We all want to make the most out of our time when on vacation, especially when traveling abroad. There are so many things to do and you have to fit it all into a limited window of time! This can be the hardest part of planning a trip, and for us, we were also including a wedding! I wanted to share our itinerary so that anyone looking to plan a wedding or vacation in Italy can get some ideas as to what we found worked the best!
Itinerary
Our trip gives us 10 full days to make the most of our time in Italy. Here is a full breakdown of what we have planned!
Friday
Goodbye U.S.–Hello Italy! We will be departing Florida and heading to Europe! We will be flying overnight.
Saturday
Ciao! We will be landing in Rome at around 10 am. We will be taking a private transfer from the Rome airport to our Villa in the Amalfi Coast. This journey is expected to take around 4 hours.
We will all check into our Villa around 4 pm. As our welcome to Italy, a Chef will host a pizza making party for us!
Our Villa outdoor dining area
Sunday
We will be embarking on a private boat tour to the island of Capri and 3 grottos! We will leave at 10 am and return to the Villa at 6 pm. The marina is a 10 minute walk from the Villa. We will have our own sailor and will be able to swim, walk around on the island, or whatever we wish to do.
Blue grotto
For the evening, we will have the Chef prepare a dinner for us in the Villa for when we return. The menu for tonight is pasta with zucchini, dessert, and wine.
Monday
Today we will be hiking the Athena Loop Trail with a private guide. The hike can be strenuous, but the views are spectacular. We will be transported from the Villa with a pickup time of 8:40 am to the starting point at the square of Termini for a starting time of 9:00 am. We will also be having a picnic lunch along the way. The tour will last around 3 hours and we will be taken back to the Villa around 12:00 pm.
Athena Loop Trail hike
For the evening, the Chef will prepare us dinner in the Villa. The menu tonight is grilled chicken, a mixed salad, dessert, and wine.
Tuesday
Today we will tour Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius! We will leave the Villa at 9:30 am and spend 2 hours visiting Pompeii and then 2 hours at Vesuvius. This is an 8 hour trip with a minibus for 13 people and a private driver along with a private guide for 2 hours in Pompeii.
During our trip, we will also have a lunch and wine tour at the Mount Vesuvius area! This will include homemade bruschetta, salami, cheese, bread and olive oil, 3 different types of wines, pasta with red sauce, and cake for dessert.
Mount Vesuvius
The evening will consist of another dinner prepared by the Chef and the menu will be ravioli with ricotta and mozzarella cheese, dessert, and wine.
Wednesday
It’s the day before the wedding! Today we will be taking it easy! You can leave the Villa to explore, or hang out by the pool! There will be 2 masseuses coming to the Villa and providing massages.
We will be having the rehearsal dinner at La Tagliata in Positano. This restaurant is about 1 hour from the Villa, with a drive consisting of gorgeous coastline views the entire time.
La Tagliata restaurant
Thursday
It’s Wedding Day!!!
We will spend the day getting ready at the Villa!
4:00 pm- The transportation will arrive at the Villa to take us to the ceremony.
5:00 pm- The ceremony will take place at Villa Fondi.
6:00 pm- We will head to the reception to celebrate!
Antico Bagno Nettuno restaurant on a jetty for our reception dinner
Friday
For our “day after” celebration, we will be going on a Mozzarella and Limoncello tasting/making tour! We will leave the villa at 9:15 am and travel to the farm where we will taste 8 different types of cheeses and learn how to make mozzarella ourselves. Next, we will taste limoncello and learn the Italian secrets to producing it. We will return to the Villa around 2:15.
Limoncello farm
Our final evening will be spent with the Chef preparing us a dinner in the Villa. The menu will be caprese salad, grilled eggplant, bruschetta, dessert, and wine.
Saturday
10:00 am- We will check out of the Villa and head to Rome! Private transportation will take us the 4 hour journey to Rome.
The rest of the adventure in Rome will begin!
Today we will check into our new Villa, explore the area, and find a good spot for dinner!
Sunday
We will be exploring Rome on foot! We will take in all of the sites and enjoy the city!
Monday
We will be touring Vatican City! We will have a private guide to show us the history and help us steer clear of long lines.
Vatican City
Tuesday
We will be heading to the airport and going back home, but this time as husband and wife!
Things to Consider
- Remember transportation! Most people will tell you not to drive in Italy or rent a car there. It isn’t worth the stress or potential fines that most people say they receive for some type of driving infraction. The good thing is that private transportation is readily available! You have to make sure you set it up for each place you go! If you want to go to dinner, you need to get there and back. If you do on a tour, you need to get to the starting point and back to your Villa, etc.
- Our Villa had an in-house Event Coordinator who I worked with to plan all of our excursions and dinners, which was AMAZING. Check and see if this is an option for you! It makes a world of a difference having someone who knows the area and good times to go see certain sites.
- If you do have an event coordinator, keep these emails in your binder that I mentioned in the last wedding post. You will want to stay organized and make sure you have confirmations on everything!
- Having dinners out with a big group is very challenging if not impossible at times. The restaurants in Italy are not big, so trying to find a place to accommodate a large party will be a headache each time you try to go get a meal. This is why we opted for in-Villa dinners with a chef. We all get to relax and be together with no worries about finding a table! In the end, the price evens out because we do not have to pay for transportation to a restaurant, so it’s totally worth it!
- Another tip I have is to see if someone who works for the Villa will get your group groceries before you arrive. This way, you all have something you like when you get there and you don’t have to go out to find breakfast or lunch!
- Take all of your plans into consideration when packing!! Good walking shoes are a must! Check the weather before hand and make sure you are prepared!
I hope this post helps other people organize their trip! It is a lot of work, but SO worth it! Let me know other places you visited on your Amalfi Coast, Italy trip!
The pizza making party sounds so good!!xx
Lovely post !!
Bit of a negative bias regarding the driving in Italy. I have driven in Rome and Milan city centres, as well as italian countryside, and although the cities are hectic it isn’t really a problem. Just keep your cool and don’t get suckered into driving like an Italian. Never had any fines. The biggest problem is finding parking spaces in town.
Shame you avoided the restaurants, you missed out in a big way. Eating with friends and family you can do anytime, but you’ll never match fun and entertainment of eating out with the italians.
We are going to restaurants, just not every night! You have to keep in mind that I have a group of 12 adults and 1 infant, so driving all of us to every single location is not really an option. Plus, that adds up–big time!!! I also have a wedding planner and an event coordinator who both told us that driving in Italy is not a good idea because rental cars will get targeting to be pulled over, which I do not want to risk.
Also, it is a fact that the bigger the group, the harder it is to find a table at a restaurant! So why stress about that on my wedding trip? It’s all about being in a new place with family and enjoying every moment! We love to sit, enjoy good food, and have great conversation together, so I just took the hassle out of doing it. These are also all just suggestions that work for us! But we have several restaurant days planned, including our rehearsal dinner, so I think we are pretty well balanced!
I hear you. Large groups can take some organising and driving in convoy can be problematical although I think parking is usually the bigger issue. All my driving in Italy has been in rental cars and had not heard of them being targeted. I will take that on board for my trip to Sorrento (leaving for the airport in 4 hours) where I will have a rental.
I hope your trip is a big success, you certainly seem to have it well planned. Wish you all the best for your wedding day. Congratulations.
Thank you so much! Safe travels and enjoy!!!