France & Sicily Honeymoon

I am done with airbnb. Got scammed big time in Europe. There are super cheap hotels or motels in Europe if you don’t care about class, but they are clean.


I and my dh (and kids) did quite a few road trips around Europe when we were living in Germany for more than a decade. My dh works in Cotè d’Azur every summer Vacation, so I and the kids could vacationing while he is working. France is super nice, for nightlife I highly suggest to stay in Monte Carlo and Paris. The little villages are beautiful too for a short trip.
My mom is Italian, I visited Italy a few times. For south Italy I suggest to stay in Matera for cave hotel experience, or go to Malta to visit Popeye film location instead. They both are beautiful. Yet, not really a great nightlife as in Paris or Monte Carlo.

View Quoted Comment Belle, can you explain how you got scammed? Were there signs on the listing that you would now recognize as fishy?


We had to postpone our France honeymoon but we’re considering doing a few nights in AirBnB. We stayed in one in Nashville and it was perfect!

View Quoted Comment I lived in Berlin for more than 7 years, I know the city well. We (7 people) booked an apartment for our reunion. Our friends were living in Berlin for longer than us, and they moved to south Germany, so they can’t check the apartment before hand. The apartment has a legit address and everything seems right for that area. Pictures on Airbnb were a lot and detailed. Reviews were plenty and good!!!! Apparently all fake.


We came there, rang the bell, no one answered. A neighbor came and said it’s not a rental, so we call the police and made a report. It was 9pm, raining, cold, we were hungry, tired from road trip, andddd it was so harf looking for a hotel because the had the marathon that day.
Airbnb processed our case and reimbursed us after a few week. However, it’s very stressful!

Those are the police. It wasn’t the building. We just need to shelter from the rain outside.

My husband and I spent a month in VRBOs in France (Paris and Bayeux/Normandy) and Italy (Venice, Florence, and Rome) 2 years ago, and had the best experience ever in each place. Each host was so welcoming and accommodating and gave us all insider information where to eat, shop, nightlife, etc. Be sure to read reviews! I have never had a bad VRBO experience here or abroad.

I liked Sicily but wasn't a big fan of France. The people were so rude. I also have horrible asthma abd everyone semmed to smoke in France. I stayed in hotels and didn't have any issues. I tried airbnb when I visited the Netherlands and had a great experience.

If I were you, I'd fly into London and out of Sicily. The Eurostar is very expensive and not worth the time to do the return trip for 1 night. I'd give London 3 nights if you have never been. It's a huge city. Paris (my home) is the next stop, culture, food, nightlife. Strasbourg, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Lyon all nice places to visit. Keep in mind trains can be expensive so booking in advance is necessary. You can also drive of course. Since you have the time, what not do a tour of Italy? You can start with Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome then Naples. From Naples you can take an overnight ferry to different ports in Sicily or you can drive down/ take the train (both about 4 1/2hrs) to Villa San Giovanni, ferry to Catania is 20mins. Trains in Italy are efficient, clean and inexpensive. I prefer train travel, but to see the small villages and landscapes it is worth having a car. Also remember that most major European cities are within a 2/3 hour flight from each other if you want to get a taste of many different cultures.

We have had really great experiences with AirBnB as well as AirBnB Experiences abroad. If you’re looking for the best places to visit, I HIGHLY recommend getting a Rick Steves travel book for the area. He breaks things down in a really easy to understand way and will tell you where the best nightlife, hiking, view, etc are.

View Quoted Comment Oh yikes! Thanks for sharing. There’s no way you would have known. Real address, looked like real reviews. Ugh.

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Hi ! Absolutely, Strasbourg is amazing and worth seeing ! ;-) We went to La Rochelle for our honeymoon too.