Best place to price Italy vacations?

[pigletto]

I've decided that the next vacation we save for will be to Italy. It could be in a year.. maybe two. What I am looking to do now is start pricing online and get an idea of what I need to put away

I can fly out of Toronto or Buffalo. I haven't the first idea where to begin looking. I *think* I am looking for a vacation package. One that will include flight and hotel and some optional tours. I don't want to Cruise for this trip and I would like most of our time to be free to explore on our own but wouldn't mind a few day tours.

Does anyone have any experience at all where to begin to look? What the cheapest seasons to visit might be?

This is really just in the super early "Let's take a look and see" stage.

 

[a1tinkfans]

You can get a basic "idea" at Tour groups like trafalgar, Perillo, Disney Adventure.
I have had family use Perillo more than once and loved them, they are good quality hotels etc.
I have also had family that rented an apartment in the middle of Rome and used it as their "start" point where they ventured from. It was way less expensive to "rent" for a time period than to stay in hotels...they have shorter rentals as well (this was rented for one month).
Many go over in our summer where the Italians leave for their own vacations....yes this will cut some costs but also consider that the "feel" may be less (more touristy) and less hours/open places.
I can get the company used if interested, you can PM me.
Good Luck....Beautiful trip for sure.

 

[Fyrefly]

I've never been to Italy but I would start buy going to the library and taking out a bunch of travel books. Try to stay as current as you can, which can be tricky at a library but I'd say within 5 years would be pretty decent. If you like a type of book a lot you could by the up-to-date one. Library just saves $ by letting you put a lot of basic feelers out this early on.

Good for you for wanting to stick to day tours at most though. I would suggest looking at what's available in major cities in the books, and doing part of it on your own, maybe a tour if you are going someone that requires expertise. It would be so bad IMHO to do a tour of any European nation for the entire time, they just drag you into places and you "see" it, but you don't really SEE it, know what I mean?

You could price out what it would cost to stay in hotels for dummy dates, how much tours and admission to different sights are, a food budget based on what you read about restaurants, and a healthy bit on top for a rental car/gas. That should start giving you a good ballpark. Don't forget airline tickets!

 

[windycitymom]

I just saw that you don't want to cruise, but I have to say for others who are thinking about it, that we did a 12-day mediterranean cruise on the Carnival Freedom that was awesome! We flew in early to Rome, visited Florence, Naples/Pompei, Venice, and Sicily (home of the cannolli). Other ports included Barcelona, Spain; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and Cannes, France. We stayed a few extra days in Rome upon our return. It was great and we plan to do that again!

It was great to just unpack once and see so many cities in just 12 days. We took guided tours with English speaking guides in some of the cities. It was a great way to experience the culture. We found guides on the cruise forums. No worries about driving (they are nuts over there and there is no such thing as a red light!), no worries about the rooms (which can be small in Europe), no worries about dinner (on the ship) but we were able to eat lunch and usually we were taken to a great local diner where we could experience the ambience of the city instead of a tourist hang-out.

I've done Italy by car for 3 weeks before - but after doing a cruise, that is how we will travel from now on. Read alot of online travel forums to get tips.

 

[jedijill]

Rick Steves, Rick Steves, Rick Steves. I love his books. Get an idea of where you want to go and then price options. I flew on an open-jaw ticket...into Venice and out of Rome. Italy is easy to do on your own but there are lots of tours as well.

I researched hotels on Trip Advisor and Rick Steves.

Italy is wonderful!

Jill in CO

 

[Pakey]

We did 2 weeks in Italy on our own. I also recommend reading Rick Steves. We found Italy to be very easy to do on our own; do not decide on group touring until you do research.

 

[pigletto]

Thank you so much for all of your thoughts I am off to research Rick Steves. I love that I have a starting point!
I'd like to explain a little re: not wanting to cruise. I have been on quite a few cruises (albeit in the Carribbean) and LOVE them. I am just hoping to have more time to explore the few cities we plan to visit. My parents cruise overseas and that is their favorite way to travel. They however like to see a little bit of each city rather than what I am hoping to do, which is really explore 2 or 3 cities.

I did spend a summer in Italy with family when I was a teen.. and I am so excited at the thought of going back and exploring as an adult.

Not sure yet if it will be a one week trip and just my husband and I, or longer if possible and we would bring the kids. We don't like to leave them to vacation but they have awesome family who would love the time with them.
So many decisions!

 

[maggiew]

Rick Steves, Rick Steves, Rick Steves. I love his books. Get an idea of where you want to go and then price options. I flew on an open-jaw ticket...into Venice and out of Rome. Italy is easy to do on your own but there are lots of tours as well.

I researched hotels on Trip Advisor and Rick Steves.

Italy is wonderful!

Jill in CO

I was going to suggest Rick Steves too! I used his book for Paris and had a FABULOUS time!

Maggie

 

[morgan98]

My mother was born in Italy and I have been fortunate to travel there extensively for my whole life. My first trip was over 35 years ago. We are also going twice this year.

I think you could do it on your own. First of all, I think you need to narrow your focus. Are you big into art and museums? Do you want to see natural beauty to? Is it a lifelong dream to visit Rome or Venice? In my opinion, the first thing to do is to narrow down a few of these options.

Also determine when you would like to go. Unless you have to go in mid-June through end of August, I would avoid these times due to time and expense. April and May and the second half of September and all of October are fabulous times to visit, I think.

I would be happy to answer any more specific questions....

 

[wvjules]

I was going to suggest Rick Steves too! I used his book for Paris and had a FABULOUS time!

Maggie

We used Rick Steves for Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Loved, loved, loved his books and advice. His self-guided walking tours were awesome!

 

[CoP Luv]

I just saw that you don't want to cruise, but I have to say for others who are thinking about it, that we did a 12-day mediterranean cruise on the Carnival Freedom that was awesome! We flew in early to Rome, visited Florence, Naples/Pompei, Venice, and Sicily (home of the cannolli). Other ports included Barcelona, Spain; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and Cannes, France. We stayed a few extra days in Rome upon our return. It was great and we plan to do that again!

It was great to just unpack once and see so many cities in just 12 days. We took guided tours with English speaking guides in some of the cities. It was a great way to experience the culture. We found guides on the cruise forums.

We went on the same trip and loved it!!!

OP - I know you don't want to cruise, but I would still suggest looking at CruiseCritic.com (cruise message boards) to find local guides so you can do some tours.

Italy is a great place to travel!!!! Enjoy your planning!

 

[hambirg]

I was going to recommend Rick Steves too.

My ex-inlaws live in Germany and my MIL always says spring and fall are best for Italy. It's hot and crowded during the summer months. HTH

 

[Ava]

I'd also recommend doing Italy on your own. It's very easy to travel between the major cities by train (and you will see gorgeous countryside this way). I did Milan, Florence (with a side trip to Pisa), Rome & Venice by train as part of a 6-week trek through Europe post college graduation.

 

[Jax1023]

I would skip the tour and go on your own. I went to Italy this past October, and we spent 3500 total, for everything, food, airfare, hotels, sightseeing. A tour would have been 8-9 k easily.

As far as when, try traveling in the off season- November- April with the exception of Christmas and Easter time. Much much cheaper. Consider staying in bed and breakfasts instead of hotels, we found them to be much less expensive but still very nice.

We went to venice florence and rome and took a one day tour to tuscany. It was an amazing trip. Good luck with planning!

 

[beansmom]

i just took my first trip to italy. I planned everything myself using the forums at www.tripadvisor.com and things went very, very well. All told we spent about $3000 for two weeks.

I'm eager to go again.

 

[pigletto]

i just took my first trip to italy. I planned everything myself using the forums at www.tripadvisor.com and things went very, very well. All told we spent about $3000 for two weeks.

I'm eager to go again.

(That's my shocked face)

3000 for two weeks?! Did you swim there?
Wow.. I was thinking that for a week.. and likely closer to 4000 or 5000.

 

[mnasf]

We've religiously used Trip Advisor for Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Costa Rica. The advice is right on.

i just took my first trip to italy. I planned everything myself using the forums at www.tripadvisor.com and things went very, very well. All told we spent about $3000 for two weeks.

I'm eager to go again.

 

[stout]

I would also love to go back to Italy, but it is now much more expensive. In March 2005, DH and I found an awesome deal through Alitalia . . . round trip flight from Chicago to Florence, 4 nights hotel (very nice boutique hotel), breakfast each morning, and one day tour of Florence, for $499 per person! Oh, how I would love to discover a deal like that again!

 

[Nik's Mom]

i just took my first trip to italy. I planned everything myself using the forums at www.tripadvisor.com and things went very, very well. All told we spent about $3000 for two weeks.

I'm eager to go again.

Wow! Did that include hotel?

I love tripadvisor.com! I usually go to Hotels.com to find the cheapest hotel price, then head over to trip advisor to read the reviews. The forums also give loads of suggestions.