We are booking our stay now for our April trip. However, it seems that the hotels in both Verona and Venice are a little more than we want to spend. Is there a base city outside of those that someone would recommend that we stay and then travel into the other cities?
Thanks for the help
I found Padua (Padova) and Vicenza perfect locations for their own sake and for visiting their more popular neighbours. The train connections are frequent and cheap if you take the »regionale« trains (check on www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en).
Have you visited Venice before? If not, I would really try to stay there - deals can be found for all price ranges. Your biggest obstacle is that I assume you are looking for April 2016? That's pretty last minute. But still...I found a really nice apartment for my daughter for last May and it was $108 per night. Here's a link to that unit, but I think it might be booked: http://unusualvenice.wix.com/unusualvenice#!apartment/c1f7x.
She works with other apartment owners as well, so she might be able to find you something else.
Also, have you looked on VRBO? Sort the units by price, with the lowest prices first, and then check out the ones that are both low priced and have lots of recent reviews.
Even with my daughter's $100 nightly budget, there were tons and tons of options to look at.
Definitely Padova. Wonderful town with several major sites, especially Scrovegni Chapel, don't miss that! Quick trains to Venezia and Verona. Padova has easy and cheap tram system that takes you anywhere in town.
Another vote for Padova, there are early morning and late night trains to/from Venezia Santa Lucia, so you can have some time there after the other daytrippers leave. Drawback is train ticket and vaporetto costs can wipe out any hotel savings, you might do better to stay at a low-cost B&B or a monastery in Venezia itself.
I would like to reinforce what Zoe said: Going back-and-forth to a more remote location can wipe out your savings on a hotel, plus you will waste a lot of time and miss the Venice experience. Our favorite time is sunrise, just walking around when the city is waking up, with no agenda other than to see it.
What is your budget?
We enjoyed our stay in Padua a few years ago. The city has much to offer, including St Anthony's, ( and Donatello's Gatamelata), the Prato, botanical gardens, the university, and the incomprable Scrovegni chapel. It struck me as one of the few places in Italy we have visited where locals actually outnumber tourists if that is of interest; it had a "real" feeling to it that I can't quite articulate. We liked it a lot. We also took daytrips to Verona, Vicenza, and Venice. All very easy, each perhaps one hour or so away by train. I can recommend the Hotel Al Cason. Family run, huge modern bedroom and bathroom, nice breakfast and very, very nice people. Well priced, too, for my money. Current reviews suggest continuing happy customers. Small patio and bar. It is about a 10 minute walk to the train station and that made for convenient day tripping. They also served dinner and it was nice on some evenings to come back after a long day and not have to search for restaurants. Back then, the Scrovegni offered late night tours for smaller groups which we felt was well worth the extra cost. Have a good trip and safe travels.
I really liked Padova, but I agree that seeing Venice from there is a different experience from staying in Venice.
What is your budget (in euros)? If you state your desired price point, people can help with specific recommendations.
I just saw that you are booking now for April. In that case, you may have to take what you can get - especially in Venice. For the future: the more price-sensitive you are, the more important it is to book further in advance - particularly for popular places.
