Need area and hotel recommendations, please!
 

Now that I have my itinerary (have 1 more night to figure out but will figure that out later), I need to ask you all for help again! Which area should we stay in while visiting the below cities? Which hotels? My husband is very picky and a hotel lover. I'm less picky and will consider apartments. Unless we really have to, we want to stick to hotels. We also must have AC (we're traveling in the summer) and we have 3 teens (14, 14, 15). Would like to keep our per night budget for a room $300 or less. Also, would like to be close to the sites (but don't have to be in the middle of it all, we enjoy walking!). If you have a great apartment recommendation, please do share. My guess is that as the dollar signs start to become real, hubby will start to consider an apartment :-)

1 night Milan and next day we travel to Venice,
3 nights Venice (day trip to Verona), train to Florence
4 nights Florence (day trip to Sienna, Pisa- yes, my kids want to do that corny picture, Cinque Terre),- depending on lodging options we'll either take the train straight to Sorrento or Rome
4 nights Sorrento,
5 nights Rome (fly out of Rome)

Sorry, forgot to mention one thing-- for Milan would prefer a hotel near the train station as we plan on just resting and then leaving the city to go to Venice. We will be arriving around 10pm so perhaps a hotel next to the airport. I'm still not sure where the train station in Milan is?

If you are not planning on seeing anything of Milan, I know it would be late, but I would consider just going on to Verona for the night, touring there the next day and on to Venice that evening. That would save backtracking to Verona as a day trip and you could have two full days in Venice - very desirable.

Cinque Terre is a very long day trip from Florence and you are already going to another coastal area, the AC. You could do Siena one day and Lucca and Pisa together one day from Florence.

Do go straight to Sorrento after Florence and keep all the days in Rome together at the end.

Def get apartment in Rome. Find a place with a pool in Sorrento. Stay in Venice proper even if it costs more or has fewer amenities.

Sassafrass,

Love your idea of just going straight to Verona. I'm just trying to figure out how? So, we'd take a bus to the Central Train Station but I can't figure out how late everything runs. Do the buses operate all night? Same with the trains? I've been searching all over for a schedule and can't seem to find one.
I just feel like it's a waste to sleep the night when we're arriving at 10pm (and by the time we get out it'll be 11). Any suggestions?

Yayyy, I just double checked our tickets and my hubby was wrong. We get there at 5:30pm not 10pm. Makes things a little less stressful but I still have the same question :-)

Get your train info from trenitalia; trains run from Milan to Venezia hourly; last train leaves at 21:05 (9:05 pm). To make your lives easier, if you can, just take a cab (though you may need 2 cabs, with 5 people and luggage) to the Milan train station and pick up the train from there.

Venice shuts up a bit early, so you may want to grab food to eat at the Milan train station, and eat on the train. (Including a bottle of Italian wine, of course.)

As you may have already figured out, $300/night for 5 people will be really difficult, especially in Venice. In Rome, we like Residenza Canali ai Coronari, very near Piazza Navona, but it's likely above your budget. They have rooms that fit 3 or 4 people, but I don't think 5.

I suggest staying in Verona the first night because you want to go there anyway and your earlier arrival time makes it work well. There are lots of hotels right in the center of Verona. I haven't stayed in any of them, so can't make a good rec. There are even a couple of more modern type not far from the train station. I've stayed there and would not do it again - no restaurants or anything nearby and you have to walk/taxi/shuttle to city center - would much prefer to be near the arena and main piazza. The train station is not far from the piazza - we've walked it (I think there is a shuttle also), but I would just grab a taxi from the station to a hotel in the center. Restaurants, plus Brac cafeteria right on/near the piazza. Check into your hotel and walk right outside for dinner and to enjoy the piazza in the evening. This would be a simple and easy first night. Tour the arena and whatever else you want to see in Verona the next morning, then catch the train on into Venice mid-afternoon in time for dinner and a nice walk.

I wouldn't take cabs to Milano Centrale. $$$ You can board a train right in the Malpensa airport that will take you to Centrale where you'll switch to a train to Verona.

You can search the train timetables at the link below. Type in from "Malpensa Aeroporto" and to "Verona Porta Nuova." Personally, I wouldn't buy tickets in advance just in case the flight is delayed. And I wouldn't consider the departure options that go first to Milano Cadorna even though the over-all journey time is shorter. These involve taking the metro between Cadorna and Centrale stations which IMO is too much of a hassle with luggage, esp. after a long flight.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...0080a3e90aRCRD

For Florence check out Hotel Casci. The rooms are clean, the included breakfast buffet is good and the multi-language speaking family that runs it are very helpful.