# Rent Apartment (Home) in Italy



## cp73 (Oct 22, 2013)

In planning for our trip to Italy we are now considering renting apts or homes rather than staying at Hotels. We are considering this because timeshares and all the space have spoiled us and we don't like the small size of hotel rooms. My question is have you done this and how was your experience? 

Also what site did you use and how comfortable were you with sending money to someone you dont know. Do any of the sites offer any kind of guarantee you wont get ripped off? Is there a good way to protect your self other than reading the reviews?

thanks


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## NKN (Oct 22, 2013)

Check out "Coach House Rentals" out of London.  They've been there for years. They have a new branch in Rome.  Haven't used them but rep is good.


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## PStreet1 (Oct 22, 2013)

We've rented from listings we found on www.vrbo.com and www.homeaway.com.

We used to rent a condo of ours that way, and I think the most important features are lots of pictures.  Most owners can easily send you more if you want to see more; I always figure if they are scammers, they don't have any more to send.  I exchange a number of emails with the owner asking about things in the area; again, I think you can tell a lot from the responses and just "how the owner seems."  I also get a phone number and "chat."  

I really think you can tell by contact with the owner what you are getting into.  If the listing has been on the site for any length of time, it's a genuine listing; had there been complaints, which there certainly would be if it isn't genuine, the site would have removed the listing.

Be prepared for having to pay one of two ways, neither of which may feel comfortable:
1.  a small deposit wired to the owner at the time of the reservation with the rest to be paid--in cash--when you arrive and meet the owner or his representative.
2.  all of the money up front.
3.  credit cards will probably not be accepted.

Most owners don't have any way to accept credit cards, and remember, unlike Hilton/Marriott/etc., they have no way to fill the vacancy if you don't show up.  By the time you cancel, they have probably turned away any potential renters and will be stuck with a loss if you are a no-show.  

I think you have to be comfortable with those policies (no credit cards and possibly no refunds) in order to feel o.k. about renting from a private person.  For us, it's definitely been worth it.


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## Chrisky (Oct 22, 2013)

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/listings/favorites.htm
the link above has excellent information on agencies that have been used by many people.  They also have a review section that can be very helpful.
I have rented an apartment in Paris from Paris Vacation apartments! and they are excellent.  This link is for their apartments in Italy. http://www.italybeautifulrentals.com/
they are a very reliable company and you can pay with your credit card.


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## Passepartout (Oct 22, 2013)

You might also consider www.untours.com as well. They have apartments all over Europe and rent for 1-to 2 weeks. I have not actually pulled the trigger on these, but it's been tempting.

Jim


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## PStreet1 (Oct 22, 2013)

Chrisky said:


> http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/listings/favorites.htm
> the link above has excellent information on agencies that have been used by many people.  They also have a review section that can be very helpful.
> I have rented an apartment in Paris from Paris Vacation apartments! and they are excellent.  This link is for their apartments in Italy. http://www.italybeautifulrentals.com/
> they are a very reliable company and you can pay with your credit card.



What great sites; I've added them to my "do not forget" list.


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## Laurie (Oct 22, 2013)

I used www.sleepinitaly.com for an apartment in Rome, I may have originally read about them on the slowtrav website.


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## Pompey Family (Oct 23, 2013)

We used homeaway to rent a house in Idaho this year and it worked very well, I'd have no problem using them again for somewhere in Europe or elsewhere.

I've also rented apartments in Budapest, Krakow, Tallinn and various other places throughout Europe using various agencies that are online.  You pay the agency and they make all the arrangements, I've never experienced any problems.


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## Quiet Pine (Oct 23, 2013)

Passepartout said:


> You might also consider www.untours.com as well.



I rented a house in France for a week from untours.com. I also rented an apartment in Sicily for a week from homelidays.com. Both transactions went well. The landlady in Sicily spoke only Italian and I speak none. All negotiations were in Italian and I ran the emails through google translate. 
A friend just returned from Paris and rented a place through airbnb.com. She was delighted with it.


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## WinniWoman (Oct 23, 2013)

What about the driving situations when renting these homes? Let's say you rent a home in Tuscany- I know we wouldn't want to drive in Italy. How do you get around?


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## stmartinfan (Oct 23, 2013)

We've rented apartments in London (think we used Coach House), Paris and Barcelona and had good luck each time.   My preference has been to use agencies that represent a group of properties.  Most have good websites with reviews from prior renters and decent pictures.  I've found the agencies through travel books, online guides and other sources.  I do lots of research, cross reference with travel books to check out the area of the city, and read all the reviews very carefully.  I've appreciated having the agency's repesentative meet us at the apartments to confirm that things are in order.  It was generally a good value for us when we traveled as a family of four in Europe.


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## Pompey Family (Oct 25, 2013)

mpumilia said:


> What about the driving situations when renting these homes? Let's say you rent a home in Tuscany- I know we wouldn't want to drive in Italy. How do you get around?



Why wouldn't you want to drive?  I can understand not wanting to in Rome and other big cities but in places like Tuscany?


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## PStreet1 (Oct 25, 2013)

Here's a second on "Why wouldn't you want to drive?"  I wouldn't want to drive in Rome, but the rest of Italy is fine:  good roads and good drivers.  They are agressive--but not a lot more than I see in the U.S.--and you don't see dented up cars, so they aren't so agressive that they risk messing up the car.  On highways and off the beaten track, you won't even have agressiveness to deal with.


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## Laurie (Oct 26, 2013)

I third that emotion ... you would miss so much amazing countryside and independent discovery opportunities in Tuscany if you're confined to tours and train stops. Aside from cities, difficulty of driving in Italy is generally overstated IMO. There can be slightly different "rules" and assumptions of the road there (such as how many cars/lanes can fit into the road width at a time ... don't cruise along in the left lane on a highway except when passing ... etc) but you'll catch on quickly. We found drivers there to be focused and careful. Exceptions in our experience were in and near Sorrento, and center city Florence. Otherwise we drove over most of northern and central Italy, and wouldn't have done it any other way.


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## Carolinian (Oct 28, 2013)

Another option is to rent a room in a monastery.  Many are medieval.  A few are modern.   www.monasterystays.com


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## Jwerking (Nov 24, 2013)

Laurie said:


> I third that emotion ... you would miss so much amazing countryside and independent discovery opportunities in Tuscany if you're confined to tours and train stops. Aside from cities, difficulty of driving in Italy is generally overstated IMO. There can be slightly different "rules" and assumptions of the road there (such as how many cars/lanes can fit into the road width at a time ... don't cruise along in the left lane on a highway except when passing ... etc) but you'll catch on quickly. We found drivers there to be focused and careful. Exceptions in our experience were in and near Sorrento, and center city Florence. Otherwise we drove over most of northern and central Italy, and wouldn't have done it any other way.



How about driving in the coastal Amalfi area - are the roads really narrow with sharp drop-offs?  Also, automatics are really pricey in Europe and driving a manual in a mountaineous area is scary us automatic folks.


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## caterina25 (Nov 24, 2013)

You could stay in Hotel Weber if you go to Capri.Very cheap compared to the others on the Amalfi coast.From there you could visit the Amalfi coast by boat.The island of Capri is breathtaking and don't miss Positano.


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## momeason (Nov 24, 2013)

Another option is to join the Affordable travel club. You can check their site first and see if they have members in any of the areas you want to go. You would stay in other member's homes and pay a small amount to your host. You do not need to send any money in advance. A lot of members enjoy helping you plan what to see and some will take you sightseeing.

There are 5 members in Italy. Not a lot but something to look at.


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## PStreet1 (Nov 25, 2013)

Jwerking said:


> How about driving in the coastal Amalfi area - are the roads really narrow with sharp drop-offs?  Also, automatics are really pricey in Europe and driving a manual in a mountaineous area is scary us automatic folks.



We didn't drive the Amalfi coast, primarily because we felt the driver needed to be able to fully appreciate the coast also and the driving is taxing there.  We took the train from Rome to Sorrento (stopped at Pompii on the way down) and did buses out of Sorrento, then took the train back to Rome and picked up our rental car which we had left in a subway lot on the outskirts of Rome.

Other than that, driving was fine.  We were staying at Carpe Diem Roma, so we drove regularly in the suburbs of Rome to reach the end of the line subway stops and to see the local stuff, but we didn't drive into Rome itself.  We drove all over after we left the Rome area:  Florence, Venice, Hill Towns, etc., and had no problems:  good roads, good signage, good drivers.


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## Beaglemom3 (Nov 25, 2013)

Carolinian said:


> Another option is to rent a room in a monastery.  Many are medieval.  A few are modern.   www.monasterystays.com





  I'm a fan and further to this suggestion:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151916&highlight=convent   -------->   contains this link:  http://www.goodnightandgodbless.com/accommodation.html


-


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## Carlsbadguy (Nov 26, 2013)

*Next May Italy*

I have a cruise booked next May leaving out of Venice on May 20, with the first night docked in Venice. Just got frequent flyer tickets into Milan arriving on May 14. Plan on renting a car and visiting some of Italy, not Rome or Florence itself as Have been there. Where would you recommend staying.


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## petertdavis (Nov 28, 2013)

Jwerking said:


> How about driving in the coastal Amalfi area - are the roads really narrow with sharp drop-offs?  Also, automatics are really pricey in Europe and driving a manual in a mountaineous area is scary us automatic folks.



I don't know about Amalfi, never been there, but we've stayed at the Marriott's Playa Andaluza this week and rented a car and found the car rental prices here in Europe to be lower than in the US on average.  I specifically requested an automatic because I knew we'd be driving on some of those type of roads you mention (we drove to Ronda, Granada, Gibraltar, and a few other places).  We got a brand new C Class Mercedes for week for less than what we paid for a Toyota earlier this month in Orlando.   Of course, YMMV.


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## beejaybeeohio (Nov 30, 2013)

*Congratulations*



Carlsbadguy said:


> I have a cruise booked next May leaving out of Venice on May 20, with the first night docked in Venice. Just got frequent flyer tickets into Milan arriving on May 14. Plan on renting a car and visiting some of Italy, not Rome or Florence itself as Have been there. Where would you recommend staying.



Have you visited the Tuscan countryside ?  I would suggest visiting there including Lucca, Volterra, Sam Gimignano, Siena and Chianti country.  We rented a automatic out of Florence thru Holiday Auto Rentals for a better rate than I'd found elsewhere.  I would suggest looping to/from Milan, returning the rental car there and taking the train to Venice.  It is a schlep over the Calatrava bridge to the people mover with baggage, so maybe get off the train in Mestre and take a cab to Piazzale Roma where the people mover to port begins.  It's still a hike from the people mover to where ships dock.

We also took a cruise that overnighted in Venice- hopefully you will enjoy a sailaway past St. Mark's Square before the cruiseships are re-routed in and out of Venice.  

If you're not a member, do join Cruise Critic, find your ship's roll call and say hello to your cruisemates.  We share private tours in small groups of 8-12 with roll call members and enjoy experiences that far surpass ship excursions


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## WinniWoman (Dec 3, 2013)

Pompey Family said:


> Why wouldn't you want to drive?  I can understand not wanting to in Rome and other big cities but in places like Tuscany?



Isn't there an issue with credit card companies not insuring driving in Italy?


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## PStreet1 (Dec 4, 2013)

Yes, there is.  You will have to get the insurance on the vehicle from the rental company.  Many include the insurance at a very reasonable cost, but it's definitely worth doing comparison shopping and including the insurance costs.


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## dmorea (Dec 17, 2013)

I used homeexchange.com and traded a vacation home for two weeks in Italy one week stay in Montepulciano  in Politian apts , they are mentioned also on slowtravel. and another week in a large countryside home in Soriano nel cimino (theres a timeshare near there also ). We also stayed at several fairly inexpensive agritourismos found from trip advisor and each one enhanced our trip in a wonderful way.  It was a terrific way for us to go and now we try not to stay in hotel chains. 

Have a fun trip!


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