Now that summer is coming to an end, it just feels right to reflect on the truly magical trip that I got to call my honeymoon. Naturally, because Drew and I got married in Italy (which I’ll share more about in another blog post), our honeymoon began the moment we got there. Our trip started a week before the wedding, in Lake Como, then we went to Santa Margherita Liguere (near Portofino), down the coast to Positano, then Capri and we finished in Rome. I can do a more in depth recap of each location if you guys would like that. For now, here are five things I learned on our three week Italian honeymoon!

1. Lake Como is even more breathtaking in person than in photos and videos, if you can believe it. Nothing can really prepare you for the stunning beauty of it. Everywhere you look is straight out of a story book, it truly doesn’t feel real. One of the most incredible things we chose to do was a boat day the day after the wedding. Lake Como is incredibly large, so before this, we’d only gotten to see a small portion of it – but on this boat trip, they took us around to see different towns, to jump off Nesso bridge (highly recommend) and just take in the staggering beauty that God created in this little corner of the world. Out of everywhere we visited, Lake Como is the place I would want to go back to the most, and thats even after spending 10 days there! 
2. If you’re planning to visit Italy, don’t go in July. While we had the most amazing time, it was incredibly hot, humid and crowded everywhere we went – especially in the Amalfi coast. The weather was much better in Lake Como, but we still had a couple very warm days. According to the locals, the best month to visit is June or September. Drew has been to Italy several times, and he confirms that July was the most uncomfortable in terms of weather and it was the height of tourism. We were obviously confined to July because of our wedding, but next time we go will likely be toward the end of summer. 
3. Stay in a hotel! The only place we stayed in an AirBnB was in Capri and the experience was okay, but all of our hotel experiences far outweighed it. There is a level of communication and assistance that a hotel provides that most AirBnB hosts just do not. I understand there are circumstances where a big house is a better fit, if you’re traveling with a large group perhaps, but in our experience a nice hotel is the way to go. 
4. Stay at a hotel with a pool. A lot of hotels, especially along the Amalfi Coast, do not have pools because everything is built on top of each other. We stayed in Positano, and the truth of it is that it is a pretty small town, with only so much to do. Positano was so hot and humid that during the mid part of the days, we just went to our room and relaxed in the air conditioning. Had there been a pool, we would’ve likely been spending a large majority of our time there. In my opinion, the best thing you can do during the days here is reserve a spot at a beach club (we did Arienzo Beach Club) or do a private boat day. 
5. Make reservations in advance! Luckily, I had been preparing for this trip for many months so I was very on top of the scheduling but even so, there were some restaurants that we could not get a reservation at. If you have specific restaurants that you really want to go to, especially if they’re popular, go to their website, see when the booking opens, and set a reminder to book! This goes for hotels as well, many hotels were booked out very far in advance.

We truly had the time of our lives and we enjoyed every sweaty second, but I hope these tips can help you plan your perfect trip!

xx,