my husband and i are beginning plans for a 10 nights in italy in early may 2011(keeping in mind 2 days extra for travel time) is may a good time to visit?

rome - hotel near piazza navona
sienna or florence? - peaceful apartment or mountain home allowing for daytrips
venice - hotel on the island

our lodging budget is around 100 euros or less per night.

trains mostly, but car rental during sienna/florence?

does this sound like a good plan and can you recommend itinerary/lodging/input for this?

Your budget is quite low and will limit your options, in Rome and Venice especially. I do agree to limit your itinerary to 3 destinations--only you can decide if you want Florence or a rural destination in Tuscany.

Since you have chosen these locations, you must have a bit of an idea o why you want to visit them. Can you share some ideas of your interests-- hate or love such things as art, shopping, hiking, fine dining, history, wine tasting, relaxing--so we can help you allot your time?

We just returned from Italy and did a similar itinerary. I honestly think that we should have just done two cities. There is so much to see and do even if doing something is just sitting at a cafe. I agree with a previous poster about budget for the hotel. Venice is pretty expensive and you will be hard pressed to find a hotel for 100 Euro on the island. Rome as well especially in the areas that most people want to stay.

hi guys, @bob - rural tuscany with the option to visit florence? @ellenem - art, architecture, history, cooking, eating, romance, local culture @FWT - it sounds like we are either going to have to raise our budget or find hotels a little further out from the popular areas(which is difficult considering limited time). What do you think is a reasonable budget for decent hotels (3 star or higher) in popular locations?

You don't need to be looking for 3 star hotels. The star rating system in Italy is not much help to visitors, because the number of stars reflects things like whether or not there is a pool or elevator or restaurant on site, not fundamental quality.

In Rome you can find affordable b&bs with private bathrooms, but you are going to have to boost your budget closer to 115 euros minimum. You might be able to squeak by with the same in Venice.

In rural Italy, the cost of accommodations drops dramatically, and you can spend as little as 45-60 euros per night for very charming and even spacious accommodations on farms. However, the cost of a car rental is going to boost your overall budget for the trip.

If you want to be in rural Tuscany with the option to day trip into Florence, pick an accommodation near Panzano or Siena, both of which have buses that go into Florence. (I believe the one in and out of Siena runs later into the night).

But if you can stand a one-nighter, it would make more sense, budget-wise, to take either take the train from Rome to Florence and spend one night there, and rent a car after lunch the following day for a countryside location. (Tourist House Ghiberti has rooms for 110e.) OR: Get a very early start in Rome, take the train to Florence. Stow your luggage at the train station. Stroll through town. Retrieve luggage in time to get to car rental office and rent car. Head for a nearby countryside stay before the sun goes down.

Wherever you stay, drop off the car in Venice.

You describe yourselves as interested in art, so you might want to spend at least one night in Florence. And that way you won't be paying for a car rental that you aren't using while you tour Florence.

As others have pointed out, you will be flying along at a pretty fast pace. For me, with my interests in art, it would be too fast unless I knew in advance I would not even attempt to see many of the sights.

Venere.com is an excellent website for finding accommodations in Italian cities, with lots of user reviews. Prices pop up in summer, but plug in your dates and see if you can find someplace other travelers praise but doesn't cost a lot.

http://www.venere.com/bandb/rome/ban...a/#reviews;eur

thank you zeppole. Could we expect a better trip in mid/late september instead of early may? we definitely want to beat the crowds and make the most of our budget(perhaps extending our vacation)...

To beat the crowds you would have to travel November through March IMO and IME.

I agree that September prices really won't differ from early May, and may even be a little higher in some cases.

To find good places that fit your budget, try searching Venere.com for B&Bs as well as hotels.

There are also many threads on Fodors that cover convent accommodations in Italy. You could also consider apartments. This May, we stayed in a very nice apartment located between the Spanish Steps and the Piazza del Popolo in Rome, for 110 E.

In Venice, consider staying on the Lido. It's only a short vaporetto ride (15 minutes, tops) from the attractions of San Marco--and riding around in the vaporetti is part of the fun, anyway. It can be relaxing and refreshing to return to the tranquil Lido after a busy day of sightseeing.

I stayed at the charming Villa Anglica for about $120/night:
http://www.villaangelica-venezia.com/

Tuscanlifeedit, do you have a link to the apartment? Was it available for a 3 night stay?

shegotheshine,

My experience is that the fall weather is a bit drier than the spring weather, but for 10 days, there are no guarantees and most of the places you are going don't absolutely require sunny skies to be enjoyed immensely.

You have picked some of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy, and while you can find ways to lose the crowds at least some of the time, there are not many times of the year when people and tour groups aren't lined up to see Michaelangelo's David or the Forum. I would go when you can and avoid the extremes of weather, hot or cold.

I would make staying outside of Venice proper my last resort for a visit to Venice. Food in Venice is not so special that you couldn't make do with a couple of yogurt lunches to afford to stay inside the city proper.

You will have more daylight in May if that matters to you.

In Pienza, the rooms and one of the apartments (Il Biancospino) at Il Giardino Segreto will be below your price range (55-70€). It's easy to day trip to hill towns and reach Siena from Pienza. The smallest apartment, La Serra, would also be well below your price range, but the bedroom is up a flight of steep stairs.

http://www.ilgiardinosegretopienza.it/