If you click on my name, you can read my report about going to rome alone last November.

I'm going solo to Italy, my first trip there, in early October. 15 nights. Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre (probably Levanto actually), and Rome (possibly Sorrento - as a base for Pompeii). Looks like I'm going to throw in one more night in Bologna between Venice and Florence. I'm using the train and not driving. I'm staying in apartments or hotels and not hostels, on a budget. I booked them mostly via Cross-Pollinate.com (which charges, interestingly, per person).

I'm not a museum person. I'm a photographer. Mostly I'm planning to wander around the cities (hike the Cinque Terre towns), eat, and take lots of pictures. I'm using Rick Steves as my primary guidebook, plus digesting a lot of posts from the Fodors Europe board.

i did about 9 yrs ago. i flew to rome and stayed there for 5 days. definitely go and see the sun rise over the ruins and see the vatican. the only part that got me down was the night time. i felt a bit uncomfortable going out on my own. why? not sure considering it was only there and not in other cities.

i then took the train to florence (which is one of my favorite cities in the world). i stayed there for 4 days and loved it. the people were so friendly. go see il duomo and david. hang on the ponte vecchio (very expensive jewelry, but you can bargain). also, there is supposedly a factory for prada/gucci? not sure. ask around.

then i took a train to venice. i should have done a day trip to pisa, but alas i was young and stupid. anyway, i was supposed to stay in venice for 3 days, but had enough with 2. a gondola ride and murano are cliche, but fun. lots of the same glass stuff, so don't be quick to buy until you have shopped around. st. mark's square is another place to see at sunrise. beautiful! and soon, it will be under water, so get it while u can.

then i trained it to milano, which i did not like. very industrial and unfriendly. was glad to leave and sorry i didn't go to napoli or the southern areas/islands.

have a great time! if you try to speak italian, they will love you more!!!

I'm going the opposite direction that you went, Doctoressa. Well, starting in Rome, then quick train to Venice, then back through Florence, detour up to Cinque Terre, then back Rome (Pompeii for a day too). I'm hoping to do a day trip to Siena from Florence. And Pisa is a train stop on the way from Florence to CT so I'm hoping to get off for two hours, see the field of miracles (Leaning Tower) and head on. As a photographer I'm tempted to try to photograph the tower at dusk or night, but we'll have to see how that idea pans out...

I spent a week in Rome a couple of years ago and got a nice room, en suite, in a pensione just off Campo de Fiori for 6oo Euros. I think I found it through venere.com, or an article in the NY Times. Check out the NY Times travel section. They usually have good recs on local hotels in their articles.

Great walking city and in a week did all the major sites - the Forum, the Vatican, the piazzas, the Pantheon, major museums, Travestere, a gazillion cathedrals/basilicas/churches, via Veneto, Ostia Antica, via Appia, Opera, concerts, etc...

Hi Lolly100,

I was in the north/northwestern parts of Italy in April/May and it's perfectly OK traveling solo there. I spent 5 days in Como/Bellagio, 5 days in Aosta/Cogne/Lillaz, 3 days in Turin and another 3 in Milan. Hotel room averaged 60 euros in all the places except for Milan (where I redeemed Starwood points and wallowed in luxury at Le Meridien). Love Aosta/Cogne/Lillaz as these towns are off the beaten track and the scenery that close to the Swiss/French borders is simply breathtaking.

Prior to the vacation part, I was on business in Rome, Verona, Vincenza and Milan; those hotels I stayed averaged 170 euros (but then again, I wasn't the one paying).

I use venere.com for all my Europe trips and it is a great site to look for nice accommodations at affordable prices. Don't forget to check it out!

Happy travels!

Hi i have made many trips to Europe alone. Each trip has been great. I just returned from a 3 week trip to Italy. I spent 1 week with family and then the rest of the time alone. i was in Rome and Florence alone. No problem being a single female traveler. Make sure to go out at night for dinner , that of course is one of the best things about traveling. I never had a problem making reservations for dinner. It was fun to people watch and sometimes I sat near people that I started to talk to. I live in New York City and have learned to be street smart. I would never go to areas taht i felt unsafe in , but I discovered that there were few areas that I would not go to. I walked all day and stopped for museums, churches, coffee and meals. i have made trips to Venice, Paris and London alone and had the same very memorable experiences.i strongly recommend that you go it alone and have a great time. By the way I am a woman in her 70's whose husband passsed away a few years ago and i did not want to stop travelling.
tdK