Greetings! My husband recently bought us tickets to Venice in honor of my college graduation in the spring. I'm so excited! We don't have a lot of money to work with and I would appreciate any advice on hotels, shopping, etc.

We fly into Venice the morning of March 10, 2006 and fly back out on March 15. We want to visit Florence also. Thanks!

Here's a web site you can browse giving all registered accomodations in Venice. But it does not include recommendations:

http://www.turismovenezia.it/eng/dynalay.asp?PAGINA=437

Congratulations! We stayed at the Hotel Galleria last May and enjoyed it very much. It is a small hotel right on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro neighbourhood and cost 105 Euros per night including breakfast in your room. Only problem is the bathroom is down the hall which I thought I would hate but was only a minor inconvenience to stay in an affordable and charming hotel right in Venice.

You really have a short time in Venice...write off your first and last day ..so you are left with 4 full days. i would forget Florence. re Venice - stay in the city ie pay a bit more but forget Mestre and the Lido. Your major expence will be a room- try Venere. Transportation will be cheap- shoe leather and water taxis. Budget for an evening meal and coffe- croissant type breakfast...lunch can be a very simple affair. Have a great time.

I totally agree with the last poster. I would spend all my time in Venice> It's a wonderful place with so much to see and do. With such little time you would waste precious time getting to and from Florence. Once you got to Florence you then would'nt have enough time to appreciate Florence. IMO I would concentrate on the many options Venice has to offer ;and that will offer up a little extra money as well. Also, I have to say I much prefer Venice over Florence. It's a very romantic city with so much character!

I came across this one...can't remember where. But I noted that it had just been renovated, is very near Rialto Bridge, includes breakfast and has a couple of good reviews at TripAdvisor.com.

Residenza Laguna (99eu/night double)
http://tinyurl.com/9p5l7

Venice is expensive. Have you thought about staying in convents? I would also research restaurants very carefully, as my impression from reading these boards (ít's been 8 years since I've been in Venice myself) is that it is very easy to pay too much for food in Venice.

You really only have 4 days of travel. I wouldn't try to get to Florence given the very short nature of your trip.

My daughter and her friends just booked two doubles at LOCANDA AL LEON in Venice, which is very close to Piazza San Marco. They were quoted a rate of E109 per room for early July. The hotel got very favorable reviews on tripadvisor.com.

In Florence, they booked TOURIST HOUSE GHIBERTI, which is only a few blocks from the Duomo and the Uffizi for E120. It looks like a lovely hotel.

Just reread your post- with such a short trip I really don't think you have time to do both Venice and Florence. You might be better of basing in Venice and doing day trips to Padua and Verona.

Good luck whatever you decide!

I love Florence, but I agree that you would get more out of your trip by staying in Venice. You can, as others have suggested, daytrip (love Verona) and/or see the islands of the lagoon. I am especially impressed by the mosaics in the cathedral on Torcello.

Last time in Venice, we ate very simply for breakfast and lunch: foods from bakeries, pizza by the slice, sweets and sandwiches from cafes. We did have a sit down dinner every night.

Public transportation and walking are the way to go in Venice. And if you stay there, you will save more money by avoiding extra transfers and transportation costs.

i think you can do both if there is an overnight train...

In Venice, check out www.albergomarin.it. Very reasonable, decent location and comfortable accommodations. A good breakfast is included and the staff is very helpful.

Hi

Otherwise these cheapies - http://www.santafosca.com/statiche/ostello/servizi.asp or http://www.venetianholidays.it/Nuovo...doneta_ing.htm

Good luck

While I agree that five days isn't really enough to see both Venice and Florence, and I personally would stick to just Venice, I don't think you are crazy to want to try and see Florence. How badly do you want to see Florence, or did you just think five days would be too much in Venice? While day trips to cities closer to Venice is a very good idea, Florence is only two and a half hours by train. Some people do it as a day trip even. What time is your flight home on the 15th? If it's in the afternoon you could do three nights in Venice, train to Florence and do two nights there and take the train back to the airport directly for the flight home.

Check out www.locandanovo.it
They have doubles in March for 105E. Beutiful rooms/bathrooms; friendly and helpful staff. Location is great for walking everywhere.

Hi G,

You can do a daytrip to Florence from Venice. Leave early, return late.

Train schedules, prices and tickets are at www.trenitalia.com.

You can buy tickets up to 60 days in advance.

For accomodations, look at:

http://www.veniceby.com/campaniel/pages/booking.htm

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

Ok, I guess I may have changed my mind after reading Ira's post! We just did a trip to Italy last Sept. Ira is very optimistic and I guess I'll agree with him. We wanted to do a lot in 14 days and really had no time to plan our trip. In addition, really didn't have a realistic game plan. I am so thankful I listened to some and ignored others! Yes you could do Florence if it is your mission. But have a realistic itinerary for your day travel. Sights etc. At least you'll


have the opportunity to see Florence. There were many places we were curious about and only spent hours and would never return! to each their own. Thankfully we had a car to leave and go onto the next destination. I think if you really want to see Florence go for it. It will fulfill your curiosity

Hi,
You can stay at the Al Campaniel guesthouse for about 60 Euro per night. I is nicely located, very basic rooms, but very clean. The owner Marco is great to work with.
Here is the website:

http://www.alcampaniel.com/

Have a great time in Venice!

With only 5 days, I would also recommend staying in Venice. If you do a day trip to Florence, plus your first and last days will likely be more like 1/2 days, that leaves you barely 3 days to see Venice.

My advice on shopping is if you're short on funds... don't do it -LOL.

Find a modest hotel or pensione and spend your time walking around the city. Eat picnics from the grocery store, wine from a shop, sandwiches from cafes, espresso at stand up sidewalk bars, etc.

Asuuming you're making a long flight, you need to allow for jet lag. Given that, I'd stay in Venice or do day trips to closer places. Remember the islands in the lagoon, Murano (the glass blowers' island, Burano (lacemakers and very cute), and Torcello. You could also visit the Lido. But I find it uninteresting and the public beaches are at the far ends. All of the above are reachable on the vaporetto (water bus).

Also, to save money on food, load up on your breakfast(if free)and make lunch your main meal. That's cheaper than dinner. And research restaurants; there are lots of tourist rip-off joints.