A 24 day honeymoon itinerary in July 2013- feedback please...
Hi everyone,
I'm planning my 24 day honeymoon in Italy this July :-) and I'd really appreciate some feedback
My fiance and I are into Beaches, food and small towns but we also want to visit Rome, Venice and Florence. We are considering renting a car should we? And most importantly, what do you think of this itinerary I put together:
1. Rome - 5 days
2. Siena - 4 days (trips to San Gimignano, Moteriggioni)
3. Florence - 4 days (trip to Lucca and Pisa)
4. Levanto - 3 days (trips around the riviera, including Cinque Terre)
5. Mantua - 2 days (trip to Verona)
6. Venice - 3 days
7. Bellagio - 3 days. Depart from Milan airport
My full trip plan can be accessed here: http://www.routeperfect.com/trip-planner/italy.php?id=1dedde4b
Thank you so much!
Ashley
Reply to this Hi Ashley,
This posted twice for some reason, so I deleted the duplicate one. Your honeymoon sounds lovely and you seem to have a good amount of time in each place to really appreciate it.
Hopefully other travelbloggers will have some more to comment.
Hope it goes well.
Reply to this
In response to: Msg #169667 I have traveled some in Italy but not exactly the route you are planning. However, it looks very good to me, you will be able to see a lot of Italy and it is indeed a beautiful and interesting country with lots of great food and wine. A rented car will give you more freedom in northern Italy, (but it is of no use in Rome and Venice), especially as you like small towns. Be aware that the autostradas are very expensive, but you probably want to stay on the minor roads anyway.
Reply to this Hi Ashley
I agree that a hire car won't be very useful in the heart of Rome and Florence, and parking may also be difficult. You could consider travelling from Rome to Florence on the express train (which is excellent) and then hire a car to explore Tuscany. We used public transport for our entire trip in Italy and found it quite good in the high traffic areas, but not so frequent in the quieter areas of Umbria.
We stayed in Levanto too - and even though it's not as picturesque, it was a lot quieter and the restaurants were better value than in the five main villages. Also beware that some of the roads in the hills around Como aren't great, but the all-day ferry pass is great and allows you to visit all the main villages around the lake.
If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask. 😊
Cheers
Ren
Reply to this Hi Ashley,
the itinerary sounds quite good! 😊
Just few suggestions:
1. Rome - 5 days ...why don't add a day excursion to Amalfi Coast or Pompeii? Above all Amalfi Coast is so romantic!
2. Siena - 4 days (trips to San Gimignano, Moteriggioni). Rent a car is a perfect solution to tour Tuscany...but rent it only for few days and only during your stay in Tuscany. A car can be very expensive if you consider the parking in the main cities and the ZTL traffic restrictions of the city center of Rome, Florence and Venice (Mestre). Finally consider that Venice can be visited only by foot, so you'll pay only a lot of money to park your car for a couple of day without any utility! You can easily arrange transfer by train.
For example you can move from Rome to Florence by train, than take a car for 4 days in Siena (pick up at Florence train station and drop off at La Spezia, near Cinque Terre). From La Spezia you can take the train to Mantua, Verona and Venice. Finally to reach Bellagio I suggest you to take the train until Milan and then take a car to Bellagio (pick up Milan train station/drop off Milan airport).
3. Florence - 4 days (trip to Lucca and Pisa). I suggest to you also a visit in the area near Carrara, with a stop to the marble caves and to Colonnata, a small and typical town famous for its bacon.
4. Levanto - 3 days (trips around the riviera, including Cinque Terre). Actually the famous "Via dell'Amore" is closed...so pay attention!
5. Mantua - 2 days (trip to Verona)
6. Venice - 3 days
7. Bellagio - 3 days. Depart from Milan airport
Hope this can help you!
Silvia
Reply to this 
