My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy for our 1 yr. anniversary and would love some advice from those more experienced then us. We will be there 3 wks and have 3 definite destinations on our list...Rome, Florence and wine tasting in Tuscany.
I have traveled in Europe before while living in Spain for 4 months, but my husband has not. We'd love some train trips that are overnight so we can make the most of our time but, I wouldn't mind a beautiful trip during the day if the scenery is worth it. Some other places we are considering are....Venice, Almafi coast (husband loves the water/diving), Pompeii, Cinque Terre..
Are there any cool events or celebrations that we might want to see?
We're thinking our budget is approx. $100-$150USD/day...
We weren't thinking of getting a car unless necessary...
Travel dates can be anytime in May or June...
Any tips, ideas or suggestions?

if you are a thermal water fan (as we are) grotto giusti is a great day trip from florence. (about 30-40 min by train.) they have an underground cave, which thermal water runs through, and it is like a big, beautiful natural sauna. then you can use their wonderful pool for the day. (or opt for a massage.)

lucca is also a great day trip from florence. about an hour+ by train. a beautiful town with lots of history and a wonderful park on top of the wall that surrounds it. you can rent bikes and ride around it.

all of the places you list are wonderful. you will have to be very careful if the 100-150 a day is for everything... or is it just for your hotel??

you will need a car for wine tasting in tuscany... unless you just want to stop at a town and taste at a wine shop.
otherwise, trains will serve you well with the places you listed.

I hope that $100-$150 per day is just for a hotel - it will be hard enough finding someplace decent for that. It definitely won't cover meals, intercity travel and sightseing as well.

Given the choice go in early May - since you will have a better chance at hotel discounts and the weather will be cooer - since many budget hotels do NOT have AC at all.

150 dollars is basically 100 euro more or less which is the cost of a budget hotel in a large city. In rural areas you may be able to stay for less.Venice and Florence and Counry location in Chianti or further south in Tuscany which is more rural.( I would suggest staying on a argiturismo a working farm with rooms to rent,often with a vineyard)

Example I have stayed here and it is reasonable and located on a vineyard great! http://www.lacrociona.com/eng_index.asp

so if your total budget is really 150/ day then you may be forced to shorten to 2 weeks then I would just do venice florence and 2-3 days on the farm.

Thank you all for the feedback. We were not sure what amount to budget for accommodations/meals. We are certainly open to hostels/budget hotels and can increase our daily spend if necessary. Out of curiosity, what would be a comfortable amount per day for 2 decent ** / *** type meals based on our suggested itinerary?

A friend mentioned we could rent bicycles and ride around the Tuscany area staying at the vineyards, which RobertR, that one looks great. Has anyone heard of this?

If you need to economize, you should rent an apartment in 1 base, then travel from there by train or bus.

A one-week rental of an apartment can be markedly cheaper than a hotel. Florence, Venice and Rome have a huge inventory of apts. Agriturismi (country rentals) are spread all through Tuscany.

With an apt., you can prepare meals and do laundry -- a must for us, on our longer trips.

I'm not sure how you'll do a wine-tasting tour of Tuscany without a car, though.

As mentioned, $150 at the current exchange rate is around 100 Euro. I would think you would need at least twice that per day for two people for hotel, meals, local transportation, entry fees, miscellaneous (and that wouldn't include travel between the cities, check out www.trenitalia.com for prices for that and doesn't include anything for shopping if you're interested in bringing a few things home). It will be especially difficult to find a hotel in Venice at 100 Euro per night, and I think you definitely want to go there. In short, you will need to significantly raise your budget! If I had 20 nights in Italy, I would:

Fly into Venice, stay there 4 nights.
Train to Florence, stay there 6 nights with a couple daytrips to smaller Tuscan towns. This avoids renting a car. You can include a winetasting one here, check out Accidental Tourist (I think that's the name of the company).
Train to Rome, stay there 5 nights.
Train to the Amalfi Coast and stay in Positano or Amalfi for 4 nights and see the coast, maybe a daytrip to Capri.
Spend the last night in Naples and fly home from there.

With this itinerary, none of the train trips are long enough for overnight.

Yes, you can ride bikes around Tuscany, but you better be in shape. They aren't called hilltowns for no reason!

If you can't swing this many nights, then shorten the trip to two weeks.

Hi,

Check out the hotel caneva in venice. Some rooms have their own bath, others use a common bath. It is clean and great location. Venere.com has it listed for 60euro per night, for Venice that is a good price. It probaly is more for the en suite bath.

Have a great trip. Yipper

If you are serious about having a couple of 2* or 3* (I assume you mean Michelin) meals - you have just blown your entire budget. Typically those meals will be at least $100, and probably more than $150 per person. And that means ordering carefully (keep away from the truffles or any of the special) and drinking a glass of only the most modest wine.

A basic meal at La Pergola (***) in Rome - appetizer, main course, wine and coffee - would be at least $250 per person.

You're either going to have to change your budget very significantly or reduce your expectations immensely. Agree for a start to shorten you vacation and then look at ways to do things super inexpensively (buy food from a market fro lunch on a bench, etc).

Sorry not to help more - but this isn't our price point - we want 4* hotels (although we try very hard for 3* prices) - and assume at least $400 per night for a minimum. You're looking at hostels or 1* hotels with shared baths.

So much great information! We've heard Italy may be expensive for meals/hotels/hostels and it sounds like we need to change up our budget a little! We can certainly be frugal with meals (packing lunchs, bottle of wine/cheese/crackers). Our main goal is to see the country at the "local level". We really do appreciate the insite on the meals and potential places (nytraveler we wish we could go for 400 a night!

SusanP thank you for the itinerary suggestion. Reading through the forums, a lot of people have suggested taking time seeing only a few places and not making it a "whirl wind tour" if you will. We want to make the most of our 20 days. Do you think not speaking the language will be an issue?

vino_n_cheez,
My trip report http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...o-and-rome.cfm
will give you some ideas on meal costs (no Michelin places). I have a big file on places to see in Tuscany it is too big to post but e-mail me and I will send it. [email protected]

Henry

Hi vino_n-cheez
You might want to consider a unique form of Italian accommodation which is staying in a monastery or convent - lots of Italians do. They are good value being essentially B&B places so you can eat out. I found out about them from a website www.monasterystays.com mentioned in my local newspaper and will be using them for my trip to Sicily next year.

Speaking only English will not be a problem. At least basic English is VERY widely understood in Italy. However, you will always receive a better reception if you speak at least a little of the language - so I would spend the time too learn a few basics (40 or 50 words will do it) and get a good menu reader (which describes dishes as well as just listing translations of the main component. Yes, it's good to know it's chicken - but what part of the chicken and how have they cooked it?

Henry: AWESOME report! Thank you! We also emailed you.

AussieJohn65: What a great idea. We'll definitely look into this.

nytraveler: Thank you again for the advice. Do you think a Barnes & Noble bookstore carries a typical "menu reader"?

A good dining translator is "Eating & Drinking in Italy: Italian Menu Translator and Restaurant Guide," by Andy Herbach. You should be able to get it lots of places.

Italy doesn't have to be expensive for food. Picnics consisting of local foods will be delicious and cheaper. Pizzerias are all over, and will also give you a cheaper, but still tasty, meal. When we were in Rome this fall, I noticed restaurants in the more touristy areas advertising 8 or 10 Euros meals that, as I remember, included a primi (pasta) and secondo (main course), and maybe even a drink - I don't remember specifics, except that I commented to my husband that when our kids travel to Italy without us, they can get meals like that! Pizza al taglia is a place that sells pizza by the slice. That can be fun because then you can try lots of different toppings.

Unless breakfast is included in your lodging price, you can get a cappuccino and cornetto (pastry) from a bar for about 2-3 Euros. But to get this price, you need to be standing at the bar. If you sit at the tables, then you pay a higher price for table service. In more rural areas, it may be ok to sit yourselves at a table after you get your food - the barista will let you know.

Speaking little Italian won't be a problem, but as nytraveler suggests, it's a good idea to know a few basic words and phrases, and the locals appreciate the effort.

I really don't consider my suggested itinerary above as whirlwind. We see lots of people who post prospective itineraries where they want to stay in many more places in 20 days, with mostly 1- and 2-night stays. I consider that whirlwind! I have given you a minimum of 4 nights in each place (except Naples at the end for the flight home). I certainly would not discourage you if you wanted fewer places with longer in each one.

regarding an itinerary with Venice,florence,rome and amalfi if I remember correcly that is way too much.The distances are not as some people think either drop Venice or amalfi.

I stayed at the place I linked as well as several other Agriturismos. I think you can find many for about 100-120 dollars/night. (sorry the dollar is weak it was 75-100)
you could bike in Montalcino there are some hills but you are not racing. I believe there are places to rent in town.

I think in dollar terms more like 350-400 dollars/day in total plus your two airfares. Not counting a car (we always get the smalest available even at 5'9" and 6"2". Maybe 500-600 dollars in total, for that so figure 5-6 k for 2 weeks and 8k for 3 weeks.

We got married in 93 and spent maybe 2500 on the entire wedding, and 10 thousand on 3 weeks plus in Italy.Looking back 8 more trips to Italy later, No regrets!

The 10 k did include the airfare as well.

Only one comment, the OP name is vino_n_cheez, but no plan to visit Piedmont while in Italy?