Florence, Tuscany, Rome, and Amalfi Coast was the perfect honeymoon for Amy and Kevin

Hotel Savoy in Florence-great location and excellent service, very modern and very clean. The rooms were pretty hot even with the A/C but they brought us a fan which definitely helped. Rooms were very modern, great bath products. The gym was small but useable. The TV does not have a lot of English channels.  The concierge was so helpful, as was the front desk staff. Greeted us by name, took our picture, and made our reservations. Breakfast was delicious-continental style with lots of fruit, eggs, pastries, fish, meat, etc.

We went to the Uffizi and Academia Galleries.  Concierge arranged our tickets before we arrived and added to our hotel bill.  We walked around a lot-to Ponte Vecchio, Boboli Gardens (got there too late so they were closed), Michaelangelo’s Piazza, shopping, etc.

Private driver, Simone, was great-so nice and informative. Good sense of humor. He took us to Greve and Radda in Chianti and a few other small villages. Told us the history as we were driving and took time to stop for good pictures. We went to two wineries. Monterinaldi was our fav-best lunch of the trip. Beautiful grounds. Casa Emma was nice but not as intimate as Monterinaldi. He was very punctual and the car was very nice to spend the day in.

Took first class train to Rome-very nice and easy. Stored luggage at Roma Termini-so easy. We did the hop on hop off bus in Rome. I think we had about 7 hours total, including storing luggage, finding the bus, etc. We were able to stop at the Colosseum and do a tour, Trevi Fountain, and Vatican City (we saw the Sistine Chapel and the grounds. The line at St Peter’s Basilica was too long).  

 

From Rome, we took the first class train to Naples. Giovanni picked us up and we drove two hours to Amalfi.

We went to Capri one day-so easy to take the ferry from Amalfi. About a ten-12 min walk to ferry from the hotel or the hotel had a shuttle service to drive you there.

Stayed at the pool most days. Went to Amalfi for dinner a few nights. Ate at the hotel twice but found that the best restaurants were the “typical” restaurants-more casual, homemade pasta, etc.  You could eat at the typical restaurants for about 40 euro, including drinks whereas the recommended “fancier” places tended to be more expensive-around 100 euro and up.

Went to Positano one day (lunch at Le Tre Sorelle)-took the boat which was nice to be on the water and also much less expensive than a taxi. Went to Ravello for dinner one night (Cumpa Cosimo)-took the local bus which was actually very nice and comfortable and so much cheaper than taking a cab. I think it was 4 euros round trip for the two of us!

Santa Caterina was very nice but not as modern as the Savoy.  The room was older, although pretty, but our view was partly of the street.  The concierges were all very nice, especially Mateo. The pool staff could have been more attentive but the pool area itself was amazing. The pool has seaside access-literally could jump from the lounge chair into the sea. Gorgeous. We ate lunch mainly at the hotel but the restaurant did not open until 1pm which was a little late for our taste but we found that we could ask for light snacks (olives, peanuts, pretzels) at the pool. Other than the main restaurant and room service, there was nowhere else to get food during the day at the hotel.

Anne’s services were wonderful-we felt that we had all the details to our trip and there were no surprises. She listened to what we wanted and made suggestions accordingly.  She was extremely attentive in making sure that we had all our materials and itineraries, including drivers, dates, etc.  She also recommended various excursions in each place that we stayed. We had a very well planned trip and were able to accomplish all that we wanted to.  It was great having pre-arranged transportation for our wine tour and transfers to Amalfi, as well as having the first class train ticket pre booked.  We would  (and already have) recommend her to anyone looking for a great travel agent who clearly takes pride in what she does and makes sure that her clients have the best vacation possible!