Verona

First, the RS Italy book is worth its weight in gold for precisely these kinds of questions. If you don't have it yet, I highly recommend it. It will be the best money you spend on your vacation. Second, when asking a budget-related question, you'll get much better results if you mention specific dollars or euro amounts. Happy travels.

Thanks Michael. I have some of RS books. I know Europe through the Back Door is one of them. As for budget, I am hoping no more then $40 per night. I am also finding it is more difficult to get from Venice to Verona and then onto Florence then it would be if I just went skipped Verona and went to Bologna instead.

$40 is only €26. I'm sorry I can't help. I can't imagine anywhere in northern urban Italy for that price. Have you found a place in Venice for that price?

Yeah all the places I have found for my itinerary have been under $40. I don't plan on staying in hotels but hostels. Am staying in the private triple ensuite with a couple friends of mine.

We loved Verona but it's definitely not a daytrip from Venice. Transportation would take most of your day. We stayed at the Villa Francescotti, a hostel walking distance from the center. It wasn't our favorite, the staff were fine but the place is somewhat dilapidated and the water pressure for the showers was lacking. On the plus side they have gardens and some free parking available. I would stay there again but I'm not sure my wife would. I suggest tripadvisor.com for lodging ideas, reviews and prices.

According to our RS book, Verona is only 1.5 hours away from Venice. We are planning on taking a day trip in July. Take a morning train, stay all day in Verona and come home on an evening train. It should be very easy.

We have done the day trip by train the other way round (Verona - Venice) and it was easy enough to do.

Verona is lovely, evenings too. It is certainly worth 2 days. Take a look at hostelworld.com I don''t know what your dates are, but they certainly list properties in your price range. However, if you are going during opera season, that may boost the price and/or make availability harder to get - unless you book early.

You can easily do a day trip. The train station in Verona is a little bit of a hike to Piazza Bra, where the arena is, so you may want to take a bus or taxi there and then start walking. I think Via Mazzini is the street from the arena to PIazza Elbe, an ancient market square. The walk is full of high end stores and other shopping as well. I would plan to spend at least four hours in the city. Don't miss touring the arena.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Decided to do a day trip from Venice to Verona. Did find that it is about an hour and a half each way. Plan to spend the day in Verona before heading back to Venice at night.

We just returned from Verona on Thursday. It's a quick bus ride from the train station into the city. You can purchase the bus ticket either on the bus or at the Tobacco Shop in the train station. The bus ticket is Euro 1.10 and it drops you off right across from Piazza Bra. The bus numbers that go into the city are 11, 12, or 13. Enjoy Verona! Rick's walking tour (in the Italy book) is a great way to see the main sites in the city.

I also did a day trip from Verona - Venice. Easy to do...

If you are on a tight budget, do take into account the cost of the train tickets to/from Venice/Verona.

As others have already said, Verona is an easy day trip from Venice. I did it and enjoyed it. If you like gardens, the Giusti Gardens are quite nice, but small. I went at high noon and enjoyed sitting in the shade listening to the crickets (or cicadas?); they were really loud since it was so hot (mid-July). It was a nice rest stop after visiting some of the major sites, although a bit of a detour from the main drag.