Hostels and/or cheaper hotels in Italy

My girlfriend and I will be travelling in Italy for 3 weeks this
August. We're looking for hostels, or cheaper hotels to stay in. We
only want to stay in places where we can have a private room with a
double bed. We're on a budget, so no frills places are fine, so long
as they're clean.

Can anyone recommend places like this to stay in the following cities?
Also, if you happen to know about how much they charge per night,
please mention it.

Rome
Naples
Florence
La Cinque Terre
Venice
Milan

Dave wrote:
My girlfriend and I will be travelling in Italy
for 3 weeks this August. We're looking for
hostels, or cheaper hotels to stay in.

Dave, you might get a few answers here but the best place for you to
post is on the 'Lonely Planet' message boards.
Their forum is mainly geared to backpackers and they're the experts on
hostels and budget hotels.
I don't have the URL but you'll find it on www.lonelyplanet.com it's
called the 'Thorn Tree' and you'll want the 'Western Europe' Branch.
Good-Luck & Regards, Walter



...And Paradise Was Lost...like teardrops in the rain...

I looked there, but there was a specific posting saying not to post
those types of questions, since they are the types of things you are
supposed to be looking up in guide books. Sheez. I just want to hear a
recommendation from an actual person who's stayed somewhere they
liked.

Thanks,
Dave

(Poetic Justice) wrote in message ...
Dave wrote:
My girlfriend and I will be travelling in Italy
for 3 weeks this August. We're looking for
hostels, or cheaper hotels to stay in.

Dave, you might get a few answers here but the best place for you to
post is on the 'Lonely Planet' message boards.
Their forum is mainly geared to backpackers and they're the experts on
hostels and budget hotels.
I don't have the URL but you'll find it on www.lonelyplanet.com it's
called the 'Thorn Tree' and you'll want the 'Western Europe' Branch.
Good-Luck & Regards, Walter



..And Paradise Was Lost...like teardrops in the rain...

(Dave) wrote in
om:

My girlfriend and I will be travelling in Italy for 3 weeks this
August. We're looking for hostels, or cheaper hotels to stay in.
We only want to stay in places where we can have a private room
with a double bed. We're on a budget, so no frills places are
fine, so long as they're clean.

Can anyone recommend places like this to stay in the following
cities? Also, if you happen to know about how much they charge per
night, please mention it.


The Italian hostels site is:
http://www.ostellionline.org/

the cost is usually around 15 euro per night with breakfast, they may
ask you a little more for a double room but usually it's less than 20
euro. If you don't have an YHF card you may pay a little surcharge (3-
4euro), if you plan to spend more than 4-5 night in hostels I think
that buying the card at the first hostel or in your country could be a
good idea.

I never found an hostel with double bed but, at least, you can join two
singles...

I've been in many hostels around europe and most of them are clean.

In Italy I've been in only 3 hostels and all were clean and well
managed.
I usually travel by car and prefer hostels located outside of big
cities, so the situation could be different if you go to a hostel in
the center of Rome, Milan or Naples.

August is high season in Italy, so the hostels could be a little
crowded, try to book it in advance if you've already planned your trip.

For places, I can suggest the youth hostel in Menaggio (on the lake of
Como) instead of Milan. From there you can reach Milan (1hr 30), Como
(30 min by road, maybe less by boat), Bellagio (by road or by boat) and
other nice places. Milan in August is very hot and being near the lake
(the YH is very close to the lake) is a very good thing
In Tuscany I've been in the youth hostel of Pruno (very nice small
village on the southmost part of the alps but also not so far from the
sea and from Lucca), but I think that it's not so simple to reach it
without a car (you can send an e-mail to the management, they're very
kind and I think they will try to help you if they can).
Another nice and not so expensive place in tuscany is the "centro
turistico s.martino" in san miniato:
http://www.comune.san-miniato.pi.it/...sanmartino.htm
It's not far from pisa, florence and siena and it's in the center of
the town of san miniato that is very nice.

In southern Italy you could try also campings (a small tent costs less
than a night in an hotel ).

If you need more information or translations from italian to my poor
english, let me know

Ciao
--
Valter Minute
(the reply address of this message is invalid)

On 20 May 2004 11:47:40 -0700, (Dave) wrote:

My girlfriend and I will be travelling in Italy for 3 weeks this
August. We're looking for hostels, or cheaper hotels to stay in. We
only want to stay in places where we can have a private room with a
double bed. We're on a budget, so no frills places are fine, so long
as they're clean.

Can anyone recommend places like this to stay in the following cities?
Also, if you happen to know about how much they charge per night,
please mention it.

I recommend that you get a budget guidebook, such as Let's Go, Italy.
I live in Italy and use Let's Go frequently for finding lodging. I've
found it very reliable. They have detailed information on the type of
room (single, double, triple, etc.) and the type of services (shared
bath, private bath with shower, private bath with tub, etc.) and
usually the prices are given separately for each type of room. Of
course, there may be last-minute changes in price, but Let's Go is
updated annually.

If you want a double bed, you have to ask for a "matrimoniale". In
Italy, double rooms usually have two single beds that can be pushed
together and made up as a double bed for those who want more
togetherness.

Rome
Naples
Florence
La Cinque Terre
Venice
Milan

Let's Go, Italy covers all of these areas quite well. Lonely Planet is
also not bad, but I find the detailed descriptions of the rooms and
prices in Let's Go to be more useful.

I'm not saying that Let's Go is the best overall tourism guidebook,
but for cheap lodgings, it can't be beat.
-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

On 20 May 2004 21:55:59 -0700, (Dave) wrote:

I looked there, but there was a specific posting saying not to post
those types of questions, since they are the types of things you are
supposed to be looking up in guide books. Sheez. I just want to hear a
recommendation from an actual person who's stayed somewhere they
liked.

It's unlikely that anyone has a recommendation in all the places you
mention. I can recommend either La Lunetta or the Arenula in Rome, but
they may be slightly above your price category.

You could also do a google search in the rec.travel.europe newsgroup
to find past recommendations. Try the keywords "cheap" "hotel" and a
city name, and search one at a time.

However, for a trip that goes to a number of places, I think it would
be more efficient to use a guidebook, as I mentioned in my other post.
-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

"B Vaughan" wrote in message
...
...I'm not saying that Let's Go is the best overall tourism
guidebook...

In your opinion, then, what is "the best overall tourism guidebook"
covering Italy?

On Fri, 21 May 2004 17:53:26 GMT, "Jim Campbell"
wrote:

"B Vaughan" wrote in message
.. .
...I'm not saying that Let's Go is the best overall tourism
guidebook...

In your opinion, then, what is "the best overall tourism guidebook"
covering Italy?

I don't have an overall favorite. Of guides widely available in
English, I would say that the Eyewitness is good for planning a trip,
because it has lots of pictures. It's a bit short on detail, however.
I like the Michelin Green Guides for covering the sights in cities.
However, it's short on pictures and is less useful for things such as
nature and cultural events. Let's Go is my favorite for lodgings, but
I go for the low end of the category. I often buy a local guide when
I'm in an area to get a more in-depth description. However, I never do
the "hit five cities in one week" kind of tourism in Italy; partly
because it's not my preferred style and partly because I live here and
can always see another place another time. If you're going to lots of
places, separate guide books for each one would weigh you down.

-----------
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

Dave wrote:
I looked there, but there was a specific
posting saying not to post those types of
questions, since they are the types of
things you are supposed to be looking up
in guide books. Sheez. I just want to hear
a recommendation from an actual person
who's stayed somewhere they liked.

Dave, at least 30% of the 'Lonely Planet Thorn Tree' posts mention
accommodations (camping, hostels, private rooms, hotels, apartments,
etc).
There is nothing in their 'Terms of Use' which forbids accommodation
postings.
Was that 'specific posting' possibly written by a troll? Or are you
possibly confusing the 'Thorn Tree' with the 'Frommer's Message Boards'
which actually does have that type of message at the top of their page?
Regards, Walter



...And Paradise Was Lost...like teardrops in the rain...

try www.hostelworld.com

a good booking service, i've used them a few times and been v happy.

paul roberts
http://www.globetrotters.co.uk