Hotels in Italy

[nwong1029]

I'll be visiting Italy for the first time in mid-april for about 2 weeks. I've been hearing that the best cities to visit are rome, florence, venice and pisa. Got a few questions for some of the experienced Italy travelers out there.

Would I have enough time to visit additonal cities within the 2 weeks?
What is the cheapest way to travel between the cities?
Where can I find the cheapest 3 star minimun hotels in these cities?
Got any other recommendations or suggestions?

Thanks!!

[HighFlyer]

Would I have enough time to visit additonal cities within the 2 weeks?
To see the 4 cities at a leisurely pace, I wouldn't add anymore. Maybe Siena, or the Cinque Terre area, but that's it.

What is the cheapest way to travel between the cities?
Train. They are quite frequent.

Where can I find the cheapest 3 star minimun hotels in these cities?
www.venere.com

I haven't had much luck getting good deals on Italy hotels from Priceline.

Got any other recommendations or suggestions?

Have a read through http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/

[misterchill]

I'll be visiting Italy for the first time in mid-april for about 2 weeks. I've been hearing that the best cities to visit are rome, florence, venice and pisa. Got a few questions for some of the experienced Italy travelers out there.

Would I have enough time to visit additonal cities within the 2 weeks?

Um, possibly one. I spent 10 days seing Pisa, Naples, Rome and Venice, and that was packing it in.

What is the cheapest way to travel between the cities?

Train? Trenitalia was really nice. The only city out of what you mentioned that's tough via train is Pisa, but it's only a short bus ride to get to the Campo dei Miracoli (and tower).

[Pete_Coach]

Maybe I will see you there LOL. Don't forget Milan it is a wonderful city as well.

The train is the best bet to get to the cities you want. There are a number of different types of passes available at www.trentalia.com. My Wife and I are traveling first class, Milan to Venice (3 hours) for $77 Canadian
Or have a look at Rail Europe for the Italian special http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/italy_index.htm

Also, look for things like the Venice card (http://www.venicecard.com/default_eng.jsp) to save a few bucks.

I have used www.wotif.com for hotels and forund them very reasonable. Niow that they offer 28 day in advance service it is much more usefull.

I always find thet the local bus tours (double decker or whatever they offer) is a great way to spend the first day in a new City. It gives you a quick overview and then you can use the hop on hop off feature for the rest of the day.

Pisa is worth the 15 minutes it takes to see the tower. This is a personal opinion but there ain't much else there.

All in all Rome, Venice, Florence and a bit of Tuscanny will take your whole time. Spend time in the places rather than on a train getting to the places.

Have a good time in a wonderful country.

[nwong1029]

Thanks everyone for your input. It will definately help me out with my research. I will take all your suggestions into consideration. Thanks again!!

[Audiogenic]

Do a search on www.tripadvisor.com for hotels in the cities you will be staying at. It's an excellent website.

Read recent user opinions on them from travellers who have stayed there in past.

Finding a good rate often times doesn't mean you will have a decent stay.

[Mocha10]

Yes, train is the best and cheapest way to travel. But make sure you reserve your seats. I took train from Flourence back to Rome and we didn't reserve a seat and end up standing for most of the time!

Pisa is a very small city and it only takes you few hours to see the Dumo and the Tower. Flourence is small as well but you can spend time in those museum. One day is enough.

Oh, I love Italy and Rome is still my best vacation place so far! Have fun there and eat as much Gelato as you could!

http://www.virtualtourist.com/
This is a very good website to plan for travelling. You can get info from places to visit, restaurant to go, transportation to what to shop for locations around the world!

[HighFlyer]

Flourence is small as well but you can spend time in those museum. One day is enough.
Maybe... if you're only going to see *one* museum. You will need a few days in Firenze for just the museums alone (Uffizi, Accademia, Bargello, to name a few). And then there are the Duomos and Cathedrals. If you really want to cram it all in a day (not recommended), then make sure you have reservations at the Uffizi and Accademia, as it will take hours to get through the lineups during the peak.

[Pete_Coach]

I have to agree with HighFlyer here, Florence is not a small city (about 1/2 million people I think) and not every site is next to each other. You need some time there and one day, even if you take the double decker tour bus for 3 hours or so, will in no way provide you with a flavour of this city.
Skip Pisa and see more of Florence, Ponte Veccio is a couple hours on its own. See http://goeurope.about.com/cs/italy/p/florence.htm for some ideas.

Venice is, well Venice. You cannot rush this place. You also need to go to Murano which is a short boat ride from Venice.

The one thing I can guarantee you on your trip, is that you will be planning your next trip on the plane ride home because you missed seeing most of what you wanted to see and you realized there was even more to see than you anticipated.

[beemer2005]

Your itinerary depends also on what you like to do.
1) For example, some people enjoy taking "wine tours". Others take "cooking tours". After all, this is wine and food country.
2) You have to see the major historical sights, as outlined in most travel guides. Most hotels have a list of tours.
3) shopping...need I say more? Italians have a unique sense of fashion.

BEWARE - PICKPOCKETING is a major occupation in the major cities.

[Anessa]

Give Verona a try if you're doing the TUrin, Milan whole Northern Italy tour...it's a very quaint and welcoming place for a tourist.

[Eyeman]

I'll be visiting Italy for the first time in mid-april for about 2 weeks. I've been hearing that the best cities to visit are rome, florence, venice and pisa. Got a few questions for some of the experienced Italy travelers out there.

Would I have enough time to visit additonal cities within the 2 weeks?
What is the cheapest way to travel between the cities?
Where can I find the cheapest 3 star minimun hotels in these cities?
Got any other recommendations or suggestions?

Thanks!!

Pisa is well worth a day trip from Florence, but not an overnight. Substitute Siena or perhaps Assisi. In two weeks, you can see more.

If you are only going to major cities, take the train. Driving is VERY expensive in Italy because they have a zillion manadatory insurance coverages that you have to buy. Gasoline and tolls a very high too. Actually, everythig is very expensive in Italy. A 3* hotel in Rome or Venice will start at the equivalent of $400 CAD a night. And I mean start, not luxury.

The best bet for planning a trip is to go to Fodors discussion formun on Italy and read. There is no way to plan a decent trip without putting a lot of time and trouble in research. If you don't want to do that, go on tour.