I am going to be traveling to Italy at the end of the summer with a few girlfriends. We are 27 years old ( all have traveled to Europe before) and know the risks of traveling abroad. I would love some advice on affordable/safe places to stay in the following areas ( we will need to be near transportation, and would like to keep it around $150 a night):
Venice
Cinque Terre
Florence
Cortona
Montepuliano
Rome
Any help/advice would be appreciated.
Jess
Hi, Jess. For hotel recommendations that we have visited and consider to be comfortable and safe, please pick up Rick Steves' Italy 2014 guidebook from any bookstore. I circle all the cheapest hotels that have a triple, or quad, or whatever you need, and go from there. Of course, I don't think you need to worry overly about your personal safety, just the usual pickpockets that can be found in crowded, touristy areas.
For Venice, Florence and Rome, we use Cross-Pollinate.com for lodging. I know that they have triples and have very reasonable prices in B&B's in good neighborhoods. They are an American family living in Rome for many years. Their website if very easy to use and you can email them with questions and they will get back to you pronto.
You can use www.venere.com or booking.com to find hotels. The reviews on both sites are written by people who have completed a stay so they are pretty accurate.
$150 is about 108 euros. This is not a lot for the high season so start looking now and book as soon as you can. You may need to raise your budget to find a triple.
As for safety, Italy is pretty safe but use the normal precautions you would back home. Don't carry around large amounts of cash and don't hang your purse on the back of your chair.
Donna
Hi Jess,
Here are some suggestions, all of which I considered to be very safe:
Venice - Alloggi Barbaria - My friend and I stayed here in June 2013 and found it really comfortable. We paid 110 euro per night for a double. No canal views but a wonderful family who is very welcoming and helpful. Listed in Italy
Cinque Terre -
Vernazza - Francamaria Rooms - We stayed here in June 2010. I can't remember the rates. Some steps but not too many. I think they reopened following the floods.
Monterosso - Il Timone Loreto - We stayed here in June 2013, also. Located in the "old town" near the post office. We paid 90 euro per night for a double. The family owns several rooms all on the same floor of an apartment building, so you would probably have no trouble finding room for 3.
Manarola - This summer I will stay in the Hostel in Manarola - no reviews yet! :)
Florence - Hostel Archi Rossi - We stayed in a private room in the "Annex". There were lots of steps but well worth it! This was in 2010, too, so I do not remember the rates.
Rome - The Beehive - In June 2010, we stayed in a dorm, but they also have private rooms. This place books very quickly, so make reservations early. This is a Cross-Pollinate property mentioned by Claire in a previous post.
Montepulciano - Palazzo Bellarmino - We rented an apartment here in June 2010. It was plenty big for 3.
Have a great trip!
Sharon
I stayed in places from Rick's book last year.
Venice might be hard to stay around $150
In the Cinque Terra we stayed in Vernazza last year at La Marina Rooms. Cristian was real nice, gave us great recomendations of things to do, carried our luggage from the train station too. Our stay was 70 euro a night.
http://www.lamarinarooms.com/
in Montepulciano we stayed at Meuble Il Riccio. Our room was 100 euro a night. I'm actually booked here again for a trip over the summer. http://www.ilriccio.net/
Rome was a little more expensive but you can find rooms in your price range in Rome. We stayed near Termini at the Hotel Aberdeen. I've seen sevearl recomendations on this forum for Hotel Sonya too.
I used airbnb to book apts for 3 (me, hubby and my mom) for this coming Sept.
Our 5 night stay in Rome came to about $730 Canadian including all fees (he gave a 5% discount for 5 nights). Almost on the doorstep of the Coliseum...
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/2193487
Our 3 night stay in Venice, 5 min walk from the Rialto Bridge, came to $465
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/1683211
We wanted something with a bed (or sofa bed) separate from the main bedroom, since I don't think my mom wants to listen to us snore all night...lol. And I also wanted central, for ease of getting around. The two I picked all have good reviews as well. You can find cheaper if you stay a little out of the historical center...I've used airbnb for about a dozen stays over the last few years - everywhere from Boston to London to Paris, Florence, San Francisco, LA...I've been happy with my picks in most cases.
We used Arbaspaa to find a place in CT - we stayed in Corniglia, and I don't think the accom had room for 3, but Arbaspaa has plenty of options.
Oh...a few others on my wishlist on airbnb for Rome were...
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/855912
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/140801
These were the other 2 in my top 3 - same price range, same area, all with good reviews. I guess it depends on whether you mind sharing a bed with one of your friends (or if they mind sharing with each other).
My middle 3 (I had 8 picked out)...all within the same budget of $750-850 for 5 nights
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/1997282
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/408919
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/577393
in the CT region, try this place in Vernazza::
Venere.com and booking.com pretty much have the same rates and rooms available. Venere may seem cheaper only because it does not factor in the taxes in the quoted price like booking.com does. The taxes may show up at checkout. So, I just use booking.com. Hotels.com is worth checking out as well. Venice - checkout hotel Tivoli near San Toma for a basic clean room.
I forgot. Here's two other possibilities. Rome - flamini domus charming suites near campo de fiori.
Montepulciano - casa lavona - vrbo (I personally know the owner and she's great!)
