Hello everyone! I need some help! My fiance and I are getting married next October and we are wanting to go to Italy for our honeymoon. This would be our first time over there so we want to see some of the major sites but also have some down time of just strolling around and taking in the breathtaking views. We love wine and food so that is one of the main draws. Right now we are talking about the following rough itinerary:
Depart Sunday Oct 8 for Venice
Arrive Monday Oct 9 around 10am
Stay 2 nights in Venice and depart for Florence on Wed Oct 11
Stay in Florence 2 nights and depart for Naples on Fri Oct 13
Stay in Naples 2 nights and depart for Rome on Sun Oct 15
Stay in Rome 3 nights and depart for the US on Wed Oct 18

Any opinions would be extremely helpful! I really want to see the ocean and Pompei but I know Naples is sort of out of the way. Thanks in advance for the help!

For a honeymoon I would not wan to rush around that way.
Remember that if you have 2 nights in a city that is only one day.

I would bag Naples and add the time to Venice and Rome - so you have a little time to relax and just see the city from a cafe - rather than rushing madly from one to another of the major sights.

I agree with nytraveler -- I think you would feel like you got to see more if you did 3 nights Venice, 2 nights Florence and 4 nights Rome. You CAN take a daytrip to Ostia Antica from Rome, and stop off to see the ocean, if you really want. To be honest, I enjoyed Ostia A almost more than Pompeii. But for that matter, you could arrange a daytrip from Rome to Pompeii. October is a great time of year to be in Italy.

I agree with both posters above.
3 nights Venice (2 full days)
2 nights Florence (1 full day)
4 nights Rome (3 full days)

It's still rushed, but you'll come home feeling like you experienced some of Italy.

Whenever you move from city to city, especially as a first-timer, it takes about an hour at each end of the trip to check out of the hotel, get to a train station and find your train, and do the same on arrival to get to your new hotel. Therefore, a 2-hour train ride between Venice and Florence may take 4 hours of travel.

Your current plan has you on the move to your next city almost every other day. I like to list each day, noting travel, so I can really understand the pace.

Oct 8 arrive Venice after lengthy overnight travel, possible jetlag
Oct 9 Venice
Oct 10 Venice
Oct 11 travel to Florence
Oct 12 Florence
Oct 13 travel to Naples
Oct 14 Naples
Oct 15 travel to Rome
Oct 16 Rome
Oct 17 Rome
Oct 18 fly home - based on usual flights, not much time this day to do much but pack and head to airport

Only you know if this travel pace is appealing to you.

While very interesting, I find Naples very busy, not relaxing, and not the place I'd choose on my first visit to Italy.

Don't feel bad about leaving it out this time.

Venice is on the water and you'll enjoy that. Venice is also best when you wander away from the main tourist areas, and you'll need some time to relax and just do that.

Your plan is a bit busy, and won't allow you time to see the major tourist draws and also spend time "just strolling". If you're willing to skip some of the major or attractions or forget about strolling, the itinerary could work.

I don't know if this is not the case any more, but when I was young, couples spent most of their honeymoon hanging around the hotel.

Also, this is nit-picking, but there is no ocean near Italy. The Mediterranean isn't an ocean.

If Pompeii is a must, then you need to drop Florence from your itinerary. You could take a train from Venice to Naples and then end your trip in Rome. If you do go to Naples, have a plan B in case it's rainy and you don't want to trek around Pompeii in the rain.

You only have 8 full days in Italy plus a jet-lagged arrival day. Your original plan has 3 days of travel so that only leaves you 5 full days in locations.

I would limit the trip to 3 places max (2 would be better).

With as few days as you have -- subtracting the jet-lagged first day and your departure day -- do you really want to use up that much time just getting from Point A to Point B (and C and D)? Pick two places, Venice being one because it's your point of arrival and because everyone should see it once. Rome being the other because it's your point of departure, and you could do a lot worse.

I understand the desire to pack in a lot of places in short space of time, but you'll be trying to see Italy in fast-forward. Instead, take three or four days in Venice. Stroll around. Have a glass of prosecco in St. Mark's while you listen to the music under the stars. See the Doges Palace. Take a ferry to Burano. Relax. Take a day trip to Verona or Vicenza by train.

Then head to Rome and take in the many sights. But don't forget to stroll and relax. Then go home and plan your next trip to Italy, even if it's 10 years from now.

You want to see the ocean? The US has thousands of miles of wonderful coast land. Go to Italy to see Italy.

Nothing wrong with wanting to see the seaside--it is part of Italy, too, but you need to scale back and decide if you really must see all three of the "big three" on this trip. I would include only two of them so you can include some relaxation time.

Thanks for all of the wonderful help! We are looking at flying into Venice and spending 3 nights and then flying to Naples for 2 nights and training it to Rome for 4 nights. The reason I say I want to see the ocean is because of all the pictures of the cliffs and bright colorful buildings along the coast We had thought about cinque terre or lake como or that sort of thing but we weren't sure on the warmth of October. What will the weather be like up that far North? I have wanted to see Pompeii since I was a child and read a book about it but I know I could see it when I get back to Italy at some other point in my lifetime.

Well at least if the weather is not good, there is plenty to do in Naples. I think that plan works better with Florence removed from the mix.

Two nights in Naples doesn't give you much time to see the coast and Pompeii. Naples is a big city, and yes, it's on the water, and it's built on a hill, and the view of the Bay of Naples is stupendous, but no cliffs and bright colorful buildings per se. I think you have imagined the Amalfi Coast?

You will spend much of one day getting to and touring Pompeii and returning to Naples. Your first day will be half a day with your flight from Venice to Naples, and getting in to the city to your hotel. Yuo could then walk along the Lungomare, wander through the Spanish Quarter, have pizza, or go see the Archaeological Museum which has all the goodies from Pompeii.

I would recommend doing a google search on Naples and see if that is really what you have in mind.