isabel

You shouldn't have a problem with 100€ for a double. Venice and Rome in May are high season though. For Rome try Hotel Julia. I was just there this past July (80€) and am going back in November (100€ - go figure, you would think November would be cheaper than July but it's not). I also know Venice is highest in May and June. I have been there three times in July and the people at the hotels confirmed that July is indeed cheaper than May/June. Hotel Violino d'Oro was 60€ last time I was there but that was a few years ago.

But with a little looking you can definitely find doubles for 100€ or less. And I never average more than 20€ for dinner. An occasional splurge but you can usually get in for way less than that. I eat like you do - Marks and Spencer, etc for sandwiches. Italy is very easy to eat like that.

I think your itinerary looks great for the amount of time you have, Too bad you don't have more time.

If you click on my name you will see trip reports for all the places you are going, and I list hotels and the their prices and websites.

Mimar

Yes, I mentioned Varenna because it tends to be a little cheaper and because it offers hiking opportunities. But I don't have any specific accommodation recommendations. www.tripadvisor.com has several well-reviewed hotels in your approximate price range. (Be sure to look at Specialty Lodging as well as hotels; click the tab next to Hotels.)

Much as I value the contributions on Fodors forum, I tend to rely more on TripAdvisor for hotels; there are usually more reviews, and the reviewers are drawn from a bigger pool.

jent103

Mimar, I look at TA a lot as well - you're right that there are more reviews, and it's easier to find specific places. I'll give the specialty lodging category a try too!

Isabel, thank you for the suggestions and reassurance! Hotel Julia looks to be 150E for a double next May, but I'm keeping it on my list. I actually sent an email to Al Campaniel in Venice last night and am hoping to hear back from them soon - the reviews I found were good and it is definitely in our price range. I wish we had more time too! Even with budget not in the picture, two weeks is a lot for both of us to take off from work, so we're working with what we've got. I'll absolutely look at your trip reports!

MoonGirl

We spent a week in Varenna in 2004 and loved it. There is indeed easy access to easy/moderate hiking; I don't know about cooking classes. The hotel where we stayed is out of your price range, but I recall that there were a lot of small pensione and bed-and-breakfasts in the area at quite reasonable prices. For example, I quickly googled "Varenna bed and breakfast" and this immediately popped up: http://www.orangehouse.org/en/index.htm It looks fairly well situated, but I've never stayed there so you would obviously have to research.

Fyi, if you're not aware, Varenna is a favorite spot of Rick Steves, and his guidebook (maybe now his website?) is likely to have some of the most detailed recommendations you'll find. We found it useful, both offensively (we relied on a number of his very useful recommendations for sight) and defensively (we knew that hotels and restaurants he recommended were likely to be very crowded, so tended to look for others).

MoonGirl

One more thought re: Rome, which is that you might consider renting an apartment. I too am searching for accommodations for the spring, and came very close to renting one of the studio apartments on Via Capellari offered by an agency called Real Rome that are in your budget and have gotten good reviews on Slow Travel: http://realrome.com/apartmentscentre.html Although I did not wind up choosing these, the agent was a pleasure to deal with. There are some others potentially in your price range (and in the historic center) as well. Many of their apartments do require a minimum stay of 4 or 5 days, so you will have to check. The agency I wound up renting with (only because they had an apartment that better suited our needs) is www.rome-accom.com. They've also been easy to deal with, have an easy to search website, and appear to have several options in your price range.

These are just a couple of ideas of agencies for apartments; everyone has favorites (and un-favorites). You can search the forum here and www.slowtrav.com for other suggestions if you decide to go the apartment route. Good luck!

Jean

Look into this B&B in Varenna. We haven't stayed here and I can't remember who told me about it, but Tripadvisor comments are generally positive and I think it's within your budget. The location near the ferry dock is very good.

http://www.hotelmontecodeno.com/engl...dbreakfast.htm

Ristorante Il Caminetto outside of Varenna in Perledo offers a "cookery" class that gets good reviews.

http://www.ilcaminettoonline.com/english.html

jent103

Jean and MoonGirl, thank you for those tips and links on Varenna! Those b&bs are definitely possibilities. MG, I didn't realize that about Rick Steves - those are great tips. Especially the "defense."

And MoonGirl, I have looked into Rome apartments a little bit. I found the Real Rome link somewhere else but found it a little clumsy to use right off the bat - I've been at my parents' house all weekend and need to look at it when I have more concentration to devote! But that is absolutely a possibility for us. The only concern I have about staying at an apartment is that it is, for all practical purposes, our first trip to Rome (I was there for such a short time before that it hardly seems to count), and I wonder if it would be better to have a hotel staff available. It would be nice to have a little more room and a kitchen, though. Decisions!

jent103

Rome experts - any thoughts on this apartment? I sent an email inquiring about availability. It's really close to the Campo de Fiori.

http://www.realrome.com/propcappellari.html

Or this one near the Trevi fountain?

http://realrome.com/proptrevi01.html

There are also several apartments available in Trastevere.

kybourbon

One doesn't appear to have twin beds. Are you willing to share a bed?

jent103

In a pinch, yes, though we'd prefer not. But it looks like both of them do to me - am I missing something? I scrolled down to the "full list of items" section at the bottom.

The Cappellari apartment has availability, but right now requires a five-night minimum. I'm waiting to hear back about the Trevi one, but I assume the five-night minimum would apply there as well. So to take either of them (and not risk waiting until relatively soon before we leave to make a reservation), we'd have to change our itinerary to have an extra day in Rome (probably taking out the full day in Milan). If we caught the 8:30 train from Varenna, we could still have a lot of the day in Milan available.

k9korps

Let me note that this info is second-hand, from friends, re Lake Como.

They stayed at the Garni Corona in Menaggio -- lakefront room for 120 euros, breakfast included. Other rooms are cheaper. It's apparently a family-run place that's comfortable and clean. You can do a search on the place on sites like tripadvisor to get more info.

Vttraveler

I don't have experience with either of the apartments you list, but I can say that realrome.com is a great agency to work with. The owner, Tim Pearson, is very helpful

I don't know whether you are bothered by noise but an area that is described as "lively" won't be quiet!

jent103

Thanks, k9korps!

Vttraveler, everyone seems to really like Tim, which is reassuring! I always bring earplugs so I can stand some noise, but that is something to consider. Is the location of both apartments good?

Mimar

The location of both apartments is very, very good. I do think there might be some noise, but that's the price you pay practically anywhere in Rome, central or not.

jent103

That's great to hear - thanks, Mimar! I'm still waiting to hear back from Tim on the Trevi apartment, and also from my friend on her thoughts on the whole apartment idea. I'm leaning toward it, though, if things work out. A little noise is fine - I just don't want to be above the trendiest bar in Rome!

Chicago_Heather

Sorry if this is redundant - I just skimmed the responses, but I would flip your flight into MXP and out of FCO, skipping a night in Milan and adding it elsewhere.

Here are good hotels in your budget (I've stayed at all at least once, and all are good values in central, safe neighborhoods):

Bellagio - Silvio is 100E with breakfast for two, plus 5% less if you pay with cash; it's a few minutes by bus from Bellagio: http://www.bellagiosilvio.com/lake-como-hotel-3-star/

Rome - Aberdeen is 90E with breakfast for two: http://www.travel.it/roma/aberdeen/

Florence - the owners have a number of properties - some are under 100E: http://www.johanna.it/

Venice - Hotel Galleria is around 125E for two with breakfast, but is on the Grand Canal and in a great location: http://www.hotelgalleria.it/

This sounds like a great trip! Have fun planning.

jent103

Thanks, Heather! I'm curious - any particular reason you would flip the flights around? I thought I'd rather end the vacation with the relaxing part by the lake, but it's not set in stone.

Vttraveler

jent103--my husband is very sensitive to noise so I may be over-emphasizing that factor. The apt we rented in Rome was in the Ghetto neighborhood and very quiet except for the night the neighbors had a party downstairs.

jent103

Thanks for the clarification, vttraveler. Unfortunately the Trevi apartment I listed above is taken, but over lunch I found a lot of other possibilities, and I'm getting more and more excited about the thought of staying in an apartment! I think we may buy plane tickets tomorrow... very exciting.

jent103

Well, we officially bought plane tickets! Through a happy accident (well, depending on how you look at it), we discovered that flying home on a Friday instead of Saturday saved us $120 each on the ticket. Along with the extra night's hotel, that's a decent savings, so we'll have to figure out where to cut the extra day. But still, almost two weeks in Italy! So excited. Thanks to everyone for your help! I've gotten a great start on the planning through this thread already.