Hi, I'm planning a trip with a few my girlfriends. We need help with our itinerary. flying into Rome and flying out of Venice. The trip is for ten days. We want to split the trip with beaches and sightseeing. Names of hotels would help.

When might you be going?

August 8-19th

Try Pescara, although I have never found a wealth of tourist info on area is is a beautiful small town on the opposite coast from Rome (you can take the train from there) A nice relaxing stop in my opinion

What type of accomodations do you like (i.e., pensione, more modern)? What price range?

Is this for a trip in 3 weeks? Finding a hotel might be tough if you are looking for particular areas and prices.

Also, is this 10 days plus 2 travels days and do you have any idea how much time you want to spend in Venice and Rome?

I have made reservations for Rome 3 nights and then going North. Maybe going to Florence, Cinque Terre, and then spending a two days in Venice. Since there is four of us traveling maybe $50 - $75 dollars per night/per person. Any details of hotels or places to see would be really helpful. Thank you!

Your best option is to search the database here--just enter FLORENCE HOTELS for instance, and you will get years of good advice. Failing that, go to www.florenceby.com for a wide selection with lots of pictures,and then www.venicebycom for more. Good luck

What research have you done so far and what is your tentative itinerary at this point?

For Venice you might try Pensione La Calcina. www.lacalcina.com

It is a lovely hotel in your price range, but it might be too late finding reservations at the more popular hotels in Venice. Many book up way in advance. You might have to settle for wherever you can find a quad-room, or even consider staying outside Venice (which would never be my 1st choice but Venice is small and August is a crowded time there).

I would also consider adding an extgra day in Venice. 2 is a very short stay for such a fascinating place.

Me again...

If you haven't made reservations before, often there are tourist desks when you arrive at the train station in each new town who can help with finding available pensiones, hotels, and hostels. There may be a small charge for this, I'm not sure.

Also don't be scared off by some on this bulletin board who plan every waking moment of their trip months or years in advance.

You might want to read/post over on the Lonely Planet's bulletin board called Thorn Tree. There is more info on young & backpack style travel. Maybe you could pick up some tips on places to stay, or even about arriving in a new town without reservations.

Rick Steves "Europe thru the Back Door" & his website also gives tips for this (arriving without reservations).

I would also add at least one more day in Venice, maybe two and then you can visit some of the islands around the city-Burano, Murano, and Torcello which are wonderful to see and shop. I found 3 days in Rome overwhelming and would recommend one day outside Rome at the Tivoli Villas.

Venice also has a good beach.

I'll top this thread with a piece of unasked for advice:

Especially since you are traveling in a small group and possibly without reservations in advance, try to get everyone to PACK LIGHT. I think that is the single best tip to smooth out your trip. Both for ease of movement but also for safety.