Hello: I really need your expertise...would like to take my 1st trip to Italy later this year (mid-October). Will be traveling alone -- and hope to spend at least 10 days (not including travel days) -- do you have suggestions on what cities are a must see and recommendations on travel guides or companies geared toward persons traveling alone. Thanks for your help! Can't wait to see Italy.

Aleeta,

Email Bob the Navigator and ask for his help and advice. He has planned several trips for solo travelers. If you do a search on his name, you will see that he is a frequent contribtor to this board. See his website at: http://www.bobthenavigator.homestead.com

Good luck

There are two kinds of answers to an introductory broad/general question like this - - and both of them can involve our trusted "Bobthenav" - - but bsteele has really only given one of them.

The first answer is to involve someone who does this for a living, like a travel agent - - and Bob falls partly into that camp, even though his fee-based services are a second (hobby/)career; the website cited above explains those services.

The second is to assemble and integrate a lot of free information you can get here. It can be like sticking a teacup into a waterfall, when your goal is to do a watercolor painting.

Bob used to have a certain rather "stock" answer he posted about how to know where to start.

You can read one version of it at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34378135 - - or maybe he has posted it more recently than that; this was one of the more recent postings that have his basic boiler plate.

This is not intended to sound critical; many other people, myself included, have given somewhat "stock" answers to visitors here who are seeking help in getting started. I usually suggest a combination of two methods, both focusing on visualizing the places you want to go. Without doing ANY research, just close your eyes and dream of the places you THINK you really want to see in Italy, and try to elaborate on why they are important to you. They might be the Colosseum, vineyards and winetasting, the fashion runways of Milan, an audience with the Pope or a magical musical moonlit night in Venice. You can't do it all, and making YOUR OWN list of what rises to the top of your visions helps us understand what YOU seek.

Now secondly, DO go get books - - ideally big, coffee-table-sized books with glorious pictures and make a top five or ten list of things you see in those books. The public library has a lot to choose from. Chances are there will be things you had not visualized on your own - - but they appeal TO YOU; they speak to you in some way that is irresistible.

Tell me these things about you - - and together with all kinds of practical information, from Bobthenav and many others, you can assemble your trip based on info offered here for free.

Best wishes,

Rex Bickers
Floyds Knobs, Indiana

Aleeta, at the www.guideforeurope.com forum, one woman has recently posted in detail about her experience traveling to Italy alone (not for the first time, though). I think that might be a good place to look for a start.

Hi Aleeta,

You might find this thread useful:

Helpful Information: Italy http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34443340

PS

For mid October you could do

1 Rome, Naples and the Amalfi Coast (a bit rushed),

2 Naples and the Amalfi Coast (more to my liking),

3 Rome, Florence and Venice (again, a bit rushed)

4 Florence and Venice.

I would pick 2 or 4 in that order (but I have been there before).

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions! Much appreciated.