Accommodation in Italy for less than 50 Euro a night

I think you're going to find that to meet that budget, you're going to have to look into hostels and kiss the idea of a double room good-bye. Good luck. :-)

Haha yeah it will be hard going, we know rooms at these prices exist. Just hard to find. We would be happy to stay in a double room at a hostel too.

Try using venere.com to find them. I just spot-checked Assisi and found fifteen at fifty euros or less.....some had fairly good ratings to boot.

In Amalfi, there is a B & B "Le Palme" which starts at around 40 Euro/night. The catch is that it is 300 steps down a steep hillside through the lemon groves and another 656 steps down to the road to town. Going down is relatively easy, but going back up...we just took the bus. http://www.lepalmeamalfi.com/holiday_house_hotel.html

Try the Hostel Archi Rossi in Florence. Too bad you're not staying for a long time in any of those places because if you get an apartment they normally will offer discounts for lengthy stays. Perhaps you can find a 50 euro or less hotel that centrally located to say, 2 or 3 or even 4 of those places, and use it as your home base, which is probably what you are doing anyway. Are you budgeting a certain amount for accomodations? Like, if you find something super cheap, does that mean you can spend more on accomodations in another city, or will it always be 50 euro/night? I definately think it's possible and don't let anyone tell you otherwise :-) will just take a lot of work.

I think you can hit on some of these... I think so you will struggle. (Venice, Milan and Rome). In Cinque Terre, I would check out the hostel in Manarola, You may not get a private room but its a nice place and the guys that run it are cool. In Assisi, there are a few options. Anfiteatro Romano is where I stayed last and it was right around the 50 Euro mark. A bit of a walk from some things but the bus to the train station leaves from right near there so departures etc are a cinch. Rome, I have stayed at Hotel Cervia Roma twice and while its not fancy, the price is right and the location is convenient. My memory is it being about 65ish Euro a night. You might check the BeeHive also, a bit more expensive but a nice and convenient location. In Florence, I have stayed at Hotel Giappone in the past. Should be close to 50 euros. Its up 3-4 large flights of stairs but the location is really nice and central. I would stay there again. I've also stayed at Ostello Santa Monica... Decent location and if you make reservations in advance you can get a room with two beds. Its cheap, was loud when I was there and I'll be back at Hotel Giappone next time. In Venice, I have stayed at Hotel San Maurizio... It was about 70 euro a night, decent, location ok. Its Venice, all I wanted was a place to sleep and grab an early morning shower. A bit of a walk from the station.

Matt, I agree - do not be discouraged. Try searching on Tripadvisor.com, hostelworld.com and lonelyplanet.com for your hostel/hotel under 50 euro. The Beehive in Rome was wonderful and just a couple blocks away from Termini - dorm room 25 euro but they did have separate rooms available. They get booked up quickly though. I stayed at a fabulous hotel in Assisi called Hotel Pallotta that was quite reasonable at 40 euro and included breakfast - they even did my laundry for me (for a price). My room at Hotel Orchidea in Florence was 45 euro and quite comfortable, but it was hard to open the entrance door, the hostess was not always available and they accept cash only. Albergo Cannon D'Oro is where I stayed in Siena. It was about 60 Euro for a double. It was an average accommodation. Keep searching and book as soon as you can. I suggest basing yourself in Florence for the Luca, Pisa and San G portion of your trip and taking train/bus to those locations on day trips. Happy travels. Linda

You may have more luck with small private accomodation, basically people who let out rooms in their home, but these can be hard to find ahead of time or on the Internet. In tourist areas you can find people at the rail station or through the TI as well. Hostels unfortunately are rarely the bargain they once were, many that offer private double room accomodations now get hotel prices. Try the internet searches, and second (third maybe) Venere, but you may be left to some combination of arrangements ahead of time and searching when your feet are on the ground.

It's a perfect time to be there. Have you checked out Rough Guide or Lonely Planet? Both seem to have a lot of budget choices although are rarely up to date. If you can get outside of big cities and away from the most touristy towns, I think you will find something. You will probably have to phone and it's best to know how to book in Italian, however, the cheapest places usually don't have internet or English speakers. Google BBC languages for free basic courses.

If these more reaonable/Italian-speaking only places don't have a booking website and you need to call for reservations, check to see if there is a fax number. You could use the "Room Request" form that's found in the back of the RS book. You just fill out the information with the dates, rooms type, etc, and fax it away. It's cheaper than a phone call and is less likely to cause errors. You just need to cross your fingers that they received it, understood it and reserved you a room. But crossing fingers is also cheap. And make sure you copy that form so you can use it for more than one hotel.

You may want to change the requirement of what you are doing to simply "average" out to $50 euros a night. Easiest way to do this is to consider camping sites. These have showers, laundry, and bath rooms... But they are 15 euro a night. Then rent some rooms in the places that don't have camping. Just google camping in Italy and you'll see lots of sites.

If you can up your budget to 75 euro per notte, you'll get a much better room in a better location. There will be more to choose from. Otherwise you'll be staying in some real "back-water" places. Check out this B&B website www.cross-pollinate.com. Good bargains in Rome, Venice, & Florence for as low as 60 euro or so.

We're paying 50E at Rick-recommended Casa Rabatti in Florence in mid October. Sharing a bath, but that isn't a big deal. By the way, we are doing a similar itinerary Oct 5-21 and a few cities are really booking up. We are paying way more than I wanted to in Rome, for example. But I'm picky about location - I want to be close to things - as walking is difficult for me (flat feet, plantar fascitis).

Wow thanks for all your replies. Yes we are treating it as an average of 50 euro per night, and yes we have got quite a few guidebooks. Often we will find a place that is affordable but when we email them, we never hear back from them. Hoping that if we don't find places to stay before we leave that we can find them when we get there.

Some places I've stayed at for around 50 euros for a double are: Albergo Moderno, Pisa; Da Elisa alle Sette Arti (with shared kitchen), Lucca; and Hotel Alex, Venice.

are you wanting to stay only a few nights in each place, or for example, would you want to stay in one city and take day trips from there? Because, if you are in one city for longer than 3 days or more like a week, you can save quite a bit of money by renting an apartment. Also, look into hostels and convents, they are much cheaper than hotels, and many times you can get a private room, or a room with 4 people in it.

Also look at: http://www.cross-pollinate.com/

Matt, I've checked some online sites (venere.com and others recommended here) and have been surprised at some of the price-slashing! If you haven't checked recently, perhaps you can now find a reduced rate.