persephone88

Well, we have decided to forgo a tour and my 22 year old daughter and I will be tackling this Italy trip by ourselves next June! A somewhat scary but exciting adventure. A few more questions:

1. Airfare: how far out do you think we need to reserve tickets? My main concern is the number of flights that seem to be cancelled these days. Ideally we would love a direct flight from IAD in Washington DC to Rome so there is no worry of missing a connection or a connection being cancelled. Returning from Venice to DC is less of a concern for us. The current airfares to Rome seem astonishingly high to me right now, for two sets of one way tickets (IAD -> FCO and VCE -> IAD), and I'm wondering the best time to order tickets, if the prices will go up as we get closer to next June or if it is prudent to wait and see. Also would love input on your experiences with different airlines. It seems that United has a direct flight from DC to Rome, but Lufthansa, Air France and Lingus also fly out of there. I am concerned about going with a really low cost carrier without input from others who've flown them...

2. Train tickets: Do we order them ahead or day of at the station for the Leonardo Express, and then further tickets from Rome to Florence, then Florence to Venice. I know the cheaper seats tend to sell out, how far out should we book them?

3. Hotels: We are looking for cheap, clean, simple and in a central local that is easy to walk from, but which also has a service desk that can help us with outside reservations and the like. Nothing fancy. I am seeing a number of hotels for under $150 on sights like Expedia and Booking that have decent reviews. Do we snag those now, or wait? Any hotel recommendations in any of the above cities welcomed!

4. Flight delays: This seems to be a big problem these days (along with lost luggage). If our flight is delayed a whole day due to cancellation or a missed connection, what happens with the hotel we've booked? Would trip insurance cover that, or just medical issues? Trip insurance you were happy with?

5. Phones: My phone is a 5 year old Pixel, my daughter's is a 2 year old Galaxy. What do we need to make these phones operational in Italy? Do we contact our service provider prior to leaving for additional overseas service? What cards we need to buy to make them usable in Italy?

6. Adaptors: would appreciate a link to what adapters are needed to charge our phones. I'm thinking that's the only electronics we will likely take with us, other than power banks. I assume we do not need a transformer to make the current work?

Apologies for all the questions - it has been a very long time since I was overseas!

StantonHyde

If you click on my user name, you will see my trip reports for Venice, Rome, Florence in 2018. We had a great time!

janisj

just re flights -- next June is like 100 years from now. No one has any idea when the air travel industry will be like in 3 months let alone next summer. IMO it is much too soon to be looking at flights -- or even routes -- since airlines are constantly adding and deleting routes and reassessing where they are flying and how often.

Most airlines let you set alerts you when a good/target fare pops up. For June I'd get serious looking for flights in Dec/Jan time frame but if you get an alert for an airfare sale you can always jump on it earlier.

Don't search one way tickets - that can be unbelievably expensive. Look for open jaw (called multi-city' on many airline sites) -- this is where you book one ticket like US > Venice and Rome > US. It is one ticket to/from two different cities. Usually save a huge amount of money. Also I would try to arrive in Venice and fly home from Rome (or Florence or wherever). Flights from VCE to the USA often leave very early AM.

suze

I buy the plane tickets when I see a price I am comfortable with. I fly only regular airlines. In coach but I don't do crazy routing to save money. I get the most direct flights I can. For train in Italy I have only ever gone to the traini station and bought tickets. Venice/Florence/Rome had trains all the time. But hoping for a place to stay for $150usd or less that will be more of a challenge. That might take some research to not end up somewhere... well less than desireable

janisj

Oh -- I had totally missed the $150 bit. The € has fallen to close parity so room rates may 'cost' less in US$ value than in the past - (but no one has any idea what the exchange rates will be a year from now) . . . but €145-ish is pretty low.

(Would you feel comfortable in a $150 per night hotel in San Francisco or New York or Chicago - probably not)

Hermesblanket

For Rome, I can recommend the Hotel Modigliani near the Spanish Steps and Via Sistina. I know that it is a good hotel in a nice area of Rome and the rates are reasonable. St Cirq likes this hotel.

For Venice, I can recommend Ai Due Fanali in Santa Croce. It is in between the Scalzi Bridge and the wonderful Campo San Giacomo dell' Orio. Good prices here.

Buona Sera, Mr Biddle

laurie_ann

At this time it doesn't look like any non-stop flights from Venice to IAD for your dates next June.

But if you don't mind a stop on the way home from Venice, and you prefer to keep the order you have of Rome, Florence, Venice, you don't have to depart too early from there.

For example for your dates Kayak is showing the following with a connection on the return through Frankfurt:

5:30 pm – 8:15 am +1
United Airlines
nonstop
8h 45m
IAD ‐ FCO

2:40 pm – 8:00 pm
United Airlines
1 stop
FRA
11h 20m
VCE ‐ IAD

Or a similar return from Venice through Munich.

Enjoy the planning!

valgalchi

You could sign up for Scott's Cheap Flights. They have a free option (I do the paid) and they'll send you flight deals. You can monitor those to get notice of cheap Italy flights from your airport. I've gotten some really good deals through them. You can also set an alert on Google Flights. And if you have a credit card with a concierge you can use that to book restaurants & other things and then add AirBnB's to you lodging options (might be cheaper than hotels). We stayed at a great AirBnB in the Monti area of Rome back in 2015 for 6 nights (total $780ish).

thursdaysd

You can also get free alerts here: https://www.airfarewatchdog.com/

laurie_ann

For a unique and inexpensive stay in Rome, especially for two women, you might want to try a convent. https://www.atastefortravel.ca/14999...-stay-in-rome/

Leely2

I stayed in an inexpensive-yet-nice three-star in Rome at the beginning of this week, Hotel Raffaello, which is on Via Urbana between the kinda gritty Termini/Santa Maria Maggiore area and the lively, lovely Rione Monti.

I was arriving in the evening and leaving from the station in the morning, so booked the least expensive room available, which had a view of an airshaft. So if you stay there, don't book the airshaft room. Other than the view, I really liked the hotel. Friendly, polite and efficient staff, super comfy bed and pillows, elevator, good air con, a plentiful breakfast. For the price, a total winner. I paid €120. For two people you'd probably pay more.

In any case, I'd definitely stay there again.

annhig

Good recommendation Leely2. I also liked the hotel that i stayed in with our language class which is round the back of St Peter's but it's a bit further out of the way though it was well served by buses. It's about €130 a night for two. https://www.hotelgravinasanpietro.it

HappyTrvlr

Your phones:
You buy plug adaptors only, very cheap. Buy several as you may leave one in a hotel socket when checking out.
Call your cell phone provider to see what plan they recommend for calls, texts to and from US/ Europe. My husband gets Verizon International plan. It has been helpful with a few emergencies( illness, etc) I think it was $80-100 for our time abroad. I get a a European SIM card for my iphone. It gives me a local phone number and I use it for calls to make reservations for dinners, airport pickup, etc. I bought one in London last trip and used it in UK, Rome. The Sim cards are around 30€ for a month. I buy them at a phone store, and they set it up for me.

bankbabe

I am very happy to see this thread. Finally, after years of wanting to, I am going to Italy in October (63 days away). DH surprised me and our 2 DDs with plane tickets and a hotel budget for 10 days. He cleared it with the sons-in-law first. We are doing this same itinerary, flying into Rome and out of Venice. He knows he won’t be able to go with me due to his back. He says he owes me for taking care of him through the surgeries. We are excited and have travel insurance just in case of emergency.

tracilee

Oh, babkbabe, I am so happy for you - what a great time you will have with your daughters! I was in Italy this past May/June with my husband, 3 sisters and BIL and we had a fabulous time!

annhig

That's wonderful, bankbabe. What a terrific present.

persephone88

Bankbabe, that is so fantastic and I am really looking forward to hearing all about your trip, The Good ,The bad, and hopefully no ugly! Would love you to report back on which hotels you chose, which towards you took and any tips you can offer. I think you picked a terrific time of year to go, unfortunately I have a very short window on when I can make our trip in June. Hope you have an amazing time!!!

bankbabe

We are staying in NH Hotel near the train station in Rome, Villa Cora in Florence, and Palazzo Vannart (sp?) in Venice. Not my first choice for Rome hotel, but DD booked that one and it’s not refundable. I’ll let you know how it goes, Persephone. We can’t wait. Just crossing fingers we all stay healthy and have no bumps getting there.

TDudette

Giant yippees, Bankbabe!

gentle

I have been going to Italy for the last 16years apart from Covid but I’m showing some friends around September/October this year and the most important part is do your research, time consuming but well worth it. You can do all the major sites like (Vatican ++) on your own but when you buy your ticket pay the extra to jump the line well worth it. I only train or bus so it is not difficult but I always buy my ticket the day before and once you work out from the ticket all the information it gives you, just have to wait for your number to come up that it has arrived on whatever platform. I use the company Italia (train service) as they only use a few platforms so you don’t have to run far. Good luck it will be fun🌻🇦🇺