This post's overview:
- 1 Flying to Italy: things you need to know
- 2 Getting around Italy: should you rent a car?
- 3 Getting around by trains
- 4 Cost of a honeymoon in Italy: what to expect?
- 5 Best time of the year to go to Italy for a honeymoon
- 6 Itinerary for a honeymoon in Italy: 10 days in Cinque Terre, Florence and Rome
- 7 Day 1: Arriving in Italy, arranging transport and heading to Cinque Terre
- 8 Best things to do in Cinque Terre on honeymoon (Days 2-4)
- 9 Day 4: Spending a morning & early afternoon in Cinque Terre and heading to Florence
- 9.1 Where to stay in Florence on honeymoon
- 9.2 Things to do in Florence on honeymoon
- 9.2.1 Take a historical walking tour around the city
- 9.2.2 Visit the best museums in Florence
- 9.2.3 Enjoy the panorama of the city from Piazzale Michelangelo
- 9.2.4 Listen to the street musicians at the Piazza della Signoria in the evenings
- 9.2.5 Have a wine tasting at a vineyard in Tuscany
- 9.2.6 Go shopping
- 9.3 Where to eat in Florence on a honeymoon:
- 10 Days 7-10: Honeymoon in Rome
- 11 Summary of the itinerary for a romantic honeymoon in Italy in 10 days
- 12 Some of our other articles you might like:
In this article, you can find a perfect Italy honeymoon itinerary for 10 days in Cinque Terre, Florence and Rome. This itinerary is ideal for couples who prefer an active honeymoon, where they can explore many stunning villages, towns and cities, try local cuisine and get to know Italian culture a bit better.
If you’re new to this blog, hi, we are Liza and Jose, a married couple based in London. We love travelling and in the last 6 years, we’ve been to plenty of honeymoon destinations around the world. On this blog, we are sharing our travel itineraries for honeymoon-worthy destinations, among other travel tips and recommendations, as well as itineraries for countries all around the world!
Flying to Italy: things you need to know
Let’s talk about the flights to Italy first! If you have an opportunity to get a multi-city flight (a flight that arrives in one city and departs from another city), that’s amazing. In this case, you can fly to Genoa or Pisa (the two closest airports to Cinque Terre) and depart from Rome. Check availability and prices of multi-city flights here >
If you can only arrive and depart from the same airport, it would make sense to use either Florence Airport or Rome airport; however, getting to Cinque Terre from Rome will definitely take a bit of time (it’s over 5 hours driving or 4 hours by train from Rome).
Getting around Italy: should you rent a car?
Since this trip mainly includes big cities and you won’t be able to drive in Cinque Terre, this trip doesn’t really need a car. You can totally spend a honeymoon in Italy visiting the main highlights of Cinque Terre, Tuscany and visit the capital, Rome, without hiring a car. However, if you think you would enjoy your honeymoon in Italy more if you hire a car or you definitely want to visit some of the best off-the-beaten-path spots (e.g. some rural vineyards), you can hire a car from either Rentalcars.com or Expedia. Please keep in mind that you won’t be able to enter most of the villages in Cinque Terre by car, and parking lots are often full and are located quite far from the actual villages. Hence, to leave your car, it would make sense to find a hotel with a parking lot in a nearby town. La Spezia or Lerici could be a good option (check hotels Miramare Apartments & Suites or Hotel Florida Lerici)
Getting around by trains
Getting around Italy by train is actually super easy! Trains are a preferred way of commuting between villages in Cinque Terre, plus getting to other cities from Cinque Terre by train is also very easy! You can always buy tickets online on Omio or just buy them in a local ticket office on the day of your trip (however, in this case, you could risk the fact that some of the trains might be fully booked)
Cost of a honeymoon in Italy: what to expect?
When planning a honeymoon in Italy, it’s always important to consider costs beforehand. Italy can be budget-friendly; however, it can also be as expensive as you want it to be. You can find hotels for any budget and in this article, we will provide options for various price ranges!
Overall, a night in a budget-friendly hotel during the high season (April to October) can cost between €80 and €130, a night in a 4*-5* hotel would be €200-300 and luxurious hotels and villas start from €350 per night.
We usually spend around €60-80 for dinner for two people in nice places, however, you can find cheaper places €30-50 for dinner and much more expensive places (with tasting menus and expensive wines) for €180-500 for dinner for two.
Lunch & breakfast are usually much cheaper, €10-20 average price for breakfast in a cafe and €25-40 for lunch), unless you grab a Foccacia that costs around €4-7.
It’s hard to predict the train prices, but you shouldn’t spend more than €200-300 for two for all the train tickets on this trip.
Best time of the year to go to Italy for a honeymoon
Italy is amazing all year long, however, some months can be rainier than the others. Usually, the best time to visit Italy is from April to early November, however, summer is often too got. When we went to Cinque Terre in July, it was 35C every day, and the temperature in Florence exceeded 42C. It’s not a pleasant experience and you won’t be able to walk around Florence and enjoy the city when it’s hotter than 33-35C.
I would say the best months for a honeymoon in Italy (Cinque Terre, Florence and Rome) are late April to mid-June and September to mid-October. Most likely, it wouldn’t be too hot, and if you choose September, for example, you would still be able to swim in Cinque Terre! (The main benefit of heading to Italy in summer & early Autumn is being able to swim).
Itinerary for a honeymoon in Italy: 10 days in Cinque Terre, Florence and Rome
Alright, now it’s finally time to talk about the itinerary for the perfect honeymoon in Italy! I recommend spending at least 10 days in Italy to be able to slow down and enjoy the places you are visiting. However, if you only have 7 days, for example, it’s also fine. You will have to cut the time spent in each place. If you want to stay longer, for example 2 weeks, consider adding some other amazing places to the honeymoon itinerary. E.g. you could add Positano or Capri, or start the journey earlier, visiting lake Como near Milan, for example.
Day 1: Arriving in Italy, arranging transport and heading to Cinque Terre
Your first day in Italy will depend on your arrival time and place. If you arrive in Rome, you will need to take a train to La Spezia (Cinque Terre) or rent a car and drive for circa 5.5 hours, depending on what you’ve decided about the transport (please see the chapter about getting around Italy at the start of this article for more details). If you arrive in Genoa, take a direct train to Monterosso al Mare (it takes just over an hour). If you arrive at Pisa Airport, take a train to La Spezia (it also takes just over an hour).
In order to get around Cinque Terre, you can buy a train card called Cinque Terre Card. It costs €16 per person per day, but it’s totally worth it, as you will be hopping between villages a lot of time (and each train journey usually costs €4 per person). It is sold in the ticket offices in La Spezia train station.
Where to stay in Cinque Terre on honeymoon?
If your honeymoon is at least 10 days long, I recommend spending 3 nights in Cinque Terre.
There are plenty of places to stay in Cinque Terre for honeymoon for any budget. Out of 5 villages (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore), Monterosso and Riomaggiore are the biggest ones, with the most options for food and places to stay. Monterosso has the biggest beach, however, Manarola also has a few nice places to swim!
Affordable honeymoon hotels in Cinque Terre:
Locanda Il Maestrale (Monterosso)
Stella della Marina (Monterosso)
Luxurious honeymoon hotels in Cinque Terre:
La Casa del Gigante Luxury Collection (Monterosso)
La Vista do Marina by The First (Riomaggiore)
La Torretta Lodge (Manarola)
Best things to do in Cinque Terre on honeymoon (Days 2-4)
While the rest of the honeymoon can get a little bit busier, visiting Cinque Terre should be a fairly relaxing experience. All the villages are located very close to each other and trains between them go very often.
Visit all the 5 villages in Cinque Terre
As I mentioned before, there are 5 main villages in Cinque Terre: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. All of them are wonderful! Our favourite villages were Riomaggiore and Manarola and Monterosso had the best food and beaches. It’s hard to say how much time you need in each of these villages, and I’m sure you will like some more than the others. I’d say that 2.5 days are enough to see most of Cinque Terre and enjoy some quality time in each of these villages.
Best honeymoon-worthy tours to take in Cinque Terre:
Some of the best tours to take in Cinque Terre are small boat tours that bring you to some of the most beautiful places on the coast nearby, wine tasting tours, hiking tours and food tours. Here are some of the best honeymoon-worthy tours to take in Cinque Terre:
Half-day hiking tour in Cinque Terre
Private tour of Cinque Terre with Wine tasting
Where to eat in Cinque Terre on honeymoon:
L’Osteria in Monterosso Al Mare for amazing seafood – this was our favourite restaurant in Cinque Terre
Ristorante Miky
Osteria La Torpedine (Riomaggiore)
Day 4: Spending a morning & early afternoon in Cinque Terre and heading to Florence
On your last day in Cinque Terre, you can explore some of the nearby villages, go for a swim or just relax in the place, where you’ve been staying as you have a journey ahead of you. Today you are going to Florence, the most beautiful city in Italy!
To secure your spot on a convenient, fast and affordable train to Florence, consider booking a train in advance on Omio.
In order to take the train, head to La Spezia train station and take either a direct train to Florence (takes circa 2 hours 30 minutes) or a train to Pisa Centrale and a train to Florence from Pisa Centrale (can be as fast as 1 hour 45 minutes).
Once you arrive in Florence, take a taxi to your hotel.
Where to stay in Florence on honeymoon
Now let’s talk about hotels in Florence. I recommend you stay for at least 3 nights in Florence. There are so many things to do in Florence and nearby that you can easily spend a week in Florence, let alone 3 nights!
Florence has some amazing luxurious hotels, however, it also has a lot of wonderful budget-friendly honeymoon hotels.
Here are some budget-friendly yet stunning honeymoon hotels in Florence (cheaper than €150 per night):
If you’re all in for the ultimate luxury, here are some of the most stunning villas and hotels available in Florence:
Things to do in Florence on honeymoon
Having visited many places around Italy, I must say that Florence is definitely our favourite! Not only Florence is gorgeous, but it also has so many things to do, from visiting some of the best museums and art galleries in the world to exploring monasteries, cathedrals and churches. Florence is also home to a lot of famous designer brands and has a few great outlets located just a short drive away.
Here are some of the best things to do in Florence on honeymoon:
Take a historical walking tour around the city
I’m not a strong advocate of walking tours and prefer to walk without tour guides in the majority of the places we visit, however, Florence has history around every corner, so taking a walking tour around the city centre is a must.
Here are some of the best-rated small-group and private walking tours in Florence:
1.5-hour Florence tour by segway
4-hour private tour including Uffizi & Accademia
Visit the best museums in Florence
Florence is famous for its state-of-the-art museums: art galleries, palaces and cathedrals. A visit to Florence is not complete until you visit at least one:
Uffizi Gallery – buy tickets online here >
Pitti Palace – buy tickets here >
Palazzo Vecchio
Galleria dell’Academia – buy tickets here
Museo Galileo
Palazzo Strozzi
…and there are plenty of other amazing museums! You cannot possibly visit them all on your 10-day honeymoon in Italy and only just over 3 days in Florence, so you’ve got to be picky! Also, make sure to buy the tickets for Uffizi Gallery in advance, as they sell out very quickly!
You can also buy a Florence Pass that would give you priority access to Uffizi and Academia galleries, free entry to the hop-on-hop-off tour and an audio guide app for the city tour of Florence. You can check the prices and availability here >
Enjoy the panorama of the city from Piazzale Michelangelo
Head to Piazzale Michelangelo for a fantastic panorama of the city! Getting there from the city centre takes just about 20-25 minutes walking and the view is absolutely worth it.
Listen to the street musicians at the Piazza della Signoria in the evenings
Another incredibly romantic thing to do in Florence on honeymoon is listening to the street musicians in the city centre. When the sun sets and the heat becomes bearable (only in summer, of course), Florence transforms into the city of music. You can see musicians around every corner, especially close to the Piazza della Signoria.
Have a wine tasting at a vineyard in Tuscany
Florence and Tuscany in particular, are famous for their amazing wine. So why not take advantage of being in the heart of Tuscany and taking one of the wine tasting tours that will bring you to the countryside, show you some of the best vineyards and feed you delicious homemade lunch.
If you’re keen on a small-group tour, this tour would be a great option!
If a private tour is what you would prefer, here’s the best-rated private wine tasting & countryside tour in Florence.
Go shopping
Florence is one of the capitals of fashion and home to plenty of famous Italian designer brands: Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Emilio Pucci and Roberto Cavalli. Not only you can see the latest collections in the boutiques around Florence, but you can also visit the Gucci Museum & even Gucci restaurant. If you are interested in some serious shopping, you can visit one of the most famous designer outlets in Italy, the Mall, located just 30 minutes (driving) from Florence. You can take a shuttle bus that brings you directly to the Outlet. You can find the schedule here.
Where to eat in Florence on a honeymoon:
Honeymoon in Florence is unthinkable without dining at least a couple of amazing restaurants Florence has to offer:
Days 7-10: Honeymoon in Rome
On day 7 of your honeymoon in Italy, it’s time to relocate to your last destination, Rome! All roads lead to Rome and your road to a perfect honeymoon is not an exception. Rome is a stunning atmospheric city, full of history and full of life! It’s chaotic, vibrant and very very beautiful. As you’ll be staying in Rome for the next 3 days, it’s your chance to either splurge on a luxury hotel or save money on a hotel and have some unforgettable experiences instead.
Some of the amazing affordable hotels in Rome:
A Worlds Apart – Barberini Boutique Hotel
Luxurious hotels for a honeymoon in Rome:
Hotel Eden – Dorchester Collection
The best things to do in Rome on honeymoon
Let’s talk about the best things to do in Rome on honeymoon. Rome has even more things to do than Florence, so you will definitely be busy during the last 3.5 days of your honeymoon! If you want to be busy, of course. However, if it’s your first time visiting Rome, I recommend doing at least a bit of sightseeing and visiting some of the main highlights of the city
Go on a Rome sightseeing / walking tour
If you’re visiting Rome for the first time, it makes sense to take a walking / sightseeing tour around the city to learn more about the history of Rome [disclaimer: it’s very VERY long, as we all know] and the best museums to visit in Rome. You will get a taste of the things Rome has to offer and will be able to pick the places you really want to visit on your own later.
Here are some of the walking tours you can take:
Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum Guided Tour
Rome walking tour including the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain
Visit some of the main attractions in Rome
“Eternal” Rome has enough things to do to keep people occupied for weeks! However, as you will only have about 3 days to spend in Rome, you need to be really selective about the places you want to visit! Visiting the Vatican, for example, can take the entire day (or at least 60% of the day).
Here are some of the most popular attractions in Rome that you can visit on your honeymoon:
Trevi Fountain (Try to visit it very early in the morning or late at night to avoid crowds)
Colosseum – you can pre-book tickets here in advance
Pantheon
Vatican Museum (you can book a tour or a ticket)
Roman Forum
Piazza Navona
Borghese Gallery
You can also purchase a Roma pass that would give you free entry to a lot of attractions in Rome as well as free rides in public transport.
Take a Vespa Tour of Rome by night
Nothing can beat a romantic Vespa tour of Rome by night! This tour lasts about 3 hours, and you will have a few stops, including a yummy coffee and gelato stop. You can check the prices and availability of this tour here >
Have a professional photoshoot in Rome
Honeymoon is once in a lifetime occasion, so why not commemorate it with some romantic, professional photos shot in the best locations of Rome? Here are some photographers you can hire for your honeymoon photo shoot.
Learn how to make pasta in Rome
Another one of the fun and romantic experiences in Rome involves making a lot of pasta. Making fresh pasta isn’t that hard, I’d say it’s more fun than hard, so you will definitely enjoy the process. Moreover, at the end of the process, you can also have a delicious meal together. You can book a pasta-making masterclass here >
Where to eat in Rome on honeymoon: amazing restaurants to try
As a capital, Rome has some of the best restaurants in Italy. There are great places around every corner that you can find on Google Maps; however, if you’re looking for a special dining experience, these restaurants are a great option (advance booking is essential)
Summary of the itinerary for a romantic honeymoon in Italy in 10 days
We really hope that this itinerary for a 10-day honeymoon in Italy (Cinque Terre, Rome and Florence) inspired you to start planning your perfect honeymoon!
Some of our other articles you might like:
The best places to swim near Pisa and Cinque Terre