Italy Trp May 2010 - Suggestions on Lodging and Itinerary
 

My wife and I will be going to Italy next May with another couple. We have been to Italy, but the other coupe has not. Our draft itinerary is Rome- 3 days: 3 days in Florence (Tuscany) and 2 in Venice. The last time my wife and I stayed at the The Julio Cesare in Rome. It was convenient to all, however a bit expensive for this trip. We are looking for a less expensive option on the lodging.

We plan to see Florence in one day and then stay in a smaller town outside of Siena where we will rent a car and drive through Tuscany for two days. The goal is to find a small town outside of Siena and find a lesser cost lodging.

The third part of the trip will drop car off and take a train to Venice. We will spend two days in Venice then take a train back to Rome where we will stay in a hotel near the Airport which has a shuttle.

I would appreciate comments on the itinerary and especially cost effective lodging options.

Thank you,

Gene


PS I am trying to decide if we want to get individual train tickets or a Euro pass. We are also looking at a train trhough Tuscany or a car.

Why not fly home from Venice?
If you have a car in Tuscany then just drive to Venice for the drop--especially with 4 people.
In Tuscany, look at Hotel Pescille near San Gimignano
Forget the rail pass--not cost effective

What Bob said. Plus a train trip back to Rome and a night in an airport hotel is a waste of vacation time and money. And you don't have much time.

As for Florence, you could do it en-route to your Tuscany location or you could go direct to your Tuscany location and do Florence as a daytrip from there. Be sure to pick a place near public transportation into Florence. You don't want to drive in central Florence.

So where will you pick up your car? Small towns don't usually have car rental places. You could pick it up in Rome and drive to your Tuscan location. Or you could train from Rome to Orvieto, see the town, then pick up your car and drive to Tuscany. Lots of posters here recommend Orvieto. The town of Chiusi also has a train station and car rental places.

Definitely opt for an open jaw flight as previous posters say to avoid wasting time on heading back to Rome after Venice. And when doing the big 3, I prefer to begin in Venice and end in Rome personally since the pace is slower in Venice.

For lower cost lodging in Rome, check the Daphne Inn or Veneto if a small place is to your liking (check out reviews on trip Advisor) Also, Arco de Lauro in Trastevere is a good value and well thought of and I like Trastevere.

I have also seen very good advance purchase rates on Expedia for Rome and Florence lately including the Hotel Santa Maria in Trastevere for 142 USD per night and Plaza Hotel Lucchesi in Florence for 154 USD, both with breakfast.

Cannot help with Venice as I have been there 5x but never stayed in a hotel I thought was a good value except for Priceline where I got the Monaco and Grand Canal for 175USD a few years ago - this city is very expensive IMO.

Thanks for a yor replies. I have no choice as I am restriced by US Air both to and from the same airports due to FF Miles.

Gene

Did you ask about returning from Milan---USair has a good flight from there that we have taken several times.

Yes, they are quite restrictive now as I an no longer a Chairman Preferred.

Gene

Check connecting flights from Rome to Venice upon arrival, another option.

Thanks for your suggestion, but Euro Star train it is only 4 hour ride and alot less expensive. and perhaps close to the same ammount of time with all the Airport preparation.

My last trip to Italy we did similiar and we stayed in an airport hotel. The hotel had both a airport limo and one running every hour to the center of Rome.

I will continue to pester US Air to see if I get into Rome
and out of Venice perhaps for a couple of hundred dolars.

The ES may be 4 hours but you will spend another two hours getting to Termini and then buying tickets and getting on the train.

We have flown within Italy cheaply and whichbudget.com is a good source of cheap flights. I would not assume trains are cheaper. Easyjet flies that route.

Good luck with USAir and hope it works out.

Thanks for your response, I will look at both options inclusing a Euro Pass which I used for my cost effective travel in Switzerland and Germnay last year.

Regards,

Gene

PS
I do all bookings on-line.

We just stayed at Al Ponte Mocenigo in Venice. Really nice and really nice location. We paid 150 E for three of us (and upgraded to a larger room the last night for 190 euros, which I wouldn't have done if I had known how nice the first room would work) You can find it on tripadvisor.com.