A cheap, relaxing week in August in Italy

June 25, 2012 2:11 PM

I'm looking for a cheap, relaxing place to do very little (maybe sightsee a bit, eat, nap, take photos, etc), in northern Italy or Sicily, for a week in August (say, the 8th to the 15th). Total expenditure under €500 for the week would be awesome. Details within...

The week in question is at the end of a one-month period between the end of a job in one country and the start of a job in another without a home to head back to in between.

I'll be in Italy the week before (Venice and Florence at least, with some friends) and will be coming off a six-week job in the Middle East before leaving for a new job in East Asia around August 15-20.

Some useful information:

- I need a place where I can leave my things for a week - I have multiple bulky suitcases carrying a lot of vital stuff I cannot leave anywhere else or ship onwards
- Laundry included/easy/in the building would be great as I don't have that many clothes
- I'd love proximity to an airport that British Airways or Air Berlin fly to (this is most of Italy, happily)
- I wouldn't say no to a beach
- I wouldn't mind 40°C days but 25°-30°C days seem so much nicer, no?
- I can rent a (cheap!) car if necessary
- I'm happy to cook for myself
- I've got ancestral roots in Randazzo, near Catania in Sicily, and it'd be cool to see the town
- I'm happy with cities or middle-of-nowhere countryside!
- Couchsurfing seems like a lot for a week, especially as I've never hosted, and I'd worry about all my stuff.

Any ideas? Private rooms in hostels? Campsite cabin things? Dorms/monasteries? I'm really open to anything that is cheap and cheerful and has a lock on the door.

Specific recommendations like "stay at this place, here's their website" are very welcome! I need to have this sorted soon...

Thanks!

posted by mdonley to travel & transportation around Italy (2 answers total)

Oh, forgot to mention directly - I won't need to worry about flights.
posted by mdonley at 2:14 PM on June 25, 2012

I really loved the smaller cities of Northeastern Italy, like Verona and Trieste. Everything around Venice is pretty easily reached by train.

The Trieste train station has left luggage for a small fee, though I don't know if they'd store something for a week.

In Verona my friend and I rented a bedroom in a three bedroom apartment, sort of halfway between a hostel and a B&B. I don't remember the name of the place, but it's on hostelbookers.com. It was maybe 50 Euro/night, for the whole room.
posted by Sara C. at 3:02 PM on June 25, 2012