How we did it: Rome to Venice
Grand Canal, Venice, Italy Venice is about 3.5 hours by high-speed rail from Rome. Again I decided to have us take Italo since the coupo...
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| Grand Canal, Venice, Italy |
We arrived in the city around noon and were quickly taken in by the beauty. Our itinerary only gave us a day and a half in Venice so we purchased a 24-hour unlimited boat ticket. This allowed us to get to the hotel near Piazza San Marco without hauling our bag through the crowded streets and gave us the chance to see Venice the best way possible...by boat. I highly recommend just hopping the city boat to see the city. A local boat will allow you to really take it all in.
We also decided to take a free walking tour that discussed the extensive Venetian history. Venice is a maze of little alleys and streets. It is very easy to get turned around. The walking tour helped get us familiar with the pace of the city and how to spot landmarks, like churches.
Google Maps works wonders at getting you where you need to be. I would be doing you a disservice though if I didn’t tell you it’s also fun to get lost in Venice and experience the city...still you will need to find your way back at some point.
Although we had only a day and a half in Venice, I felt it was adequate. The city was too touristy for us and was lacking in the true Venetian culture. Our guide said the city was so expensive most Venetians have since moved to the mainland. The result is a lot of tourist shops and tourist restaurants.
That said, there are a lot of hotels here. We initially considered staying on the mainland and taking the train or bus into the city. Ultimately though we decided we wanted to stay near the water. I found very good deals in the off-season on Lido, which is accessed by boat. I booked a refundable reservation and continued to check prices until close to departure.
About a week before we left New York I found a Hotwire deal for a hotel near Piazza San Marco. I was able to apply a coupon to the rate and managed to snag the room at $41. When we arrived, the hotel told us we were actually staying in an annex building. My heart dropped because I had read horror stories about annex buildings being nothing like the hotel they booked.
A bellhop guided us a few blocks down the narrow streets of Venice to what looked like an office building. He took us up three flights of stairs, which led to several hotel rooms. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the view we had. It was a gorgeous room that overlooked the square. Well worth the $41 spent and hassle to go to/from the main hotel for breakfast.
I know his blog is all about telling you how to recreate these deals, but I’m not sure how we did it myself. Sometimes luck prevails.
