Backpacking through Italy in three weeks.?

Question

Hi. This is a loaded question but...

I am planning on backpacking through Italy for three weeks with my husband. We would like to skii in the Alps for two of those days, and try and see as much as possible in our short time there. What are the things we shouldn't miss. Are there any safe hostels? How cheap are the hotels/motels generally? How much should we expect to budget, and are there places we can lock are gear while we tour museums instead of lugging our backpacks around? And also, what are some key things I should know prior to going? Thank you so much for your help. Any tips or suggestions are greatly appreciated. :-)

Answer 1

Hostels are safe, despite what the movies Hostel and Hostel 2 might make you believe. Just watch out for potential theft.

When I toured Italy for three weeks in May, I stayed mainly with http://www.plusvillages.com and can hghly recommend their sites in Rom and Florence. Venice was ok too, but the noise from the airport nearby was annoying in the early evening (it was quiet in the night).

For a hostel you need to budget 10-25 EUR per night and person, for a hotel plan on 30-50 EUR per night and person just to get a place to sleep. As for daily overall budget, bring at least 50 EUR per day and person if you stay in hostels and 100 per day and person if you stay in the cheapest hotels.

You can easily see that over 3 weeks the savings of hostel vs. hotel becomes substantial. (Motels are almost non-existent in Europe.) For more privacy than in a hostel I really like taking a tent along and staying at camping sites (only sensible/possible during May, June, September and early October).

Getting around is best done by train.

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

The left-luggage at the train station is also the place to store your backpacks, unless you dump them off at the hostel before you go.

The museums you should not miss are the Vatican museum in Rome and the Uffizi Galleries in Florence. Buy your tickets for the Uffizi galleries in advance, or be prepared to wait in a very long line.

Best get a good guidebook (I liked the Lonely Planet Italy), it is impossible to tell you everthing you need here.

Answer 2

try http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g18776... for consumer reviews, prices & many different types of places to stay including inexpensive lodgings such as hostels.  you can do a price sort as well as type of lodging for the whole country.

hostels are ok for trying to save $$$ --you give up privacy & due to sleeping arrangements many times married couples are seperated.  yrs ago i stayed in a hostel in verona which was an old palace & still had some frescos on the walls/ceilings!!!!  

also try convents & monestaries which have central locations & many times incredible views!!!  the convent in san giamanano has million dollar views!!!

CONVENT ACCOMMODATIONS IN ITALY: convents that take paying guests in Rome, Assisi, Florence, San Gimingnano, San Giovanni Rotondo and Venice.

http://www.monasterystays.com/

Monastery Stays also lists monasteries and convents around Italy.

here's a convent in venice

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/hotels/rev...

most times you can store your baggage where you stay & pick it up later.  the train stations also have left luggage areas for storing.  it's very easy to get around & you will have a great time!!!

Answer 3

Best way, buy a bottle of Italian red and a guide book (Lonely Planet, Let's Go, Rough Guide) sit down and read.

Hostels are safe, it just sometimes depends, what area they are in, so you might watch out at night, walking to or from the hostel.

To find out about rates for hostels, hotels and else, try the following websites.

www.hostelz.com

www.hostelworld.com

there you find all you need. Price, if they have space on the date you want to stay there and you can book online your beds or room. I prefer to use hostelz.com, because it is the only website, which has online links to the hostel/hotel, so you can have a look at their site and see some photos.

leaving your backpacks anywhere during the day, all hostels and hotels, when you stay there or allready checked out, allow you to leave your stuff there, so you don't have to worry about it.

depending where you go, you should calculate on starting 40euro on a double room. in villages or small towns, rooms are cheaper, big cities and touristy places charge you more for staying at the hotel. also depends on the day of the week and season. weekends are more expensive. most hostel have private rooms, which is the cheapest way to get around.

budget roughly 40-60euro a day a person when you stay at hostels, 50-80euro at hotels.

it all depends where you go and how you are getting around.

trains are the best option, some regional busses are serving the region around towns and cities.

to be on the safe side, do yourself a big one, don't look to much like a tourist in the cities. plus, get traveler cheques for you trip. it is old times for some, but: if you have cash and credit cards stolen, the cash is gone forever, the cards take up to 4 days to be replaced, traveler ch. take just one hour.

big tourist trap here in italy!! when you buy a train ticket, you have to get it stamped at one of the small orange boxes befor you get on a train. if you don't, the conductor will fine you 25euro a ticket. most tourists do not know that, most signs are only in italian, so it is a big income for train italia.

enjoy you trip, have luck finding snow in the italian alps, because in 3 weeks might be not much snow around.