Anyone been to italy for a holiday?

Iv decided im going to Italy for a holiday this year sometime.

I just want to research a little first to give me a rough idea of how much its going to cost (im going with a mate..no kids no hubby! lol)....

so heres some questions ...

Where in italy did you go???
Did you like/love it??
Was it well worth it??
How much did it cost total for travel/activities/tours etc???
How much spending money is needed???
How long did you go for???
Where would you recomend going??
Was the language barrier much of an issue??

Anything else to add???

thanks

How exciting! Loved Venice! Its so co pletely different from here, amazing!
Languauge not an issue, but then it was our first time in a non-english speaking country so we went as part of a tour cos we were scared of the language thing,...but its well set up for tourists so it wont be a problem. We got brave after that and traveled to places off the tourist track and got on great!
Get yourself a lonely planet guide to Italy, excellent resource, and has some useful phrases in there too, as well as all info on accomadation, transport, food etc etc.
July/August will be the most expensive time to travel to that side of the world as its summer holiday season. Just before or after would be better.

Venice, Rome -colloseum, Verona- the balcony from Romeo and Juliet, Pompaii (spelling?),...man I wish I could go back!

Not sure which route or airline would be cheaper. Depends if u want stop overs and if u wanna go anywhere else before/after Italy.

Check this out- might give u ideas for where abouts u wanna go! Contiki trips in Italy

Edited by Kellz

i like the sound of this one....

tour package

Depends what u wanna do, and how long for. The accomadation is gonna be the most expensive thing, after flights. You could stay in a mix of diff types of accomadation to make it more affordable- like when u get there get a decent plave to have a good sleep and recover from the flight, then u might wanna stay in hostels etc for a while.

Where in italy did you go: Rome, Venice, Florence, Sorrento. Vatican City

Did you like/love it: LOVED all 5 places

Was it well worth it: Hell yes

How much did it cost total for travel/activities/tours: Can't remember now, it was 2003. We did it with Busabout. You can do it fairly cheaply if you want to as there are heaps of different accommodation options. We stayed at B&Bs

How much spending money is needed: As much as you can afford! Most tourist attractions cost money to get into so we ended up picking and choosing

How long did you go for??? We were in Italy for two weeks all up

Where would you recomend going?? Everywhere, particularly the Amalfi Coast (have you seen the Talented Mr Ripley?) and Florence

Was the language barrier much of an issue?? No, they mostly spoke English but it is fun giving Italian a go. They tended to laugh at me though and then ask me to speak in English

Hiya, I'm moving to Florence in July, so you could come visit me

Awesome, fantastic place - loved every moment!
Costs - probably atleast $2000 - $2500 for return flights depending on who you fly with.
I didn't need accomodation as was staying with DH so not too sure. Depends where you are going - He hired an old monastery to stay in for 5 weeks (in middle of winter) which cost quite a lot. We were roughly 45mins out of centre of Florence in the mountains. You can definetly find cheaper accomodation though.
Florence by far was my favourite city. You must visit the Uffizi - totally amazing! The Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coastline is a must-see! Do not by-pass it, it's amazing.

Didn't make it to Venice or Milan - DH hates the places so the bugger wouldn't take me!
Rome is great for the history - personally wouldn't stay there again though.

If you manage to get over to the islands - Sardegna is gorgeous, we are going there summer 2011 as DH has family there - it is beautiful!

Ummm, quite often most people that I come across say that the food in Italy is disappointing - they're talking rubbish! Or they ate at all the tourist spots - which generally aren't that great. So go where you see all the Italians - or better yet, ask the locals for recommendations!

Re language - I just smiled and nodded! hehe but generally in the cities you will find english speaking service staff/wait staff etc.. (or they will atleast understnad a little!) in the smaller towns not so much and in the tiny villages they will just look at you blankly if you speak any other language to them But overall everyone is friendly.. just get a small language book, learn basic phrases and you'll be fine!

Food is relatively cheaper there - we could go to the local ristorante, have a decent meal and drinks for about 25-30 euro. The supermarkets are awesome too, great produce, meats, deli foods for fairly cheap prices. (much cheaper than here for the same sorts of food).
Pizzeria Pizza ranges from 3euro to about 7euro (well in town DH lives in anyway). The city prices are likely to be more expensive.

Montalcino in southern Tuscany is awesome - great wine country and Siena on the way (coming from Florence). Some people don't like Siena but I loved it - pretty wee city.

I'll probably think of more, but I'm stumped at the moment! Feel free to ask me any questions though

Wow, a monastery in Florence!!

Have to agree with your DH, I don't like Milan or Venice either.

Hi
I've been to Italy a few times but was travelling on pounds so it's hard to say how much it would be on NZ$. Rome and the Cinque Terre were my favourites. Venice is a must - who knows how much longer it will be around :-( It is a wonderful country to visit and of course the food is fantastic.
Language wasn't an issue as most places are geared for tourists. Late September is a nice time to go as the UK and US tourists have gone and it's a bit cooler.
We travelled by bus or train all over the country and much of the train travel I booked online to ensure I secured seats (they will sell tickets for a full train so you have to stand or sit on the floor). I also booked accommodation ahead during peak season mostly using www.venere.com
Ahh I wish I was going!!

Edited by jessiesmum

Awesome place, we did Itlay as part of a world trip..... Flew from London to Rome, took the train the the coast and when on a 7 night cruise (stop at 7 ports outside of Italy) came back to same port, took train to Florence, Pisa and Venice. Flew from Venice back to London.     DH organised everything and we foudnt eh trains the easiest and cheapest way to travel. It was quite exciting being independent and we never found any issues getting stuck anywhere or with language. There are plenty of free things to do if you don't mind walking in all fo those cities and you can eat pretty cheaply (think Pizza and Salad on side of the street) if you stay away from the central squares etc...AND STAND up in cafes or else you get charged more.     The most expensive thing we did foodwise was have a hot choc in Florence square... I think it was 7 euros each or somthing.

Just thinking about it makes me want to go back...