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[kwtraveler]

This will be my first time to italy ,iam going with my kids, my question , i am not planning to stay in major cities i will take the back roads of italy and i need some info regarding accomodations in small towns , is it possilble or available to find rooms in these towns ? It does not matter to me how many stars just a bed to sleep and shower, and moving on in the morning to the next point, this is my plan for this trip, i am realy sick of big cities and trafic , i will take my chances any way but if any one can help with info i would be thankful, and every one else could find this useful to , this trip will take 14 days multiply it with how many towns and cities inbetween italy and switzerland and around 2000 km , and you know why i need this info.

[angandjen]

Just a few questions to help with answering your question re: small towns in Italy and accomadation

1. What city(ies) are you flying in and out of?
2. Do you have a start and end point that you are already considering because without knowing what area you are interested in it makes it difficult.

One idea might be Padova (Padua) which is a smaller town about 45 minutes by train from Venice. It is quiet but there is a wonderful hotel called Belludi 47 (best hotel on the entire trip) on the same street as St. Anthony's bailica. Padova has some beautiful canals to walk along, Galileo worked at the beautiful University in the late 1500's, there is a wonderful botanical gardens and just overall it's a lovely town. We checked out the town but also went into Venice occasionally but could come back to quiet when the craziness got to be too much.

Another idea is Varenna on Lake Como - a most beautiful, tiny little town with access to Bellagio and other cities but super quiet with hardly any tourists. We stayed in the Orange House bed and breakfast. The B & B was lovely but you do have to book ahead as it is a Rick Steeves suggested place to stay so very busy (not the city/town though).

Another thought is to check out Agriturismo sites. They are farms run by families and you can stay at them either by paying or sometimes by working on the farm. One of the webistes you can check out is: www.agriturismo.it/en/ They usually serve food as well.

Anyway without further info that's all I can think of.

[kwtraveler]

First i would like to thank you very much for your intrest in my post, I am planning a travel plan that starts from Milan heading north to swizerland ( davos, luzern,interlaken) then south to west of italy then south to rome, then back north to milan , inbetween these places how to get an over night rooms ? Is there signs or just i have to ask around ? And in emirgency i will look for hotels , money is not the issue just i like adventures i want to change my routine life style for two weeks i want fun stories to tell my family and friends , i have avery good backup regarding financing this trip just the adventure that iam looking for .

[angandjen]

First i would like to thank you very much for your intrest in my post, I am planning a travel plan that starts from Milan heading north to swizerland ( davos, luzern,interlaken) then south to west of italy then south to rome, then back north to milan , inbetween these places how to get an over night rooms ? Is there signs or just i have to ask around ? And in emirgency i will look for hotels , money is not the issue just i like adventures i want to change my routine life style for two weeks i want fun stories to tell my family and friends , i have avery good backup regarding financing this trip just the adventure that iam looking for .

I'm not sure how most people get overnight rooms but I personally usually check on the internet before I leave or a coupld of days before I arrive somewhere. For example while in Bern Switzerland on my way to Milan and Venice I went to an internet cafe and did searches online for vacancies as well as checking tripadvisor to see whether there were any suggested places to stay. I would than e-mail the hotels or b & b's and see if they had availability. I only had one issue in five weeks and it the issue only involved moving on the last night to a different place. Another option is to stop at information offices (train stations often have them) and have them provide lists of b & b's with phone numbers. I'm not sure about seeing signs while you are driving. Trip advisor really has great information (www.tripadvisor.com) on many many cities and their hotels and b & b's and you could get the info for them as options before you leave.

If you are going to Milan I highly reccommend Lake Como which is only about an hour away and is beautiful. There are tons of little towns all along the lake that you can take a passenger ferry too so you can base yourself in one town and check out many more during the day.

Rome is amazing. The Coliseum, The Panteon, The Vatican and throwing your coins in the Trevi fountain were my hightlights.

Have fun