Help with itinerary

You have four nights in Rome and that works for me. My first trip to Italy, we spent 6 nights there and still didn't see everything, but you only have 13 days.

One night in Florence is just silly, unless you have been there before. You need minimum of three nights there.

The lakes in northern Italy are amazing, but for this short a trip, consider skipping this part and stay in Florence. If you still do it, you can probably go through Verona by train.

Two nights in Venice and you will miss some things, I suggest three nights.

Hotels in Venice that are near the main train station have better prices, they are easier to get to with luggage and you can still walk to the rest of the city or take the vaporetto. Check out TripAdvisor that has maps when you pull up hotels and B&Bs.

It's a very rushed itinerary with just a single full day in both Florence and Venice. I would cut one or the other and add those days to other locations.

As to your questions:
1) you really need to get a good guide book to help you decide what things are of interest to you in these locations. Everyone is different and has different likes/dislikes. A good guide book will give you information about all the sites so you can choose those that appeal to you the most.

2) You can take the train between these two locations. You will then need to take a taxi to your hotel.

3)You don't mention when you are traveling and that can impact costs. Check the Dorsoduro area using booking.com to see if you can find a triple for your budget. You need to think in Euros not pounds.

4)Which entrance tickets do you mean and what do you consider expensive? Most entry tickets will cost under 15 euros but some could be more, it just depends on what you want to visit.

5) I plan 100 euros per day for two people. Sometimes I spend more, sometimes less. It really depends on what and where you eat. If you eat near the popular sites you'll pay more, if you eat several blocks away from anything important you'll find better, less expensive food options.

Donna

Answers to your questions (and questions you will wish you had asked but haven't yet) are in the Rick Steves Italy book. Get it and read it!

As an aside: everyone wants to save money and avoid spending needlessly. Skipping a guide book is a gigantic mistake. You spend a little money on a good guidebook, that saves you 10X or 100X the cost of the book, and most importantly, it gets you a better trip, too. Guidebooks are golden - don't skip getting (at least) one.