You should be aware that there are many on this forum who disagree with brenkjtravel -- you can never spend too much time in Venice.

Apart from that, with "5-7 days," I wouldn't attempt to do Florence or Rome. Maybe a day trip out of Venice, such as to Verona, would work better. Plus, if you plan to explore the islands, your time will be packed with plenty.

Check out Locanda Orseolo. Standard canal view rooms run around 230 euro, which is around $300.

I'm currently planning at trip for 2015 that includes Venice (only 3 days). One of the day trips that I found very intriguing and am putting on my list for an all Italy trip is Verona. If your wife is into Romeo and Juliet or Shakespeare it is the site of the Juliet Balcony. As a place to visit it looks charming as well and only a shortish train ride from Venice.

Verona is lovely and also has a neat old Roman Arena.

Even shorter than the ride to Verona is Vicenza which is small, charming and filled with Palladio's architecture, including the Olympic Theater which is stunning.

You will have so many choices. It depends on your personal interests.

The good thing is: you do not have to really plan for any of these day trips. They are short, easy train rides and you can just decide once you are there, and buy a ticket right then.

Chris, my husband and I are off to Venice (and then Rome) in about 5 weeks. We're spending a couple of nights at Hotel Galleria. Keep an eye out for a trip report once we return.

Enjoy your planning! That's been so much fun for my husband and I as we have planned our itinerary for this, our first trip to Italy.

We loved La Calcina. We had a room overlooking the canal, and it was lovely. The staff was great, and breakfast was lovely with seating by the water. It is steps away from a vaporetto stop. It is a good walk to San Marco Square. ( 20 minutes?) , but a pleasant walk. And it's in a nice area in which to wander.

Take a look at Palazzo Guardi. We really enjoyed that hotel. In April, rooms 4 and 5, large, ensuite room with a great view of one of the larger side canals and church square directly across should be somewhere around $200. The building does not look like much from the outside, which is not unusual for hotels in Venice but rooms 4 and 5 are beautifully decorated and very comfortable. The hotel is in Dorsoduro, a desirable area. If you go to their website know that the pictures of the rooms are accurate.

Chris - if you would like, I have a more complete description of the above hotel in my TR as well as our experience in Venice. It was in January of '09 so rates were much cheaper.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...gna-rome-1.cfm

Thanks to all of you for your continued replies, suggestions, and kind words. You've taken a lot of the guesswork out of this planning process, and I'm grateful. I'm really looking forward to this trip!

We are going in the summer and have booked the Bisazio. We don't have a huge budget and this was recommended to us. A friend of ours told us after I booked that it is in a great location. She didn't stay at that location but always ended up near the Bisanzio each night. You may want to look into that, it may be within your budget.

Asking the concierge is a great idea.

My husband and I want to renew our wedding vows soon and I have to admit that I would be a little annoyed (just a little) if I didn't get a chance to be in the planning. Clearly she has daydreamed about the specifics of the renewal so word of advice, best to clue her in. When I think about my renewal, I'm also thinking about what I am wearing and how I will look. Let her in on the planning so that she knows what to pack. Just let her know you are taking care of the details but she should pack a renewal outfit.

Or you can fly into Milan for 2 out of the 5-7 nights and surprise her with a shopping trip to pick out her outfit. Then take the train to Venice.

I'd also surprise her with a professional photographer. Both of you will want to remember the day and I'm sure she will want to share the captured moments with friends and family. If you plan to surprise her... he can secretly take pics and capture her surprise. Enjoy!

One other thought (since I am a hopeless romantic :))- When you go to Burano (where they make lace) you can tell her to buy a handkerchief for your renewal vows and just maybe one day she will be able to pass it on to a daughter, DIL or granddaughter/family member to carry with them on their wedding day.

It's been a few months since I've posted on this thread. Thanks to everyone's helpful advice, I think I was able to decide on accommodations. I'm currently looking at the Locanda Orseolo. It gets excellent reviews and looks beautiful. But I'm still keeping my options open, so feel free to throw out more recommondations. :)

There is one other major component to planning this trip that I haven't been able to work out just yet, and that's flight tickets. I'm hoping to fly out of Los Angeles on March 29th (Saturday) and arrive in Venice on March 30th (Sunday). I'll stay for 5 nights and depart Venice on April 4th (Friday).

One of the best flights I could find was U.S. Airways, which costs $1300 roundtrip, per person. It has one layover in Philadelphia that is 2 hours long (which I don't mind since I won't have to worry about rushing to my connecting flight), and then it's a direct shot from Philadelphia to Venice.

I'd like to get some input from all you fine folks and seasoned travelers. Do you think $1300pp is a reasonable price? Should I wait to see if it will go lower? I have no idea what the average price is to fly to Venice, so I have no way to gauge if I'm paying way too much.

As always, thanks in advance for everyones input!

Brenkjtravel: "What a wonderful surprise. As a woman I would have to say though if I was going on the trip of a lifetime I would want to be in on the planning and have time to be excited about it, that is half the fun."

I think she is right. I would want to share the planning.>>

don't know what you've decided on this front [and i only just found your thread] but if I can have my two penn'oth, i would LOVE a surprise like this. as the family holiday planner, and the arranger of several surprises for my nearest and dearest, i long for the day that someone says they are whisking me away to the city of my dreams without my having to lift a finger.

I can't help you with the flight price, but I can wish you the best of luck and a great trip.

Chris Y, that is not a bad price from Los Angeles to Venice. We paid a little more than 1100 direct from Philadelphia to Venice at very high season. So it's not the best price I ever heard but it's not the worst.

What I think I would do is sign up for a couple of price alerts on flights. Do a search for flight price alerts, (there have to be better words, but I'm tired) and see what happens. You are lucky to have a little time.

Your budget seems to have taken a hike for hotels. Did you give up on a budget place? I'm just curious, not judging anything.

We took a flight from LA to Venice via Philadelphia on USAIr since they're member of Star Allance,we paid around $1600 mid June and coming back from Rome

I think that is a decent price. I will be needing flights later on next year in June will be happy to get something in the $1600 to $1800 range.

That airfare is not too bad (unfortunately). You might hold out for a small fare drop, but it's tough work to snag a fare close to $1000 these days (and that's from the East Coast). Have to balance holding out for a fare sale with the possibility of not getting the flight times/connections you would prefer.

Lately, I've found the best fares 5 months out but it's usually meant changing my planned dates a bit which you may not have the flexibility to do. Leaving on a Thursday, rather than a Saturday, for instance, is probably going to get you better fare options.

Be sure to check the airline websites directly as sometimes they have slightly better fares than what's listed on expedia etc. Also, in my experience, if there are any problems, I've found the airlines are a little more helpful if you've booked directly with them.

Wow! Quick responses. :)

@annhig: Thank you for your kind words. I still haven't decided whether to tell her about the trip or keep it a surprise. Everyone has posed valid points in that she may want to help with planning the arrangements. However, she's never liked planning and has always entrusted me to handle all our travel arrangements in the past. And I've been working to make this trip a reality for many years. I'd hate to spoil the surprise. I'm currently tossing around the idea of telling her that we're going on a week long trip "somewhere" to renew our wedding vows, but not telling her specifically that it's Venice. That way, she can shop for a wedding dress, get her hair done, etc... and still have the surprise. I don't know, we'll see. Whichever way I go, I'm sure the trip will be wonderful.

@tuscanlifeedit: My budget has adjusted a bit. Or rather, my willingness to spend has. I don't think I've completely given up on budget hotels. I think once I started looking at the prices to stay at the hotels I liked, I realized that my initial budget was probably a bit too low. I did try checking some lower budget places, but it seemed like most either didn't have rooms available for my schedule or they had gotten some horrible reviews from previous guests. I'm still very much open to suggestions, but right now Locanda Orseolo seems to be my primary choice. Thanks for the input on your flight cost. I'm setting up flight alerts right now! :)

@Indogirl1: Thanks for sharing your flight cost!

@wekewoody: Thanks for the input. When I checked the flight prices a couple months ago, it was around $1600 as well. I was glad to see it dropped to $1300.

@wayfinder45: That's for the input. I'm tempted to wait a little longer (5-6 months out), but like you said, I'm worried that I might miss out on my flight time.

Thanks again to all who replied. Based on the information everyone provided, I feel pretty good about purchasing the tickets at the current rate. I'm not expecting to get the absolute lowest rates, but I'm glad to hear that the rates I'm looking at are reasonable and not something ridiculous. Feel free to throw out more hotel suggestions. I love hearing everyone's favorite spots and experiences.

We are traveling in October into Venice out of Rome for our 20 th anniversary and got a fare of just under $1200 through Us airways. I checked a couple of times after we booked and $1300 was the best I saw, so I think your fare seems reasonable.

I've stayed at Al Ponte Mocenigo and loved it. It is a short walk to the vaporetto stop, so everytime I got lost, I just hoped back on the vaporetto! My favorite time getting lost was when I ended up taking a ride around the Grand Canal at night - my unexpected guilty pleasure!

Ask for the room by the front desk - it is large with a very nice shower. They serve a nice breakfast and the staff is wonderful! http://www.alpontemocenigo.com/

Also, a day trip to Burano for lunch at Da Romano's seafood risotto as seen on Anthony Bourdain http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-show...pisodes/venice

http://www.daromano.it/index.php?opt...d=23&Itemid=54