Hi!My husband and I are planning our first trip to Europe (We live in India) in May 2006 (6-20 )and have decided on Italy(I have been reading the messages on this site for the last few days and found it incredibly helpful to decide on Italy!).Need your suggestions for planning the trip including where to stay/how much it would cost etc.We are in late 20s,love nature/beaches/relaxing on holidays!

I think first of all tell us what made you decide on Italy, then you can be led in the right direction. If you want beaches there are many beautiful beaches on both coasts, relaxing can be nice in Tuscany, nature walking is nice around Assisi and all around Umbria.

What messages here on fodors have interested you? That might give clues to your interests.

I loved reading Italy trip report by Tra6 etc. and chose Italy primarily because of the combination of its landscape,culture,nature trip options etc.And I like Italian food!My husband like to relax on vacations and Tuscany seems like the right place. I love history and thus the culturally rich cities like Rome.

To begin with, apart from airfare from India and back, 2100Euro for lodging and food for 13 days sound good?

Hi S,

>2100Euro for lodging and food for 13 days sound good?<

It's doable, but a tight budget.

If you are going to Tuscany, a car would be a good idea. Extra cost.

May I suggest fly into Venice (4 nights), train to Florence (4 nights, daytrip to Siena), train to Rome (5 nights, daytrip to Orvieto).

For Rome hotels, check www.venere.com

For Venice, see
http://www.alcampaniel.com/

http://www.hotelbernardi.com/en/hotel.html

In florence, I can highly recommend the B&B Peterson. www.bedinflorence.it

Thanks ira for the suggestions.B&B Peterson sounds good and also seems to fit in my budget!

B& B is a new term for me....does that mean we can only stay the night? How is it different from a hotel?

A B&B is just a smaller hotel, often in what was once a home. They will include breakfast, hence the name: Bed and Breakfast. You can stay as long as you'd like.