Trying to help daughter with honeymoon research and needed help with a few questions...
Romantic affordable hotels in Venice, plane or train from Venice to Amalfi...

best location for stay on the Amalfi coast for a couple without a car rental who are desirous also of going to Capri, and hotel and restaurant recommendations in both locations

They have about 8 days to work with, couldn't they just take a day trip to Capri? is it better to stay there?

Thank you for your gracious assistance! My concern is that in the off season, much will be closed but I personally would love the lack of crowds and I think they will too!

Is that 8 days total or 8 days for the Amalfi area?

I think the main concern in the Amalfi area is weather, rather than things being closed. The earlier in October the better, I would guess, to maximize the chance of good weather.

What do you consider affordable?

If you only have 8 days why kill one day going so far between destinations? I would do Rome and the AC and I would have them stay in Positano for a honeymoon. Look at Albergo California or Villa Rosa.

As others have noted, you're going to have to provide more details.

That aside, does anyone else think that, with only 8 days, the trip from Venice to Amalfi seems like a lot of travel time eating into the stay?

EasyJet flies twice daily from Venice to Naples. But be aware of luggage limitations.

They should fly into one and out of the other. It will cost somewhat more than a straight return, but it will save time and money in the long run.

To elaborate on Zerlina's excellent suggestion, the honeymooners should get open-jawed plane tickets, flying into Venice and out of Naples. (Open-jaws or multi-city tickets shouldn't cost any more than round-trip tickets.)

Then after several days in Venice, they would fly Easyjet to Naples. Note this flight only runs on certain days of the week.

The next question is how to get from Naples airport to their hotel. That depends on where they're staying.

Both Positano and Amalfi have a boat running to Capri until Nov. 3 this year (1 boat/day from Amalfi, 2/day from Positano). But individual trips may be cancelled due to weather. There are frequent boats to Capri from Sorrento, but it's a bigger town not on the Amalfi Coast proper but around the corner on the Gulf of Naples.

The best way from the Naples airport to their hotel is to book a private driver. But that's quite expensive. The inexpensive way to get to Sorrento and Positano is to take the regular Curreri bus from the airport to Sorrento. For Positano, catch the Sita bus onward from Sorrento. You can do that for Amalfi also. Or take a bus to the Naples train station from the airport to the train station, train to Salerno, and catch the bus back up the coast to Amalfi.

Reverse this trip to get back to the Naples airport for their trip home.

Without knowing what they consider affordable, it's impossible to recommend hotels. You can look at www.tripadvisor.com and venere.com for hotel reviews and rates.

I agree with bobthenavigator -- Positano would be my choice of location for a couple on their honeymoonon the AC. I'd look at Villa Rosa and Villa La Tartana as "budget" options but you haven't said what the budget is, so they might consider the more upscale Hotel Poseidon as well.

Ravello is also gorgeous and romantic but it's more remote and I'd be concerned about transportation options at that time of year.

Thank you all so much! I think the couple is thinking along the lines of $200-$300 per night as opposed to $400 or $500 per night and yes, were considering flying into Venice and home from Naples. We have rented a car in the past and have driven all over but my husband is a race car driver in his mind and loves to drive (and is very good at it as well). Those coastal curves had me covering my eyes for a good deal of the time. Do you think they should rent a car? Their wedding is 10/22 so it will be the end of October. Are weather concerns related to temperature or precipitation? Will most shops and restaurants be closed then?

To the extent they are interested in Capri, they might just consider staying there instead of doing a daytrip. We spent the last week of October on Capri several years ago -- it was amazing, and I think would be perfect for a honeymoon. Though I'm sure this can vary from year to year, the weather was spectacular and we had no problems with interruptions in ferry service (though we had also made sure to give ourselves some wiggle room in the schedule just in case.) Many of the hotels and restaurants will indeed be closed for the season, so on weekday evenings in particular, it will be a bit more quiet than in the high season, but there were still plenty of things open (and frankly we enjoyed things slightly on the quiet side). All of the major sites were open, and we took an amazing half-day boat tour around the island as well.

As I mentioned, a number of hotels will be closed by then; we stayed at the Villa Brunella which is open through the end of October, with "discounted" rates for the last portion of the month. http://www.villabrunella.it/en/rates The current low season rates for their double rooms fall within the budget you suggest. It is a great property; we were able to splurge on one of the Junior Suites while we were there, and it was worth every penny. Villa Sarah is a less expensive hotel that gets consistently good reviews; I don't know if they will be open at the end of October. In researching a return trip this year, I also found a number of appealing options for bed-and-breakfasts and apartment rentals on this website: http://www.capritourism.com/en/home It's worth looking (and paying) for a property that has some kind of terrace or balcony, either private or shared, to enjoy the amazing views of the island. (Also, if by chance they are lucky enough have a bazillion Marriott points, there is a Mariott-affiliated hotel on the island, the J.K. Capri).

Whether they decide on Capri or somewhere else on the AC, I would personally recommend doing this part of the trip first, and ending in Venice. Most honeymooners I've spoken with report that they are exhausted by the time the honeymoon rolls around. Part of the joy of both Capri and AC is just hanging out and enjoying the views and the weather, so it would be a great place to relax and recuperate a bit.

US$300 is about 215euros.

My rec for a honeymoon would be a superior double room with a large balcony at the Villa Rosa in Positano -- great location and view. I've stayed the sister property Villa La Tartana but Villa Rosa is higher up with a better view. I'm not sure how cold it will be at that time though, so maybe a balcony isn't as useful if it's windy or rainy.

www.villarosapositano.it

You have all been wonderful with your recommendations. Thank you so much!

We loved staying on the Amalfi Coast and Gulf of Naples this past April (just before the main season started). We had a few nights each in Amalfi and Sorrento.

Upon arrival in Naples, I had intended for us to take the Circumvesuvia commuter train to Salerno but accidentally got on the one to Sorrento instead. In hindsight, I'm glad we did: taking the Sita bus in that direction was a great way to watch the coast open up in front of us! I thought I'd be nervous about the twisting roads, but a few miles in and I was hooked: with a competent and experienced bus driver, I could relax and take photos out the window. The transfer to the Sita bus is just in front of the Sorrento train station - but note that (like so many trips to Europe that I've taken), the biggest hassle was in dealing with our large American suitcases. Nothing too extreme though: your usual small spaces on the commuter train, then through a turnstile and down a flight and a half of stairs at Sorrento. If your hotel is not at a scheduled stop in one of the towns, you can tell the driver the location and name of the hotel and they will drop you at the door.

IMO, I'd recommend staying on the Amalfi Coast instead of Sorrento, unless they are really interested in day trips to Pompeii and Herculaneum. (This was the reason we booked the two different locations on our trip.) We loved Amalfi and it was very nice for our purposes, but Positano is definitely where I'd prefer to spend a honeymoon! As a side note, if they like climbs, one of the highlights of our trip was hiking the Sentieri degli Dei - the Walk of the Gods - which starts above Positano and winds its way to Praiano.

We just spent 10 days in Sorrento, Rome and Tuscany. We took our 3 daughters and spouses with us so we had an array of ages. They all agreed the trip was perfect with the locations and hotel rooms we picked.
In Sorrento, we stayed at Hotel Bristol which was outstanding! The 1st. day we took the boat to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. The 2nd. day, we took the boat to Capri (don't forget to take the chairlift to the top of the island.)
The pool at the hotel was relaxing and the b'fast was great. The evenings we walked into town for dinner and nightlife. Getting to Sorrento from Naples was easy - either by boat or train.