Brenda

My trip was wonderful. I flew out of Cincinnati into Fort Lauderdale. Let me start by telling
you, that I am what they call a budget traveler. To me, this means, I
save money on things like lodging and food, so I can explore more. I
dont mind staying in a 2 star hotel if it means I can shop more! :)
Some people call me cheap, some call me smart, but they all ask for
travel tips, no matter what.
Fort Lauderdale has a great public transportation system, so you dont
have to rent a car. If you visit in high season and are staying on
the beach, a car can be a nuisance with parking and traffic. I took
the number 1 bus to the main terminal and then the number 11 to the
beach. The bus dropped me off almost directly infront of the hotel. I
stayed at a hostel which was 2 blocks from the beach. You could hear
the waves behind us. The Deauville hostel is located on North Ocean
blvd and for the price, is a great place to stay. They have dorms or
private rooms. I stayed in a co-ed dorm the first two nights and the
girls dorm on my 3rd nite. My flight out got cancelled on Monday, so
I ended up back at the Deauville and this time I stayed in a private
room. The dorm rooms cost $22 a nite and the private room ran me $49.
Decent and cheap! Just what I like. You can get a all day pass on the
bus for $3 and ride all day or you can spend a little extra and ride
the water taxi. The water taxi cost $12 for an all day pass and the
scenery itself is the worth the price. You get to see the million
dollar homes built on the inter coastal. It is not a offical tour,
but the captain and his first mate give you the "low down" on what
they know. They even give some interesting facts about the huge
yachts anchored all over the harbor. They stop at all the major
tourist points along the beach and even have a stop that will put you
in the downtown shopping district. The beaches are beautiful and the
people are great. I didnt spend much time shopping on this trip. Most
of my time was spent either walking the beach or sitting next to the
pool at the hostel. Very relaxing. We ate at a couple of nice family
style places, one was called Julians on NE 32nd st. Great for
breakfast and you cant find a better price for any meal. My breakfast
cost less than 5 bucks there. Oceans grill is a great place, also
very reasonable. Located on N A1A, excellent food, friendly staff and
a great menu. A must see, if only for drinks and appetizers, is
Taverna Opa, a Greek restaraunt where they dance on the tables. I
have attached some links below. I hope you take a look!
http://www.opareservations.com/
http://www.watertaxi.com/FortLauderdale/FLLHome.Asp
http://www.sunny.org/static/index.cfm?contentID=3
http://www.deauvillehostel.com/index.html

First stop - Venice
I absolutely loved this city! Very laid back and the people are
wonderful. As soon as you step off the train, it's a whole different
world. Venice is a very calm and slow moving city. The locals are
friendly and more than willing to help when you get lost, and you
will get lost. It's no big deal, just keep walking. You will get
where you want to go eventually. The streets are crowed with tourist
as well as vendors, selling anything from Vino and Lemoncello to
fresh fruit and vegetables. There are bakeries and gift shops
everywhere. Pleanty of shops full of carnavale masks and Murano glass.
St.Marks square is beautiful and you can see some beautiful scenery
from the Campanile. We stayed at the Hotel Leonardo. Maria and the
rest of the staff are great! Clean rooms at a good price. They
provide breakfast in the morning. Not like what we eat in the states,
but good coffee and rolls. I had some of the best panini's in the
world during our visit. We stayed in Venice 3 nigths but could have
easily spent the whole trip there.

Next stop - Rome
We took the train back to Rome. Rome is very fast paced and crowded.
We arrived at the termini and decided to walk to hotel, which was
only a 5 minute walk. We stayed at the Andy and Lu bed and breakfast,
which is housed in a large building along with three other hotels.
They give you a ticket in the morning to have breakfast at the bar
downstairs. Good coffee and a selection of rolls and danish. The
hotel is clean and secure. The rooms are small but we slept well.
Once you get used to the noise from the street below, you sleep like
a baby. One warning about the hotel. No air conditioning, so I dont
suggest you stay there in the summer months. You will not need to
rent a car, transportation is one of the easiest parts of visiting
Rome. You have many options, bus, train, taxi, and walking. We
visited all the major attractions easily using our nike's and the bus
system. I had the best pizza I have ever tasted in my life at a
trattoria by the Vatican. I can honestly say, I had never really
tasted peperoni before that day. Make sure you visit the ancient city
and the as many museums as you can. Some of the art work you see will
stop you in your tracks.

Next stop - Naples and Capri
We took the train from Rome to Naples, so we could catch the ferry to
Capri. The countryside between is beautiful. When you arrive in
Naples, it's a short walk to the dock for the ferry. In this short
walk, you will encounter many street vendors and hustlers. By
hustlers, I mean people who are trying to sell you anything from a
watch to a laptop. There is a beautiful castle that sits across the
street from the port. Some great pics waiting to be taken. The ferry
to Capri took around 30 mins. It was a nice ride and you can go
outside to take pics. Capri cannot be describe in mere words. Breath
taking, unforgettable, and amazing come to mind. We visited the Blue
grotto and then took the stairs to the top and had a nice lunch. My
husband says he liked the panini in Capri the best, but in my opinion
we had the best gelato in Italy there. Capri like Venice is very laid
back and the people extremely friendly. I purchased some lemoncello
and creme of lemon, made right there on the island.

I hope I didnt rattle too much. Italy is hard to sum up in a few
words. Here is a link to my albumn. Hope you take time to look at my
pics.

http://picasaweb.google.com/msprettyky/Italy

Trin

We also buy lots of drinks at the grocery store and bring them with us to parks, movies, hikes, etc...it seems like the drinks alone will break the bank. We try anticipate thirst and hunger to avoid impulse buying of drinks, candy, etc.

This last trip we brought 2 ziplock baggies with ketchup,mayo,soy sauce,mustard,olive oil,bullion cubes, vac packed chicken,relish,dry soup mix,tea bags,sugar & creamers,crystal light,salt and pepper,rice and curry powder among other things I'm sure :*) the liquid samples are all under 3oz for airline approval.

With that we were able to create a fabulous chicken curry with rice and still had enough packets left over so we didn't have to buy full sizes of things we would only use once or twice!

I leave behind anything we don't use since it was mostly free anyway and the maids or the next occupants are welcome to anything we didn't consume.

I book car rentals far in advance and check prices frequently. I usually book and rebook an average of 4 times~ sometimes saving over $150 from my first reservation!

We have plenty more tips ~ let me get my thoughts together and post more later.

Keep 'em coming people! :*)

I can pass on one GEM of a site, that in the right situation can be a great source of cheap tickets (www.lastminute.com) their prices include air fare AND a car rental.