julies

We're in Venice right now in a rental apartment for a week, and we're really enjoying ourselves. Since I'll be retiring in a couple months, we are talking about the possibility of returning for a late winter getaway and renting here for up to a month. Typically, in most parts of the world, month-long rentals are much cheaper, but we are wondering if this would also be the case in Venice. It seems to us that this is such a popular tourist spot that perhaps apartment owners do not discount for longer stays assuming they can make more money if they just stick to trying to get many short term renters rather than a longer rental at a discounted rate.

Have you got any experience with a rental say from 2 to 4 weeks? Were the rates significantly better than they would have been for a shorter stay?

Thanks.

vincenzo32951

My short answer is that I have rented apts. in Venice but only for a week.

I would guess if you're looking at late winter, you have a pretty good chance of getting a bargain for a one-month rental. I have looked at Venice apts. on vrbo.com, and the ones that offer monthly rentals almost always do so at a discount price over the weekly charge. For instance, I have seen apts. charging 800 euros a week offered for a monthly rate of 2800 euros.

Elizabeth_S

We rented for 2 weeks 2 years ago in February (with some overlap on Carnevale dates). We got quite a discount ( 25% or 30%). Had a great time.

julies

Thanks so much; I'll have to do some further research when we get home and have some time. We were thinking perhaps March but frankly do not want to pay the full weekly freight times four for a month because that would end up being quite pricy.

Elizabeth--What was the weather like at that time of year? Was it nice enough to enjoy taking the vaporetto to the islands?

Peter_S_Aus

We are here right now. http://www.vrbo.com/149494

Staying for eight weeks.



http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...over-again.cfm

suze

Peter, You're killing me here. I am pea green with envy. The terrace and view from there are to die for. You very lucky person you!

Elizabeth_S

We had lovely weather -- sunny and warm (for February). We did many vaporetto trips. But not sure it's predictable tho!

HappyTrvlr

We rented in Venice once for two weeks. We were going to rent for one week and then move to the Veneto. We decided to stay in the apartment for the entire two weeks as the rates dropped so much. We took day trips to the Veneto instead. We were there in May.

Holly_uncasdewar

I rent for 12-14 days in Venice every March. Never gotten a discount. You might have better luck with that in January, or February outside of Carnivale, and for 4 weeks.

cicchettigirl

We rent in Venice every year for 3 to 4 weeks and the price is always discounted over the 1 week rate.

julies

Great to hear all of these positiive replies. Thanks much.

Peter--2 months is a long time, and even before you put in the link I was reading your trip report. We've never done anything for that long before; six weeks has been our max and on that trip we were also interacting with other people.

To those of you have done extended stays before, do you ever start to wish for another English speaker to interact with?

LisaG

julies,

If you are there now, you may want to inquire of both your current landlord, and other people, to see if there is something that you can see while you are there. I would think that taking a little bit of time would be so worth it. Is there a hotel nearby where you can ask the concierge or at the front desk? Being able to rent out one's apartment for a few weeks at a time would be a very favorable notion, esp. since you are talking about low season, and the landlord would also be able to meet you. So it works for both the renter and the landlord!

Enjoy!

LisaG

stevewith

"To those of you have done extended stays before, do you ever start to wish for another English speaker to interact with?"

In Venice?

In Venice I long for someone with whom I can speak Italian.

Venice has forever been a place where international travelers gather, and while they didn't used to be called "GTGs" or "F2F" or meet-ups, its the same concept without the poetry. Venice is filled with blogging slow travelers who spend most of their time looking for other blogging slow travelers with whom they can interact in English. You needn't be alone unless you want to be.

Peter_S_Aus

We caught up with a fellow Australian while in Venice (she house sat for us two years ago when we were in Venice for a couple of months). We've entertained an English couple a couple of times, and we've visited their place twice. They have similar interests to us - art, architecture, music. They have relocated to Venice, and are both teaching English, telling stories about the hassles of commuting to Mestre, difficult students and so on. He is a singer, so we attended a concert in the Frari, where he was singing.

We'd created a relationship with a young Italian couple, and spent a little time with them, talking about how one learns Arabic, the first fall of Constantinople about 500 BC, all sorts of stuff. Late nights over good food and wine.

A Jewish friend stayed with us for a couple of nights, and while we showed her the Ghetto, she was able to enlighten us on matters Jewish, making the experience richer for us.

Day trips to Padua, Chioggia, Treviso, Bessano del Grappa, a couple of nights in Verona, excursions to a couple of the lesser islands, La Certosa, the Armenian monastery, picnics at the back of Guidecca and Malomocco, Burano also.

While Venice may contain some slow travelling English speaking bloggers, once you can meet people face to face, the Venetian world can open up, albeit in a small fashion.

So it's been quite busy.

Peter_S_Aus

As far as rentals go, I'd think that a fair thing if one was negotiating say an eight week stay, would be for the monthly rental to be three times the weekly rental, particularly if it is during a more quiet time. I've started looking at rentals for our next visit - Air-bnb seems to be a bit cheaper than VRBO.

julies

We are very happy with the Castello neighborhood we are in now but are exploring other areas too to see what we might consider a fit. Our planning is way too vague right now to actually ask to see other apartments locally.

Peter--

Obviously Venice has been a hit for you since you are already starting to look for another apartment (and your third or more stay here). And, it sounds as though you've made some connections so you are not so isolated as I suspect some people might feel. Did you book the current apartment nearly a year ahead of time too?

We've rented through VRBO many places acrosss the world and have had good luck. I've heard though that there apparently are more protections if a rental is done through Air B & B, and that is definitely worth something.

cicchettigirl

I have heard lots of good things about Airbnb. There are some very good agencies as well. Truly Venice and Views on Venice come to my mind, but they are usually a bit more expensive than VRBO.

Like Peter, we have quite an active social life in Venice! It is a combination of Venetians, ex-pats living in Venice, and frequent travelers to Venice, who stay in apartments for extended periods of time like us.

That said, when we first started our extended stays, we never felt isolated.