Honeymoon advice - Spain & Italy

[ruzzi]

We are getting married the 2nd week of September in Paris and hoping to go to Spain the week before and Italy for 2 weeks after for the honeymoon before returning to Australia The thing I'm having trouble with is figuring out where to go in Spain & Italy! 1st week of September (pre-wedding): Spain Barcelona (3 nights) - Granada (1 night) - ?? some other places along the coast? Note: We've never been to Spain. 3rd & 4th week of September (honeymoon): Italy Venice (2 nights) - Tuscany (4 nights) - Amalfi Coast (4 nights) - Somewhere else in between? I'd like to do a couple short drives (2-3 hours?) but not sure when to drive and when to fly? Note: We've only been to Rome and no where else in Italy. Not looking to rush things, just chill out, relax, see some places we haven't seen before!

 

[gomestar]

skip Venice, I'd do 3 nights in Piedmont and 3 in Tuscany instead. Within Tuscany maybe 2 nights in Florence and 1 in Siena. But that's just me.

 

[max b]

Just an idea : the region of Umbria. We call it the green heart of Italy. Val d'Orcia in Tuscany it is magneficent. Other ideas : Verona Capri Sardinia...actually too much to see here !

 

[FunLovinStyle]

I personally don't care for Barcelona. I think you'd be better off in Madrid... there's more to do in the historic core of the city and a lively dinner in Plaza Mayor at dusk is very enjoyable. The food itself will be mediocre but the ambiance is very nice. You could also take a day trip to nearby Toledo which is beautiful. Regarding Italy, I'd spend a few nights in Florence or perhaps Siena (be sure to spend a few hours in nearby Pisa to gawk at the leaning tower) and perhaps a day or two in the hill towns such as San Gimignano. I would also recommend a few days in Rome. You could drive this distance if you wanted to, but its probably unscenic highway, so I'd take the highspeed train instead which takes 2 hours or less. From Rome, you could make a day trip out of visiting Pompeii and Sorrento. Sorrento is sort of the gateway to the Amalfi Coast. My opinion is that the Amalfi Coast is more fun to enjoy from the water. Cruising by in a small boat, studying the buildings precariously perched on the cliffs is more fun than actually walking around there. I don't know what I'd do with 4 nights in those towns. You might want to pick up Rick Steves' Italy guidebook and read it cover to cover. That's what I do before my travels. Good luck with the wedding and honeymoon and be sure to let us know how things progress!

 

[darnelled]

I loved Barcelona and Grenada. Madrid was fun in a "big city" sort of way with museums, great places to eat, etc. but I didn't think it was that romantic or pretty. It's an easy place to go as most speak English.

 

[zoneahead]

I've read that a lot of people trying to combine Granada and Barcelona in the same trip end up flying as Granada can be tricky to get to as there aren't a lot of direct routes from other major destinations and no high speed rail yet. Adding a 3rd destination with somewhat easier access to Granada may be the easiest logistically. Maybe check out Seville or somewhere near Malaga on the coast.

Others have mentioned Madrid. It's a nice hub with easy access to several options for day or overnight trips via high speed rail such as Seville, Toledo, Segovia, Cordoba, etc...

 

[TheIdler]

As mentioned above, Barcelona is not easy to get to from Granada. It is, however, a great city. As with most of these things, it would help if you gave us an idea of what you're looking for--e.g., quiet, romantic getaway or more cultural/historical stuff.

If I were you, I'd choose either some combination of Seville-Cordoba-Granada-Toledo-Madrid or just do Catalonia--like three days Barcelona and three days Costa Brava+Girona.

 

[ruzzi]

thank you for the ideas guys, i'm going to have a look at these tonight! looking for quiet, relaxing + romantic getaway... cultural/historical is not a priority for this trip although would be a nice bonus!

 

[badsha]

Going to revive this thread. I have done searches on other threads as well. Seeking advice on options and feasibility.

I want to take my wife on a Europe trip in late April/early May. Was thinking 2.5 weeks. Turkey (Istanbul), Spain (Barcelona or Madrid) and Italy (Florence, Rome, Naples). Is this even feasible? Main goal is to eat, shop, scenery. Dont really care about museums.

 

[Michigan Planner]

I love Spain and we considered going there for our honeymoon (my wife had never been and I wanted to go back) but ultimately decided against it because there is just too much to see and do and we really wanted to just go sit on a beach somewhere and could do that less expensively in the Caribbean.

That being said, I agree with some of the other posters that Madrid > Barcelona. If it were me, I would spend 2 nights in Grenada and 2 or 3 nights in Madrid and then maybe the rest of the time in Spain sightseeing in Castile and León, Catalonia or Aragon. If you are dead set on the coast, Terragona is nice, and a bit less expensive and less crowded than Barcelona.

As for Italy... I found Florence much more enjoyable than Venice and could easily spend all two weeks in Tuscany. The Amalfi Coast area is nice and very scenic but again, I'd still rather be in the North. The Piedmont and Lombardy are both very scenic and much different than what many people expect when they think of the geography of Italy. The area north of Trieste is also pretty great and driving through it towards Austria will make you think you are in the High Plains in the United States.

In the end, I would recommend fewer destinations but staying longer at each of them. To me, just a couple nights in one spot is not enough time to be comfortable. I would feel that I am always on the go.

 

[badsha]

Thanks man appreciate it. I was thinking the same thing. Need to just sit down and work out where to go.