Trayle

I did not realise how hard it would be to find good, reasonably priced accommodation in Rome and Venice over the New Years period. 

The prices of one and two star hotels were the same as three or four star hotels elsewhere in Europe.

For several weeks, I combed the internet for information on good, cheap accommodation. A couple of times I found the websites of what I thought looked like nice little quaint hotels, but after reading reviews of these properties on TripAdvisor.com I found out that some of them were in dangerous neighborhoods or they had bed bugs or other things that could ruin a holiday.... Yuk!

Then, after much hair pulling, I discovered the joy of B&Bs! Through the accommodation site Venere.com, I found a lovely little B&B in the Vatican area of Rome called Il Tesoro ('The Treasure' in English). It is still reasonably expensive (110 Euros per night) but has fantastic reviews. This B&B is also situated right out the front of a Metro Station (Ottaviano) which makes it very convenient for sightseeing.

Also, through Venere.com, I found a cute little B&B in Venice called B&B Trinita for (100 Euros per night). It is situated close (5 mins walk) to Venezia S Lucia train station, so we don't have to lug our luggage far or catch the very expensive vaporettos (5 Euros per ride per person). This place also got reasonably good reviews, and there are no reports of bed bugs! (unlike many other B&Bs in the area).

I don't think these places are normally quite this expensive it's just that our travel dates coincide with New Year.

I encourage all of you travelers out there to do your research, read reviews and don't overlook B&Bs in your travel plans!