too many options .. itinerary help please

E

EmilyT

New member
soo how did you choose where you stay?? there are soo many options its slightly overwhelming!! i am seeking thoughts and suggestions..

My fiance and i will be staying 4 nights in tuscany then moving on to venice as part of our honeymoon in august :o this does not include florence as we do that later in our trip.

our trip run down is something like this (nothing is booked other than the flight into Rome and the bus tour starting in Rome so i am open to suggestions):

- Arrive in Rome at 6am, train to Florence
- Hire a rental in Florence and head to the countryside
- stay somewhere central for 4 nights (San Gimignano?? Chianti - Rudda/Greve/ Castellina/ Gaiole??? Pontassive?? Poggobonsi??)
- day trips to Lucca, Siena, Val d'Orica?
- head back to florence on the 5th day to return the car and train to Venice
- in Venice for 4 days (was thinking flying to Naples/Sorrento rather then train to cut down travel time)
- Sorrento/Naples for 4days inlcuding days trips to Pompei, Amalfi coast, and possibly isle of capri
- train to rome for 3 days
- start a bus tour in Rome then off to FLorence and Switzerland, Paris and London :D

we are wanting to experience the tuscan lifestyle and the countryside rather than cities and not stay in a place that is too fancy, too restored or a typical hotel.

we want to do a wine tour and a cooking class as well.

We will have a car.

our budget is 80-150 euro per night (cheaper the better for the budget obviously), to have a pool is a strong desirable and i'm thinking air conditioning too however a few reviews i have read say that if the property is up high on the hills you get a cool breeze and air con is not really needed?!


thank you
Emily
 
Itin Overwhelment

Buongiorno -

Sounds like a wonderful honeymoon!!

I would suggest that you reconsider 4 days in Venice - and maybe do 2 or 3 days. Venice is goregous but it is also expensive, and really you have seen most everything in 2 days. Add these days to either Tuscany or Naples where there is so much more to see. Besides that, after the excitment (and let's admit it: & the stress) of the wedding you will be running on inertia for another 24 - 48 hours and then you will need some serious down time so you can enjoy the honeymoon.

Another day or two in Tuscany will give you some beautiful places to just mellow out and then you can program visiting all the sites plus a day or two poolside enjoying each other :-)

Here are a couple of places I suggest you look at for accommodations:

Casa Palmira (B&B) - located in Mugello, you will have an excellent opportunity for the pool and cooking lessons, they are super friendly and very romantic. It is close to Florence so your day trips are all very do-able.

Candida's Chianti House (B&B) - no pool - but it has everything else on your list (2 days here - 2 days in Mugello ? - 2 days in Val d'Orcia....) including cooking lessons and really getting a chance to meet the people

Castello di Ripa d'Orcia (B&B) - this is an adult B&B and has stunning views - plus the romance of staying in a real castle

Buon Viaggio
 
still hard to choose

Ciao DonnaDenise,

thanks for your response :) we are getting very excited!

we leave 1.5days after our wedding :)

so based on your suggestion we should look at:

2nights/3days in Venice?

we will be catching a train into Venice and thinking of doing a short flight (2hrs apprx.) to Naples rather then a lengthy train ride (5-7hrs)

5nights/6days in Tuscany?

6nights/7days in Naples/Sorrento/Amalfi Coast?

thank you for those recommendations.. we would prefer to have the pool at the property we stay at though

whilst in Tuscany would you suggest we stay in the 1 base located more centrally, or 2 bases - 1 near Val d'Orcia and 1 near the top part of chianti region??

also, i was hoping we might bwe able to see fields of sunflowers during our stay but i understand that will be dependant on the season - do you know where we could see these fields? witht the slight chance the sunflowers are still in bloom

sorry for the 20 questions :rolleyes:

Emily
 
More answers . . . and some sunflowers

Happy Honeymooners!

2nights/3days in Venice? Definitely - and leave your time schedule flexible so that you can leave at anytime on the 3rd day.

we will be catching a train into Venice and thinking of doing a short flight (2hrs apprx.) to Naples rather then a lengthy train ride (5-7hrs) .... sounds like a good idea

5nights/6days in Tuscany? I am probably baised :o but do 6/7 in Tuscany and 5/6 in Naples...add another day and you could add Cinque Terre....

6nights/7days in Naples/Sorrento/Amalfi Coast? see above....

thank you for those recommendations.. we would prefer to have the pool at the property we stay at though then definitely look at Casa Palmira - I know its not in Chianti, but the atmosphere is very romantic, the pool is perfect and I bet you two would love to do a cooking class and dinner with the owners

whilst in Tuscany would you suggest we stay in the 1 base located more centrally, or 2 bases - 1 near Val d'Orcia and 1 near the top part of chianti region?? Two bases, absolutely. Val d'Orcia is definitely the place to stay for the second stop - and it is most probably in this area that you will find fields of sunflowers. Sorry I didn't see the time period you will be travelling ?

Buon Viaggio
 
Great advice Donna!

I was also looking at the period when you are coming.... particularly for the sunflowers, but also to suggest areas. I would also divide the time in Tuscany into two bases, one in southern area, the other closer to Florence (not necessarily Chianti). When there are sunflowers, I've even seen them right outside Florence ;-)
 
plans coming along..

Buongiorno Donna and Lourdes

we arrive in Rome on 1st August at like 6am or something, travel by train to Florence that morning to rent a car.. we will be visiting and staying Florence as part of our tour so we will be getting the car and heading to the country :)

ok so the plan now is to spend:
7days/6nights in Tuscany - with 2 bases (southern & northern)
3days/2nights in Venice
6days/5nights in Naples/Sorrento/Amalfi Coast
2days/2nights in Rome before our tour starts there

whilst in Tuscany do day trips to Lucca, Siena, Chianti, San Gimignano, Val d'Orica region and if possible wherever the sunflower fields are :D can some of these places be seen in half a day?

i will have another look at Casa Palmira :)

thanks again for all your suggestions - its helping alot!

Emily :)
 
Where the sunflowers grow

It is hard to pin them down because the farmers will rotate them out so that they don't over tax the land - however I can offer that most don't harvest until very late in the season - so even if they are not young .... you should still be able to find some fields especially in the Val d'Orcia area. Simply stick to the main roads - and they will (magically appear) left or right.

Within the next month those of us that live here can begin to guess where the fields will be planted - you can see the first growth. If I see any in my travels around Tuscany I will find a way to broadcast it online on the forum - so keep your eyes up, and check back in mid to late June. :p
 
Four day's not enough in Campania Region!

EmilyT said:
soo how did you choose where you stay?? there are soo many options its slightly overwhelming!! i am seeking thoughts and suggestions..

My fiance and i will be staying 4 nights in tuscany then moving on to venice as part of our honeymoon in august :o this does not include florence as we do that later in our trip.

our trip run down is something like this (nothing is booked other than the flight into Rome and the bus tour starting in Rome so i am open to suggestions):

- Arrive in Rome at 6am, train to Florence
- Hire a rental in Florence and head to the countryside
- stay somewhere central for 4 nights (San Gimignano?? Chianti - Rudda/Greve/ Castellina/ Gaiole??? Pontassive?? Poggobonsi??)
- day trips to Lucca, Siena, Val d'Orica?
- head back to florence on the 5th day to return the car and train to Venice
- in Venice for 4 days (was thinking flying to Naples/Sorrento rather then train to cut down travel time)
- Sorrento/Naples for 4days inlcuding days trips to Pompei, Amalfi coast, and possibly isle of capri
- train to rome for 3 days
- start a bus tour in Rome then off to FLorence and Switzerland, Paris and London :D

we are wanting to experience the tuscan lifestyle and the countryside rather than cities and not stay in a place that is too fancy, too restored or a typical hotel.

we want to do a wine tour and a cooking class as well.

We will have a car.

our budget is 80-150 euro per night (cheaper the better for the budget obviously), to have a pool is a strong desirable and i'm thinking air conditioning too however a few reviews i have read say that if the property is up high on the hills you get a cool breeze and air con is not really needed?!


thank you
Emily
Click to expand...



Hi Emily,
Even though it's doable you might need more than four days if you want to do Sorrento, Pompeii Amalfi and Capri. The train ( Circumvesuviana line) from Naples to Sorrento is an hour. Sorrento is probably the best place to base yourself as it is half hour to Pompeii back towards Naples and it is a little over an hour to Amalfi( depending on traffic). You can get the boat to Capri from Sorrento . It is a stunning area. I have just returned from Praiano, a quiet and very local town between Positano and Amalfi. Pompeii itself needs at least a half a day to go around it ( I have been four times and still want to go back!) so that is one day gone. You will take a day in Amalfi too and also Capri. I personally don't like Naples but if you are interested in Pompeii I would highly recommend the Archaeological Museum in Naples, it is absolutely amazing...there are about two or three floors dedicated to Pompeii and Herculaneum. Your honeymoon sounds amazing! Enjoy and best of luck for the future!
 
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