Hello,
I am a current Student studying abroad in London. I am currently trying to come up with ideas for my spring break. I want to go to Italy and visit Rome, Florence, and Venice. I have 10 days to do it.
I need helpful hints from you guys regarding the CHEAPEST way to travel between these great cities? And any tips for CHEAP/QUALITY accommodation in these areas??
Thank you for your help,
Scott Salamone
What are the dates for your spring break? An initial suggestion would be to fly from LHR or London-Gatwick to Rome (FCO), travel to Florence and then to Venice (VCE). Or, do it in reverse if you prefer. Then, fly to London from Venice. Flying these one-way trips on the inexpensive airlines can be much less than going by train. The problem is, you need to book these flights way in advance to get the cheapest fares. EasyJet has flights from Gatwick to both Rome and Venice. Their fares usually start out at about 30pounds but I'm seeing 66pounds for a flight to Rome on April 6. Again, you should be booking 6 months out to get the cheapest fares.
By train, you are probably looking at close to 200pounds each way and the loss of one full day of travel in each direction.
The next suggestion is to ride the ICPlus or R trains while in Italy. The R train is the local and the least expensive. It would take an hour or so longer to get from Rome to Florence than on the faster Eurostar but the fare is 50% less. The ICPlus train is a bit more expensive than the R train but still, it's much less than the Eurostar.
Finally, there is an inexpensive express train from Rome FCO into the main station and there is an inexpensive bus from Venice to the airport.
Go to andysteves.com and check out his web site. As I understand it, he developed this web site for students studying in Europe who want to travel while they are there. (he is Rick Steves son and he just finished up a semester in Rome) The site has travel ideas and itineraries. Check it out and let him know what you think.
The cheapest way is indeed the train. IC and Eurostar are the most expensive and R(regionale)the cheapest.
The official website for Trains in Italy is: www.Trenitalia.com
About accomodations, you can stay in hostels, soem of them have a free breakfast.
All the hostels I stayed in were nice, clean and not more than 22-23EUR.
The cheapest way to travel between the cities is by train. Coming from London, fortunately, you can fly cheaply to and from Italy as well. Obviously you should fly into Rome and out of Venice or vice versa.
In terms of cheap accomodations for students, you can always check out HostelWorld.com .
Have fun-
