Thank you everyone for your input!

I agree with the comments re:Rick Steves guidebook. I do respect his opinions on the tourist attractions, but some of the recommended hotels provide very minimal comfort in my humble opinion. Though we don't prefer lux hotels when going to Europe, realizing that it's so much more expensive than traveling to Asia, we do try to look for something that's stylish but simple and not too ornate or gaudy, reasonably priced, has good breakfast and friendly service, near all the places we want to see. I'm probably asking for too much here.:] I've been spending so much time reading hotel reviews on TripAdvisor, SlowTrav, Fodors, Frommers and such that I should start looking for airfare soon, like this weekend!

annhig, we love the convenience of having our own car but may be we'll do that on our next trip since I can already tell from all my readings that I'm going to love Europe and will return to it again and again. I read docdan's trip report and would like to spare my poor husband the stress, on his vacation no less, of driving on the Italian Autostrada.

Re:going in May, does it really matter if we leave at the beginning (I know to avoid May 1), middle or the end of the month? I've read about possible rain during this month but waiting until June will increase our trip costs even more.

Can't wait to find out this weekend how much airfare will cost us. BigRuss, I was thinking of KLM too! Thanks for the tips.

See above---$1252

Thanks bobthenavigator, I will check it out!

You may also want to consider renting apartments in the cities, even for 3-5 nights. You have considerable more room than in a hotel, plus you usually have a kitchen/washing machine/living room, giving you more room to spread out in and cooking options. Even if you just want to make a cup of coffee in the morning, the kitchen helps!

I am just finalizing our 16-day trip in Italy for May and have booked nice 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartments in Rome, Tuscany, Venice, and on Lake Maggiore for an average of a little less than 200 Euros per night. This is for 2 couples, so you probably would not need that much space. I used www.homelidays.com and homeaway.com to book most of the apartments. I used www.italyrents.com for the Rome apartment.

I found this fare on Kayak, please let me know what you think!
Leaving Sunday 5/15, on Air New Zealand, get in to Venice at 10:10 am. Return on British Airways 2 weeks later, getting into L.A. at 7:25 pm, very good time I would think. Fare $1168.09/pp. Aren't these airlines reputable? We've never flown them before. Your comments please! Thank you!

There's Alitali/AF for $1091/pp but I'm trying to avoid Paris airport.

I also checked www.airfare.com per Michael's advice. $1020.50 on Lufthansa, connect in Germany, to Venice at 1:25 pm.

I haven't checked KLM/Delta, but we flew through Amsterdam last September and liked the connections a lot. We were coming from SFO, so it is a similar trip. I like leaving home in the afternoon, being able to sleep (?) on the plane at a fairly normal hour without interruption for transfers. so much better than connection in the US!

charnees, I also read that it's better not to connect in the states. I wonder how true this is...? I do know that we'd like to get into Venice earlier during the day rather than late afternoon or evening since this would mean one day less on our vacation already.

We live in L.A. and over many years have flown on several airlines using different routings. By far, my favorite for final destinations in Italy is the daily non-stop Swiss Air (code-share United) to Zurich and onward to wherever. It's an evening departure, mid-afternoon arrival.

There are non-stop flights between LAX and FCO on Alitalia, but Alitalia would probably be my last choice for long-haul flights. I'd rather fly Swiss Air back to Zurich to catch Swiss' daily early afternoon non-stop to LAX, at least until I hear some really glowing first-hand reports on Alitalia's LAX service. Using Zurich means you could easily put Venice at the start or end of a Venice-Florence-Rome itinerary.

I wouldn't get hung up on the time of day of your final arrival anywhere. You'll likely be fairly wiped out and only able to utilize a few hours to do any sightseeing. I'm able to get going right away, but my husband often doesn't remember everything we've seen on arrival day.

I wouldn't bother with Gate1. Once you nail down what you'll be spending on air fare, tell us what your hotel/apartment budget is. There are good options in every budget range.

Avoid 2 connections, but you knew that.

If you have never been to Europe before I would be connecting in the states AND I would not be driving in Italy if you have never driven overseas before. The train system is so easy there along with the rest of the public transportation-that way you can sit back and enjoy the scenery/views.

Haven't checked the fares but why not fly to Atlanta,New York,Philly from LA and go nonstop to Venice and then nonstop back to those cities or Chicago from Rome to LA? London's departure tax is the highest along with Paris so when you start adding that onto a ticket it kills you.

I think that if you have been to Europe before it is nice to rent an apartment but quite frankly I cannot begin to tell you how many passengers I have had on my flights home to the states that booked apartments as first timers and it proved to be too much. Sometimes you just want to have someone at the front desk helping you with directions,questions and thoughts.

I know that I am going to be flamed for the above but I don't think that you all remember the first time that you went overseas and all that it involved.I think that most of us on Fodors are seasoned travelers and as such go in a different direction but sometimes you have to remember how overwhelming it is to arrive jet lagged in a foreign country without knowing the language on our own and start sightseeing.

I would take the Alitalia non-stop from LAX to FCO. I know a couple of people who took the flight last year and had no problems and they said the plane was actually in good shape. I am planning on taking that flight for our trip next year (coming down from PDX). It is worth it not to have to worry about connections in a foreign country (for my trip I will be traveling with a bunch of "newbies")the first time traveling in Europe.

We've connected in Chicago and had problems/delays almost every time. Maybe we're just the unlucky ones.

Likewise, I no longer book connections through Heathrow or deGaulle unless we're planning to spend some time in either country. We've just encountered too many problems and spent too much unplanned time in both airports.

"Alitalia... they said the plane was actually in good shape." I'd have to hear more about service, food, and baggage claim. We had the (round-trip) flights from hell a few years ago that still give me nightmares.

dutyfree - I think you make a good point.

for people who have never been to Europe before, being able to turn to your hotel reception or concierge can be very reassuring.

Thank you for everyone's input. I will try to look for a non-stop flight from LA to Venice, good point on not having to connect in a foreign country. We won't be driving in Italy on this first trip but will hope to do so after a couple more trips. Re:apartment rental, I think that's a great idea especially after seeing some rentals on this board and TripAdvisor. I would definitely rent an apartmenet if we have more people but since it will just be the two of us, we'll stay at a hotel, that way we won't feel so isolated. We're very sociable people but there were a few times during our previous vacations that we felt a little lonely, can you believe that? Staying at a hotel will provide us with opportunities to meet and chat with other travelers. My husband got really sick in VN one time, throwing up non-stop (he later needed an IV drip). It was comforting to know the hotel staff was there to help call a local doctor and to help him get back to our room away from the cold sea wind.

You can definately go on your own. Last year we flew Air France from LAX to Venice via Paris deGualle, spent 5 days, then took the fast train to Rome, spent 5 days, then back to LAX via Paris again. If you can do LAX than you can do deGualle. It's a huge airport, but well-signed and easy to navigate. Also it has very pretty architecture. The first leg of our trip was on Air France - very uncomfortable planes, but good service. The second was with Alitalia - older, much more comfortable planes, friendly service.

From the Venice airport, we caught the bus to the island which was cheap, fast, and easy. We took the fast train from Venice to Rome which was also very easy. Our flight out of Rome was at 9:00AM in the morning, so we got a taxi from our hotel to the airport.

I researched the hotels on TripAdvisor and sent e-mails and had no problem. I also asked lots of questions and received wonderful answers on this forum. Good luck and have a great trip!

Suru11, thanks for the positive comment on Paris deGualle. Is Alitalia a good airline to fly on if you have your choice?

The reason I'm asking is there's a deal right now that I can get on Alitalia mid-May, non-stop to Rome then to Venice. Hotels all all 4 stars, A La Comedia/Venice, Hotel Pierre/Florence, Hotel Kolbe/Rome. I checked Hotel Pierre's website and it's E795 for just a standard room! Our budget was going to be $150-250/night. All these hotels are central, great breakfasts, central location, get great reviews on TripAdvisor. Air, 9 nights for $6269 for 2. What do you think? Thank you for your help!

Alitalia had many complaints against it in the past, but it is "under new management" so to speak. I flew it in the past and never had any more to complain of than any other airline I have used to fly to Italy. If you like the price and schedule, then I say book it. Alitalia, Air France , and Delta are airline partners, so in some cases you may actually flying an Alitalia codeshare with one of these others.

It all depends on what you want. If one assumes a $1200 RT per person, it leaves $3869 for hotels, which would come out to $425 per night for the hotel rooms, quite a bit higher than what you budget was going to be. Is the packaging worth the extra cost?