BobNCheryl

Hello again. Could use your help again.

I'll try to make this concise. I'd appreciate any help we can get from those of you who have made this, or a similar trip before. FYI, we're trying to keep costs low, but not "youth hostel low," more like "Rick Steves low," if you know what I mean.

I have posted a couple of Italy-related messages here, so I will try not to repeat myself. Please notice the ALL CAPS for my questions. (Hope this makes it easier for you.)

Honeymooning in April '06. Flying into Milan. Have reservations on Lake Como (3 nights in the town of Nesso). Plan to leave the lake one day to visit Milan.

Q1: IS RENTING A CAR RECOMMENDED, OR IS THERE A BETTER WAY TO GET FROM MILAN TO NESSO (BETWEEN COMO AND BELLAGIO, WE'RE TOLD)AND BACK?

After Lake Como we'll take the train to Florence. (3 nights. No reservations yet.) Our preference would be to stay near the city center, or near the train station, if possible. Or near museums.

Q2: CAN ANYONE RECOMMEND A SMALL, CHARMING, CENTRALLY LOCATED HOTEL FOR ABOUT 100 EUROS A NIGHT?

From Florence we'll take the train to Rome. (Also, 3 nights. Again, no reservations.)

Q3: SAME QUESTION. CAN ANYONE RECOMMEND A SMALL, CHARMING, CENTRALLY LOCATED HOTEL FOR ABOUT 100 EUROS A NIGHT?

We're not the tour types. We'd prefer to travel on our own. But because we haven't been to Italy we car considering buying a tour package through AAA (Avanti Destinations) for the Florence/Rome legs of the trip. Here are the details:

3 nights Rome (3 star) hotel
3 nights Florence (3 star) hotel
Hop-on/Hop-off city tour of Rome
City tour of Florence
Wine-tasting excursion of Florence
1 dinner in Rome and Florence
First-class train from Rome to Florence
Private transfers in Rome and Florence
Daily breakfast

Cost: $1185 per person

This sounds like something first-timers to Italy might enjoy, so even though we aren't tour types this might work for us. However, We're unsure of the price. We are thinking about making the arrangements ourselves. Our question is this....

Q4: DOES $1185/PERSON LOOK LIKE A GOOD PRICE FOR WHAT WE HAVE DESCRIBED?

Finally,
Q5: CAN ANYONE RECOMMEND ANOTHER TOUR AGENCY THAT MIGHT HAVE A BETTER DEAL THAN THE ONE WE DESCRIBED?

Thanks a lot. We'll check back often to read your opinions.

Again, thank you.

Bob and Cheryl

isabel

To answer your question about the tour. If you just do the math, you'll see that price is extremely high. You are asking about hotels for around 100 euro a night, which is very doable in Florence, not quite so doabale (but possible) in Rome. That would be 600 euro (and would include breakfast). Train tickets from Florence to Rome are about 30 euro each (very little difference between first and second class, but even if you did add the money for first class would not be that much) so now you are up to 660 euro. If you stay near the train stations you do not need "transfers", you can walk. But again, even if you did, a taxi is not going to run that much in the city centers. The hop on hop off bus in Rome will be about 15 euro each, same for an overview walking tour of Florence. So now you are up to about 700 euro, or with today's exchange rate, less than $1000 for two. You said the tour is $1185 per person. That's over 2300 for two. So $1300 for a dinner and a wine tasting? The rest of your questions make you sound like reasonable people. Why would you even consider this? In some situations a tour might be helpful for very inexperienced travelers, people who have never been to a city (even in the US), etc. But this doesn't even really sound like a tour, more like a package and it sounds like a rip off.

Re hotels in Florence. There are lots of discussions here about inexpensive hotels so if you do a search you'll turn up quite a few. I can recommend the Hotel Desire which is about 100 for a double at that time of year. It's a five minute walk from the train station, and ten to fifteen minute walk from the duomo or Pont Vechio. Everything in Florence is within about half an hour walk from everything else. If you google Hotel Desire you'll get their own site plus several booking sites that have it.

Other people can give you better suggestions for Rome than I can. We stayed at Hotel Picasso which was OK but not great and was 150 euro for a quad, a bit less for doubles I think.

SusanP

Before reading Isabel's reply, I was already thinking that the price of that tour is outrageous, and she outlined very clearly why that is true.

If you do a couple of searches here, one for budget hotels Rome and one for budget hotels Florence, you will get more information than you know what to do with.

For train connections, go to www.trenitalia.com.

I realize you put the questions in all caps to try and help, but you should know that all caps on a forum such as this is considered shouting and is also harder to read. Just a little tip for you!

BobNCheryl

Isabel! Yours is JUST the kind of post we were hoping to receive! Thank you so much! Your reply broke it down perfectly. We now know we can save money by planning it ourselves, and it'll be fun doing just that. That way we'll have more money for eating and perusing the museums, ruins and churches.

Susan, thank you too for your comments. (And yes, I know very well that some consider ALL CAPS the equivilent of shouting. However, I took the chance to make it more convenient for people to dicipher my questions. Sorry if it irritated you.)

Bob

Ruff

I recommend the Hotel Casci in Florence.

SusanP

Oh, Bob, You didn't irritate me (sorry if it came across that way). I only mentioned it because a lot of people here do seem to get bent out of shape about caps.

Jean

You don't need to rent a car to get to Nesso on Lake Como. You can take the train to either Varenna or Como Town and take the ferry. If you train to Varenna, you first have to ferry to Bellagio and then take a car/pedestrian ferry to Nesso. If you train to Como, it is just one ferry to Nesso. There is no hydrofoil service between Como and Nesso.

Go to www.navigazionelaghi.it. Click on Lago di Como. Click on "Motorships" for schedule Como to Colico (with stop in Nesso). (I made a quick check, and I think I counted five daily sailings.) Click on "Ferry" for schedule Varenna to Bellagio.

If you picked Nesso for budget reasons, you might consider Residence La Limonera in Bellagio. Go to www.residencelalimonera.com and check their rates and availability for your dates.

Jean

Ooops. Just checked those ferry schedules again. If you go first to Varenna, there are a couple of ferries each day which do stop in Varenna and continue to Nesso. Click on "Motorships" in the Colico to Como direction.

BobNCheryl

Jean: Thanks. We'll definitely look into the train/ferry. It sounds perfect. The reason we're in Nesso is because one of Cheryl's clients has offered, as a wedding gift, his villa (sleeps 8) on the lake for next to nothing, and we cannot pass it up! We'll have it all to ourselves.

SusanP: Good. Thanks.

RSTravelers

We are booked for 3 nights next month at the Hotel Pendini in Florence. It appears pretty charming and overlooks the Piazza della Repubblica which I think is a good location. It is 150EU though for a Dbl. including breakfast buffet. I read a recommendation for it in TOP 10 TUSCANY Guide. A book mentioned on this Forum.

Here is the site just in case you want to check it out:
http://www.florenceitaly.net

tuscanlifeedit

Bob

I can't believe that I just spent twenty minutes explaining how and why you should up your budget for hotels, and my post disappeared in mid-typing. The Fodors gods are against me tonight. I will try to do this more quickly:

Take trains, and go second class. Save money and pay more for your hotels.

For Lake Come, train to Como and ferry to Nesso. Eat in once or twice. Save money and move it to your hotel budget.

Plan your own sightseeing tours using Steves and Fodors. Save money and use it on your hotel budget.

Dont take taxis. Drink house wines. Dont make expensive phone calls. Put the money on your hotel budget.

Now, you can spend 150 Euros a night, and come nowhere near the 2300 that the package your were considering would cost.

The Casci and Pendini in Florence are fine. Check here for Rome recommendations. Have a great honeymoon.

Doble_Vergasser

The offer of a home (villa) puts you in with the lucky crowd. Enjoy your good fortune.

You might want to ask the offeror if they recommend renting a car. I read somewhere that the boat dock for Nesso is somewhat distant from the town. If I correctly understood what I read, then you must walk up from the boat dock to the highway, walk to the turnoff for Nesso, and then walk down to Nesso.

Sounds like you will have a wonderful honeymoon.

Jean

Ask the generous villa owner how you access the ferry dock from his/her home. I would not rent a car unless absolutely necessary.

Dayle

Hi BobnCheryl,

I agree with the others! You can definitely do this honeymoon better and more inexpensively on your own!

Personally, I would see the highlights of Milan before heading to Como. IF your plane lands early am.

I am staying at the Hotel Giardino Rome in Sept (high season). I am paying 90E per night for a single room with breakfast. It's a **. I'll do a trip report when I return....

Congratulations and buon viaggio!

BobNCheryl

Thanks everyone. This is all very helpful.

5alive

I have stayed at the Pendini a few years ago and really liked it.

The decor/ambience was very nice, but what I remember most was that the service was excellent. Staff spoke several languages and helped with reservations. Our stay there was before email access was common at hotels, and theirs was free.

Showers were decent for Italy, and the breakfast room over the street was charming.

hornbill

Hi Bob and Cheryl

I don't know if you know this website called wotif.com that does only last minute hotel bookings (2 weeks before date of travel.

The hotel prices in Rome looks reasonable last minute (for example the Savoy could be had, the last I checked, for about 120 euros - once I saw 103 euros for a double with breakfast and taxes included). Unfortunately, the website does not include a customer review.