I am taking my family of five, including three teens, on an adventure this summer, and I am looking for recommendations of less expensive (but not hostel) accommodations. We will be in Venice for three days, Rome for three, and Cinque Terra for four. So a weekly rental is not possible.
Any suggestions?
Many thanks, Allan
[title spelling corrected]
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Colleen,
Posts: 3 | Location: Southeast US | Registered: 22 May 2006
For Pet's sake slow down. You will only scratch the surface ,and miss the best bits.Smell the flowers, have a coffe ,and watch the flow,so will at least know to returne for 2/3 months
An old traveler
Posts: 159 | Location: Wodonga Australia | Registered: 15 April 2006
My wife and I have been to Italy a couple of times. Last year we went to Rome and stayed there for 5-6 days and it is an amazing city. I have posted a trip report on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy.htm . Maybe you can find some useful info there. We stayed at a 3 star hotel near Termini and we didn't have any problems with the area even if it has a bit of a bad reputation.
Just because you're staying for 3 days doesn't mean a rental isn't an option. It's true that most places like to rent out full weeks, but in large cities like Rome and Venice this is up for negotiation. If you see something you like that says weekly, call and ask. Even if it's the same rate as a hotel, you can save more money by cooking on your own.
Also, I too would recommend reconsidering the time you're spending... 3 days each in Venice and Rome? Not enough time, not enough time at all...
Your trip will be a blast! I'm also traveling with my family that includes 2 teenagers. And also hitting Venice and Cinque. And also, we are not traveling as per the "Slow Traveler Philosophy"- Venice, Cinque, N.Tuscany, Umbria in two weeks and then Croatia for a week. (Oh, I just know you dyed in the wool slow travelers are cringing!)
Venice is ~tough to find a nice hotel without paying a bunch- we splurge here and go to Ca' San Polo. We stayed there two years ago and loved it. IMO Venice is not the place to try and save money, rather it is a place where you should say "you only live once" while you are working on that second bottle of Amarone.
Cinque Terre- Rick Steves has (over)popularized the Cinque with Americans. If you go over to his site http://www.ricksteves.com/ and put Vernazza or Cinque in the search box, you will come up with lots of leads for rooms and hotels. We have a reservation for the Francamaria Rooms in Vernazza.
You should consider either Lerici or Portovenere for your stay in the CT area. They are both very charming seaside villages with beaches and/or beach clubs, nice restaurants, fun to explore and have to offer (IMO) than the CT. Besides that, you can easily reach the CT by boat from either.
We took Megan's advice for our trip last month and stayed in Lerici, took the ferry to the CT - it was the mpost amazing boat trip, to come around from Portovenere and see the villages from the sea. And we thoroughly enjoyed Lerici as well; our college-age daughter thinks she would like to live there some day.
Consider shortening your time in Venice and adding on elsewhere, you might be able to find a less expensive place to stay. I would vote Rome- You could spend a week just there. Depending on the age of your teens and family interests, there is so much to see, much to eat, and much to do. It is impossible to see and do it ALL in one trip...that is why we are blessed with a lifetime of moments. Why else do we all throw the coin in the fountain??
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