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.

Four Amazing Days in Rome

As part of our long 3+ week honeymoon we decided to spend 4 amazing nights in Rome, Italy! This was the first stop on the European section of the trip. We had just wrapped up relaxing in Punta Cana and we were fortunate enough to get business class tickets to Europe for nearly free. After all that beach time and pina coladas we were ready to be active and explore! Rome was the perfect stop for us!

For accommodations we stayed at the Radisson Blu Rome which had both its positives and negatives but overall we liked our stay there. The plan was to explore during the day, take a little siesta at the hotel pool in the afternoon, and then go out for dinner to enjoy Italy’s amazing food. We followed through everyday!

Radisson Blu Rome

For the second part of our honeymoon Beth and I headed to Rome, Italy to stay at the Radisson Blu Rome! Our first part of honeymoon we relaxed in Punta Cana where we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Westin Punta Cana. From Punta Cana I was even able to secure business class seats to Italy thanks to airline miles making it nearly free. Our plan for Italy was to visit Rome, Cinque Terre, and Venice. Thankfully in Rome we were able to stay at the Radisson Blu for free! All four nights cost us only a total of 200,000 Club Carlson points (50k per night). In fact the majority of our honeymoon accommodations and flights were free thanks to airline miles and hotel points.

Regarding Rome the city I will dive into the details in a follow up post but overall we really enjoyed our time in Rome! As for the Radisson Blu, overall we liked the hotel but probably would not stay here again for a couple of reasons. The main reason being the awkward room arrange which is not as bad as many reviews make it out to be but it still made for difficulties.

Our journey back to United States from New Zealand had quite an interesting flight itinerary with an overnight layover in Sydney, Australia before finally heading back home. Before we even arrived in Sydney we had a long layover in Wellington with just enough time to go out and explore the city which was totally worth it. When we finally landed in Sydney at 5:45 PM we had exactly 16 hours and 45 minutes to wander the city before the long flight back to the United States.

To recap this was the final city on our trip down under. We had spent a wonderful week in Melbourne with some of the most welcoming people I have ever met. After that Beth and I had a go at driving on the left side of the road on the Great Ocean Road. From there we said a temporary goodbye to Australia and landed in Queenstown, New Zealand to hike in one of the most beautiful areas in the world.

Coming back home to the USA from New Zealand we had a pretty crazy itinerary that had a total of 5 flights. This included a 5 hour 45 minute layover in Wellington and an overnight in Sydney, all before getting on the long flight to San Francisco. While not ideal we did make the most this crazy flight schedule. Keep in mind I used airline miles to get all the flights for free. We were fortunate enough to have business class to Australia but on the way home all flights were back in economy.

Overall our trip down under was more than amazing. We stayed with some amazing friends in Melbourne to get a more local experience but we also went out on our own to explore both the Great Ocean Road and Queenstown. It was a truly wonderful experience and we can’t wait to go back!