First trip to Italy April/May 2016

One suggestion would be to consider staying somewhere close to Venice but not necessarily in the city. Padua and Vicenza are both a short train ride away, so you could still enjoy everything the beautiful city has to offer on a budget.
Same advice would apply to other destinations.
Am sure your daughters can also suggest alternatives that would be budget friendly.

My daughter and her boyfriend stayed in this two bedroom place last summer for three weeks. It's 100 Euros per night. The owner is honest and fast to respond. Second bedroom has two twins. http://unusualvenice.wix.com/unusualvenice#!apartment/c1f7x

Don't despair! Venice is not big, and there are many good places to stay away from the expensive touristy centers. I love the Dorsoduro neighborhood. Look at Ca San Trovaso. If you need a place for the four of you, try VRBO. Look at the website monasterystays.com. The big cities in Italy can be expensive, but you can usually find reasonable apartments. Agriturismas and small hotels in hill towns are often a bargain. Search this board for specific places people have recommended. Italy is worth it! Hang in there and do your research.

What is your budget? We are planning our first trip to Italy in May of next year also, and planning to squeeze a visit to Venice for 3 nights and found a great place on Giudecca (across from main Venice, Molino Stucky) for 290 euros for the 3 nights. We will be converting Canadian $$ to Euros so I expect if you're from the U.S. your dollar would go further.

Venice is famous for being expensive, but don't despair. Many people will tell you that you "must" stay in the city itself. If the choice is to stay outside and go in for the day or not see Venice at all, I say opt for the former. There are plenty of moderately priced lodgings at your other destinations. You should look into apartments and into small, family-run hotels and inns. Trip Advisor and booking.com are good places to start. On TA you can check the categories of Bed & Breakfast and Specialty Lodging. The advantage of booking.com is that you get immediate confirmation. The site lists small inns and apartments as well as hotels. You might even find something more affordable in Venice. I recommend that you get right to it. You're less than 4 months out, and places will start to fill up fast.

Look for a place in Venezia, even for a couple of nights, and invest in the vaporetto pass if you plan to use it a lot, as individual tickets are expensive.

I find hotels or b&bs in all your cities for less than €100/night (single), don't give up! One advantage to booking.com is that most places have a lower, non-refundable rate if you are sure of your dates.

Venice is probably the most expensive for lodgings. There are still bargains if you are willing to "skimp." You'll find cheaper rooms in Florence and Rome.

It tends to get cheaper the further south you go, significantly cheaper. Why not skip Venice, fly into Milan, which often is cheaper then flying into Rome, then jump a train south to Cinque Terre, then Florence, fly home out of Rome. How long are you going for?

Right. It might help to know how long you're going for and what sort of per-night budget you're working with? Also, are your daughters staying WITH you or are they planning on booking their own accommodations? Are they currently living in Italy?

Flying into Milan is a good idea; flights from the U.S. are often less expensive to Malpensa than Venice. You do have to figure your train tickets into the equation but there are often good deals to be had if booked in advance.

But as Rosalyn mentioned, the clock is ticking. This is especially true for the Cinque Terre; I recall a number of posts from worried travelers last winter who were having trouble finding affordable accommodations which still had openings for May.

We've stayed at Al Campaniel B&B for 3 of our 4 trips to Venice. Our other stay was at an airbnb apartment - my mom was with us and the larger room at Al C was already booked...the airbnb was about $150 a night (Canadian dollars)

http://alcampaniel.tripod.com/

We've stayed usually mid-late Sept in the room with separate but private bathroom. I think we paid about 70-80 euro. Nice breakfast included (cheese/bread selection/croissants (oh - the peach filled croissants!), cereal, juice/hot beverage). Only a minute walk from the San Toma vaporetto...maybe 10-15 min walk to Rialto. I guess it depends on your budget and standards. We found it clean, quiet and Marco (the proprietor) was super nice. No canal views, but a nice rooftop patio for staring at the rooftops.

Personally, for me, the best memories of Venice were going out early (7am) and staying out late (9-10pm) after the daytrippers have left. That's why I'd rather spend the extra to stay in the city. Don't forget paying the euros to transport back and forth...and time is money as well. How much time will you spend going back and forth?

What sources are you using and what is your budget for 4 people? We stay in Venezia for about Euro 90-120 per night, max. You might try Locanda La Corte or this apartment from VRBO. The apartment might not be big enough for you, although you can sleep 4 with the sofa beds, and the owner has other apartments.

Y'all are so sweet to respond to my post. Thank you SO much. They were very encouraging. I'm energized to continue searching. :)

Thanks for your encouragement.
My husband, 2 adult daughters and I are meeting in Italy and have about 10 days tops. Planning on coming around May 5-15, 2016. It will be the one and only visit for my husband and I so we'd like to see the best highlights if possible.
our tentative plan:
Day 1- arrive to venice ( so far flights are late 10:30p)

Day 2- venice
Day 3- venice to florence (2 hr train ride??)
Day 4- florence
Day 5- florence to cinque terre
Day 6- cinque terre
Day 7- cinque terre to Pisa and then rome
Day 8- rome
Day 9- rome or day trip?
Day 10 - rome or day trip? May have to leave?
Day 11 - rome - leave

I'd like all advice on itinerary, travel, places to stay for 4, etc.
Thanks,
Sheri

Looks like you have 9 nights total and are trying to see 5 cities (including Pisa). I personally think this is way too much. Factor int travel time, checking into and of hotels and you barely have time to see the highlights of Venice, Florence and Rome. These are major cities that are so full of treasures that it would take weeks if not months to see most of what they have to offer.
Instead of adding "a couple more in between", I would remove Pisa and Cinque Terre. Three nights anywhere gives you only 2 full days.
Venice- 3 nights
Florence-3 nights
Rome -3 nights.
This will be plenty rushed already.

I agree with Linda: Stick to Venice, Florence and Roma. Your itinerary wit late arrivals and one day in Venice will leave you tired and frustrated. Slow it down and enjoy. Italy cannot be rushed.

If there's no way you can extend your trip, I also think you have cut down on your moving. Moving will eat up too much of your precious time. For instance, it's only 2 hours on the train from Venice to Florence, but it can take you an hour to get to the train station in Venice after you've packed up and checked out. You will want to be at the station at least 15 minutes before departure to find your train. When you get to Florence you have to go to your hotel and drop your bags (your rooms may not be ready that early) before you do anything else. That's another 1/2 hour or more. It will take a lot longer to get to and from the Cinque Terre. If Pisa is a must-see, it's an easy 1/2 day trip by train from Florence.

If you want to blitz through, the only way to see enough is to hire private guides and take taxis, very expensive. Leave out the CT, take it a little slower and enjoy Italy. Don't try to see it all - you can't.

If you have a late arrival in Venezia, perhaps one or both of your daughters could get there earlier and check in?

I agree, stick with the big three, you will have plenty to do.

With the Euro/USD currently at 1.09, thank your lucky stars you' weren't traveling in 2010 like we did. The conversion then was 1.43, plus it was our first trip to Italy and blindly stayed in hotels that were a little too pricey. They were beautiful but in hindsight we didn't need all that much room. You can do so much better now cost-wise.

I am not familiar with Venice, and don't want to give it short shrift, but with only 10 days (9 nights?) to work with, you may be better off flying into Milan Malpensa on an overnight flight, arriving in the morning. Then you would take the Malpensa Express to the Milano Centrale train station and it's 1 hr., 40 min. to Florence Santa Maria Novella (Firenze SMN) station.

Base in Florence for 5 nights at a hotel or apartment within a few minutes walk from the station. You should be able to find a decent hotel for no more than $150/room/night (2 rooms?) or better yet, an apartment through VRBO, AirBnB or HomeAway that sleeps 4 could be found for as little as $100/night. I know this for a fact because I did exactly that this last March. Daytrips from Florence are easy and cheap to Fiesole, Lucca, Pisa, Siena...and Venice. Direct trains to Venezia run all day back and forth, 2 hours each way, a perfect way to enjoy the city without the cost. And just wandering around Florence, not doing anything at all, is a real treat.

The Freccia train Florence to Rome is 90 minutes. Four nights in an area like Campo de' Fiori or Trastevere is a perfect way to enjoy the Eternal City, or even to take a day trip to Pompeii if the mood strikes you. Hotel/apartment prices--depending on the neighborhood--are comparable to Florence. And then fly out of Rome.

With this plan, you're only packing up & moving once during the 9 nights, allowing you time to enjoy what you came for. Only omission is the Cinque Terre, which in early May could still be quite cool.

Enjoy your planning!