Shalini

I am planning to take my whole family my in-laws,my parents and my 2 kids(2yrs and 5yrs) to Italy but ddon't know where in Italy and need advice on cheap accomodations with a kitchen....can someone please advise?

Luigi

Alotsa luck!! <BR> <BR>Luigi

run

Hi Shalini, <BR>I suggest for your needs Cinque Terre(five small villages on the ligurian sea).From there you can reach Pisa in 1hour by train or car and visit Tuscany. For the accomodations contact catherina(young operator) at [email protected] <BR>She has planned my trips several times with nice ideas.

Deepa

Shalini, Spend some time researching on this site and you will start to get a good idea about what you want. My suggestion is to rent a villa in southern Tuscany and do day trips around. Visit 'Initaly.com' for starters. There are hundreds of other sites for villa rentals. I completely disagree with Cinque Terre being the right place for you.

Leslie

Shalini - You may not get much help with such an open-ended question and no specifics as to how much time you have or what your interests are. With this large group it sounds like your intent is to perhaps rent a villa and stay in one place for a week as sightseeing in big cities is difficult with children so young. But much depends, again, on why you are going in the first place and your interests since is also makes no sense to travel so far and then not sightsee at all. <BR> <BR>Personally, I wouldn't start here until you've clarified your goals and interests. My favorite way to find inspriation is to go to Barnes & Noble bookstore and flip through travel books, especially those with pictures. Often I get a caffe latte and a bunch of travel books and plant myself in one of their big soft chairs for hours. <BR> <BR>Then, once I know when, where (or what sub-region of a country), for how long and what type of experience I appeals to me, I begin to work on specifics like "cheap accomodations with a kitchen." <BR> <BR>Having said all that, I think you should plan some time in one place on a farm either the countryside or a coastal resort area, perhaps renting a mini-van for day trips to small towns and then visit Rome. Add other cities depending upon your time/interests. But to me a first visit to Italy must include at least 3 - 4 days in Roma! Buon Viaggio.

shalini

Thank You all for the suggestions I am slowly getting an idea of where to go and what to do in Italy.I am going to go for 10 days and most likely go to Tuscanny.I did the big city thing in London and was very tired and could not see a lot.Any more suggestions would be appreciated.Thankyou Deepa for suggesting InItaly.com.I liked that website.

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

SO, YOU WANT TO SEE ITALY ! <BR>FIRST, GET A GOOD MAP ! Having planned more then sixty personalized itineraries to <BR>southern Europe and Italy, I have learned that the best trip plans start with a good <BR>map. It takes about six weeks to see most of Italy, and that does not include Sicily. <BR>So, any typical two week sojourn requires a geographic orientation and thoughtful planning to optimize the total experience. The temptation is to try to see too much,and that is a big mistake. My advice is to limit yourself to FIVE DESTINATIONS OR LESS for any two week itinerary. Perceive Italy as geographic regions and plan accordingly. Here is a menu to help you to plan well. Let your total time <BR>in Italy, and a good map, determine your feasible choices ! <BR> <BR> THE BEST DESTINATIONS IN ITALY---BY CATEGORY---NORTH TO SOUTH <BR> <BR>REGIONS OF NATURAL SPLENDOR: <BR>1. The Lakes of Lombardy/Piedmonte [ Maggiore, Como, Lugano, Orta] <BR>2. The Dolomites/Lake Garda [ Cortina, Ortisei, Merano, Riva del Garda] <BR>3. The Ligurian Coast [ Portofino, Cinque Terre, Portovenere] <BR>4. Tuscany/ Umbria [ quaint and historic hill towns] <BR>5. The Amalfi Coast [ Sorrento, Positano, Ravello, Capri] <BR> <BR>THE HISTORICAL ART CITIES: <BR>1. Venice & Veneto [ allow 3 days---more if you include Vicenza, Verona et al] <BR>2. Florence [ it all happened here--plan for 2 days just in Florence] <BR>3. Siena [ deserves a full day, perhaps as a day trip from Florence] <BR>4. Rome [ the Eternal City demands 5 days---some would say two weeks] <BR> <BR>ROMANTIC RESORT DESTINATIONS: <BR>1. Bellagio [ the best of Lago Como] <BR>2. Cortina [ the Vail of Italy--ski resort in heart of the Dolomites] <BR>3. Portofino/ Santa Margherita [ splendid sea-side venue] <BR> 4. Positano [ the best location to explore the Amalfi coast] <BR> 5. Taormina [ fabulous sea-side location in Sicily] <BR> 6. Ravello [ la dolce vita above the Amalfi coast] <BR> <BR> <BR>

Cristina

InItaly has a lot of good info but do not rent places through them as their prices are much higher than any place I have seen. http://www.tuscany.net is good as is http://www.italianvillas.com You could also just do a web search using the area you are interested in plus words like agriturismo or agritourism, pool, etc. <BR> <BR>HTH