About to book this trip for late May, with a few days in Paris tacked on the end, since we’ll be in Europe anyway.
But, for example, there are seventeen choices for hotels in Rome, eleven in Florence, etc., enough to make one’s eyes glaze over...
Anyone booked this trip? Any recommendations for hotels? Thanks in advance!
I personally would not book through Costco travel. You are better off booking hotels and transportation on your own. Plus do you really want to travel by train in Italy? We have been traveling to Switzerland, Italy, France at least once a year for the past 27 years and I have been to Italy quite often on Business before retirement. I even proposed to my wife in Milan Italy during one of my business trips. Trains are not that great in Italy. They are late and often break down. Not to mention the labor disputes that can cancel service. You are much better off driving or flying with Easyjet between cities. As for hotels, the best one's in Italy are the business hotels just outside the city centers that have access to public transportation (if you aren't driving). As for some of the best places in Italy to visit:
1- Stresa and Borromeo islands in Northern Italy
2- Amalfi Coast / Salerno
3- Lake Como (Northern Italy)
4- Tuscany Region (Florence, Sienna, Pisa)
5- Rome
6- Venice
7- Adriatic Coast (Ancona, Rimini, Ricioni)
8- Napes area (Pozzuili, Pompei, Vesuvio)
Other places that are okay are:
Genoa, Livono, La Spezia, Milan, Bologna,
Italy has a lot of places to see and great food and wine. You are better off selecting a a region to visit and focus your visits in that region so you can enjoy the sites and cuisine the region has to offer.