Hi there! We are a family of four (18 & 16yrs) and will be travelling to Italy in July. Is it possible to find accomodation in Rome, Florence, Venice or surrounding areas for 200euros or under? We would be interested in taking a quadruple room, because we have heard that it would work out cheaper. I have tried venere.com and found the rates quite high.

We stayed at the Locanda Orseola in Venice. The room was great, it had a main bedroom, then a separate room with bed and a rollaway for the kids. It was about 200 euro a night. BUT... do a search on Map Quest and get the best directions you can, it is located in a courtyard (close to St Marks square)and very difficult to find. We found it, but on the wrong side of a canal, then it took another 20 mins of walking back and forth past the courtyard door before we narrowed it down. Luckily it was a nice day, and we didn't have much luggage.<BR><BR>It was worth it.<BR><BR>

Thanks Victress for your quick reply. Is that what you would normally get in a quad room? This is the first time we will be travelling with the kids so we're a bit clueless and first time to Italy. Also, what is the best website for booking accommodation?

Thanks Victress for your quick reply. Is that what you would normally get in a quad room? This is the first time we will be travelling with the kids so we're a bit clueless and first time to Italy. Also, what is the best website for booking accommodation?

Oops, sorry, I don't know how that happened there!! Another thought - what sort of accommodation are we going to get for 200euros? 3 star? We have a return flight from SA to London and thought that we would be able to spend just under 3 weeks in Italy, flying into Rome and then make our way up to the Lakes via Rome and Tuscany (by car?)and then fly to London either from Milan or Verona. Also, just to throw a spanner in the works - is Italy more expensive than Spain - anyone been to both and can give me advise? We are on quite a tough budget but we also don't want to stay in a crummy hotel. It's just that our SA Rand is so weak at the moment, everything seems so expensive. You guys are so lucky with your dollars!!!

I use placestostay.com, you can be very specific there and it usually gives a huge choice. In Rome we stayed at the Quality Inn, Vatican City. It was very modern - very American and used my many tour groups. It also had clean modern rooms, the one my kids and mother in law<BR>had was the same type of setup - one main room and two pull out beds. It also had 2 fridges, was rather plush. All in all it had little atmosphere but we slept great. I was about 5 blocks from the vatican, my husband I and walked and put mom &amp; the kids in a taxi, back to the hotel. Kind of nice to get a few mins by ourselves. We had a LOUSY hotel in Florence so I won't attempt to answer that. <BR><BR>I also have a membership with Best Western, they have formed partnerships with many small family hotels all over Europe. They are usually a little more expensive, but the standards are pretty high. The one we stayed at in Vienna was great, as was the one in Caen. But I don't like the BW web site.<BR><BR>Sometimes we go for a 4 person room, sometimes separate. In a long trip it's sometimes nice to have those 2 baths and a little privacy.<BR><BR>In London and Germany our family rooms were one big room - so you just never know.<BR><BR>Hope ALL this info helps!

I can't reply to expense, as I haven't been to Spain, but food in Venice was HORRIDLY expensive. There was a cafeteria style restaurant around the corner from the hotel which was quite reasonable - the food was ok, but we didn't spend $100 for about the only time. The rest of Italy we thought was reasonable. We are from the US living in Germany, and had absolutely no trouble driving in Italy, especially in the North. My husband is from Boston, so driving for him is not usually a problem - and he did just fine - even in Naples.