hotel accommendations for Italy

There are several hotels listed in all these areas in Rick Steves' book.
I start there and decide on a neighborhood that I want, check public transportation, look at reviews on some of the online sites.
Will you have your car parked someplace while you re in Venice?
Be very careful driving in the cities in Italy - they are filled with ZTL (non-driving zones) and your car will be
photographed and you will get an expensive ticket by mail.)

Any idea how long you plan to spend in each location?
Happy Travels..........

I've been forotunate in being able to visit Italy at least six times, and have NO horror stories! I don't know what kind of horror stories your friends have told you, unless it's getting ZTL tickets for driving in no driving zones in Florence or Rome - and there's an easy answer to that! Only rent a car if you want to tour around Tuscany. Arrive in Florence by air or train, spend 4 days and then rent the car for Tuscany trips. Even this isn't necessary. You can visit Siena by bus from Florence, and there are many wine tours available departing in the morning that will take you via car or motor coach to a Tuscan winery.

My biggest advice at this time would make sure you get an "open jaw" flight, arriving somewhere in the North (Venice or Milan) and depart out of Rome. Or Vice Versa. I don't know what city (presumably US) you're flying out of, but I do know that Rome, Milan and Venice all have direct flights in and out of the U.S. (except for Venice, which may be seasonal, not in Winter.)

Get the RS Italy book, and take a good look at the map. Decide on your dates and flight arrival/departure cities.
and don't back-track if at all possible. Unless you're going in the late Spring/Summer, you may want to take Chinque Terre off the list, and add a week in Sicily.

The cities you list, Venice, Rome, Naples, Florence, and Cinque Terre are nothing but trouble with a car and there are easy cheap and very fast (up to 300 kph - try to do that in a car) trains connecting all of them in a straight line except the coastal villages of the Cinque Terre. For there, there are easy and very cheap trains which don't go quite so fast.

Venice, parking very expensive, and the car sits around while you are enjoying the city and still paying for it.

Rome, parking very expensive and rare, much of city covered by ZTLs.

Naples. I've driven there. Hope your courage comes from a big reservoir. You've never lived until you have tried to get through squares with traffic coming from all directions, and the one with the biggest ... goes first. I have.

Florence. The land of the ZTL on steroids.

Cinque Terre. You can't drive into any of the villages, parking rare and expensive.

There are a number of other caveats you must be aware of if driving.

You can, if you plan ahead and are willing to commit to dates and times easily get trains for as little as €19 a segment.

How many of you, what ages, what country are you coming from, please?

In my past trips to Europe I always drove everywhere including while I spent 3 months working in Germany. I agree Germany France, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands were easy by car. However, in planning a 4 week trip to Italy in May it will be 1/3 car (Tuscany) and 2/3 trains. My research showed exactly what is being said above that cars are a hindrance in most areas of northern Italy. The big thing for my wife and I will be packing light. With a car we never cared how much luggage we took. If you want my itinerary to see where I plan on trains, send me a private message. I am covering most of what you are except for the CT.

Thanks to all who responded to our question about car travel in Italy, it appears my wife and I need to rethink the car idea and get busy learning more about train travel within Italy....We do still would like some feed back on hotels in the CT, Rome, Florence, Naples, and Venice...Yes we are big RS alum's as I said before from our times in Germany and France, but would appreciate your first hand experiences and help this old couple from Florida on their 1st trip to Italy...thanks again for all that have help.........

rjaxjag,

As this is your first trip to Italy, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy of the Italy 2014 Guidebook. It has a LOT of good information including listings for good, reliable hotels in the places you mentioned (various price ranges and different parts of each city), as well as restaurants, transportation, sightseeing, etc.

Using the rail systems in Italy is VERY easy, but there are a few potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of. That's also true for those using rental cars. If you need more information, post another note. The high speed Freccia or Italo trains are an especially efficient way to travel as they run at up to 300 kmH, so that means less travel time between cities and more sightseeing time.

Buon Viaggio!

I agree with what has been said regarding having a rental car in the cities you are planning to visit; there's really no need for a car unless you plan to visit various towns in Tuscany, the Dolomites, etc. Otherwise, stick to public transit which is pretty comprehensive.

As for hotels, I can definitely endorse the ones we stayed at this year during our 3-week trip to Italy. I read reviews from various sites but I most heavily use Trip Advisor. I ignore the reviews from people who only have a few reviews and I've had very good success with the hotels that I booked.

In Venice, we loved Locanda Orseolo which is 5 minutes to St. Mark's Square & 10 minutes to the Rialto bridge area. The rate was very reasonable considering we had a canal view. The staff was incredible as is the breakfast buffet (complete with crepes and omelets made to order). It's the #1 rated B&B on Trip Advisor and we understood why. The hotel also has a water landing and if you wish, you can take a water taxi directly to/from the hotel from the airport, etc. It was a neat experience!

In Rome, we splurged and stayed at Albergo del Senato (a stone's throw away from the Pantheon). We were upgraded to a penthouse suite and felt as though we could literally reach out & touch the Pantheon. It's a nice hotel and again, the staff was awesome; they couldn't do enough for us. If you can afford a room with a view of the Pantheon, you won't be sorry! Our room was very nice and the bed was the most comfortable of all the places we stayed at! The location is very central to most everything and it was nice having a taxi stand right outside the hotel (on the other side of the Pantheon) for days when we just couldn't walk another step & wanted to take a taxi. (You can't hail a cab in Rome as in other cities; you have to get a taxi from a taxi stand).

In the Cinque Terre, we stayed at Hotel Pasquale in Monterosso (again, top-rated and for good reason). It's a family-run hotel and the staff couldn't do enough for us. The rooms are very comfortable and clean and each room has an incredible view of the ocean. The hotel is very close to the train station which is convenient & the rate was very reasonable. We liked Monterosso the best of the 5 towns because it's the largest, flattest and has the most restaurants, shops, etc.

Can't give a recommendation for Naples, but I would highly recommend staying in Sorrento instead as it makes a very convenient base for the Amalfi Coast and Pompei, etc. I loved Sorrento and loved Palazzo Montefusco Relais right off the main square (Piazza Tasso) and centrally located to everything. The hotel, staff and breakfast spread were all amazing.

We really lucked out with all of our lodging decisions. If you are interested in any of them, book way ahead. Since they're all top-rated, they book up fast. Have a great trip!

I second the vote for Albergo del Senato in Rome! Fantastic location and wonderful hotel.
Venice: Hotel Flora..old, old, old, charming
Florence: Florence Dream Domus..tiny, lovely, spotless rooms.
Have fun!