kybourbon

I don't think you will have to stay quite as basic as nytraveler suggests (although you will have to pay around 100€ for bare bones), but you certainly can't afford the expensive ceramics classes that steps suggests either.

For Rome, I would get the 3 day Roma Pass which is 23€. You get free admission to two sites (best value is Forum/Colosseum which counts as one entrance and the Borghese), free transportation for three days and discounts after your free entrances. You will need to call the Borghese for a reservation and tell them you will be using the pass, but they only book about two months in advance. http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?l=en&tid=2

If it turns out you will be in Rome the last weekend in September that is usually Heritage weekend (check closer to September to see if that is the exact dates this year) and all the state museums/sites will be free on Sat/Sun.

>>>PS: Because reservations are required for the Uffizi<<<

Reservation aren't required for the Uffizi. You can stand in line to get in and save the 4€ per person booking fee. Later in the day the lines thin out and you might not have to stand in line at all. The same is true for the Accademia. Be sure to have cash (they actually wanted exact cash) as they had a cash line that moved much faster. If you do want to reserve in advance or check hours for the museums in Florence, this is the official website.
http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/Default.asp?

Alloro B&B in Florence will probably be in your price range. It's between the train station and the Duomo. You may get a better rate by e-mailing than using the online booking.
http://www.allorobb.it/Eng/index.html

nancythenice

You are fortunate to have begun your research now. You can learn so much from reading posts on this forum. Be creative in looking for good airfares. We ultimately flew into Rome and home from Venice this past October. Our flight left Venice at 10am, so it was easy. We booked on Continental. They flew us to Frankfurt on Lufthansa, where we connected with a direct flight to Houston. The cost was no more than round trip to Rome. Unfortunately, the current exchange rate makes travel in Italy relatively expensive. You might consider shortening your trip if necessary. You can certainly save money staying in an apartment, especially in Rome. It will allow you to save on food by eating a few meals in the apartment.

AussieJohn65

Great advice supplied but in italy- less is more - don't try to do too much- probably preaching to the converted but you can see and easily book convent and monastery accommodation using www.monasterystays.com. They have access to places right in the heart of the places you want to visit. Like B&B but safe and good value. A friend recommended the site to me and I'm usng them for my trip to Sicily in Oct- was easy.

2Aquilas

Thank you everyone for your WONDERFUL and very wise advice. We've talked a lot about it and here's what we've come up with:

1) We'll do a lot of research and try to find the cheapest airfare we can.

2) Neither of us wants to spend much time in hotels- we want to be out in the fresh air experiencing Italy! Therefore, lodging doesn't matter- if it's clean and safe, we'll be happy. Therefore, hostels, convents, whatever are fair game. We'd like to splurge on one nice B&B, perhaps, but since we're on a budget we have to set priorities and lodging just isn't as important to us as souvenirs, food and "experiences" (museums, historic sights, etc.).

3) We never thought about renting an apartment but after reading everyone's advice, we're going to seriously think about it.

4) We're perfectly happy stocking up on fresh Italian meats, cheeses, veggies and bread in the local markets to save money (at home, these are some of our favorite treats!). We can grab "fast food" as we travel during the day (stopping for gelato, of course!) and then make dinner OR lunch our "splurge" meal at a sit-down restaurant, depending on when/where we find a place we just can't resist and depending upon how hungry we are. We're not big fans of wine or coffee (I know. Isn't it shameful?) so we can save a lot of money by carrying our water bottles everywhere and refilling where we can and that will let us buy a lot more pasta and desserts which we TRULY appreciate! (I'm determined to try something with real truffles and per the earlier suggestion, I will ABSOLUTELY be getting saltimboca!)

5) We're going to work hard to save up a little more money than we had planned to make sure this once-in-a-lifetime experience is fabulous! We've been looking forward to this trip for years! In the end, it's not about where we stay or how fancy we get- it's about being in the "amore" capital of the world together and enjoying la dolce vida! I'm sure whatever we do, we'll have fun if we just keep our expectations reasonable, remain flexible, and think ahead a little bit to maximize our time and budget! In the end, we're going to Italy! Hooray!

travelgirl2

And have lots of gelato!

justbronwyn

With your budget I second considering staying in convents. My sister and I did this in 2002 and in our mid thirties did not consider the 11pm curfew to be restrictive at all--we were ready to turn in by 10 or 11 after a long day of walking. We also found the convents to be central, safe and very clean and in beautiful buildings.

stepsbeyond

Brava to you 2Aquilas!

Many of us have happily traveled -- sometimes for long periods of time -- with scarcely no money at all. We went to churches to look at the work of Italy's greatest painters and hear Italian music because we couldn't afford museums except on the free nights or concert tickets.

Yes, we sat on "park benches" eating the lunch we'd bought from the market and bakery that morning (it was DELICIOUS). Did we fill bottles with "tap water from our hotels to drink. Well, no. We filled them in the more than 2000 public drinking fountains of Rome because we thought is would be fun to try to live like Romans do so long as we were in Rome.

Here's a list of public drinking fountains for Rome:

http://www.ilsuonodellefontanediroma...ombardieng.php

Venice positively WANTS you to drink from campo fountains instead of buying bottled water:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...04/water.italy

Also, Florence lost its tradition of grand public drinking fountains, but two out of three isn't bad.

It's simply a myth that your trip will be inferior or you should cut it short if you can't go with more money. People who eat all the time in restaurants in Italy, use rental cars and Segways to go sightseeing, spend all their time at paid attractions instead of enjoying the public life of Italy don't necessarily see Italy well even if they prefer to do that.

Some other comments:

Utilize the tourist office wherever you go to find out where you can hear music for free while you are there.

Truffles will NOT be in season when you are in Italy. Nor are they a local specialty of any of the places you are going. If you find them anywhere, you will find them in an extremely highpriced tourist restaurant -- and no Italian in his or her right mind would pay the 40 euros you will likely be charged for truffle shavings six months past their freshness, trucked in or flown in from who knows where.

Enjoy the local treats for eats because they will be the freshest, in season, and prepared by people with literally centuries of experience. For less than a euro a piece, you can eat Rome's "suppli al telefono," fried rice balls oozing with mozzerella. For three euros in Rome, you can eat hot, fragrant slices of "pizza bianca", a huge slab of freshly baked bread, rich with olive oil, and loaded with your choice of toppings. Florence is the capital of Tuscany, and it has amazing cheeses and of course astonishing fruits. In Venice, you can find small sandwiches at bars and caffes that will keep you going for stretches without spending much money.

Apart from gelati, desserts in Italy are not a specialty. Especially baked sweets are not very good. (Italians seldom use butter.) So I wouldn't spend money sampling them. I'd spend it on fruit -- which is what Italians themselves eat for dessert.

Be mindful that in some of the most famous piazze and campi in Rome, Florence, Siena and Venice, it is forbidden to picnic. So plan to eat your al fresco lunch somewhere you won't be giving direct competition to the tourist trap restaurants that ring the famous sites. Doing that will also lead you to neighborhoods, parks and places where you'll be surrounded by Italians, not tourists. Just don't follow the local example of never tossing your own litter.

Have a great time!

kybourbon

AussieJohn is a shill for monasterystays. They are a reseller and mark up the prices 10-15€ per night. If you want to stay at convents, book directly with the convent. There are several centrally located convents with private baths in Rome that have midnight or later curfews.

WorldTraveler1024

No one yet has mentioned Priceline for hotels and airfare.

Last time we went to Europe (with a stop in Italy) we used the name your own price option for Priceline for our air and hotel. We got nice 4 star hotels for $150 a night that would have cost $400 if you just walked in the door. Priceline for air is good also if you want to spend $600 instead of a $1000 for Air from Washington/Baltimore. You chose your dates and they pick the airline and routing. No FF miles, refunds or changes with the name your own option for Priceline.

Generally we like the American style hotels in Europe after countless sleepless night in postage stamped sized rooms with no soundproofing and one double bed that is a hard as a rock. The small bed and breakfast hotels or locally owned 3 stars sound good in theory but as I would lie in bed sleepless from the noise and super hard bed, I dreamed I was in a nice American style Holiday Inn in Columbus Ohio.

Good luck in your first trip to Europe!

Kay2

It sounds like you are well on your way to planning a super trip to Italy!

We have some similar tastes/preferences--husband will spend entire day in one museum enjoying details of every painting/exhibit while I want to see more limited exhibits. I love the ruins, architecture, but he avoids churches. We both enjoy wandering neighborhoods, stopping in a park, eating picnics, and just want clean, safe lodgings. Neither of us can stand sustained crowds in the heat.

I agree with trying to start in the north and work your way south to Rome--the northern cities are easier to use to get over jet lag. In Venice, I enjoy taking the Grand Canal vaporetto 1 all the way to the end and back for seated sightseeing. I also enjoyed the recommended routes to the neighboring islands for glass, strolling, lunch much less crowded than Venice, then exploring all of Venice's streets in the evening/early morning before/after the crowds. I think St Marks is magic in the evening--try to go up in the basilica at the end of the day. We enjoyed the Doges Palace tour that we booked before arrival. We stayed in a small B&B near the train station--no canal view, but convenient and good price. We ate the fixed price "early bird" special at some open air restaurants for full meals at reasonable prices. I don't remember which small hotel we stayed in, but it was in this area www.hotelslucia.com/

We have traveled between the cities by trains several times. Usually point-to-point tickets cost less than a pass, but the first time we traveled to Italy we bought passes just to make it easier.

Florence, like the other major tourist cities, is best enjoyed early and late. We had tickets for opening or late for museums and used the peak time to stroll to see architecture, views, etc.

We did the day trip via bus to Siena. It is magical at night. I think it might be worthwhile to ask to store your luggage at your Florence hotel, taking just an overnight bag along to Siena so you can enjoy the old city at night. If not, plan to stay until an evening bus.

I would suggest a stay in a smaller town, not just the big cities. Last trip we stayed overnight in Orvieto, a hill town right on the Florence-Rome train line. We took the funicular up the hill, walked the old streets, took a tour of the caves, and enjoyed the peaceful night.

I would like to return to Rome--we arrived there at the beginning of that trip and didn't spend enough time. The heat, noise, crowds, etc. were overwhelming in early June, so we just saw the most important (to us) sights, then moved down to the coast. I think my experience is atypical because we happened upon one day when all the museums/sights were free, so no waiting in line for the collosseum, etc., which helped alot. I think we would have managed the crowds/noise/heat better if we were not jetlagged. We were too tired to go out at night to see the sights lit up, which I have heard is quite nice.

Mimar

steps, I thought truffle season started in September. And Umbria is not all that far from Florence. But truffles definitely would not fit in the OP's tight budget.

To the OP, we adjust our eating style in Italy. We take full advantage of the provided breakfast, have a big, long, late lunch (after a full morning of sightseeing), and -- instead of waiting for the later Italian dinner hour, eating a lot, and going to bed -- have gelato for dinner. Skipping dinner saves considerable money on food, not to speak of calories. Just beware of restaurants that close at 2 PM.

I like apartments for their privacy and space, but maybe not for your first trip. It's nice to have a desk person to answer questions, give directions, etc.

elaine

I also have recently-updated travel files on F, R, and V; if you'd like to see them, email me at ESL1051 at yahoo dot com.

Kay2

We found that we could get better/larger breakfasts for the same money at cafes and train stations than what was provided at our budget B&Bs in Italy, so after the first couple of stays we asked for room only and the breakfast to be removed. We always found reasonably priced pizza.

stepsbeyond

Mimar,

I think in the life of an Umbrian truffle, Umbria actually is quite far from Firenze!

Not everybody agrees which are the best autumn months (and winter months) for truffles I think September is early, even the latter part of September. Especially for white truffles -- which I think are so much superior to black truffles -- and I wouldn't go for those until November myself, at the earliest.

But equally important to this itinerary is that for cooks in Rome and Firenze, it's not part of their tradtiional cooking. It would be a stretch for these poster to fling themselves to the reaches of Umbria where truffles are considered to be part of the local cuisine (around Urbino and Norcia).

There are some truffles in Tuscany near Asciano, but they are not Italy's prize truffles. Otherwise, I suspect the only people serving truffles in Tuscany and Rome are Michelin-type restaurants. In places where truffles are common, you can go to a moderately priced eatery and pay a surcharge to have truffles shaved over a moderately priced pasta. At the superfancy restaraunts looking for truffles, there are no moderately priced dishes on the menu, even without truffles.

I think if, when in Italy, you eat peak of the season ingredients, classic recipes and rely on the local cooks, what you taste will be a good as truffles!

stepsbeyond

People seldom use priceline in Italy for a reason: The family-run B&B are often far better accommodations than the big brand name hotels that participate with Priceline, especially in terms of location. The big corporate hotels are seldom inside the historic center, and in Rome it can be a terrific problem. And there just isn't a reason for most people to go for these corporate hotels because the B&Bs are cheap and immaculate, and the owners are wonderful, and they are right on top of the sights.

WorldTraveler1024

I love Italy but hate Italian hotels. Hopefully the original poster is not going to be scared off by those nasty European style hotels in Italy and their first trip will be their last trip.

Here is what I hate about Italian hotels:

* Those incredibly small rooms that are at best 160 square feet

* The lack of carpet in many hotel rooms

* Energy saving where you have to put your key in a slot to get the lights and air conditioning to turn on.

* The lack of sound proofing in the hallway. I can hear the creaking elevator up and down the hall and everyone on the whole floor.

* The super small television with five channels non in English way up high in the corner. Where is the modern HDTV 46 Inch sets found in so many American style hotels.

* The two super hard twin beds right next to each other. At home we sleep in a king bed that is very soft and comfortable.

* Those super small elevators where there is only room for one person and one bag.

* The haughty front desk clerks who act like they are better than us.

* No vending machines, pool, exercise rooms and no ice machine.
-
Watch out OP, for those nasty European Hotels!

stepsbeyond

worldtraveler -- where in the world did you stay in Italy? Name names, please. You mentioned you "made a stop" in Italy. How many Italian hotels have you stayed in, and which were they?

No ice machines in Italy, that's true! And I hope it stays that way!

Actually, as I posted above, b&bs are usually a better bet in much of Italy.

willit

I agree with world traveller - the sooner they pull down some of those stupid medieval buildings and replace them with spacious modern American standard hotels, the better

Mimar

Unlike worldtraveler, none of those things bother me very much. What I hate are international hotel chains where everything is the same no matter what country you're in.

When I travel, I try to experience the country like a local - at least as much as one is able. So I eat the food they eat at their mealtimes, drink their drinks, take siestas, have discovered an appreciation for thin linen towels. And am greatful for the smallest elevator.

J62

All kidding aside, most of the facts that worldtraveler state I find to be quite true, especially the parts about hard beds.

They definitely don't bother me either, but I do know many people who have accustomed to king sized pillow top beds & soft squishy pillows both at home and now becoming more common at US hotels.

There are differences, so it can be helpful to let those less experienced know about these differences, without judgement.