12-day Honeymoon Itinerary

I love Venice. I would not go all the way to Venice for one day followed by a too-short time in Florence followed by what I, at least, consider insufficient time in Rome. I'd drop Venice from this trip.

No one, I assume, wants to stay in barebones hotels on a honeymoon. Your average nightly cost isn't all that much above $100 US, and you're going to places that get a lot of tourists and thus are somewhat costly by Italian standards. I think your hotel costs are very reasonable. If you list the places you plan to stay, there may be folks here in a position to comment on their locations or on the hotels themselves.

We really love Venice and think it deserves way more than a once over lightly day trip. Consider saving it for another trip. It's too far and too logistically complicated for just one day.

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!

OK, while you say you are fine with short stays, IMHO you have too many moves for 10-day trip (arrival and departure days don't count) and are shorting some places which need more than one full day just to get the head around. Packing, unpacking, dealing with transport, getting to/from hotels and whatnot can eat up more time than you might think, as does getting your bearings in an unfamiliar city.

Very short stays also increases your chances of a wrench thrown into the little time you have: heavy rain on an "outdoor" day, closed major attractions on that one day of the week, etc.

If it were my trip (which obviously it's not), I'd go 3 nights Venice, 4 nights Florence (including a day trip to Siena or Lucca) and 4 nights Rome, or 4 nights Venice and 3 in Florence. To save backtracking time, I'd fly open jaw into Venice and out of Rome.

If the Sorrentine/Amalfi area is a MUST for you, then I'd cut a night from that part of the itinerary and stick to one hotel location only. I'd add that night to Rome. I'd choose either Venice or Florence and combine the time.

Night 1: Rome> Sorrentine or Amalfi area (travel day)
Night 2: Sorrentine or Amalfi Coast area
Night 3: Sorrentine or Amalfi Coast area
Night 4: Sorrentine or Amalfi Coast area
Night 5: Venice or Florence (travel day)
Night 6: Venice or Florence
Night 7: Venice or Florence
Night 8: Rome. (travel day)
Night 9: Rome
Night 10: Rome
Night 11: Rome
Fly home from Rome

But it would help to know what sorts of things you're interested in doing/seeing on this trip? That might determine how long or not you might want to spend in any one of the above locations.

I suggest saving both Venice and Florence for an anniversary trip. That is a heck of a lot of time on a train for one day in each. With all those day trips, you might want to unwind a bit--the hiking in the AC is amazing. You may also wish to include Naples or Pompeii.
Congrats and enjoy!

Going north of Rome with what you have planned in the Sorrento/ Amalfi Coast area, is likely to just run you ragged and not let you enjoy the experience.

There are times when "less is more" is true.

Hi, we are going in July and this is our trip plan, I realize we have 3 extra days than you but you could drop either Cinque Terre, Venice/Verona, or Sorrento/Capri:
Day 1: Arrive in Rome drive to Verona (5 1/2 hours - stop for lunch in Assisi) see an opera & sleep in Verona at an Agriturismo
Day 2: Visit Verona
Day 3: Visit Venice
Day 4: Drive to Cinque Terre stay in Monterosso (4 hour drive) sleep in Monterosso
Day 5: Visit towns in Cinque Terre (hiking, kayaking)
Day 6: Drive to Greve in Chianti ( 3 1/2 hours - stop In Pisa to do the sites) stay at an Agriturismo in Greve in Chianti
Day 7: Visit Florence (45 minute drive from where we are staying)
Day 8: Rafting in Lucca and biking and visiting Lucca (1 1/2 hour drive from where we are staying)
Day 9: Tuscany bike tour through the Chianti wine region (meet in Florence to join tour)
Day 10: Siena ( 1 hour drive from where we are staying)
Day 11: Return car in Florence take train to Sorrento ( about 3 hours) stay in Sorrento. Eat, explore, and sleep in Sorrento
Day 12: Capri/Anacapri (Blue Grotto) in the morning then hire private 1/2 day boat tour of Amalfi Coast (Gianni's boat tour)
Day 13: Pompeii (2 hour private tour with Antonio, RS recommendation - used him in 2014 - he was FABULOUS) then take train to Rome (about 1 hour and 15 minutes). Arrive in Rome by mid afternoon (bike tour at night - did it in 2014 AWESOME!!!!)
Day 14: Visit Rome
Day 15: Visit Rome
Day 16: Fly out of Rome to Florida :(

Just some thoughts.
Congrats!!!!!!!!!
Cin Cin
Ann Marie

Ann Marie, just my IMHO? Your itinerary is much, much busier than I'd recommend for any first-timer, and especially a couple on their honeymoon. I wouldn't do it myself and, as I recall, you're still trying to firm up your own plans?

I don't recommend driving for a newbie to Italy: it'll be much, much easier for them, with their itinerary, to use public transit. And a comment on the Blue Grotto in Capri? If there's one thing I think tourists should miss on the island, it's that one as it's (again, my own opinion) not worth the time or price for the very few minutes you get to spend in it...if you are even able to access the thing on a rough-sea day.

We skipped it based on reviews and so many other things to do on the island and didn't feel as if we'd missed a thing.

Another point Ann Marie--if you are flying straight in from Florida, then doing a 5+ hour drive, that is dangerous.

Good point, valadelphia.

Driving 5 hours and see an Opera after an 9 hours flights....good luck with that!

Another good point, bucephale. There's no way I could stay upright and attentive for an evening performance on arrival day.

Yes, maybe too much for newbies and honeymooners. We are seasoned travels around Europe so we will be ok flying, driving, and seeing and opera all in 24 hours. As far as the Blue Grotto, we do a lot of "off the beaten path" activities but sometimes you just have to be a tourist.

Happy travels
Ann Marie

We are seasoned travels around Europe so we will be ok flying,
driving, and seeing and opera all in 24 hours.

But we don't know how "seasoned" our OP is. We are reasonably seasoned as well and know that there's no way we could do what you have planned on arrival day. We'd be miserable. Our OP may have no idea at all as they may never have done an overnight flight before so it's best to err on the side of caution.

You also have not yet completed your itinerary yet so we don't really know how that's all going to shake out for you?

It does not matter how seasoned you are. Few people sleep adequately on an overnight flight, and to drive that far on little sleep is dangerous. It is as bad as driving drunk. I am not going to say we have not done an hour and a half drive, but I would never dream of driving 5+ hours.

Without knowing someone's financial status, how can anyone determine whether someone can afford his or her lodging expense? Seems like an odd question to pose to a bunch of strangers.

This itinerary does not work for me. Early October is a wonderful time to be along the southern coast. The visuals along the Amalfi Coast are so SPECTACULAR, I wouldn't want to leave them too quickly for busy, congested, inland cities further north.

Twelve days is really not much time. You just can't imagine how quickly those days will pass. There is so much to see and do, from Naples to Salerno, including Capri, I could easily fill twelve days and still long for more time. The last thing I would want to do on a trip like this is waste my time on train tracks.

I always recommend to those with limited time: visit the south, visit the middle, visit the north on separate trips. Never stay for less than three nights anywhere. Most people will never regret this advice. You will get so much more bang for your buck, so many more valuable lifelong memories, if you plan your visits with efficiency and practicality.

And finally, never plan a trip assuming you will never return. Always tell yourself you will return. Because the only way to truly enjoy Italy, you must return to her over and over again.

We are "seasoned" travels around Europe so we will be ok flying, driving, and seeing and opera all in 24 hours

Must be the Colonel's 'secret herbs and spices' that keep them going. ( or is it a liter of espresso?)
It seems I have not traveled enough to make my body immune to the affects of time.

My apologies to OP for adding to the hijacking of your post