Places to Stay for your Italy Vacation When you travel to Italy you can be rest assured that accommodations will not be a problem. Remember that this is one of the biggest tourist destinations of the world so there is a healthy helping of hotels, villas, inns, and bed and breakfasts to choose from. You may be on a budget, you may want to live in luxury, you may want to experience Italy in the home of an Italian or you may be travelling in a group and prefer to stay at a place that can accommodate everyone. All the largest international hotels chains have a place in Italy so if that is what you prefer then there will be plenty of choices for that especially in Rome. During your vacation to Italy you will find that there is something to suit everyone's needs. However to completely experience Italy on your vacation it is recommended that you stay at a small bed and breakfast if you can. Most of these are family run and you will hear all kinds of stories, folklore and little known facts that may not be in any of the guide books you may have with you on your Italy vacation. Some of the bed and breakfasts will even offer you a price to include a roundtrip ticket from London. If you are travelling in style and you are visiting Venice, you may want to consider staying at the Novecento Boutique Hotel. It is a chic bed and breakfast that is family run and offers luxurious accommodations. 30 minutes from the airport and offering free internet services, this hotel is modern but still maintains the old Venetian feel to it that will be appreciated by even the most discerning visitors. It is very close to many of Venice's main attractions and with only 9 rooms, it is most suited to smaller groups or pairs. Most of the rooms have antiques collected by the owners through their own world travels and the bathrooms are especially large. The food here is said to be excellent and this boutique hotel is noted for its peaceful setting even for being as close as it is to all the action in Venice. This is the perfect place to stay if you are in Venice for your Italy vacation. If you are visiting Florence, you should consider staying at a place called The Artist's Residence. Florence is the seat of Italy's artistic soul and this bed and breakfast is the perfect place to experience the renaissance. It is in the middle of old Florence and is furnished with 19th century sculptures created by Giovanni Dupre. The present owners of the bed and breakfast are his descendants. You will find original florentino tiled floors and even the bar counter was a confessional from 1500AD. Some bedrooms have terraces and you may be able to see the courtyard gardens from your terrace. Breakfast here is also said to be excellent and there are numerous restaurants close by to choose from for your other meals. There are 45 air-conditioned rooms here and also a gym and a solarium. This hotel also provides access to the internet if you cannot go without it on your Italy vacation. Transportation for Your Italy Vacation When most people travel, transportation is a primary concern. How do you get from the airport to your hotel? How do you see all the sights that Italy has to offer? What if you are travelling in a large group? What about public transportation? On your Italy vacation there are several options for transportation. Many international flights arrive in Rome so in planning your transportation needs you need to start from there. When you arrive at the airport you can rent a car from one of the several car rental companies. In addition to local companies there are the international names such as Hertz and Enterprise Rent-A-Car so you should be able to reserve your vehicle online in advance and have it waiting for you at the airport. There are 2 airports in Rome and they are called the Fiumicino and the Ciampino Airports. Buses and shuttles depart from the airports' arrivals areas about every hour and can take you to the Termini Station which is the central train station. From there you should be able to connect to all other parts of Italy. Public transportation although it requires some advance planning, is always the cheapest option for your Italy vacation. You may also want to learn some Italian words in case you get lost and need directions or need help. If your hotel is near the airport or is in Rome, you may also consider taking a cab. They are known as "taxis" here and most drivers speak English and can even serve as your tour guide if you choose. You may take a taxi out of Rome if your Italian vacation is starting outside the city. If your budget allows there are limo services at the airports that can serve your transportation needs when you arrive. If you are travelling in a large group you probably want to rent a van at least to get to your hotel from the airport. After that you can plan to join a guided tour as a group but its best to reserve tickets or space in advance if you want your group to stay together. To see all the sights that Italy has to offer, you will do best by signing up for a guided tour. With very knowledgeable and friendly tour guides, your Italian vacation can be greatly enhanced by choosing this option. There are walking tours, full day tours and night tours, budget tours and luxury tours. If you are in Italy for a very specific sight you would probably want to do a walking tour. The tour guides on those tours give a more detailed presentation as you walk through the sight and some of them know little-known facts that are hard to find or read anywhere else. Non-Italian speakers will be happy to that the tour guides speak English. Also becoming famous are "transportation-included" visits to Italy. For your Italy vacation you may choose to visit a small village if you want to see Italy without the crowds. Many inns and bed and breakfasts provide options that include transportation around the village. Villas are becoming an important part of planning for a vacation in Italy. In Roman culture a villa used to be a luxurious country house built by a member of the upper class as a second or third residence. It was not the main place of residence and city folks usually had 2 villas. One of the 2 villas could be easily reached from Rome if needed and the other was seasonally used and had servants permanently there to run it. After the nineteenth century, villas came to be used in reference to any type of single detached house that stood on its own with its own compound and unattached to any other homes or buildings. As with all the architecture in Rome there are some famous villas that you could visit during your Italy vacation. But villas are also now rented by tourists all over Italy. Villas allow the privacy you may want away from the crowds during your Italy vacation and also allow you to cook and enjoy fresh locally grown Italian produce. Most villas are also close enough to shops and restaurants that if you choose to immerse yourself back into the hustle and bustle with everyone else, nothing is still too far away. Today visitors to the Tuscany region will find a wide selection of villas to choose from if they prefer this option for their accommodations. Salogi Villas offers villas and farmhouses for rent. They have villas in Tuscany but also in Venice and are able to help you locate the perfect villa to suit your needs. Many people travelling in a large group take the villa option simply for the space and flexibility it offers. It can also turn out to be cheaper per person if your group stays in a villa rather than a hotel or even a bed and breakfast during your Italy vacation. Salogi Villas may be contacted through their website at www.salogivillas.com Another option for your group if you will be travelling in Italy is the Piemonte Villa. It is 2 hours away from Milan and one hour away from Torino. Now this villa has 3 bedrooms and 3 baths so its maximum capacity is 6 people. It is 200 years old and surrounded by over 3 hectares of land. It is close to a small village and is high up in the hills. This house it the perfect place to enjoy the landscape on your vacation to Italy due to its amazing views of the Alps if the weather is clear. There are several vineyards you can visit in the area and great places to see. If you are concerned about having some kind of a modern feel to your stay here you may be happy to know that this villa was completely rehabbed this year. All bathrooms, electrical and plumbing systems are new and the management here has succeeded in combining modern conveniences such as high speed internet with furnishings true to this villa's history as an old farmhouse. The kitchen is also fully updated with everything you may need and they even have 2 extra bedrooms available if you must bring a larger group. |
