We want to spend 2 months in Italy next summer with our teenagers. Does anyone have ideas for selecting an economical home base which would allow us access to public transportation, grocery stores,as well as being a convenient launching off place for traveling to other places? We would even be open to trading homes but just don't know where to begin. Thanks for suggestions.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Is this a first trip to Italy? It sounds as if you're thinking of a single home base for Italy? (maybe not?) If so, you're the first person in more than a year to propose using a single home base on a first trip to Italy. It's unlikely that using a single home base will best meet your needs, because you will probably want to see more places than can be reached in day trips from a single home base. This is due to travel times and the geography of Italy, long north to south distances. Example: if you want to see Venice in the north and the Amalfi south of Rome, there is no single home base that would allow you to do both as day trips. If you want to reply further here, or send me a Private Message, we can get into the details of this and try to be more helpful.
Posted by
Renton, WA, USA
240 posts
Laurie,
We atayed for one month in Italy. We did stay one full week in a farmhouse apartment. Their website is www.lafornella.com We were able to do many day trips from here. The train to Florence was only 5-10 minutes away.
I would suggest you decide which cities you want to check out, then search for apartments in each place. I actually found La Fornella on craigslist.
Also, remember that summer is a VERY busy time in Italy. We went during early fall, and had no trouble finding available places.
Posted by
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
331 posts
Hi Laurie, when deciding where we wanted to spend our holiday this summer (only 17 days til we leave) we also wanted to have a "homebase", but only for part of our trip. With 2 tweens having a homebase is a good introduction to travel . We looked into lots of different websites, including www.Homelidays.com they have all kinds of great rentals all over europe, including over 9000 in Italy.
Figure out where you would like to be, and then search for a place to stay. Instead of 2 months in the same place, maybe look into a few weeks in several different places.
For our next trip, we will be looking into "house swapping" as a really economical way to have a great vacation. You have lots of time to surf the net and find great places to stay.
Have fun planning.
Posted by
dallas, tx, usa
1358 posts
Responders suggest that you search for rooms where you want to be, but don't tell you how to search effectively.
Do a google
Search for "Homestays"
"Apartments"
"Accommodations" and
"Rooms"
in each town you want to visit or stay in. I have been amazed at the number of places and types there are to stay in any given area.
Be sure to search for each type of accommodations I list above. Don't just do "Rooms". I don't recommend renting without inspecting the facilities.
The wide choice of amenities will shock you in Italy. There are no standards; so be sure you look at the room before you agree. Landlords will expect you to do that and aren't offended if you say no.