topic thread of its own!

Really well done itinerary. Congrats - you're going to have a blast. I am a heavy duty planner as well. Planning in and of itself really added a great and fun dimension to our trip in March (which was also our honeymoon). When you get there, you'll realize that you'll make deviations here and there; you'll be fine.

Make sure to hit up Mercato Centrale (great gourmet "food court") and I Fratellini (amazing and cheap sandwiches) in Florence for lunch.

BTW, I concur with the above poster re: the Borghese's David. Hate to say it but I think it beats Michelangelo's as well!

Congratulations on your wedding. This sounds like a lovely trip. I just wanted to let you know that my husband and I did nearly the EXACT same trip a few years back (only difference was a stop in Le Marche in between Venice and Florence). And it is for this reason I would STRONGLY suggest reversing the order of your trip if at all possible. Start in Cinque Terre where you can lay on the beach and get over your jet lag and end in Venice where you will want all of your five senses firing at 100%.

Wow, thank you so much everyone for the overwhelming number of responses! This is just what I was looking for! I wanted to write more info about us and our trip, but I would've gone over the character limit haha. Anyway, more stuff about us:

We are from the tropics where there are only two seasons to speak of "summer" and "hotter summer". We're aware of the extreme heat/humidity that'll welcome us once we get there, but I think we could still enjoy the trip nonetheless. We are both 29 years old so we could get some perks/discounts like in Venice for example, the RollingVenice discount would allow us to use the buses and vaporetti cheaply. We also bought a cheaper VeneziaUnica card as well for the museums/churches. We will be flying in from Japan with a layover in Moscow. Our first long-haul flight! It'll take about 17 hours I think.

I know I don't have to write about eating gelato and all those minute details, but it helps us visualize the trip and plan our walking route accordingly. Especially if we are to visit well-known food shops along the way. The plan is still susceptible to change, since we only have a handful of places which we have already 'reserved' our passes for. The rest is 'ditchable' haha. That's why I don't see the plan as too 'strict' or 'constricting', but more of "we could do this" kind of plan for us. But thank you for the concern!

We're not going to be able to visit the Accademia in Florence nor climb the Leaning Tower (among other gorgeous sightseeing spots) because of time and money constraints. Some of which even require booking a reservation ahead of time. But that gives us more reasons to come back! We wish to enjoy the sights in a liesurely pace, while still being able to feel the 'vacation'. That is why we have allotted about 4-5 days on the Ligurian coast instead of using it on Florence or other Tuscan towns instead, because it's back to work for us when we go home haha. We don't want to go back home fatigued. It was my wife's idea actually, I wanted to visit as much spots as possible, but she reminded me that she wants a honeymoon that is also part relaxing. A vacation that is not stressful. So I came up with this.

PS:
- Actually we're planning to go to Mercato Centrale, I Fratellini, and other well-reviewed food shops as well. I wanted to write them in here too but alas, the forum gave me no such space.
- We're going to hike the trail 587-586-506 from Corniglia thru Volastra to Manarola and also the trail SVA (2d) from Vernazza to Monterosso, because I've read the popular coastal paths are still closed.
- I'm worried about jetlag as well, so on top of sleeping it off the moment we arrive, I also have nothing planned the rest of the morning the day after. Our Secret Itineraries tour is not until 11am. I hope that's enough... If not, then we'll fight it with food and desserts haha
- Our room has a 24-hour frontdesk, so we have no problem with late check-ins. I will notify them again in advance that we'll arrive late though. We'll go there via the ACTV bus from the airport.

Based on further review, a couple more (hopefully helpful) comments:

1) When we were in Vernazza in March, the "coastal" trail between Vernazza and Monterosso was open. Vernazza-Corniglia was closed, but I have heard that it has since reopened.

2) I don't think a Vaporetto pass is needed in Venice - we tended to walk everywhere. However, you are planning to go on a lagoon cruise, so maybe for you it'll be worth it.

3) I highly recommend the tour of Torre dell'Orologio in Venice.

4) If you can swing seeing David in Florence, I'd recommend it. If not, don't sweat it. If not for the presence of David, I'd say the Accademia is skippable and that you should concentrate on the Uffizi (I know I'll get killed for saying this).

5) It's possible that you will experience less jet-lag than you might think. My wife and I are both physicians and are used to rapid turn-arounds and were surprised how little the jet lag seemed to affect us.

Some of your days seem congested, but you know that. You'll make course corrections as needed. Be safe, hydrate, and have a great time!

Thank you EmergencyDoc! Yes, I always check the updates on the trails as well. Especially the famous "Sentiero Azzurra" on the coast that connects all the five towns. Thankfully part of it is open, so we'll use that to go to Monterosso. Other than that, we'll take the high trails.

I actually wanted to forego the transpo pass as well in Venice, but we have the island hopping day so I think we can make the most out of it just by that. I wish to walk leisurely and not worry about fatigue as well, so an escape route via vaporetti whenever our feet can't walk anymore is handy methinks haha. I do hope jetlag doesn't dampen our first few days, but at least we can ride the vaporetti in case it's worse that we thought.

And yes... I had originally included the Accademia in the plan. But since 1 whole day would be spent on the Tuscan food tour, we only have 1.5 days left in Florence. If it were me I'd cram it in there along with the Pitti Palace, but we talked and thought we could just come back and not stress about it.

Wahh, I do hope we could do the plan but we have no regrets if we can't. The important thing is we'll be Italy! Not part of a tour group, but on our own pace! That and gelati.... lots and lots of gelati