This website is recommended for English-speaking travelers by HotelsAbroad.com
This site was established initially for those who have saved up to splurge or who have decided
to
make their next trip a treat. The hotels recommended cover a variety of
costs, with links to help you find rates. Most of the recommended
restaurants are expensive.
THE
EURO
When this site began in 2000, the euro traded at $.87; this week
(09/09/08) it is trading at $1.60, making Italy, and all of Europe, over twice as
expensive as it was back then, when inflation is factored in.
In order to keep our recommendations accurate, we check all prices and their
equivalent in dollars every three months.
BUT DON'T DESPAIR
IF YOU'RE ON A LIMITED BUDGET
WE'VE HELPED LOTS OF PEOPLE MAKE THEIR DOLLAR STRETCH.
There is now a special page, Budget Travel, with
links to the
Italian railroad system and sites that give you hotel options from
under 100 euros a night to 3,000 euros! (in case you're actually a
celebrity whose people stumbled on this site by mistake)
The guidebooks and links we recommend (Books and Links)
will also lead you to less expensive lodging and dining in the
cities
and areas we cover.
In addition, Itinerary #1
features a number of wonderful sea and lakeside
hotels and inns with prices below 200 Euros a night.
And you can always contact us with specific questions/pleas/entreaties.
(See Contact Us! below - but keep in mind, we aren't travel agents; we
support the website - and our trips to Italy - ourselves, because
we want everyone to go at least once in his or her life.)
Everything you need to know -
almost - from Italian phrases to where to eat, sleep, and shop.
Whether it's the Amalfi Coast, Venice, Rome, or the countryside, we think
you'll find this site useful in planning your first - or tenth - trip.
There are no ads on this non-commercial site---it's just the
recommendations of two Americans who love Italy and encourage you to travel
there.
CITIES
AND REGIONS COVERED:
Amalfi Coast, Camogli, Capri, Domodossola, Fiumicino,
Florence, Lake Lugano, Piemonte, Pompeii, Porto San Stefano, Ravello, Rome, Tuscany, and Venice
LINKS TO USEFUL WEBSITES OF HIGHWAY MILEAGES, EXCHANGE RATES, FREE TRANSLATIONS, UP-TO-DATE WEATHER, TRAVEL BOOKS, AND MORE
These
recommendations are based on our
experiences in fall, spring, and summer in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2005 with
prices quoted adjusted for March, 2008, plus the experiences of friends and family, and the recommendations of our Italian
friends. We think these pages will save you time and trouble during your
next trip to Italy.
--Kaye and Russell
Cooper-Mead
If you are using a dial-up Internet connection, several of the pages will take a while to load. Thanks for being patient. We didn't want to have a site that was all print.
If you have comments or anecdotes you'd like to add, or questions, click on the Contact Us! link below.
