(Closed) European Honeymoon

posted 3 years ago in Honeymoons
Post # 1
Member
1579 posts
Bumble bee
  • Wedding: November 2017

Hi Bees – another question.

Fiance and I have been very indecisive regarding honeymoon. The way the chips have fallen is that we won’t be able to take a honeymoon immediately after our wedding, and are instead aiming for ~2 weeks next summer.

We initially settled on Greece a few weeks ago, after his brother and brother’s Girlfriend were raving about it – looking at Athens and Santorini, with potentially another island. I’m perfectly fine with going and enjoying a beach and relaxing.

 

However…Fiance not so much. He wants the beach, but he also wants things to do. He is a bit more outdoorsy, would like to hike, but also interested in culture (I’m not so outdoorsy). I’ve been to Europe many times, mostly France, and Fiance has never been. And it seems he isn’t into the idea of going to Greece and just staying in Greece. Plus, tbh, Greece is new to me and what research I’ve done, airfare and lodging seems a bit expensive (airfare I found looked like it was double what it is to go to France). Looking at the map, Italy looks like a reasonable place to go as well if we go to Greece, but I really wasn’t impressed by Rome when I went there, and his brother and brother’s Girlfriend were not fond of Venice so he isn’t into the idea either O.O.

 

I brought this last point up over the weekend asking him to do his own research on airfare because of what I had seen, and that’s when he brought up his other concerns and instead expressed interest in going to France, darting over to Germany for a couple of days (his mother is German), and then going to Spain. Maximizing our time, that’s 15 or 16 days on the ground. 

Bees…is this crazy?

My perspective is that I could spend a month in Paris and maybe scratch the surface, nevermind family that will likely want to see us (read: all of my aunts/uncles/cousins who aren’t able to make it to the wedding, and even those who are). I’d like to go to Germany so he can see something of HIS background, but of course having been to Germany myself “a couple of days” seems like nothing. And then there’s Spain. I’ve been to Barcelona once, for 5 days, and am dying to go back(and there’s beaches!). But I’d like to go to Madrid too. And would have liked to hit up the South of France between France and Spain, because again…Beaches. And I’ve heard San Sebastian is amazing.

 

Writing this out this seems very fast paced for 2 weeks, on what is supposed to be our honeymoon. Can any Bees chime in? Either confirm or deny my feelings, and if confirm – suggest a more reasonable itinerary?

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Post # 2
Member
508 posts
Busy bee
  • Wedding: August 2018

I think that is a lot, and you will be tired, but it is doable.  I wanted to do a similar thing, but FH is against all the rushing.  Instead we are looking into a bus tour of the south of england, and then staying an extra few days on our own in London.

 

At the end of the day, as long as you create a schedule, I think that it is definitely manageable.

Post # 3
Member
9562 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
  • Wedding: October 2013

we did 2 weeks in italy, we hit venice, florence, rome, naples.

Post # 4
Member
711 posts
Busy bee

Seems fast paced, which might add stress to the trip. What about selecting 1-2 more places in addition to Greece? We are going to Santorini and the Amalfi Coast for our beach/relaxing destinations and spending some time in Paris, because, well, Paris 🙂

 

Side note- it is nice to hear that there is someone else out there that wasn’t impressed by Rome!

Post # 5
Member
9388 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
  • Wedding: July 2016

I’ve roadtripped Germany-France-Spain.  I’ve enjoyed all of my roadtrips/train-trips in Europe.  Taking a small hopper plane around Europe is also very cheap and easy, and will save you some time–it depends on whether you will enjoy driving for a couple hours and stopping in small towns along the way, or if you’d rather just see cities.    I would start in Germany and rent a car/take the train to France and then Spain, to cut down on back-and-forth.   

Near Barcelona there are wonderful beaches, but I’m sure France also has very nice beaches–the Pyrenees are breathtaking but crossing them will slow you down a bit (though there are many towns very much worth visiting, and many mountains worth hiking).  Keep in mind Madrid – Barcelona there’s a bullet train that makes it only 2.5hrs, so seeing the other is very doable once you’ve made it to one.

If I were you I’d just come up with a loose plan, figure out travel times/stay durations and then figure out if you’re OK with how long you’re spending in each place.  If it’s too short (or too much travel), then start cutting back on destinations. I personally prefer spending 2-3 nights per hotel, with only a few exceptions, when road tripping around Europe–this gives you at least one full day at each location.

Post # 6
Member
1646 posts
Bumble bee

View original reply
libellules :  I don’t have any suggestions regarding your honeymoon, but I’m getting married in Greece next summer (Santorini) and the airfare is weird when you search for it. From where I am to Santorini it’s like $4000, but when you do two separate searches (one from where I am to Athens and then another one from Athens to Santorini) the total is around $1100. I don’t know why it’s different, I haven’t spent too much time trying to figure it out, but thought I’d just throw that out there.

Post # 7
Member
1060 posts
Bumble bee

We did two weeks in Europe- 9 days in Italy (2 Venice- loved!, 4 Florence/ Tuscany- favorite, 3 Rome – didn’t love Rome but glad to have seen the major sites) and 4 in Santorini (LOVED).  Santorini was the perfect ending to our “go go go” honeymoon because there isn’t much to do there except be lazy and eat.  

 

I would pick only one other country + Santorini if you don’t want to be constantly traveling. So you could do Italy + Santorini, Spain + Santorini, Germany + Santorini, France + Santorini, etc.  

 

Highly recommend Italy but would focus the trip in northern Italy, especially in the summer months. You could easily spend a week exploring Florence & the towns in Tuscany (Siena is worth an overnight stay itself), and then either do Lake Como or Venice for 2 days.  

Post # 8
Member
1546 posts
Bumble bee

I was about to suggest Croatia (beautiful coast, small cities to explore, lots of history/culture, great food/wine and island hopping). You could spend 2 weeks doing Croatia with maybe a day trip or two to Montenegro or Bosnia and Herzegovina. Or even Croatia and Slovenia. 

Personally I prefer small towns and countryside of Europe to the big cities especially for a honeymoon so if you do look at Italy again maybe consider Tuscany and the smaller cities like Lucca, Florence, Siena, maybe even Cinque Terre. 

For Greece, I would do 1 day in Athens followed by 5 days driving and exploring the Peloponesse then a week in Santorini (plus maybe Mykonos or Naxos). 

The France/Spain/Germany trip would be very busy, I would pick either France and Germany or France and Spain. For France and Germany I would do the Alsace region combined with the Black forest region. For France and Spain maybe the dordogne or south of France combined with the Barcelona area or fly to southern Spain for Andalucia (Seville/Granada are my favourite parts of spain). 

Post # 9
Member
119 posts
Blushing bee
  • Wedding: September 2017

If your Fiance has never been to Europe, I think it totally makes sense that he wants to see as much as he can for his first time, instead of spending it all in one place. It sounds like you prefer a slower travel style though. 

Why not meet 1/2 way… go to 2 countries. You sound most enthusiastic about Spain – and it’s on his list, so I’d say see that for sure. You might fly into Germany (usually lots of cheap flights there!), spend a few days seeing one city (region with the most meaning to your FI’s family?), and then head to Spain, and stay there the rest of the time.  That way you don’t feel too rushed, and you get a decent amount of cities/beaches. I think splitting your trip into 3 cities (ie: 1 German city, Madrid, Barcelona) at 5 days each would be a good pace where you won’t feel too rushed, but your Fiance will feel like he’s gotten to see enough.  

There will be flight sales over the next year though – just becuase you don’t see good prices now for a specific location doesn’t mean you won’t find a deal. 

Since you have lots of time to nail down a flight, I’d recommend you check out https://scottscheapflights.com/, also http://www.theflightdeal.com surfaces some amazing deals. If you see an incredible fare come up for any of the destinations you’re considering, that might just seal the deal for you 😛 

Also, once you’re in EU, you can get connecting flights pretty cheaply – so I wouldn’t let a high price flying into a specific city keep you away. If you want to go to Greece, you could fly into somwhere with a great deal (like Germany, France etc) spend some time and then hop a flight to an island, no problem! Last time I flew into EU it was to Stockholm because it was the cheapest city to fly into for us (by hundreds of dollars). We decided to start our trip there and then took a quick flight to our next location – super easy, cost effective, and we saw a city we normally wouldn’t have! 

On a side note – I LOVED Greece. Perfect mix of cities/museum/history as well as beaches/hiking. I would personally choose Greece over almost every other place, but that’s just me lol 😛 

 

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