Lodging in Italy..?

Question

We'd like to go to Italy probably the florence/venice regions and we'd like to know whats the best lodging. Hotels, rent a villa/apt, hostel? We'd be on a tight budget and not spending much time in the room only to sleep and clean up. What would you suggest? Oh yeah, probably go in the winter season - jan or feb of next year.

Answer 1

we went in march two years ago and rented a villa as our base of operations.  this did require a rental car, but it made everything more accessible for us and we did things on our own time schedule not the train or buses.  depending on the time of year, villas can be very inexpensive. they also give you a chance to get more of the italian living feel and added privacy.  we stayed in an apartment on an olive orchard villa in umbria, outside spoleto.  the site we used to book was www.villavacations.com  great site and lots of options.  not every region has cheap rentals, so it may not even be an option for what you want to see.  

depending on how tight your budget is, you will probably want to do the hostels.  your money can be better spent on other things.  italy is not a cheap place!

Answer 2

Since you are going on the off season you should be able to get a pretty reasonable rate.  I was in Italy about a year ago, and I wish I had chosen to do things differently, especially if you are going to Florence and Venice.  They are pretty close together by train, maybe 1 hour.  

I will give you my interpretation and you can take it where you like.  Hostels will probably be the cheapest, but make sure you do some research first. Many are geared towards students and can be a little less attractive for adults and for the really cheap rates you may have to share a bathroom.  Others also have curfews. In Florence I stayed at the Hotel Meridiana.  It wasn't anything spectacular but a little less than 100 Euro a night.  One thing I can say is was in a residential neighborhood so we met a lot of locals that gave us a ton of information.  Villas will cost you a fortune.  Apartments are a good idea if you want to stay in one place for a week.  If you are planning on exploring Tuscany this is a great idea.  You really can see Venice in one day, it's really small.  Just jump on the train early in the AM and come home late.  The trains run pretty late and are easy to use.