Beth and I just finished up another busy summer with tons of travel to see friends and family but we also managed to escape to Europe for a long vacation in Greece with stops in Munich, Germany and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Despite being a trip halfway across the world we managed to have a luxurious trip on the cheap because we were able to use miles and points.

The main focus of our trip was visiting Peloponnese, Greece which did not disappoint. We did not do your typical Greek itinerary which usually includes an Athens stop and then bouncing around the most popular islands like Mykonos, Santorini, or Crete. Honestly, we can’t say we missed anything about visiting those major tourist spots based on what some of our friends have described. Peloponnese is relatively unknown especially for us Americans but features everything you need for a perfect Greek vacation including crystal clue blue waters, sandy feet, boats, private pools, incredible and cheap food, ancient sites, medieval sites, waterfalls, mountains, incredible hiking through natural wonders, deserted islands, and not to mention few other tourists!

To get to Greece we had a stop in Amsterdam, Netherlands and managed to explore much of the city in two full days. Despite being a city (we are usually not ones for large cities) we really enjoyed wandering the canals in Amsterdam. We only had one full day in Munich, Germany but we managed to make the most of it and Beth even finished her first full beer!

While in Dubrovnik, Croatia, one of our favorite days was our day trip up north to Ston and Prapratno Beach. Ston is home to the largest intact wall in Europe making for a nice piece of trivia, while Prapratno Beach was the most beautiful beach we visited on our entire honeymoon on points. While Dubrovnik is an amazing place to begin with, it is also a perfect spot to base yourself for day trips. From our hotel, the Sheraton Dubrovnik, we first day tripped to the awe-inspiring Kotor, Montenegro, and our second one up to Ston, Croatia. Both were amazing.

Day Trip to Montenegro

We absolutely loved our stay at the Sheraton Dubrovnik as part of our long honeymoon. The Sheraton was a perfect base for exploring all of southern Croatia aka Dalmatia, Montenegro, and even Bosnia and Herzegovina. We didn’t have enough time to go into Bosnia, but we did head to Montenegro on a day trip and really enjoyed it!

From Dubrovnik it was a short 1.5 hour drive to get to Kotor, Montenegro. The drive itself was worth it. Starting off from Dubrovnik you head south past the airport and then to the Montenegro border. There is a passport and green card (car insurance) check. Make sure when renting your car in Croatia to get the green card if you plan on visiting any of the bordering countries as it is required.

After the border crossing we drove through the industrial town of Herceg Novi which was not the prettiest area but once past that the beautiful Kotor Bay opens up. The drive is amazing hugging the water with the beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. The whole bay is enclosed by the mountains so it is very unique.

As part of our long honeymoon we made a stop in the historic but maybe overrated city of Venice. This was our last stop on our tour of Italy before we headed to Croatia. In Italy we absolutely loved hiking in Cinque Terre and exploring Rome so maybe we set the bar too high for Venice. We had 3 nights in Venice giving us 3 days to explore, it was probably 2 days too many!

Our 3 Days In Venice

Getting to Venice from Cinque Terre required a 6 hour train journey with a short stop in Milan. The train ride went smoothly despite being a little long. Once we arrived in Venice we trekked 15 minutes across the canals to our Airbnb in the Jewish Ghetto. If you are looking for more of local experience definitely stay in this part of Venice and not in the typical touristy parts. Our little apartment we stayed at was just off the beaten path but still easy to get to everything. I would recommend the Airbnb we stayed at.

Point Booking

Our last destination on our amazing 3 week honeymoon was to beautiful Croatia and we stayed at the equally amazing Sheraton Dubrovnik Riviera Hotel. The Sheraton is a brand new hotel with the grand opening happening just last October. Despite it being it’s first summer we didn’t notice any issues at all!

We initially booked this hotel when it was a Starwood category 4 hotel, meaning it cost 10,000 points per night. It would have ran a total of 40,000 points for our 5 night stay but we lucked out! Starwood dropped the category back in February all the way down to a category 2 hotel! This meant it cost between 3,500 – 4,000 points per night for a total of 16,000 points! The first hotel we stayed at for our honeymoon, the Westin Punta Cana also dropped in points, saving us a total of 24,000 Starwood points. It was freaking awesome, because it meant enough points for another vacation!