Planning a trip to venice... help!?

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JESS

Hi! I had lived near Venice since last year so I think you should stay in Venice and see the Veneto region which is very beautiful.
Verona, Vicenza, Treviso and Castelfranco Veneto are wonderful cities to visit and the restaurants and pizzerias are really good there.
The train fares are reasonable so it's quite easy to travel (20km = Euro 1.70).
If you have the chance visit Grado, Aquileia and Trieste (in Friuli region) which are 2hours from Venice.

You should have 200-300 Euros for extra spending and dining out is not really expensive. A pizza or a pasta costs about 7 or 8Euros and the quality is VERY good but remember that in a restaurant you always pay the "coperto" which is bread on the table and service (normally it's about 1E).
Agriturismi (restaurants which serve home made products) are a bit more expensive but the food is exceptional (20/25Euros per person).
Regional foods are Treviso radicchio(a lettuce) that is used in risotto , pasta and lasagne, "polenta gialla" which usually is served with meat and "polenta bianca" with fish.

A good deal for 10nights of hotel fare is 40/50Euros per night per person.(including breakfast and sometimes a meal)
In Italy you don't pay for the room but for how many people there are in the room, so keep attention.
However, you may find better deals if you don't stay in Venice. Hotels in Treviso (25min by train) or Mestre(10min by train) may have better prices.

Always remember that criminality is high but if you keep attention it will be fine. Veneto (Venice's region) is quite safe compared to Southern Italy and I'm sure you and your family will enjoy yourselves.
I'm going back to Castelfranco Veneto for Christmas... it's a pity that the euro-AUSdollar exchange is so bad at the moment!

Jackie W

I travel to Italy frequently and here is what I think:

1. 10 days is too much to spend in Venice. I love Venice, but I think 4 or 5 days is enough time. While you are in Venice you can take some day trips to Verona, Ravenna or Padova. I would spend half my time in Venice and half in either Florence or Rome.
2. I only take enough cash to last me for one or two days and then rely on ATM's. I have never had a problem finding an ATM (bancomat) in Italy. I have found that credit cards are not accepted in many small hotels and restaurants so I always make sure I have some cash on hand.
3. You can spend as much as you want on dinner. Venice tends to be more expensive than most places in Italy but you can still find inexpensive meals such as pasta, pizza and panini's. If you are watching your money, be careful. If you sit at one of the cafe's in Piazza San Marco they will charge you just to sit there.
4. Again you can spend what you want. There are some good family run B & B's that are less than 100 Euros, but most hotels will cost more. In general, I avoid hotels that are too close to train stations because they feel unsafe especially for women travelers. The last time I was in Venice with 2 friends we rented an apartment and it worked out great. Since you have three people you should look into that. We rented a cell phone in the US that we used to call the apartment rental office when we were close to arriving at the train station. They met us at the Rialto Bridge and walked us to the apartment. We did manage to blow out the fuse within the first hour of arrival. That was a little bit of a challenge to get fixed since there was not a consierge to call. But they had given us an office number to call and we did (everyone in the office spoke passable English). They came out and fixed our fuse and we stopped using the dryer and started hanging our clothes on the clothes line which made us feel very Italian. We also saved money on food since we had a little kitchen and we had two bathrooms.

ignatz

If your planning check a lot of Euro and Italy and Venice sites. Do the homework, it will save you money.
Now, 1. Venice and Europe in general is expensive.
You almost have to stay in Venice due to it's unique location. Try to get best deal you can early, on line for hotel.
Venice is good for 2 to 3 days at most as it's small.
Florence is my most favorite city in the world. Go there at least 3/4 days.
Rome is also great for touring, but if time is short don't go. Rome is a week or more and in reality it would take a couple of months to really see Rome.
2. Bring enough money for hotels, travel and food. At least with 3 of you about $200 to 300 a DAY. You can save by staying in hostels and1 star hotels. Find out where the locals eat not the tourists. It's cheaper other than Venice, again due to it's location
For shopping other than Venice souvenirs, do it in Florence. Lots of shopping markets and always bargain. Chk sites out on this.
3. Only when you go where the other tourists all go. But it's still more in Europe as their money is worth more than ours.
The food is great.
4. In Venice probably for 3 around Euro 200/ 225. Florence Euro 120 to 150. If you go in the high season, end of May thru Oct, it costs more.
You say 10 days. I suggest 3 in Venice and 5 in Florence.
The other 2 will be travel time.
You can save on hotel costs by traveling on the train at night.
Extra: Hold on to your valuables and stay together. Women are prime targets for theft.

siamo qui a viverci

I just got back from Italy last week, and in fact went to Rome, Florence and Venice.
Venice is great but if you're trying to stray away from toursity areas Venice is the opposite. We only stayed there for 2 nights and I think that was probably enough. Make sure you get a chance to visit the islands of Murano and Burano. In the Piazza San Marco there are quite a few restaraunts which are the main places to eat, and are lovely with musicians playing, however, be prepared to pay a fair bit of extra money for being able to sit there. As it is forbidden to sit in St Mark's Square. In fact it is really difficult to find anywhere in Venice to sit. A good idea is to get a day ticket for the ferries where you can visit various different islands. You will find some really nice places if you just explore.
If you go to Florence, I can truly recommend where we stayed - Albergo Firenze. Quite basic, but is really right in the centre of Florence. You'll find it's very very close to the Duomo, Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio etc. Also, the city centre is not too large so a short walk can get you away from touristy areas to more local places.
Rome is also a fantastic city to explore..the previous answer is right. To fully explore Rome will take ages! It's such a large city, and there are so many different places to see.

Money for extra spending entirely depends on what you're planning on buying. If you want to shop in Italian shops with brands be prepared for a large expense. We saw for example boots for 630 euro in one shop!
But you can find good deals too. So clothes can range from around 20 - 700 euro. Just need to find the right places to shop I guess!
A recommended amount for a month for me was 1000 euro however I wasn't paying for most of the food costs.

Dining out can vary a fair bit. Bars/cafes sell foods like foccaccias and sandwiches, rolls for 3-5 euro
general restaraunts will cost 7-15 euro for a pizza or pasta
but of course the more central restaraunts are slightly more expensive..

I'm not too sure about hotel costs..sorry!

Hope this still helps :D

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