Another Italian itinerary question
 

I see that there is another thread going right now regarding Venice, Florence and Rome itineraries. Hopefully some of you folks can help me with my problem. Here is my dilema....
My 14yr old daughter and I are arriving in Italy after 4 nights in London on the 6th of June. My original plan was to fly into Venice on EasyJet stay at Pensione La Calcina for 3 nights, take the train to Florence, stay for 2 nights with a side trip to Pisa, train down to Rome for 3 more nights and then fly back to London, overnight at LHR and then return to the USA on June 15th.
La Calcina is not available for June 6th, 3nights. It is available June 8th for 3 nights at a great price. I have looked at train schedules and travel times between these three cities and am wondering if La Calcina is worth juggling the route for. Is it even realistic to try to fly into Florence on the 6th, take a train to Venice on the 8th, then take the train all the way down to Rome on the 11th? It seems like too much travel time but then again, 4 1/2 hours isn't too bad if the route is scenic. Do you have to check in for the trains more than an hour in advance? (I'll be asking train travel questions in the coming months once I get the itinerary figured out.)

(I don't think that La Calcina is available June 11th for 3 nights but am still waiting for a reply. If it is available, then I could just reverse my original plan and start in Rome and end in Venice.)

Are there any other great places in Venice that cost less than $250 per night? I have a quote for Palazzo La Scala and Locanda La Corte that are more expensive and don't seem to be a nice as La Calcina?

Thanks in advance for your assistance. We are really excited about this trip and are going to be obsessive about it for the next 6 months! I know I'm in the right place here for that kind of behavior!

There aren't many flights from London to Florence & they will likely be expensive. But there are more flights to Pisa. You don't have to check in, in advance, for trains.

Hi moll,

>Are there any other great places in Venice that cost less than $250 per night? <

Yes.

Try http://veniceby.com/barbarigo/index.html

Obsessive behavior is a requirement to post on fodors. :)

I personally wouldn't build my whole trip around La Calcina since there are so many other great hotels in Venice. Locanda Orseolo gets fantastic reviews here and on tripadvisor.com and may be worth a look. We were very happy at Casa Rezzonico at 140E/night. You can do a search here for more info about this charming little hotel. I think their website is

www.casarezzonico.it

Also http://www.pensioneaccademia.it/

Or try the Hotel Ala. The hotel has its own website but I can't find it at the moment. Go to www.veniceby.com/alahotel for information.

Your first itinerary sounds great (although hopefully you have at least two full days in Florence plus your field-trip to Pisa). You might want to look at "Time Out Venice" for a good listing of accommodation in Dorsoduro, at all price points.