2 Week Honeymoon in Italy

Old Sep 20th, 2022, 11:40 AM
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2 Week Honeymoon in Italy

Hi all,
I'm planning a 2 week Italy honeymoon for end of May 2023. Does this itinerary seem feasible?
  • Day 1: Fly into Venice
  • Day 2-3: Venice
  • Day 4-6: Florence
  • Day 7-8: Amalfi
  • Day 9-10: Naples
  • Day 11-13: Rome
  • Day 14: Fly out of Rome
jesshoyt_02 is offline  
Old Sep 20th, 2022, 12:41 PM
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It almost did in the beginning, but then, no allowance for travel time shortchanged and rushed everything else. When you list days in a place, it is deceptive, creating the idea that you have more time than you do. Days broken up into halves by much travel are not as good for sightseeing as whole days.
Return to home day, of course, does not count. So, how many whole days do you have on the ground?
If you list nights in a place, you can see more easily how many whole days you have, 2 nights net 1 day, 3 nights 2 days, etc.
Getting from hotel to train station and then from train to next hotel eats up time. From Venice to Florence, for example, will take 1/2 a day.
The more time you spend traveling, the less you will actually see.

Start with Day 1. Is this the day you depart from home or the day you arrive in Venice?
Most flights leave in the evening and arrive early morning, so if that is departure from home day, it does not count at all and if it is arrival day, it is often jet lagged, so not a good sightseeing day, but good for walking, relaxing and getting oriented.

Venice to Florence, 1/2 day, From Florence to the Amalfi Coast, most of 1 whole day. Depending on where you stay, 1/2 day back to Naples and another 1/2 day to Rome.
14 days, 1 getting to Italy, 1 returning home, 1 jet lagged, 3 1/2 days of travel, 1 full day of travel is 6 & 1/2 days, leaves you, for all practical purposes with roughly a little less than 8 days for real sight seeing.
I strongly suggest you cut something.
Options:
1. Venice to Florence (Tuscany and hill towns)), Rome. Cut Naples and Amalfi Coast.
2. Rome to the Amalfi Coast. Cut Venice and Florence
3. Venice, fly to Naples, Amalfi Coast, Home from Naples. Cut Florence and Rome.
4. Venice, Florence, Amalfi Coast, Home from Naples. Cut Rome (rushed but doable)
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Old Sep 20th, 2022, 12:54 PM
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Day 1, depart home
Day 2 arrive Venice
Days 3,4, Venice, 2 full days
Day 5, travel to Florence, 1/2 day Florence
Day 6, Florence, 1 full day Florence (not enough time for anything except a very rushed visit)
Day 7, Travel to Amalfi Coast
Days 8, 9, 10, Amalfi Coast 3 full days
Day 11, travel to Naples, 1/2 day Naples (1 museum and dinner)
Day 12, Travel to Rome, 1/2 day Rome
Day 13, Rome, 1 day. You will see so little, after such an already hectic two weeks.
Day 14, Depart
Right now, your itinerary looks a bit like a great race. Make a list of what you want to actually see in some of these places. Decide which is most important. Cut at least one.
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Old Sep 20th, 2022, 01:14 PM
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I appreciate your honest feedback! It is so incredibly helpful. Thank you.
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Old Sep 20th, 2022, 03:39 PM
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You are welcome. Welcome to Fodors. You are likely to get a lot more feedback with different and perhaps better advice. May is a beautiful time to go. It is very hard to make choices when there is so much to see. Whatever you decide will be lovely. Have you been to Italy before or other places in Europe?
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Old Sep 20th, 2022, 08:21 PM
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Ditto all of Sassafrass' comments... although on a honeymoon I wouldn't spend less than 4 nights anywhere, so that would probably mean 3 destinations, perhaps two big cities and one smaller town.

Think about what you want your honeymoon to feel like, and less about how much you can squeeze into 2 weeks.

The Italians have a phrase... "Dolce far niente." The sweetness of doing nothing. The most romantic things can take time to enjoy and can even be doing nothing but sitting on a piazza over a long lunch or dinner, stopping for a glass of wine in the afternoon or just enjoying the atmosphere/view. One train ride can be romantic in its way, but several trips not so much.
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Old Sep 20th, 2022, 09:58 PM
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[QUOTE=Jean;17401136]
Think about what you want your honeymoon to feel like.

That is such fantastic advice from Jean. It should start the conversation for most trips.
Jean, I must remember that for our trips.

to the OP
Do you picture yourselves seeing as many churches, museums with paintings, sculptures and artifacts as possible, taking guided tours of famous buildings and archeological sites, or leisurely eating gelato and holding hands, walking along canals in Venice in the evening? Are you looking down on the Duomo of Florence from Piazza Michelangelo at sunset or absorbing the art in the Uffizi? Are you immersed in the architecture and history or Rome or having a glass of wine on your hotel balcony looking over the blue sea of the Amalfi Coast?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a busy, on the go trip and that may be your style and vision. We have done that, cramming in as much art and history as possible. Sometimes that can be overwhelming and you miss feeling you were actually in a place.
There is also nothing wrong with deciding to make it mostly a trip about relaxing together in beautiful places. We have also done that. Sometimes, however, you feel as if you missed seeing important, must-see museums and sights.
It is a toss up, but you can do more of both if you do not try to go to so many places.
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Old Sep 20th, 2022, 11:38 PM
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When you look back on your honeymoon, do you want to remember the travel issues or the holding hands issues.

Less is more

I'd not try and fit in so much on a normal holiday, on a honeymoon!
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Old Sep 21st, 2022, 10:15 AM
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I see people are reading your post, but few commenting yet. You are probably doing some serious thinking right now. Lay out an itinerary with travel times, etc. and say what you are looking forward to doing, your interests, etc. to give people more to work with.

Do not book flight tickets until you have your itinerary really pinned down. People do that, then are stuck wasting time back tracking. Multi-city (not two one-way) is usually best. At least your original itinerary was linear, a good plan not to double back.

Do you need hotel suggestions? If so, give actual budget per night and what you are looking for.

Stick with this thread so all information is continuous.

Last edited by Sassafrass; Sep 21st, 2022 at 10:25 AM.
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Old Sep 21st, 2022, 04:44 PM
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Drop Naples and add it to Rome. Lots to see!
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Old Sep 21st, 2022, 05:20 PM
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The OP is new and may not know how to find their thread and/or may not be able to respond for a day or two. (I can't remember the new poster rules.)

This post will bring the thread back up to the top of the Europe Forum.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2022, 11:24 AM
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Following up on Sassafras, it's worth making a large grid on a sheet of paper (or table in a word doc), with a big box for each day. Then check the trains you would likely take, at the reasonable hours you would take them at Trenitalia.com, and fill in the boxes. A 10am-2pm train means having breakfast, taking the train, finding your hotel, and then you basically have time to get adjusted, get a dinner, and stroll in the evening. If you do this box by box, filling each with the actual travel time needed, you will see how much genuine free, unscheduled time you will realistically have in each place.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2022, 12:08 PM
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This is not my idea of a honeymoon. If the honeymoon is right after the marriage ceremony, you will need to relax and not be so rushed. Way too short a time in Rome. While in Rome and you want to get out of the city, then you might consider Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este.
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