Honeymoon Travel Tips: Italy

Today’s post comes from one of the most sophisticated world travelers I know- my friend Phara!  Who, with her fiance Jeff, are planning to honeymoon in Italy!  Here are some of her favorite tips for planning a memorable and romantic Italian getaway!

1.  With any honeymoon, make sure you have a large enough memory card in your camera to cover this special vacation.  However, when traveling in Italy, be aware that most museums will not allow picture taking.  Even in the rare location that the museum you are visiting does allow cameras, flash photography is definitely frowned upon. 

2.  Many museums are closed one day a week, often on Monday.  Plan your itinerary accordingly. 

3.  Most churches are open from early morning until noon, when they close for three to four hours, before reopening again, and close at 6 p.m.  A few major churches, such as St. Peter’s in Rome, are open all day.

4.  If you’re traveling in the Amalfi Coast or Capri, make sure you adjust your itinerary based on the weather.  If you are planning on traveling to Positano or to visit the Blue Grotto, make sure to go on the first sunny day you have.  Ferries and boats will not run in the rain, and may not even run the day after rain. 

5.  It is best to travel with your own medication.  Aspirin is generally easy to find, but specifics like Motrin, Tylenol and Advil are not.  Pharmacies are generally open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., plus a few hours on Saturdays. 

6.  Pickpockets and purse-snatchers are common in any large city.  Be alert and exercise caution, especially when traveling on the trains.  Try to avoid carrying passports, credit cards, travel tickets and cash together in handbags or pockets.  Only carry with you what you need for the day.  Your hotel will have a safety deposit facility that you can use (but do not leave valuables in your hotel room).  You may also want to make use of a money pouch that can hang around your neck, and tucked inside your shirt.  Watch your luggage, as well. 

7.  Make a copies of your passport before you leave.  Leave one at home with a family member or friend, and keep the other copy with you.  This way, in case your passport is stolen, you have the information you need.

8.  It’s best to drink bottled water or mineral, as Italian tap water is sometimes heavily chlorinated.  The “table wines” in Italy are fantastic.  They are often served in jugs or pitchers, and will be just as good, if not better, than most bottles. 

9.  Try to book a hotel that includes breakfast, especially when traveling to the Italian countryside.  In the cities, it will not be difficult to find a quick breakfast, though it may take you out of the way of your sight-seeing.  Smaller hotels in the countryside will charge an exorbitant rate for breakfast, sometimes upwards of 35 Euros per person.  It’s best to know that your breakfast is taken care of, even if that means paying a little bit more per night. 

10.  Don’t wait for the check at an Italian restaurant; you must ask for it. 

11.  Tipping is usually done with cash, even if you’re paying your bill with a credit card.  However, be sure to check if “servizio” or “mancia” is included on your bill.  A service charge is usually included.   

12.  Both lunch and dinner are usually several courses.  A restaurant may think it is strange if you do not order at least two courses (not including dessert).  Pasta usually takes the place of an appetizer, not an entree.   

13.  Do not be surprised if your entrees are not served together.  Many restaurants will serve each dish as it comes out of the kitchen. 

14.  Rent a car for travel in the countryside (i.e., Tuscany), but definitely not in the cities.  Be extremely careful if renting a car in the Amalfi coast.  The roads are notoriously difficult to drive, especially if you’re not accustomed to such twisty, narrow roads.  You will also be surrounded by Italians driving very fast and honking at you.  You’re better off taking a taxi than risking it yourself.  (Plus, Italian traffic police can charge on-the-spot fees for infractions – meaning you need cash on hand.)

15.  August is the worst month to travel to Italy because most of the country is on vacation.  It will be very difficult to shop and truly enjoy Italy this time of year.

16.  Train travel is a great way to get around Italy.  If possible, buy your train tickets online or in advance.  In the cities, you can also buy your tickets from a ticket agent.  However, be careful with ticket machines.  In Italy, as with many other countries in Europe, credit cards have a chip that American credit cards do not have.  It may not be possible for you to purchase your train tickets from a ticket machine, unless you have cash.  After you purchase your ticket, be sure to “validate” it before you board the train.  There should be a yellow box posted on the wall near train boarding.  Simply insert your ticket into this machine to validate your ticket before boarding.  After boarding, it is customary to greet your fellow passengers with a simply “buon giorno” when you sit down. 

17.  Taxis in Italy are metered (except for flat rates to and from airports).  It’s still a good idea to ask the cab driver for a fare estimate before you go, so you can have cash ready and to try to protect you from roundabout trips.

18.  Be sure your hotel is at least a 3 star.  You may be disappointed, as the European hotel rating system is different from the U.S.  Two-star hotels can be very questionable.  Try to request a room that does not face the street.  Lesser expensive hotels may not have air conditioning, so facing the street can be a noisy venture. 

19.  Every restaurant is required to give you a receipt.  (As a general note, you should keep all of your receipts from hotels, restaurants and stores.)  Be sure to carry your restaurant receipt with you when you leave the restaurant as an “Inland Revenue Official” can ask to see it to make sure you paid your bill.  This usually happens within a few meters of the restaurant, but you can be fined if you cannot produce your receipt. 

20.  Italians celebrate many holidays.  In addition to Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter, Italy celebrates Epiphany (January 6), Liberation Day (April 25), May Day (May 1), Festival of the Republic (June 2), Farragosto (November 1), All Saints Day (November 1), Immaculate Conception (December 8), and Feast of St. Stephen (December 26).  Feast days for saints are also common in local cities and towns.  If your honeymoon falls over one of these holidays, plan on relaxing that day as small cities and towns may come to an almost standstill. 

21.  Let your hotel know in advance that it’s your honeymoon.  Italy is a very romantic culture.  They may be more likely to upgrade you, or just to scatter rose petals or chocolate in your room before you arrive.

Honeymoon Travel Tips: Safari

Well everyone, this is it!  J. and I are officially off on our Honeymoon!  While we’re gone, I’ve taken the liberty of scheduling some fun, helpful and hilarious guest posts which I hope will provide you with hours a few minutes of entertainment, and help you plan your own potential getaway!  I may even check in with you all from Hawaii.  Gotta love modern technology!

So without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to Heather.  Heather is my dear law school friend, who with her husband Greg, spent her honeymoon on an African Safari.  Heather has a variety of excellent tips to keep in mind if you too are planning such an adventure!

Honeymoon Travel Tips: Safari

Tip #1: Hot air balloons do not land gently.

 

More tips to know…

Don’t wear blue (it attracts tse tse flies).

Deet does not repel tse tse flies.

Tse tse flies bite through clothing, but you should wear long sleeves and long pants anyway.

Yes, your malaria medicine will make you have very vivid nightmares!

Don’t pet the hippos.  Don’t pet the elephants.  Actually, just keep your hands to yourself.

The “African Massage” (the car bumping along the dirt roads) is not relaxing.

The best dehydration salts (which you should be sure to bring) are made by the World Health Organization!

Lions do not roar very often, generally they make huffing noises, all night long, and that IS them outside your tent.

The “loo with a view” is generally a bucket.

Bring boots, there are snakes.

Pack a liver.  There are brunch drinks, drinks at lunch, drinks at the “bush bar” while on safari, sundowners, cocktail hour, drinks at dinner, and after-dinner drinks.

Put items that you don’t want messed with in the monkey box.  The monkeys will destroy whatever isn’t in there while you’re sleeping.

Bring long sleeves, long pants, and a headscarf so that you can be appropriately attired if going somewhere predominantly Muslim (like Zanzibar)- your “Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl” t-shirt should be left at home.

Keep in mind that you can pretty much wear whatever you want on safari, so pack clothing that is comfortable.

When a hotel says “laundry included” – this means everything except women’s underwear – pack accordingly.

Bring extra cameras and memory cards- we took 3300 photos and would have taken more.

Bring an SLR or DLSR if you want good animal photos.

Actually, bring everything you might need (including plenty of batteries and battery chargers) - there’s no Walgreens.

At the same time, don’t pack too much – they won’t let you on the small planes without a soft satchel that doesn’t weigh much.

Wildebeests do not necessarily cross the Mara River like National Geographic suggests.  They often stampede all the way to the waters’ edge, mill around for hours, think about crossing, and disperse.

No TV, no radio, no phone, no internet, no newspapers make for a very romantic vacation

If you like chess, checkers, monopoly and scrabble, you are in for a treat.  They are everywhere.

Your guide may think your name is VERY funny.  Everyone I met laughed and laughed when I introduced myself as “Heather.”  Eventually I got used to following that up with “like weather, but with an H.”

When you’re the only people on a plane its not because you’re flying privately.  It’s because you’re going to be on a cargo flight with a bazillion vegetables.

Despite being required to throw out tweezers and nail scissors, you WILL be allowed to bring a Masaai spear on the plane – ours was disassembled and wrapped in newspaper.  They make awesome souvenirs.

In whole foods, you can buy amazing coffee from Tanzania.  In Tanzania, however, there is no coffee (which, in retrospect makes sense).  Instead, enjoy your morning tea and cookies (the buttery sugary dutch kind)!

I’m a Mrs! And I’m Not Home!

Peace out! 

the lodge lobby

the relaxation room at Reflections Spa, fancy pants

Restaurant Latour

(images link to their source)

How to: Save over $10,000 on Your Honeymoon

As J. and I get closer to our wedding day, one of the things we’re starting to get especially psyched about is our honeymoon!  We’re going to be spending 14 days in Hawaii on three different islands, and we are SO excited!  Of course, a trip like this does not come cheap, so in planning we spent a great deal of time thinking of ways we could maximize value on our trip.  One such way was to delay our honeymoon for about 3 weeks after the wedding- which pushed us out of peak travel season (and also boded well for my work schedule).  Read on for this and many more tips (twenty!) which ultimately have saved us $10,334.98!

(1) Include luggage in your wedding registry so you don’t have to buy it yourself!  Estimated savings for two Hampton 5 piece luggage sets from Bed Bath & Beyond, $199.98

(2) Work with a travel agent!  For our honeymoon in Hawaii, we saved an estimated total of $1500 over the list prices for resorts and car rental for a two week trip.  Contact Lika at Blue Hawaii Vacations to work with the same person we did (no, they aren’t paying me, they just did a great job)!

(3) Register for your honeymoon with a site like Honeyfund.  Every gift you receive gives you a dollar amount toward your honeymoon.  So far, J. and I have received $1180 towards activities for our Honeymoon in the form of shower gifts.  And if you are reading this and you gave us one of those gifts, we heartily thank you!!

(4) Watch currency rates.  If there is a particularly good rate, contact your hotels.  They will be more than happy to let you prepay for your room, and maybe even meals or activities.  This can amount to hundreds of dollars of savings, especially with the dollar as volatile as it is right now.   Since J. and I aren’t going abroad, I’m not going to credit us with a dollar amount for this tip, but hopefully it will add up for you!

(5) Commit with your fiance, for the length of your wedding planning, to save all your spare change at the end of the day and keep it in a jar.  Bring it to a Coinstar machine before you leave for your honeymoon.  Estimated savings for J. and I: $300. Continue reading »

Hotel Blocks: What I’ve Learned

There comes a time in every bride’s life when she must take the inevitable step of booking hotel blocks for out of town guests. How glamorous? But the ugly truth is that your choice in hotel actually does matter. I know I once went to a wedding where the hotel smelled like smoke, and my resulting headache ruined my night. I’ve also been to weddings where the hotel prices were so unbelievably sky high, I had to develop little mantras to make myself feel better about spending the money (“he’s been a good friend, he’s been a good friend, he’s been a good friend…”).

So yes, they do matter. But I learned something in these recessionista-bargain-hunting times. If you are willing to roll up your sleeves and work for it, hotels will work with you in return! For example, sometimes it makes more sense to have lots of rooms at one hotel, rather than planning smaller blocks at multiple hotels, because the larger your group, the more likely economies of scale are to kick in. Our hotel, the Pearl River Hilton (pictured above) threw in complimentary shuttle service to and from our reception for our guests, with a minimum booking. It literally saved us thousands! Another hotel I spoke with was willing to set up a complimentary day-after brunch for our guests at no additional cost (breakfast was included anyways, so they were willing to set up our own breakfast in a private room).

Ultimately, determining which resources, amenities, and price points will work best for you comes down to “knowing your audience.” For example, a hotel that offers a substantial military discount (mine does!) can be a great resource for some. For others, the free breakfast will be the right choice hands down.

No matter what you decide, there is one piece of advice I know will serve you well (one that was given to me early in the process): don’t procrastinate! Get this done early so you can move on to better wedding times!

What have you learned in booking your hotel blocks?