A Fine Romance

Planning a romantic getaway can be as easy as one plus one. Leave the family at home and concentrate on enjoying one another this summer! Whether you’re celebrating an anniversary, a babymoon or just finding some time alone, it’s important to make your romantic vacation special and that begins before you even pack your bags.

Of course, Italy is the perfect destination for any romantic escape – the wine, the music, the ambiance just beckons to lovers the world over. But regardless of your destination city, there are many ways to bring some romance into your next trip. Here are a few ideas for infusing your vacation with intimate, personal details:

• Revisit past memories: Whether this is your first trip to Italy or your third, find a way to remind your loved one of those sentimental memories. If this is your second honeymoon, revisit a favorite site from your first trip. First timers? You might have to think outside of the box. Maybe you’ve never been to Florence before, but you drank a bottle of Chianti on your first date. So schedule a wine tasting and reminisce about how love, like a fine wine, only gets better with age.
• Little touches count: Surprise gifts always garner extra points in the romance department, so plan ahead. Give your hotel a call and ask for a little surprise to be available upon your arrival. Most hotel concierges will be happy to arrange for a floral arrangement or a bottle of wine to greet you upon your arrival.
• Plan a date night: Far too often, we enter into tourist mode. Break the mold and plan at least one night where you and your partner dress up and hit the town for date night. Take advantage of Italy’s romantic nature and head to an evening at the opera. Or if up-tempo is your thing, plan an evening of clubbing and dancing.
• A Moment for Your Partner: Now’s the time to make the sacrifice and do something special for your partner. Maybe your wife loves art and you just don’t. Give of your time and patience and spend an afternoon in a museum. The gesture may turn out to be one of her favorite parts of the trip. Plus, maybe she’ll reciprocate by letting you take a turn behind the wheel of a Ferrari. (One can always hope!)
• The Ultimate Romantic Gesture: If you’re already married, consider a Renewal of Vows. What could be more romantic than recommitting yourself and promising third and fourth honeymoons?

When all else fails, depend upon the magic of Italy. Even the most popular must-sees in Italy are infused with romance. Try a gondola ride in Venice, toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome or stroll across the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. The possibilities for celebrating your love are endless and effortless. Plus if you're having trouble planning the perfect getaway, we’re here with suggestions if you need a little help.

Select Italy offers customized itinerary planning as well as consultation services. Call 800-877-1755 to speak with an Italy expert.

Honeymooning in Italy

Honeymooning in Italy has always been popular for the obvious reasons. It’s a country infused with romance and charm, ideal for honeymoons no matter the destination. But the latest honeymoon trend has been a trip combining Rome and the Amalfi Coast. Honeymoons in recent years have gone beyond the traditional romantic beach getaway and have become for many couples a vacation that can only be termed the trip of a lifetime. Newly married couples often try to achieve the realization of travel dreams like visiting far off exotic locations, staying in a five-star luxury hotel, and attending unique cultural events. Many couples even plan a little adventure into their honeymoons with sporting and fitness pursuits or pack their trips with lots of activities to keep themselves busy. After all, we are a society that is always on the go!

Choosing the Amalfi Coast and Rome for your honeymoon destination is the ideal way to balance activity and relaxation, hence the recent popularity of this honeymoon combination. Both destinations offer a range of things to see and do as well as a laid-back environment to relax and recharge after months of wedding planning and excitement. Maria Meyer, Select Italy’s Weddings and Honeymoons Consultant, says, “These two locations really give couples the best of both worlds. On the Amalfi Coast, you get the sun, the beach and the ability to just enjoy each other's company without too much demand of sightseeing. In Rome, naturally, there's so much to do in terms of sightseeing, people watching, shopping and exploring. The pairing of the Amalfi Coast and Rome really provides a well-rounded honeymoon full of romance and ample photo ops.”

If you are planning to take up the trend and honeymoon in Rome and Amalfi, here are a few ways that you can balance travel and tranquility, courtesy of Maria and our past clients:

• Head to the countryside of the Amalfi Coast: Known for its lemon and olive groves, Amalfi is the perfect place for a visit to a farm where you can tour and taste. Try out the goods of the coast with our Coastal Flavors tour where you'll lunch on local cuisine and taste wines at a nearby vineyard.
• Wander cliffside towns: Whether you are staying in Positano, Sorrento or Ravello, the Amalfi Coast is home to countless quaint towns with winding streets nestled into seaside cliffs. Walk the streets hand in hand, exploring and shopping.
• Escape to the Island: Visit the island of Capri, one of the world's best honeymoon locations. With limited time for your honeymoon, make sure to see all the highlights of Capri without wasting any time. Why take a slow ferry so you can make your Capri visit an private adventure, seeing exactly what you want to see on your own schedule? Try our Island of Romance Capri boat excursion. You'll spend the morning exploring the island on foot and the afternoon cruising the coast. See the Blue Grotto and take an afternoon swim in the Tyrrhenian Sea. This day cruise can be the perfect highlight to your trip – a way to sightsee but at a relaxing pace.
• Rock the Night Away: Rome is a cultural mecca and hosts lots of concerts and musical festivals. Look for big name musical celebrities or take in a touch of local culture with popular Italian bands. One of our honeymoon couples even made a detour in their itinerary to take in their first U2 concert!
• Take a Roman Holiday: Rome is known as one of the most romantic cities in the world, and Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck certainly contributed to that reputation. Retrace their steps from their 1953 classic with visits to the Trevi Fountain and Bocca della Verita.
• Whisper beneath a Michelangelesque sky: Spend an evening alone in one of the most important art rooms in the world, the Sistine Chapel during a private, after-hours visit to the Vatican Museums. After the crowds have left for the day, you and your private guide will have the museum to yourselves so you can enjoy Michelangelo's masterpiece without being pushed, shoved or shushed. One of our favorite honeymoons included a surprise bait-and-switch arranged by a practical-joker: the groom arranged for our tour guide to explain that the Sistine Chapel was closed during their day-time Vatican Museums tour so that he could surprise his bride with a replacement private, after-hours visit. Lucky for him, the prank turned out to be a huge success and his bride enjoyed her surprise, once-in-a-lifetime moment. There's nothing so romantic as hushed awe in this magnificent setting.
• Linger over an espresso: Take a romantic evening stroll around the Pantheon and you'll find some of the best espresso. Sant'Eustachio, reputed to to serve Rome's best cup of coffee, is located just steps from the Pantheon.

As a recent bride herself, and a seasoned honeymoon planner, Maria offers this last piece of advice to the bride and groom. Plan ahead! “The honeymoon should be the final bow to your entire wedding event and you want it to be perfect!” Maria explains, “There's nothing more disappointing that having your heart set on a particular city at a particular time only to find out that all of the good hotel rooms are booked because of a big soccer match or business convention. Planning at least 5 months in advance allows you to work around any hurdles and also to guarantee that you have access to the widest availability of accommodations and services.” With advanced planning time, you can ensure that you get to do all the little and big things that you have talked about together -- special event tickets, exclusive visits and customized adventures are much easier to accomplish the further ahead you plan. You don't want any stress ON your honeymoon so why would you invite stress in planning it?

If you want to make planning your honeymoon completely stress free, call Maria. Select Italy’s honeymoon planning services allow you to concentrate on the wedding while knowing that the honeymoon is going to be absolutely perfect. Call 800-877-1755 or fill out our easy honeymoon survey.

The Sea of Love

When planning your honeymoon or romantic getaway, why not head out to sea where the two of you can enjoy being away from it all? Everyone visits Italy's urban centers of Rome, Florence and Venice, but there's also an amazing seaside culture that is intrinsic to Italy's charm. Each side of the famous boot-shaped country is bordered by a different sea, each with its own charm and personality: the Adriatic coast around Venice with its history of Byzantine influence, the Tyrrhenian Sea of the Amalfi Coast with its chic celebrity culture, and of course the Mediterranean waters surrounding the dramatic island of Sicily. With miles and miles of coastline, Italy is almost like an island community that begs to be explored by boat.

Navigating Italy by boat can be easy and requires no sea training at all, at least not when you let others do the work for you! To see the shores of Italy, charter a boat -- either for the day or for the whole vacation. All of our full-day boat excursions provide opportunities to relax aboard a fully-crewed vessel, with opportunities to swim and sight-see. If you only have one day to spend on the open waters, consider a day along the Italian Riviera, where you can visit the towns of the Cinque Terre. Most people only have the opportunity to see these towns on foot, but the beautiful turquoise waters provide a vantage point that will make your vacation even more memorable. If you prefer to spend some quality time exploring the seas, charter a yacht for a week or even just a few days. Yacht vacations can be customized to see the places that you want to see, whether it be island hopping or coastal cruising. You can even pick the vessel that best suits your adventure, and that includes picking a boat that's cozy for two or a ship big enough for you and all your couple friends.

A sea voyage can be the perfect way to celebrate a special occasion as well. With more than 5,000 miles of coastline and some of the most spectacular waters of the Mediterranean, Italy has a lot to offer for those who choose the romance of the sea to celebrate their love for each other. Select Italy clients have used boat cruises and yacht rentals for a variety of special events such as symbolic wedding ceremonies and romantic marriage proposals. What woman wouldn't want to be surprised by a sunset aboard a luxury yacht, followed by a romantic candle-lit dinner while cruising along the Amalfi Coast? But the real centerpiece of the evening could be a marriage proposal, as one of our clients recently planned. His proposal of course was answered with a yes, as if there was any doubt in a such romantic setting!

For those who are passionate about the sea and have a touch of adventure mixed with their romantic intentions, we recommend a week of island hopping in the spectacular Aeolian archipelago off the northeast coast of Sicily. This region is both picturesque and relatively undiscovered, the perfect locale for romantic moments at sea, accompanied by the gentle sound of the waves. Your private cruise vacation can even include secret pleasures like a private swim in a cove known only to your skipper, followed by a stop for lunch in a small fisherman's village. Even in the middle of this sanctuary-like Sicilian archipelago you can still enjoy little luxuries like having the chef of the celebrated Hycesia restaurant -- the undisputed gourmet temple of the islands -- come on board and cook for you. And if you prefer something simpler, Hycesia's gourmet team can deliver their exclusive "Lunch on Board," a meal from their menu of fresh fish and seafood. With the option to customize every boat cruise, the sky's the limit for romance under the Italian sun!

For more information on day cruises and yacht rentals, contact a Select Italy expert at
800-877-1755.