Howdy -- wife and I were scheduled to honeymoon on the Amalfi coast but our trip was cancelled due to COVID and we stayed domestic. 2 kids later and we still have not done the trip so we are scheduling for this September.


We are planning for 14 days and while the initial honeymoon trip was going to be only to the coast, I am now thinking that we can try multiple cities. My thought is to fly to Venice and travel down to the coast with stops around Florence countryside and Rome. My wife has already visited Venice, Florence and Rome so it is mostly a box checker for me. I understand hitting 4 cities is a lot, but I think we will be ok with moving quickly the first few days and then relaxing for a week on the coast. I would plan to utilize speed rail for travel between cities. Thoughts? Is this too ambitious of a plan? My brother says to skip Venice.

DAY 1: arrive Venice
DAY 2: explore Venice
DAY 3: travel from Venice to Florence area vineyard BNB (san gimignano?)
DAY 4: Tuscan wine day
DAY 5: travel from Florence area to Rome
DAY 6: Explore Rome
DAY 7: Travel from Rome to Amalfi Coast
DAY 8: Explore coast, cooking class
DAY 9: Explore cost, beach club day
DAY 10: Explore coast, boat day or Capri
DAY 11:Relax Coast day
DAY 12: Path of Gods Hike
DAY 13: Enjoy last day on Coast
DAY 14: Fly from Naples back home


Thanks all. I have scanned the forums for recommendations and have saved a few but I am open to opinions on this itinerary as well as restaurant, activity, hotel/BNB, and cultural recommendations.

First off, make sure you can fly home from Naples. Rome, Venice and Milan have the most options.

At least you're only moving every other night. But that's a lot of moving unless someone else is organizing it. I would add another day in Venice and Rome. These are two of the great, unique cities of the world. Don't rush it! Get private tour guides to help you get the most out of these. On your current timeline these will be just a blur.

Tuscany and Amalfi have been very trendy so it seems a little risky there. I would do only one of those.

We went in 2015 and spent 3 weeks. All stays were in b&b properties. Arrived in Milan, and then went to (can't remember the exact order) Rapallo, Rome, Naples, Pisa, Sorrento, Minori, Venice, Vicenza.
Son was posted in Vicenza, so we spent a week there.

Most everything is touristy, as expected.
Sorrento was really nice.
Minori was my favorite small town. We took a ferry to Positano and Maiori.
Rode the night train from Salerno to Venice. That sucked....cramped and loud. Got no sleep.
Venice is ok. Canals were stinky, and the whole place was crowded. Side trip to Burano and Murano was good.
Our youngest was 10, and totally unimpressed. The 2 teens were meh. The wife and I had a great time. A

I much prefer the small towns of Tuscany over the Amalfi Coast, so I would personally spend more time in Tuscany and less time south of Rome.

You're moving around a lot. Personally, I think Venice is incredibly overrated and would avoid it altogether.

I have been to Italy 4 times and still haven't seen all this.

Thanks everyone. Maybe we will scratch Venice... I understand that Amalfi area is touristy, but my wife wanted to honeymoon there and we have been putting it off for 4 years now, so I owe her the Amalfi coast trip. That being said, I can't imagine we need to spend 2 weeks there.

Understood. So you think it is too much moving. Where have you been? and in what order would you recommend those places?

It sounds like Venice doesn't hold a lot of appeal for you. That's okay. Florence is great if you want see the great works of art. Or if you are more interested in natural beauty, then you might focus on Lake Como and Rome for the history (Colisseum, Forum, St. Peters, Sistine Chapel, catacombs). A train ride from Milan into the Alps would be awesome.

I would end your trip somewhere that is closer to the airport. Depending on where you are on the Amalfi Coast, Naples could be a 2-3 hour drive on very narrow and windy roads (possibly in horrible traffic).

Personally, ending the trip on a stressful note trying to get to the airport would be a no for me. And I don't think you want to end your honeymoon dream vacation by spending the night before your flight in Naples. You could easily flip the trip to do the Amalfi Coast, first, then go to Rome, and then Florence. The Florence airport is small and would be logistically easy, but it would probably mean a connecting flight at another major EU airport.

I would also shorten your stay there. We spent a few nights (I think it was 3) in Sorrento, and did guided day trips to Amalfi, Positano, and Capri. Maybe one more day would have been perfect, but I think 6 is too many. Personally, the beaches there are not ones where I would want to just lounge/hang out.

There is a really amazing adults only hotel on the Amalfi Coast that you might want to check out - Monastero Santa Rosa. My parents stayed there for their 40th, and I have recommended it to others who have loved it. That is a place where you could chill, but it's on a cliff (no beach, but beautiful views).

I think Venice is great to see at least once. I would (as hard as it is to say) cut one of Rome or Florence to give yourself more time in Tuscany and Amalfi.

Doing this will still involve a lot of commuting but you end up seeing four distinct environments:

Venice (it really is its own type of place)
City (Florence or Rome)
Rural (Tuscany)
Beach Rural (Amalfi)

We did some of this last November
Ours was 11 days
Lake Como-Venice-Rome-Florence/Tuscany-Milan

I think the time you have set aside for Venice is perfect. Is it a little touristy?-Yes, but its an incredibly unique city, and Saint Marks Basilica was the most incredible church we saw throughout the entirety of the trip.
Also, the train rides were comfortable and didn't seem to eat into too much of our vacation in my opinion.

I do a lot of research before trips and for booking restaurants so I have a very detailed itinerary that we made and can send some other suggestions as well if you want to shoot a PM.

Everyone is different. Some people have to be on the go during a vacation. I'm not one of them.

Pick one big city and two additional places.

Go later in September or October. Great weather, less crowds.

Great advice -
"cut one of Rome or Florence to give yourself more time in Tuscany and Amalfi"

Rent a Vrbo in Tuscany and explore the hilltop towns for 5 to 6 days

Find somewhere on the Amalfi/Cinque Terre coast and do the same

Do guided tours in Florence or Rome for 2 days

I can't "La Dolce Vita" moving every few days for 2 weeks.

"Tuscany is the world, Italy is the universe" - this was in a book in our VRBO

Views from our rentals over the years.

Agreed with others here. I wouldn't spend two nights in Venice. That was something I was happy to have seen, but its so crowded during the day (especially if a cruise ship is in).

If your wife is set on Amalfi area then thats what will happen, but I would add a night to your Rome time and to your Florence time and to your Tuscany time.

I'd agree with some other posters that you should cut one of your cities. Personally after doing Florence and Rome on our honeymoon last September, both my wife and I agreed that we would much rather spend time in Florence than Rome. We were able to do all the major sights in Rome walking in about half-a-day, and only went because we were flying out of Rome. (Got in around lunch time, saw the sights, slept, and flew out the next day). Plus, if you plan to do this in 2025 Rome will be even more of a Zoo than usual because of the Catholic Jubilee.

I'd highly recommend more time in Tuscany. Personally, I'd cut Rome, cut down Amalfi by a night or 2, and add those back into Florence/Tuscany.
You can do the major sights in the city of Florence in one long day. We got up early, did the Duomo/Bell tower, and then got to see just about everything except the actual David statue since we didn't get tickets in time.

I can't speak on Venice.

As far as driving goes, taking the scenic route from Florence to Rome would take about a day if you're doing it leisurely and stopping along the way.

Edit to add: We did a similar thing to you guys on our Honeymoon - traveling for a little over 2 weeks mostly spending 2 nights in each location. We agreed it got pretty tiring after the 2nd or 3rd move. Made the call that in the future we will be doing 3 nights in a location minimum unless we really only need to spend a day there.

We did:
NYC - 2 nights (positioning for flight) - fly to Milan
Como - 2 nights (Highly recommend Lake Como! Although would be a bit far on this trip unless you removed another destination)
- Train from Como across Alps to Strasbourg -
Alsace - 3 nights
- Train to Munich -
Munich - 2 nights
- Flight back to Florence (overnight train was canceled)
Florence - 2 nights (Would have gladly spent 3 or more)
Tuscany/Umbria - 3 nights (3 nights in one spot in Tuscany would be a good amount. 2 minimum)
Rome - 1 nights (positioning to fly home).

(Bear in mind the Munich detour was to visit family)
Our takeaways:
Como was expensive but we would have gladly spent another night, especially if we could have stayed up the lake.
Florence was fantastic and we didn't have nearly enough time there.
Tuscany/Umbria was great and we want to go back and focus on this area in the future
Rome was too touristy and we would only go back here if we had to due to the airport.

Praiano is one of the hidden gems in the Amalfi Coast. Also less tourists. Ristorante Franchino, Kasai, & Donna Clelia great places to eat there

My wife and I loved Venice. Yes, it is very crowded at the big sites. But, you can get away from that and wander some of the other streets and canals and be among just locals. Agree with the suggestion of taking a water taxi to Murano and Burano. We had the most amazing risotto I have ever eaten on Burano and the glass blowing slips are worth a stop.

Thanks for this. Do you have an opinion on staying Airbnb vs. hotel on the coast?

hotwing said:

---

Thanks for this. Do you have an opinion on staying Airbnb vs. hotel on the coast?

---

When we were there we went the Airbnb route but there are some nice hotels as well.

Following this thread. We are doing a similar trip in November but going south to north.

Two weeks: Flying to Naples and spending 2-3 days on the Amalfi Coast. Train to Rome for 2-3 days, train to Florence for 2-3 days then flying home out of Florence.

We bought our tickets (Lufthansa), and booked our Florence stay. (Hilton Grand Vacations)

Everything else is up in the air.

ETA: a thread I started a couple of weeks ago, has some info to share

https://texags.com/forums/54/topics/3528935

We did a trip very similar to yours last year. I wrote a pretty detailed summary. We had a blast. Started in Venice - we really enjoyed Venice and would visit it again. Then to Como - sights,villas were amazing. On to Rome - we loved it and the weather was perfect (May). Next, Amalfi Coast - Positano, Vernazza, Monterosso, Capri - once again, amazing. Almost saw some people get crushed trying to enter the Blue Grotto. It was an amazing trip. Have Fun.

One thing to keep in mind is that this year is the Jubilee, so Italy, especially Rome, will be MUCH more crowded than normal. Due to that, it will likely take much longer to do things in Rome due to the amount of waiting you are likely going to have to do to enter popular attractions. Just something to keep in mind.

We are going to Italy in June. Milan, then Florence, finishing and flying back from Rome. Most of our time will be spent in and around Florence. We've spent a lot of time in Rome on previous trips, so we're planning on spending only 2 full days there this time.

mefoghorn said:

---

First off, make sure you can fly home from Naples. Rome, Venice and Milan have the most options.

At least you're only moving every other night. But that's a lot of moving unless someone else is organizing it. I would add another day in Venice and Rome. These are two of the great, unique cities of the world. Don't rush it! Get private tour guides to help you get the most out of these. On your current timeline these will be just a blur.

Tuscany and Amalfi have been very trendy so it seems a little risky there. I would do only one of those.

---

Most people say no more than a day in Venice. We had a day and a half it was way more than we needed. It is personal preference of course.

I'm an enormous fan of the Dolomites. If you have more than 2 days in Venice, I'd look into tours or hiring a car and driving up to the Dolomites for the day.

Rome is cool to see once: in a day and a half you can hit the Vatican see St Peters, the chapel, and the museum complex around it, and a lot of the Roman period ruins or remnants in the vicinity.

I liked Florence a bit more. You can more easily walk it and it is loaded with winding cobble streets and museums.

Balogna was ok.

We drove to San Marino (independent state) and had a great time. It's pretty unique and surprisingly outdoors and scenic as tiny as it is.

We also hit Verona, and it is a beautiful city also, had a great time here. It's right at the foothills of the alps with a huge pretty river going through town.

Be careful to not spend all your time traveling instead of being there. It's an easy mistake to make. We did high speed trains and car rental.

We did the Holy Trinity a few years back - Venice, Florence, Rome. In Rome we took a long day to go to Pompeii and honestly it was one of best parts of our trip. You may want to give it a look. We took a train from Rome to Naples to Pompeii and it was easy peasy. You can hire a guide at the entrance, but we just went in on our own and tagged along with an english speaking tour guide for a good while. I have talked to a number of other people who also said Pompeii was the highlight of their trip. May want to give it a look. It is only takes one day and is amazing.

https://apple.news/Af6VqiUPORXKvS1l8iOkgpw

Thank you everyone for your recommendations. Our trip is finalized and booked. We ended up doing the below:

[color=#000000]DAY 1: AMALFI COAST: arrive Naples, car to Praiano [/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 2: AMALFI COAST: Path of Gods hiking, sunset boat cruise[/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 3: AMALFI COAST: Beach club day with dinner plans[/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 4: AMALFI COAST: Exploration day, Ravello[/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 5: AMALFI COAST: Full boat day[/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 6: AMALFI COAST: Cooking Class[/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 7: FLORENCE: Travel by train from Amalfi to Florence[/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 8: FLORENCE: Explore[/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 9: UMBRIA: Drive rental car from Florence to Assissi agriturismo[/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 10: UMBRIA: Explore [/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 11: UMBRIA: Full-day wine tour[/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 12: ROME: Travel from Umbria to Rome, Evening Colosseum tour[/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 13: ROME: Vatican tour in morning[/color]
[color=#000000]DAY 14: ROME: Fly from Rome back home[/color]


[color=#000000]Taking dinner recs for these places. And anything else that might come to mind.[/color]

That's a better looking plan. Have to pick and choose your spots when you've only got a couple of weeks. Myself, I'm doing northern Italy next May, flying into and out of Milan (3 nights), then hitting Cinque Terre by train (3 nights), then picking up a rental car at Florence airport to go to Siena (2, seeing San Gimignano on the way), Montepulciano (3, Pienza and the Val d'Orcia), returning the rental car in Florence (2), Bologna (3, side trip to Modena) before returning to Milan.