Italy

[Haley53]

I'm definitely keeping hostels in mind. To be honest, I think one of the main reasons I'd spring for a hotel is for the adult reason that we'd be alone... if you catch my drift. :P Seeing as he lives with his brother and last time I went lived with his mother and brother, I had to work on keeping hush hush. We spent a night in a hotel and that was mad fun because I didn't have to worry about noise!

And Joyce, what's considered a "lunch"? The boy says lunch there (Ireland) isn't very substantial. I'm from America, so I suppose we do everything bigger here. :P But I'm assuming since you mention Pizzeria, it's substantial enough? Also, I'll certainly let you know, though our plans likely won't be solidified until closer to summer.

Which I'm actually curious about... Booking in advance is something I'm keen on doing, but how much in advance would be good? I'll know whether or not I can swing it by June, for sure, but I'll have a pretty good idea by April or May. Would waiting until June be fine, or should I be nabbing things up a couple months earlier?

EDIT -- Lol, I forget I'm speaking to a male. I mentioned how here, lunch is typically thought of as something like a sandwich and soup or sandwich and salad and he said it's the same there. I find that substantial, I suppose he doesn't, but he says 18e for something like that is steep, so maybe you could give me an idea of what would be covered under that estimate? :P I'm expecting to spend more than he is, I think, simply because everything in Europe is so damn expensive compared to here with the conversion rate!

[Sierra]

I just want to plug for hostels. Sure there are some in bad neighborhoods and some that are dirty, but if you research properly, you won't end up in one. And this isn't exclusive to hostels, here in San Jose, there are plenty of high end hotels in real REAL bad areas. I think hostels are way better than hotels because they are much more personable, you meet more people, and of course they are cheaper. Plus, lots of hostels have guided tours or pub crawls for free. What better way to get to know the city than through beer goggles??

Though I do completely agree that spending all your time on a bus/train/plane is really not worth the $75 you'll save.

As someone who travels to Rome frequently, most of the hostels are in a bad neighborhood, especially for women. And I know this from experience and Romans. Hostels can be great, but for the price you pay for a hostel in the area, you can stay at a bed and breakfast as well. (Literally it was 10E more a night or my friend and I to stay at a NICE B&B instead of shady hostel where you can't walk around at night)

Although i'm in uni in england i may be around in italy at the time, so if you do end up in the north i'd be more than willing to show you around

---------- Post added at 09:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:10 PM ----------

oh and they speak english in verona, everytime my british relatives come over to italy, they wonder off alone in verona and have a lovely time. also, if you go have lunch in a pizzeria, lunch for two won't cost more than 18 euro

Also, they speak very little english, but some in Verona, however, it's nothing like being in Rome, Florence or Venice when it comes to english speaking people. I speak Italian and they yell at me all the time for not speaking it well enough. As a matter of fact, the last time I was there some old Italian lady went off on me in Italian and I just spat it right back at her lol. The guy behind us was cracking up, it was pretty funny.

18E for lunch will get you like a pizza, some water, what not at an actual restaurant you can find small places where you can grab a piece of pizza for cheaper on the streets. Italy is very expensive, my last trip I budgeted 30E for dinner for me ALONE and I'm glad I did.


I also want to add, ALWAYS over budget, if you don't, you'll be sorry, but you'll never be sorry if you don't run out of money.

[Haley53]

I tend to leave a good window when it comes to overestimating the budget. I always round up and by a good amount. I prefer to overestimate than underestimate... I shouldn't run out of money though. The worst that would happen is I'd have to dip into my savings, which wouldn't be ideal, but money's not going to be a problem.

Thank you for your tips, though, they help. I'll likely be PMing you, as I said. Been looking more into Verona and it's absolutely lovely, though I have to say, what part of Italy isn't? I remember I fell in love with it when one of my mother's client's families went; their pictures were absolutely stunning, even though I can't remember where they went! Ever since it's been on my must-go list, and when someone posted that thread about cheap within Europe flights, I thought what better way to do it than to go with the boy?

[Sierra]

I've had friends run out of money in Italy and LUCKILY they ran into some family friends who gave them $500 and bought them dinner lol. Verona is north of Venice. It's sooooooooooooo beautiful there. I have some pictures of Verona that are on my FB

[Haley53]

I'll have to go stalk you and look.

[Sierra]

Eh looking at it now I didn't post many, but I have a ton I can share with you.

[Haley53]

I noticed that. D: But please do! I would love to see them.

[lucybelle]

Also, I'm a huge fan of Lonely Planet. Not so much their books now (recently they have started catering to wealthier travelers and not "backpackers") but the forum Thorn Tree Forum has a whole bunch of very knowledgeable people. They can be kind of harsh and smug at times, but you'll usually get your question answered. Here's someone who had a similar question: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntr...readID=1891936

Of course, I believe if you go anywhere with the right attitude, you'll have a blast regardless!!

[Sierra]

Here are my pictures from my last trip to Italy. We'll start in Rome... [sorry for the picture quality, I took these with my not good camera]












Oh this is going to have to be two posts ...

[Sierra]

And bah, I just don't have that many pictures uploaded because I've been so many times, but here are some of Verona that really show you nothing.





So lame! That's all I have. But Verona is a very romantic city. It's a nice place to go, hang out, and get a real taste of Italian culture. I LOVE Verona.

[Haley53]

So, so, so pretty. <3 Every time I see pictures I think I fall more and more in love!

@lucybelle - I agree about going in with the right attitude. Thank you for the forum link.

[Sierra]

I think Italy is the best place in the world. My boyfriend and I are saving up for a trip ourselves.

[Haley53]

Ooh, lovely. I'm sure you'll both have an amazing time.

[mllebamako]

I also second the recommendation for the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum. If you ARE going to get a book, I recommend the "Let's Go" guides. They are on the budget side and I've always liked their recommendations for hotels/restaurants plus they have some off-the-beaten-path ideas which I've appreciated. Here is their website, which has some stuff (there is much more in the books though).

When I went to Italy with my brother, we went to the Cinque Terre for 3 days and Rome for 3 days. For us, that worked well since we were flying out of Rome.

Good luck!

[Dziubka]

I haven't read all of the replies but if you fly to Pisa, you might consider Florence instead of Rome.

It's closer (I think it was not even an hour by train) and it's sooo beautiful.