Check out the Itinerary here for a detailed look into what we did, where we stayed and what transportation we took!
Italy was an incredible experience, and not only because it was our honeymoon! You’ll notice in some of the pictures that Luke was on crutches- he experienced a hairline fracture on his foot right before we left, but we were still able to see and do everything we wanted. The airports and hotels were very accommodating, although it wasn’t easy for him to get around on crutches in some of the older cities.
We chose to stay in northern Italy and fully plan to go back to explore the Tuscany area and the southern part of the country in the future. It is always our goal to really see a country we visit and visit smaller, less touristy parts of the area. We did rent a car while here and although the Italians drive on the right side of the road like Americans, they have a unique driving style (see: aggressive) and speed traps are everywhere. Driving can also be tricky due to the ZTEs (areas where only local traffic is allowed and comes with steep penalties), but we found it to be easier than either train or tour bus (although honestly we have never opted for a tour bus).
Venice
One of the reasons we chose Italy as our honeymoon destination was to visit Venice. Not only is this city one of the most unique and beautiful cities in the world, there is also a looming threat of it going under water in the near future (and in 2018 that reality came to fruition for a short period of time). There are also threats of limiting tourism, which wouldn’t be the worst idea from our experience.
Beware: When we first arrived to Venice, exhausted and jet lagged, we were immediately approached by a man offering to help us find transportation to our hotel. Normally red flags would go up for us, but we were swept up before we knew it and the man had grabbed our bags and took us to a water taxi. The cost of that would be crazy (80 Euro or so) so we opted to do the water bus instead. The man would not go away until we paid him for his ‘assistance’ so we just gave him 10 Euro to go away (we didn’t want to take any chances of our things being stolen). Beware of these individuals when you arrive and don’t accept assistance unless it is an official.
Although we did have that negative experience in Venice, it was an otherwise beautiful couple of days. St. Marks Basillica and the gondola ride were incredible, and we are still in awe of how this lagoon became such an amazing city. We went in the height of tourist season, end of June/early July, so it was very busy but the weather was great and our pictures are beautiful. We stayed at a hotel called Hotel Cristallo that was in a great location. Free breakfast and they gave us a bottle of Prosecco because it was our honeymoon!
I had read online that you can haggle the price of your gondola ride- in our experience that was not the case. It was 80 Euro (the guy would not budge, apparently the city sets the rates) but still a must if you visit Venice. Our Gondolier was not super talkative, but he was great about answering my many questions and he pointed out what is supposedly Marco Polo’s house. He ended up dropping us off at a very narrow pier, which would have been fine if Luke were not on crutches- I thought I may have to fish him out of the water!
Cinque Terre
From Venice, we rented a car and drove to Cinque Terre. We would have taken the train, but the next part of our trip required a car and I was unable to find an automatic to rent from La Spezia (right outside of Cinque Terre) that was a decent price. It ended up being cheaper for us to rent the car in Venice and park it in a garage for 3 days than to buy 2 train tickets to Cinque Terre and rent the car from there. Also, if you decide to park your car in La Spezia book it ahead of time- I booked months in advance at Trenitalia – Riomaggiore Train Station to Stazione La Spezia Centrale and boy am I glad we did- all the lots were sold out when we got there.
Cinque Terre itself has very few cars, with a train running along the 5 different towns (and a hike, but the main part was shut down while we were there). We stayed at an Air BNB in Riomaggore, which ended up being the best choice- it was quiet, had a lot of places to eat and even had a surprise piano and xylophone show one evening! We were able to buy some wine from a local shop (they loved Luke – he hobbled in there on his crutches and put the wine in his pants pocket to bring back to us- that’s dedication!) and sit and enjoy the show.
We went to all 5 towns, each with their own unique look and feel. Lemon trees are everywhere in Cinque Terre, so be sure to sample their lemon products- the lemonade and lemon liquor were great! We spent a wonderful 3 days exploring the towns, eating great food, trying the Orange Spritzer (not really our taste) and getting lots of beautiful pictures.
There was a picture (below) that we really wanted to get in Vernazza- but it took a bit of a hike to get there. Luke toughed it out and managed to get up there on his crutches- he was an inspiration to everyone climbing at the time! A mom and dad walking by with their kids pointed out that if a guy on crutches could do the hike without complaint they could too! Vernazza was stunning, but it is also where the cruise ships dock so beware of crowds at a certain time of the day (we also wouldn’t recommend staying there for this reason).
Verona
We made a quick stop at Verona on our way up to Lake Garda (more on that in a second)- the parking was fairly easy to find- we parked at the Piazza Citadella. Verona is not only the city of Romeo and Juliet (I have a hard time not including Fair when I type out Verona), but also includes the oldest colosseum outside of Rome. The outside is incredible, and the inside is still used for shows! That brings me to my one criticism of the visit- we paid 20 Euro a piece to go inside, only to find much of it renovated for modern use. We recommend enjoying the view from the outside and spending your money elsewhere.
Outside of the Colosseum, we went to Juliet’s Balcony (really crowded, but there is a neat statue you can get a picture with, and you can even take a tour of the inside!), The Church of San Zeno Maggiore and walked around to some of the shops. If you want a shopping trip but don’t necessarily want to brave the narrow alleyways of Venice to do it, Verona is a great option. The city square (Piazza delle Erbe) is also amazing.
Lake Garda
Lake Garda turned out to be one of the great surprises of our trip- we had originally intended it to be a more relaxing stop to our vacation, complete with a beach and family friendly activities. It was that and so much more! We stayed at the Hotel Du Lac et Bellevue, where we were given a lovely balcony room with access to a pool and hot tub. We were right along the lake, so walked to the town center several times where there were lots of restaurants and shops. This area is more of a European vacation spot, but it gave us a great local vibe and was an overall great experience.
Sirmione
For our full day in the Lake Garda area we went over to Sirmione, which turned out to be my favorite day! To enter into the town you must pass by the castle on the lake called Scaliger Castle and through the town gates (which was so cool, but watch out for the cars!). Inside there are cobblestone streets, restaurants with views of the lake and great picture opportunities. At the end of the town is a large area of Roman Ruins called the Grotto of Catullus (although it is not a Grotto, it was a villa) that were amazing to look at – along with a small museum of the artifacts found here. If you choose to stay in this city (and, looking back, that would have been a great decision), there are also thermal baths that were originally part of the Grotto of Catullo that you can enjoy.
The Dolomites
From Lake Garda, we hopped into the car and started our trek north to the Dolomites (otherwise referred to as the Italian Alps). It was an incredible drive- not only were the views amazing, but all of a sudden the architecture and language on the road signs changed to German. It was such a cool part of our trip and made it seem like we went to a different country! As we climbed further into the mountains, the hairpin turns became more frequent, as well as the tour buses. Drive carefully! Visibility around the turns was not great, and the tour buses seemed to come out of nowhere. We made a picture stop and I had to take a few deep breaths to get my heart rate down- those hairpin turns were an experience!
Luckily, as we were unable to do difficult hikes, there are ski lifts that operate in the summer to take you to the views. We started with the Col Raiser lift in Bardolino, then to the Cir Lift in Santa Cristina Valgardena. We discovered that the top lift in Bardolino wasn’t open (and we were told it wasn’t going to, but found out later that it opened later in the day!) so we drove around the other side and Luke went up the lift himself since it was 30 Euro a piece. Part of me wishes I would have gone up as well, but I got to explore the nearby town and it felt like I was in Austria!
These two days were Luke’s favorite- in fact, the Dolomites are his favorite sites we have ever seen! We stayed at Hotel Cristallo for one night, and we wish we could have stayed more! They upgraded our room, we got access to the sauna (which, as Americans, was an interesting experience- the Europeans are….freer than we were) and we had a wonderful dinner, including amazing octopus and goat cheese salmon orzo. The service was incredible- we highly recommend! As a matter of fact, the hotel still sends Luke a happy birthday email every year.
Our last full day in the dolomites we did the Lagazuoi Tunnels Hike, which offered amazing views and a look at some WWI tunnels. Getting to this area we rode a cable car that took us to the mountain peak, where there was a restaurant (Rifugio ) were we could grab a snack and drink. We did not go into the tunnels as we were not able to with the crutches, but we aren’t sure if we would have if we were able to just because we were there mainly for the views. Here I got what I call my ‘Lion King’ picture and its one of my favorites. Many chose to hike on the way down, which looked amazing and we recommend if you can! If not, a quick cable ride is always available.
From here, we drove over to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo Loop, which is one of the most iconic hikes in the Dolomites. It consists of three massive rock formations jutting out of the mountain and a relatively easy hike to get to the famous views. Be sure to get there early! We had to park pretty far away and drive around for a bit to find a spot. It did cost us $25 to get up to the parking spot, so be sure to add that into your budget.
The hike starts at a Rifugio (called Rifugio Lavaredo), where we grabbed a quick lunch, and hike around the side of the rock formations and end at Rifugio Locatelli to get the best views. In the interest of transparency, we were unable to complete this hike due to the crutches (we didn’t know this when we got up there, so that was disappointing), but from all of the reviews that we have read this is an incredible hike with amazing views (easy to medium difficulty). We did get some great pictures from the beginning of the hike and the wildflowers were in full bloom.
From here, we drove back to our hotel near the Venice airport (the Antony Hotel) to depart early the next day.
Other Highlights and Tips
In our experience, Italians tended to be very aggressive drivers- I was careful to go the speed limit out of fear of the speed traps but it turns out they warned you ahead of time (unless you are driving through a town). Also- if you get a car with GPS you also get a warning to slow down!
Unless you are a true wine connoisseur, the house wine is perfectly fine. We would order a carafe for dinner and it was cheap and delicious!
In Venice there is a ‘sitting fee’ in many of the restaurants around the main tourist area. Its not much, but just to warn you if you are looking to save on extras. The restaurants were really nice about letting Luke sit down for free though!
Unless you are a big fan of bottled water, ask specifically for tap water. You have to pay for the bottled water (and sometimes they will bring you sparkling bottled water).
