Inexpensive accommodations in Florence and Rome; suggestions for Tuscany

Welcome to the forum Austin. How exciting for you to go to Italy. I was in Italy last month. I travel solo on a budget, comfortably but not lavishly for about a month, which includes a Rick Steves tour.

Instead of staying in hostels, have you considered staying in Monasteries? You have your own room with an en-suite bathroom. Rooms are basic but comfortable, centrally located so walking distance to the sights. Although run by religious orders they are not religious; open to anyone to stay. I’m 73 y/o woman and feel very safe there and around the neighborhoods.
In Florence I stayed at https://www.anticadimorasantanna.com/en/
In Rome I stayed at https://www.romacasaperferie.it/
Both were under €100/night. Although I used MonasteryStays.com to research, I booked direct with these monasteries for better cancellation terms and an extended stay discount (5 nights).
There are also monasteries in Venice but there I stay at a favorite small B&B.

I don’t drive in Europe anymore. But I do know you need an international Drivers Permit to rent a car. You can get one at your local AAA office before you leave for Italy. You cannot get it in Europe.

I’m a planner so I suggest you make reservations. The two things I want to know before leaving home are where am I staying and how am I traveling. Depending what you want to see, you may need to get advance tickets/reservations. Check the venues’ websites.

Also review the travel trips on this website. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips
If your health insurance doesn’t cover you out of the US, look at travel insurance. Just because you’re young, don’t think you won’t need it. A friend of mine’s 25 y/o daughter fell stepping off the train breaking her leg in several places.

Your trip is a month away so keep asking questions.
Buon Viaggio!

Congrats on your first trip!

Before you rent a car, please download the guide here https://gemut.com/latest-travel-news/what-you-should-know-about-renting-a-car-in-europe.html. I found it invaluable my first time. Driving there requires different attention than you are used to. And language will be more of a barrier than you think when driving so learn the signs https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Italy. I really liked www.gemut.com for rental. I felt they were easy to work with, honest, and had great support.

Having never stayed in them myself, I suggested hostels, to my then 25 year old son and his friends to stay in a few hostels in New Zealand. Thinking they are young and friendly Americans who had frat experience in college…they’d enjoy it. They came back with a huge love of New Zealand but said they’d never stay in hostels ever again. No privacy and trying to sleep with your passport and wallet safe was not for them.

Many hostels have some private rooms these days. I think those are very popular, so I imagine you'd have to be lucky to find availability at this point for a November trip, but you can see if any pop up on booking.com.

Since you plan to drive for part of your trip, be sure you know all about ZTLs and other areas where driving is forbidden.

Also, in order to drive, you’ll need an International Driving Permit, which you obtain from your local AAA (don’t have to be a member). It costs very little, and is basically a translation of your driver’s license (which you’ll also need) into Italian.

@austin, I'm an Airbnb veteran who stayed in four countries on one 12ish-day trip across Europe. So of course, we Airbnb'd our whole way through Italy for two weeks a year ago. I should note that I ONLY go budget and have only had one negative experience in more than 80 stays - and it was in the states, due to extenuating circumstances.

I don't know what a hostel would cost you, but I do know that we had an AMAZING Airbnb stay in Florence at a bargain rate. The hosts were just incredible, and so was the neighborhood. We had the best meal of our 2-week trip just around the corner on a family-owned restaurateur's patio - which was - get ready for it - a PARKING LOT. No joke. And we paid very little for incredible food - probably the least we spent on any sit-down meal on the trip.

You are going to LOOOOOVE Italy! Whatever you do, I encourage you to book soon, because it's going to be very busy there. Email me at [email protected] if you want specifics on our Florence Airbnb and maybe the name of the little neighborhood restaurant.

Alexa, since this is a public forum for anyone to see, you don’t want the world to see your email in your post. Ask Austin to send you a PM if he needs information, private and secure, and delete your email from your post for your privacy.