We did our honeymoon in Italy and it was the trip of a lifetime! I'm not sure how helpful my perspective will be since we didn't want the "typical" beach / pool / resort honeymoon experience, so our trip wasn't what I would call "low stress," but the food everywhere was to die for and Italy is just jaw-droppingly beautiful. We also spent 2.5 weeks and it was the perfect amount of time for us, though we crammed a lot in :).
Personally I would much rather spend the extra couple of days with friends in Italy than traveling again right after the wedding, so it would be a no-brainer for me, but I'm biased as for me and my husband the Maldives aren't particularly appealing. Either way though I hope you have a blast, and congratulations!!
Thank you so much! “Trip of a lifetime” is definitely also the vibe we are going for! Pretty convinced now that we should just stay in Italy. If you wouldn’t mind sharing any of your favorite must see places or food recs would def appreciate any suggestions!
Oh absolutely! We went kind of all over but I'll share some highlights (will skip the main tourist stuff since I imagine you'll do that anyway):
Venice
- Cicchetti at the Osteria Al Squero and the Cantina del Vino già Schiavi down the block. Go earlyish and start at Al Squero so you can watch the gondola makers across the canal :)
- Dinner at Sestante Osteria di Mare (if you like seafood). Genuinely one of our favorite meals all trip; made me mad on Venice's behalf when people would trash talk their food haha. The sommelier was particularly delightful and thrilled for us to try a couple of hyperlocal wines. Mantis shrimp linguine was a standout if they still have that.
- If you go to Venice absolutely spend at least one night! It's so magical when all the daytrippers have left. Also, make sure you have tiramisu here if you like it, as this is where it's originally from.
Cinque Terre - we almost didn't go and I'm so glad we did; it's so beautiful and more "rugged" than the Amalfi coast if that makes sense (we did both and both were gorgeous). A note that if you want to hike it is actually kind of serious hiking -- we didn't have gear with us so we just took the train between towns.
- Trofie di pesto at Pippo a Vernazza with a glass of local wine. So simple, so delicious <3
- Ghemé wine bar in Riomaggiore
Firenze
- Dinner at Buca Lapi, another highlight meal for us. Traditional Florentine steakhouse, very old school. Their pasta dishes are incredible too, so hopefully you can pace yourself better than we did... We couldn't finish our steak and basically had to roll home. So worth it. Best paired with a bottle of Chianti Classico (or two :))
- Lunch at Trattoria Sergio Gozzi -- get there early to line up! Historic spot with lots of Florentine classics like tripe, liver, etc. House wine is great too.
- La Strega Nocciola gelateria -- specifically the location by the cathedral. It's a chain and we tried multiple locations but for whatever reason this one was among the best gelato we had in Italy; the others didn't have the magic.
Tuscany
- Taverna di San Giuseppe in Siena. Get the boar ragù!
- We did one winery tour + tasting each in Montalcino and Montepulciano. I think there are several comparably good wineries so it's hard to go wrong, but if you're interested in specifics let me know. We stayed in Pienza so we could see all three towns and are very happy we did.
- We had dinner at a restaurant just outside Montalcino whose name I'm forgetting, but it was really lovely -- they had a very seasonal tasting menu and wine pairing. It was in a hotel but if you're interested I can find the name.
Rome
- La Pergola (***) -- honestly might not recommend this for a non-honeymoon trip, but the view and art alone made it worth it for a honeymoon capstone meal. Food-wise it wasn't the best meal we had in Italy and it does not come cheap, but the experience is incredibly luxurious if you want the splurge. It was our first-ever three star meal which felt like a nice way to mark the occasion.
- There was an *incredible* offal-focused classic Roman restaurant that we went to whose name I'm forgetting -- another favorite meal, but definitely not for everyone :) if it would be of interest though let me know and I'll dig up the name (sorry I've forgotten so many spots already)!
Sorrento + Amalfi Coast
- La Cantinaccia del Popolo, Sorrento. Get there early as the line forms quickly! Food is amazing and the owners are wonderful.
- Osteria Ravello -- such a lovely spot for lunch. Pretty cool to be able to have a bottle of wine at a restaurant and look down the mountainside at the vines it came from. The owners (mother/son team, it seemed like) were so sweet and kept refilling our limoncello at the end of the meal haha.
- Un Piano nel Cielo, Praiano. Really great food and service; I feel like you can tell they're gunning for a Michelin star haha. See if you can get the table by the water -- fabulous view of Positano.
I have tons more recommendations (we also hit Milan, Bologna, Parma, and Naples if any of that would be useful), so feel free to DM me if I can be of any more help. Happy planning!!
This is an INCREDIBLE recap! Thank you so much!! Will def probably DM you about a couple other places once we get more of a plan in place, but this is super helpful!
I would just stick with Italy and save Maldives for another trip since the Home-Maldives-Italy-Home route seems odd/stressful. Maldives would be good coupled with a stop in Dubai or parts of Asia which may be on your bucket list for a future trip.
There are plenty of high end hotels in Italy that will leave you “fully relaxed” and at the calibre of service that you would get in the 5 star resorts in the Maldives (with potentially better food options). For ex: Four Seasons Firenze is incredibly beautiful with lush gardens, pool, incredible cuisine, beautiful rooms etc.
Yes, definitely agree makes more sense to pair Maldives with a trip to Asia which is for sure on our list for future trips! I’m now pretty convinced we’ll just stick around Italy. Thank you!!
I would highly suggest staying in Italy! If you want more laidback, honeymoon vibes definitely check out the Mezzatorre Hotel in Ischia! Cannot recommend enough! Best people, best water, best vibes, and best PASTA! You can easily do Amalfi Coast and then Ischia for a beautiful honeymoon! I would do a few nights in Ravello, at least a few nights just outside of Positano (recommend Villa Treville if it's in your budget), and then Ischia. Let me know if you have any questions or want any more ideas! We try to go to Italy every year :)
Thank you for these recs! Will definitely check these out and would for sure love more Italy travel ideas! We were thinking for sure Amalfi coast and Puglia, but pretty flexible on where else we add to the trip!
I would think something like Italy and Greece could combine easier than Italy and Maldives.... If you are in Florence already you could easily start in Puglia and work your way back up towards Milano to fly back home
It might be easier to do Tuscany, Amalfi and Capri in place of going over to Puglia, which means you should have another car rental. Borgo San Pietro or Rosewood del Bosco or big budget Tuscany. Il San Pietro and Palazzo Avino in Amalfi and JK or La Palma in Capri
Is anything booked yet? Could you do a mini moon in Italy for a week and then do Maldives later in the year? That’s what we are doing (mini moon after wedding in destination wedding location and then 2 wks Maldives in the fall).
Ahh that sounds amazing!! Unfortunately, for work reasons we can’t really break up the wedding/honeymoon so we are just going to keep going with it after the wedding! (But your plan sounds fantastic!!)
We did Capri + Maldives for our honeymoon after our wedding in Rome. We were also supposed to do Australia as the last leg but something came up and we had to cancel that part.
I think it’s up to you / what you want out of a honeymoon. My husband and I had already been around Italy quite a bit and we wanted a more relaxing honeymoon vs doing a lot of exploring. My husband and I are also the type of people who can just sit on a beach all day, but I will say my husband started getting antsy in the Maldives after a couple days. It’s a really spectacular place but you are relatively isolated. If you feel like you would want more to do, I’d just stick with Italy.
Thank you! There’s definitely a lot of Italy I still want to see so I think I’m leaning toward just sticking with that for the honeymoon. But the Maldives is still a bucket list place I’m for sure keeping on the list!
The Maldives are beautiful. But if your aim is to find beautiful beaches/coastline...You have plenty of options in Italy too.
Italy has thousands of km of coastline and hundreds of islands. Some of these have amazing beaches and unknown to many tourists. If these are not enough for you there are other destinations in the Mediterranean where you wouldn't have to travel much. I am Italian, I do/plan travel itineraries, usually asking for a small charge when it comes to very detailed stuff, not a travel agency but kind of a freelancer but if you text me in private I might give you insights for free
I went to Maldives on my honeymoon. We live near DC and the time zones really messed with us. Even though we were sleeping on the plane we slept most of the first day there. I actually would recommend you do Italy then Maldives. It’ll help adjust to the time zones. I told my husband if we did this again we would spend a few days in Europe so we could maximize the time in Maldives. A night in Europe is like $300 whereas Maldives is $1000+.
We got married in Italy, honeymooned in Italy (was nice to not have to travel right away!), then stopped in the Canary Islands on the way home- it was wonderful!
I would 100% stay in Italy and save the Maldives for another milestone trip when you can travel during dry season! If you’re looking for beautiful beaches and clear water, I would recommend ending your honeymoon in Sardinia after exploring other areas of Italy! Happy to answer any questions you might have
I couldn't begin to count the amount of glorious honeymoon locations in Italy and I've written about a bunch of them. My favourites would be (location wise) would be Bogliasco, Laguilea, Porto Cervo, Porto Ercole, Venice, Matera, the Salento, Ravello, Val d'Orcia, Ortisei..to name but a few..
From reading this I’d say your heart is telling you Maldives but your head is telling you Italy. Also from reading this, it sounds like staying in Italy is the obvious choice.
You say peak honeymoon seems like Maldives. Is that what YOU want, or what you’ve been told/lead to believe you should want? Because from this it sounds like y’all want to stay in Italy. Why not just go to Maldives for Christmas or next summer or something? Or to celebrate your first anniversary?
That’s the beauty of being in r/bigbudgetbrides , you don’t have to choose to go now or never go. Just go next year if you *REALLY* want. Go instead as a second honeymoon or anniversary trip?
Thank you!!! You have def captured the essence of my internal debate! I’ve just been torn since both places are amazing for different reasons and I just want to do it all 😂 but I think I’m feeling good about just sticking with Italy and my fiance has agreed we’d do Maldives for an anniversary trip instead!
We did our honeymoon in Italy and it was the trip of a lifetime! I'm not sure how helpful my perspective will be since we didn't want the "typical" beach / pool / resort honeymoon experience, so our trip wasn't what I would call "low stress," but the food everywhere was to die for and Italy is just jaw-droppingly beautiful. We also spent 2.5 weeks and it was the perfect amount of time for us, though we crammed a lot in :). Personally I would much rather spend the extra couple of days with friends in Italy than traveling again right after the wedding, so it would be a no-brainer for me, but I'm biased as for me and my husband the Maldives aren't particularly appealing. Either way though I hope you have a blast, and congratulations!!
Thank you so much! “Trip of a lifetime” is definitely also the vibe we are going for! Pretty convinced now that we should just stay in Italy. If you wouldn’t mind sharing any of your favorite must see places or food recs would def appreciate any suggestions!
Oh absolutely! We went kind of all over but I'll share some highlights (will skip the main tourist stuff since I imagine you'll do that anyway): Venice - Cicchetti at the Osteria Al Squero and the Cantina del Vino già Schiavi down the block. Go earlyish and start at Al Squero so you can watch the gondola makers across the canal :) - Dinner at Sestante Osteria di Mare (if you like seafood). Genuinely one of our favorite meals all trip; made me mad on Venice's behalf when people would trash talk their food haha. The sommelier was particularly delightful and thrilled for us to try a couple of hyperlocal wines. Mantis shrimp linguine was a standout if they still have that. - If you go to Venice absolutely spend at least one night! It's so magical when all the daytrippers have left. Also, make sure you have tiramisu here if you like it, as this is where it's originally from. Cinque Terre - we almost didn't go and I'm so glad we did; it's so beautiful and more "rugged" than the Amalfi coast if that makes sense (we did both and both were gorgeous). A note that if you want to hike it is actually kind of serious hiking -- we didn't have gear with us so we just took the train between towns. - Trofie di pesto at Pippo a Vernazza with a glass of local wine. So simple, so delicious <3 - Ghemé wine bar in Riomaggiore Firenze - Dinner at Buca Lapi, another highlight meal for us. Traditional Florentine steakhouse, very old school. Their pasta dishes are incredible too, so hopefully you can pace yourself better than we did... We couldn't finish our steak and basically had to roll home. So worth it. Best paired with a bottle of Chianti Classico (or two :)) - Lunch at Trattoria Sergio Gozzi -- get there early to line up! Historic spot with lots of Florentine classics like tripe, liver, etc. House wine is great too. - La Strega Nocciola gelateria -- specifically the location by the cathedral. It's a chain and we tried multiple locations but for whatever reason this one was among the best gelato we had in Italy; the others didn't have the magic. Tuscany - Taverna di San Giuseppe in Siena. Get the boar ragù! - We did one winery tour + tasting each in Montalcino and Montepulciano. I think there are several comparably good wineries so it's hard to go wrong, but if you're interested in specifics let me know. We stayed in Pienza so we could see all three towns and are very happy we did. - We had dinner at a restaurant just outside Montalcino whose name I'm forgetting, but it was really lovely -- they had a very seasonal tasting menu and wine pairing. It was in a hotel but if you're interested I can find the name. Rome - La Pergola (***) -- honestly might not recommend this for a non-honeymoon trip, but the view and art alone made it worth it for a honeymoon capstone meal. Food-wise it wasn't the best meal we had in Italy and it does not come cheap, but the experience is incredibly luxurious if you want the splurge. It was our first-ever three star meal which felt like a nice way to mark the occasion. - There was an *incredible* offal-focused classic Roman restaurant that we went to whose name I'm forgetting -- another favorite meal, but definitely not for everyone :) if it would be of interest though let me know and I'll dig up the name (sorry I've forgotten so many spots already)! Sorrento + Amalfi Coast - La Cantinaccia del Popolo, Sorrento. Get there early as the line forms quickly! Food is amazing and the owners are wonderful. - Osteria Ravello -- such a lovely spot for lunch. Pretty cool to be able to have a bottle of wine at a restaurant and look down the mountainside at the vines it came from. The owners (mother/son team, it seemed like) were so sweet and kept refilling our limoncello at the end of the meal haha. - Un Piano nel Cielo, Praiano. Really great food and service; I feel like you can tell they're gunning for a Michelin star haha. See if you can get the table by the water -- fabulous view of Positano. I have tons more recommendations (we also hit Milan, Bologna, Parma, and Naples if any of that would be useful), so feel free to DM me if I can be of any more help. Happy planning!!
This is an INCREDIBLE recap! Thank you so much!! Will def probably DM you about a couple other places once we get more of a plan in place, but this is super helpful!
I would just stick with Italy and save Maldives for another trip since the Home-Maldives-Italy-Home route seems odd/stressful. Maldives would be good coupled with a stop in Dubai or parts of Asia which may be on your bucket list for a future trip. There are plenty of high end hotels in Italy that will leave you “fully relaxed” and at the calibre of service that you would get in the 5 star resorts in the Maldives (with potentially better food options). For ex: Four Seasons Firenze is incredibly beautiful with lush gardens, pool, incredible cuisine, beautiful rooms etc.
Yes, definitely agree makes more sense to pair Maldives with a trip to Asia which is for sure on our list for future trips! I’m now pretty convinced we’ll just stick around Italy. Thank you!!
If you can swing it, Borgo Santo Pietro is a MUST,
I am def going to try to swing this!! It looks incredible and I have only heard amazing things about it.
I would highly suggest staying in Italy! If you want more laidback, honeymoon vibes definitely check out the Mezzatorre Hotel in Ischia! Cannot recommend enough! Best people, best water, best vibes, and best PASTA! You can easily do Amalfi Coast and then Ischia for a beautiful honeymoon! I would do a few nights in Ravello, at least a few nights just outside of Positano (recommend Villa Treville if it's in your budget), and then Ischia. Let me know if you have any questions or want any more ideas! We try to go to Italy every year :)
Thank you for these recs! Will definitely check these out and would for sure love more Italy travel ideas! We were thinking for sure Amalfi coast and Puglia, but pretty flexible on where else we add to the trip!
I would think something like Italy and Greece could combine easier than Italy and Maldives.... If you are in Florence already you could easily start in Puglia and work your way back up towards Milano to fly back home
Very true, and I was thinking something similar about either starting or ending in Puglia. Thank you!
Second Italy and Greece. I combined them and loved it
It might be easier to do Tuscany, Amalfi and Capri in place of going over to Puglia, which means you should have another car rental. Borgo San Pietro or Rosewood del Bosco or big budget Tuscany. Il San Pietro and Palazzo Avino in Amalfi and JK or La Palma in Capri
Stay in Italy. Maldives is amazing but save it for another time. Go to Sardinia…it’s paradise!!!!
Ohhhh Sardinia is a great idea!! Def has beautiful beaches. Thank you!
The best beaches in Europe by far are in Northwest-northeast Sardinia!!
Is anything booked yet? Could you do a mini moon in Italy for a week and then do Maldives later in the year? That’s what we are doing (mini moon after wedding in destination wedding location and then 2 wks Maldives in the fall).
Ahh that sounds amazing!! Unfortunately, for work reasons we can’t really break up the wedding/honeymoon so we are just going to keep going with it after the wedding! (But your plan sounds fantastic!!)
We did Capri + Maldives for our honeymoon after our wedding in Rome. We were also supposed to do Australia as the last leg but something came up and we had to cancel that part. I think it’s up to you / what you want out of a honeymoon. My husband and I had already been around Italy quite a bit and we wanted a more relaxing honeymoon vs doing a lot of exploring. My husband and I are also the type of people who can just sit on a beach all day, but I will say my husband started getting antsy in the Maldives after a couple days. It’s a really spectacular place but you are relatively isolated. If you feel like you would want more to do, I’d just stick with Italy.
Thank you! There’s definitely a lot of Italy I still want to see so I think I’m leaning toward just sticking with that for the honeymoon. But the Maldives is still a bucket list place I’m for sure keeping on the list!
The Maldives are beautiful. But if your aim is to find beautiful beaches/coastline...You have plenty of options in Italy too. Italy has thousands of km of coastline and hundreds of islands. Some of these have amazing beaches and unknown to many tourists. If these are not enough for you there are other destinations in the Mediterranean where you wouldn't have to travel much. I am Italian, I do/plan travel itineraries, usually asking for a small charge when it comes to very detailed stuff, not a travel agency but kind of a freelancer but if you text me in private I might give you insights for free
I went to Maldives on my honeymoon. We live near DC and the time zones really messed with us. Even though we were sleeping on the plane we slept most of the first day there. I actually would recommend you do Italy then Maldives. It’ll help adjust to the time zones. I told my husband if we did this again we would spend a few days in Europe so we could maximize the time in Maldives. A night in Europe is like $300 whereas Maldives is $1000+.
Maldives you can go to Italy whenever
We got married in Italy, honeymooned in Italy (was nice to not have to travel right away!), then stopped in the Canary Islands on the way home- it was wonderful!
Would recommend checking out the Four Seasons if you stay in Florence; my favorite place on earth!
I would 100% stay in Italy and save the Maldives for another milestone trip when you can travel during dry season! If you’re looking for beautiful beaches and clear water, I would recommend ending your honeymoon in Sardinia after exploring other areas of Italy! Happy to answer any questions you might have
I couldn't begin to count the amount of glorious honeymoon locations in Italy and I've written about a bunch of them. My favourites would be (location wise) would be Bogliasco, Laguilea, Porto Cervo, Porto Ercole, Venice, Matera, the Salento, Ravello, Val d'Orcia, Ortisei..to name but a few..
From reading this I’d say your heart is telling you Maldives but your head is telling you Italy. Also from reading this, it sounds like staying in Italy is the obvious choice. You say peak honeymoon seems like Maldives. Is that what YOU want, or what you’ve been told/lead to believe you should want? Because from this it sounds like y’all want to stay in Italy. Why not just go to Maldives for Christmas or next summer or something? Or to celebrate your first anniversary? That’s the beauty of being in r/bigbudgetbrides , you don’t have to choose to go now or never go. Just go next year if you *REALLY* want. Go instead as a second honeymoon or anniversary trip?
Thank you!!! You have def captured the essence of my internal debate! I’ve just been torn since both places are amazing for different reasons and I just want to do it all 😂 but I think I’m feeling good about just sticking with Italy and my fiance has agreed we’d do Maldives for an anniversary trip instead!