When Ryan and I found out that our wedding would be in the middle of the pandemic, we realized that or honeymoon options would be limited. We considered delaying for something at a later date, but since we didn’t know how long COVID would last, we booked an all-inclusive for right after our wedding. But, we also said that once things opened back up, we were going to take a big trip somewhere. We went back and forth on different locations and eventually settled on Italy. A two-week trip. I had only been once before for a 3-day stay in Rome and Ryan had never been to Italy at all. We booked our flights and the dates were set!

The came the hard part… deciding where to go! Italy has SO many amazing destinations it was hard to pick where we wanted to spend our 14 days. Originally we planned to do Rome, Tuscany and Venice. But after looking at all of the sites and attractions, it was abundantly clear that what those areas offered the most of was museums, churches and historic buildings. Not bad things at all, but I knew Ryan would not enjoy 2 weeks of just that. He is not a history or art buff. So I went back to researching and we decided to add the Amalfi Coast to our itinerary. Here is what we ended up with:

Day 1: Travel day

Day 2 – 3: Rome

Day 4: Florence

Day 5: Montepulciano

Day 6: Venice

Day 7 – 8: Naples

Day 9 – 11: Atrani

Day 12 – 13: Sorrento

Day 14 – 15: Rome

Day 16: Travel day

After our two-week trip in Italy, we learned a few things for next time. First, travel to and from places is going to be expensive no matter what. You will either take taxis and buses or rent a car and pay for parking in garages and lots. We opted to rent a car so we had the freedom to go wherever we wanted without having to stick to a bus schedule. Second, if you plan to visit Herculaneum, Pompei and Mt. Vesuvius (which you definitely should) I recommend finding somewhere to stay outside of Naples. It was by far the dirtiest, most crowded and run-down city we stayed in. On that note, the park to hike Mt. Vesuvius is kind of confusing so give yourself PLENTY of time to hike it before the park closes. We literally ran up the mountain to get to the crater before it closed.

Another tip – if you visit the Amalfi Coast, stick to the Southern side (the actual Amalfi Coast). It is stunning and was far better than what we saw on the Northern side in Sorrento. You also don’t need to stay in Amalfi or Positano to get amazing views. Our AirBnb in Atrani was amazing. My last and final takeaway is that Rome really is all it’s cracked up to be. I know it is the biggest tourist destination and is always crowded, but the amount of sites to see makes it all worth it. We love traveling and can’t wait to see more amazing places! If you want to see our other vacations, you can see them all here!