janter

Hi Everyone,
I could really use some help. I'm planning on surprising my Fiance with a honeymoon to Italy with the following plan and would like to get feedback and recommendations on "honeymoon quality" hotels to stay at.

June 11 - Land at VCE airport .
I need recommendations on which hotel in Venice is recommended for Honeymoon and which type of transportation is recommended to get from the Airport to this hotel.

June 16 - Leave Venice and go to Rome.
Need advice on a comfortable and cheap way to get from Venice to Rome and which Hotels are recommended.

June 19 - Go to Amalfi Coast.
Need advice on a comfortable and cheap way to get from Rome to Amalfi Coast and which Hotels are recommended.

June 24 - Naples italy to head back home ( No hotel needed here...unless you guys tell me i should at least spend 1 night here)

Thank you everyone! Can't wait to hear your recommendations.

Peter_S_Aus

Is this June 2012? Because if it is 2012, you have very little time to make hotel bookings. Hotels fill up very quickly.

tarquin

Your post seems rather contradictory. You are interested in honeymoon quality hotels in your three expensive destinations but ask about cheap transport. If you can give more details on your date and budget, I am sure you will get lots of advice.

Anna_Galea

An option on a cheap and comfortable way to travel within Italy might be using an internal low-cost airline like Ryan Air. Ryan Air flies from Venice for sure (often from Venice Treviso Airport, but check it out on their website) Check also whether Easyjet also does any internal flights to destinations you are interested in. and do your homework on fares.

Other obvious alternatives are train, coach or self-drive hired car, or if you want to really splash out, with a private driver.

Please give us some more information on your inclinations, whether you prefer hotels, B&Bs or Agriturismos etc, whether you prefer to be in city centres, etc, and your budget limit for each accomodation.

Enjoy you trip and congrats!! Planning your trip should be half the fun, at least it is for me. You will find some nice places to stay, don't worry, it just entails some research and looking at reviews of people who have already been to that accomodation. Also, I am absolutely sure many |Fodorites would be more than willing you help you out in accomodation they have been to. Just give us more detail please.

simply_me

It would be really romantic if from Naples you'd get a boat to Ischia and spend the night there.
It's a beautiful island full of sea view hotels for good prices....

simply_me

Oh, I personally think 3 days in venice are more than enough ;-)
if you want to travel by train, go from venice to florence, and from florence to rome..... Florence is wonderful.

jamikins

Try this place in Venice - it is basic but affordabale: http://www.aitagliapietra.com/

Also try www.hotelgalleria.it

I always use trains in Italy for travel - book as soon as you can to get the best rates on www.trenitalia.it I would never want to deal with ryanair for such a quick trip because by the time you get way out to the airport outside Venice that they use, and then into Rome from the airport you may as well have taken the relaxing train and not had to deal with ryanairs baggage rules and crappy service. Trains are city centre to city centre.

To get from Rome to the Amalfi Coast we took the train to Naples and then had a driver pick us up. If you do a search here you will find lots of recommendations. You can also take the train to Sorrento and then the bus or boat to points on the Amalfi Coast - depends where you are staying.

I would HIGHLY recommend staying the night in Naples if your flight is a morning/day flight out - I would not want to have to deal with getting from where you are staying to the Naples airport prior to an international flight - what if you got delayed somehow?

Hope this helps!

Anna_Galea

Just checked for you - Easyjet does trips from Venice (Marco polo Airport NOT Treviso airport) - to Rome Fiumicino airport, Ryan Air does not seem to do this internal flight in Italy. Maybe you might be interested to check this out.

Yes, there are baggage allowance restrictions with low cost airlines, you are allowed a certain amount of kilos allowance when checking in baggages, and have to pay extra for additional weight. It is true that trains take you to stations more central to city centre, but on the other hand, it is, always in my opinion, an easier way to travel than taking long train journeys. Personally, I always enjoyed travelling with Ryan Air or Easy Jet, especially if cost of flight is cheaper, and I very often save money!! And I never really had anything to complain about regarding service. You do have to pay for food on flight, but food on many airlines that are not low cost is crappy anyway.

Just try and make your homework - see what would be more affordable and convenient for you, and which saves you time.

As other reviewer said, make sure you leave plenty of time prior to flight departure from Amalfi/Sorrento coast prior to departure of flight, as you can easily get stuck in traffic in this region during high season. I would definitely not suggest you do not sleep overnight close to Naples if you have a morning flight.

Peter_S_Aus

I'll have to excuse myself before I start - both my wife and I are Venice nut cases.

So I'm wondering how your honeymoon is meant to shape up. Will it be the hotels that you remember in ten years time, or the time when, at midnight, you kissed her on the Rialto bridge, danced in the Piazza San Marco, sat in the front seats of a vaporetto late at night on the Grand Canal, got lost in Venice's microscopic streets, discovered the favourite bar that you sort of claimed as your own. You are more likely to remember the odd things, the first sight of a boat collecting garbage rather than the 300 thread count on the sheets in the hotel, the slow ferry trip to Burano and Torcello than the room mini-bar.

Three days in Venice is enough time to see the big sights, a week there is enough time to fall in love with the place. You'll have a funny feeling when you leave.

Use trains to get around. Trains are easy, no security, no baggage Ryan Air fees, maybe there's a bar on the train where you can have a wine or a coffee, no dramas. And you don't need to book trains in advance.

Venice to stroll around.
Florence for the landscape, walk up to the Belvedere.
Rome for the pure insanity of the place.
Assisi is pretty special, and a "honeymoon" hotel there is the Dal Moro Gallery. Very sharp, and we've stayed there twice.

You'll sit side by side on a train, and some Italian nona will sight you holding hands, pick the wedding ring as very new, and smile at you.

Peter_S_Aus

Lou and I came to Italy in December 2006, for three and a half weeks, and spent six nights in Venice before Verona, Como, Florence, Assisi and Rome. I'd been to Venice before, in 1975, as quite a callow youth.

I rember Lou asking me “If you could go back to anywhere in Europe, where would you go?”. And I always said, “Venice”. So in 2006, Venice was the first port of call in the trip, Venice was our introduction to Italy, and I'm so glad we did it that way. See some Venice, and after that, see some Italy.

I remember arriving, and finding our hotel. It was near San Marco, and I'd mapped out in my mind exactly how to find it. Turn right from the Aligaluna ferry stop, past the souvenir vendors, cross the Piazzetta and the Piazza, under the clock tower, first right, 30 yards and we were there. I was so keen to show Venice to Lou, to unroll it like a magic carpet, albeit a carpet supported on wooden piles in the lagoon, a carpet with bumps and lumps and a bit waterlogged, wine stains and not a few blood stains, bare patches and worn threads. I so wanted Venice to deliver on the magic carpet. la Serenissima delivered.

It seemed like magic. We thought of changing our itinerary, staying for another week or two, and didn't. I'm glad we didn't, because if we'd stayed three weeks, we might have thought that we'd “done” Venice, seen it all. We did the bigger sights, the Baedeker “don't miss this” list of attractions, and didn't really see Venice.

When we left, after six days, we were both a bit quiet, biting the bottom lip a little. Before we were half way to Verona on the train, I think we'd both decided that we had to come back again, for a lot longer.

I'm a hopeless romantic ......

janter

Thanks everyone for your advice and support.
This European honeymoon planning is really overwhelming, but you guys are very helpful with your experienced recommendations and pointing me in the right direction.
My budget for this whole trip is around $8,000. $3,000 has already gone towards flights so i have $5,000 left for 2 weeks in Italy. I hope this is do-able and can keep it romantic rather than having to stay in Hostels or cheap hotels.

If anyone has a completely different recommendation for my itinerary or places to definietely visit/stay. Please please please don't hesitate to let me know. I'm at work right now but I will go through all the posts thoroughly tonight at home
Thanks again everyone!

janter

EDIT: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
June 2012
Budget is around $5,000 (not including flights. flights is in seperate budget)

Afernico

Janter, My wife and I are planning a similar trip with less of a budget. We've found what appear to be really nice accommodations in each of the places you're staying by doing just as everyone recommends....research, research, research. Search using the search box for previous threads and you'll find very helpful info. Booking.com, venere.com, and tripadvisor.com are helpful for finding lodging. Train travel is very reasonable and you can save a little by booking ahead. Again, you'll want to do some research to make sure it's worth booking ahead. You can also generally get cheaper rates at most hotels or agriturismo's by contacting the owner directly rather than booking through the internet. Ask if they offer a discount for paying with cash. Also, keep in mind the less you move around, the further your money will go.

Peter_S_Aus

Use a water taxi to get from Marco Polo Airport to Venice. It will cost about 100 euro, and is magic.

nytraveler

You don't seem to realize that you are VERY late doing this planning. Moderate hotels (you can;t afford upscale - which will be $600 to $800 per night) tend to book up quickly in what is getting to be high season.

You need to make reservations as soon as possible to get places that are central, have AC, nice rooms and will fit within your budget.

Suggest you make reservations now so you have a place and then you can switch if you find something better.