An Italy trip in the R&D phase
 

Hello Europe board, new to this area of Fodor’s but I am sure that you all will be just as helpful as the rest of the boards.

Mrs. Sun has always wanted to go to Italy so I thought I would try to take her there for our anniversary next year. Hopefully by then the dollar will be worth something again.

So here are my questions. One how long should we plan on being gone a week? Two weeks? I would like to take in as much as we can while we are there and I am wondering where we should go and stay etc.

Right now in its very rough shape I was thinking Rome, Venice and the Vatican. However I would really like to see the countryside and more then just the big touristy cities of Italy.

Also as far as the language goes, should I learn some Italian for good measure or can I get by with English? Also I though we would go in September, is that a good time of year or should we go some other time?

Really at this point I am looking for any and all advice you would care to offer.

September is a very good time to visit Italy. Avoid July and August please due to the heat and high humidity.

As to how long you should plan on spending in Italy I suggest as long as possible.

Learning some polite words and terms in the Italian language would help with your enjoyment of visiting Italy. But as far as conversing with Italians in the Italian language you do not need to worry about that as no doubt you will mostly be talking to Italians that are use to tourists and they speak English.

The Vatican is right there where Rome is located. Venice is about four and a half hours away by train from Rome. To enjoy the countryside (such as in Tuscany) you would want to rent a car. You will need to get an International Driver Permit which can be obtained through AAA to drive in Italy if you want to be in compliance with the Italian law. You will need to take your Kansas drivers license with you and the IDP translates your Kansas drivers license info into Italian.

The best way to visit Italy is to book an open jaw or aka multicity ticket. Fly into one airport and depart from another airport. IMO it is best to fly into Venice and depart from Rome as most flight departing from Venice are very early in the morning and it is easier to depart from Rome.

I’d plan on three weeks if you can find the time. Fly into Venice, fly out of Rome, which worked for us a couple of years ago, when we spent three and a half weeks in Italy. Venice gives a very “user friendly” start to Italy, as you hop off the plane, onto a ferry and get deposited in San Marco. From touchdown to “down town” is about two hours, maybe less, and the ferry trip across the lagoon de-stresses one after the rigours of the air flight. What happened to the romance of air travel, I ask you. We spent six nights in Venice, two in Verona, three at Como (which was a bit marginal, as it was in early January, so not very active, but the hydrofoil trip up the lake, returning by bus was fun), four nights in Florence (with a day trip to Sienna), three in Assisi (with a day trip to Spoletto), and four in Rome (which was not enough). I’ve missed a night or two somewhere, and we travelled everywhere by train.

If you are pressed for time, think about Venice (five nights), Assisi (two nights) and Rome (four or five nights). Assisi is small – you can walk clear out of the town in about ten minutes and be among vineyards and tractors. I’m a bit of a Venice nut-case – others will recommend less time in Venice, though.

You can get by without speaking Italian, but if you do have some language, it will make your trip much more satisfying, even if it is only to order coffees and drinks. Italians respond well to people attempting to speak their language – even if your Italian is as bad as mine.

September is OK, but still pretty busy. October might be better, when the tourist season is tailing off, and the weather would still be OK. When we left Australia, we had hotels in Venice and Verona booked. We booked Como while in Venice, booked Florence while in Verona and so on, keeping one booking ahead of the pace, but still being flexible.

If you click on my name, you’d find a trip report from a recent visit to Venice last Christmas. It’s a bit boring, but I fancied myself as a writer at the time.

Love and Peter thanks for the info and I will look into that trip report.

I have a question for you Love, as I am guessing you have been there more then once, if you were visiting for your first time what would you do? Where would you go?

Thank you both for the help thus far.

Sunflower, how much time do you have? As Love and Peter said, the more time you spend in Italy, the better, and the amount of time you have will affect where you should go and what to see. But the short answer is, you should see what interests you.

Also, I know you said you'd like to see as much as possible but you should not try to cram in too much. Especially since this is your first anniversary trip, I'd suggest something more leisurely b/c it will be more enjoyable. Even with 3 weeks you'd just be scratching the surface, so you might as well enjoy what you do decide to see.

Most people on their first trip to Italy include Venice, Florence and Rome on their must see list. Judging from your first post, you are 2/3 of the way there. The Amalfi Coast, which is south of Rome near Naples, is another popular area for first time visitors.

Florence is noted for its Renaissance architecture, museums with Renaissance Art, and its shopping. It's a small but busy city. Many people don't like it and prefer Siena, which is one of the larger hilltowns in Tuscany and about an hour away. I have always loved Florence.

From either Florence or Siena you can visit some of the smaller hilltowns for which Tuscany is famous. As LoveItaly said, having a car is a nice way to explore the countryside but you can also get to many of the smaller towns by train and/or bus. If you decide to rent a car, you should not stay in Florence, b/c it will be too much of an inconvenience. Also, you will not need or want a car for Venice or Rome, nor will you need one for between cities. Public transportation is the way most people get around Italy.

The Amalfi Coast is a beautiful and scenic area with a lot of little towns built into the coast. Nearby is the island of Capri which is reachable by ferry. Also, the ruins of Pompeii and Paestum, and Mt. Vesuvius.

Hi sfg.

>One how long should we plan on being gone .....

Two weeks is very good for Venice (4 nights), Florence (4 nights - Siena daytrip) and Rome (5 nights - Orvieto daytrip)

>....I was thinking Rome, Venice and the Vatican. However I would really like to see the countryside and more then just the big touristy cities of Italy.<
A: The Vatican is conjoint with Rome.
B: There are reasons why the Big 3 are the Big 3.
C: With 3 weeks, you can visit Venice, Florence, Rome, drive through Tuscany and spend some time on the Amalfi Coast.

>... should I learn some Italian for good measure or can I get by with English?

As in all countries, you should learn
Hello/Goodbye
Please/Thank you
How much does it cost?
I'm sorry, I don't speak.......
Where is the toilet?

>.... September, is that a good time of year or should we go some other time?
Sept is very good. The porcini mushrooms are in season. The grape and olive harvests are around the end of Sept. The weather is pretty good.

((I))

Ah this is why I love this place, so much wisdom. I think that the most time we will be able to be gone is two weeks. I think I need to get better acquainted with the geography of the nation so I will have a better idea as to how to travel there in.

Ok this is a dumb question I am sure but how card friendly is Italy? I am trying to figure out how much we would want to take with us? Also do you exchange your currency before you leave, when you get there or is it even necessary?

I always just use my ATM debit card to take out a days worth of cash in each place. It gives the best rate. Most folks on here use the ATM card I think.

For 2 weeks I agree that the big 3 is best.
Once you have that settled we will be happy to help with hotel, restaurant, sites, ect....

Italy is unforgettable. The art alone is beyond words.
To see David, The Primavera, The Pieta, or the mosiacs in St.Marks are sights straight from heaven.

I get tears in my eyes thinking of it.
But that happens everytime I say the word Venice too :)

I agree with the above. As long as possible should be spent in Italy! It is remarkable. I always recommend it for first trips to Europe as it has everything - history, culture, food, breathtaking scenery, ancient sites, sublime hilltop villages, and on and on.

Having been to Italy many times we are going again in five weeks and October (we like it a bit cooler and less busy). We are doing Venice (again), Rome (again) and spending more time in the south (Puglia). If I was going there the first time I would do Venice, Rome and small towns in Tuscany. Sure, we enjoyed Florence, but it is not one of my highlights (but of course that is where everyone differs). I like the mix of adding small villages to an itinerary rather than spending so much time in cities but I am not a city person. If I were in your shoes I would do Venice, Cinque Terre for something dramatically different and Rome, stopping along the way in Tuscany/Umbria. I would also add Pompeii and even better Herculaneum in addition to Paestum.

We normally fly in to Rome and out of Venice like many others do. After Rome we rent a car and do a week of the countryside thing (unless we are going to Cinque Terre where you do NOT need a car). A car is wonderful for Tuscany, Umbria, Puglia etc. but a big pain in cities.

Sicily is a favourite area of mine but that is an entirely separate trip. :)

Italy is very card friendly, both CC's and ATM's. I always try to charge as much as possible b/c for some reason the exchange rate is favorable that way. For petty cash, ATM's are everywhere.

Sunflowerguy03,
While most people think of the big three, Rome, Florence, Venice, for the first visit, I would suggest only one or two of them and some countryside. I think it gives you a better feel for the country and saves some for the next trip.

If you click on my name you will find several trip reports that will give you ideas.

Tuscany is likes its sunflowers too.

Henry

I really can't add much to the above, but if I remember correctly, you are an avid gardener. On one of our trips to Italy, I bought several packs of seeds for vegetable varieties that one can't find in the US. I did not know if they would be permitted into the US, but if not they were cheap so not much would be lost. I declared them as required and after they were taken to another room for inspection, we were allowed to bring them in. That year we had an Italian vegetable garden that was the envy of the neighborhood.

I would plan the trip with the intention of going back.

Be prepared to walk a lot unless you want to pay to get around on taxis.

Cars are only needed for driving to smaller towns. Italy's rail system is very useful compared to Amtrack and very affordable too.

With cars, you have to deal with high fuel prices, difficulty in parking and ZTL in most cities which means you have to park outside most towns and hike in a long way.

For a 2-week trip, you're talking about 11 or 12 days (1 day each to fly in and out of Italy). There are day trip options out of the Big 3. Assuming you want to take day trips, you can research the train schedules or use a guided tour service which will cost more but be easier to deal with. I'm talking about motorcoaches, not the private cars where you can spend hundreds of dollars for a day excursion.

Oh and in Venice, you can take the bus from the airport and then take vaporetto. I would try to find an accommodation near the Grand Canal so that you don't have to try to take your luggage to some distant place which would require a water taxi. Would also make getting around easier too. One-week vaporetto pass is not cheap though so use it often.

Most important Italian phrase is "Parla Inglese?"

Seeds should not be a problem, especially commercially packaged ones. I have brought in seeds from Denmark and Switzerland with no questions asked (and yes, I did declare them on the form).

Venice, Rome, and some countryside sounds like a great plan. Tuscany? Veneto? Whatever you choose, try to arrange to pick up your rental car outside of the city, or at least onthe edge. Venice airport (Marco Polo) was very easy; maybe the Rome airpport is the same. (But sometimes cars picked up at airports are more expensive so check).

If you are uncomfortable with the idea of driving in Italy you can see a lot by train travel as well. You probably want to decide this question before choosing an itinerary.

Wow thanks for the info, I have my reading cut out for me with the reports but I am sure they will be very helpful. You all have given me a lot to consider and a good foundation to start on. Thanks for the help I will report back as I go.

-SFG-

E that brings up a few good questions, how hard is it to get an international DL? Do they drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road there? If they do is it hard to get used to? I am guessing that the car rental is like here in the States where you buy their insurance etc.

You can get your international DL from AAA. You will need a couple of passport type photos. The last one I got cost $15 plus the cost of the photos - the AAA office took them.

They drive on the same side as you are used to. However, with the possible exception of exploring Tuscan Hill towns, you wont need one.

Buying insurance at time of rental in mandatory in Italy.

You can get a license from your local AAA club very fast, don't get it too early as it has an expiration date. They drive the same side of the road as they do in Kansas. Book the car rental before you leave. Buy a tourist book on Italy. Read as many trip reports as you can here on Fodors. I used to get travel brochures from travel agencies and get ideas from them.

Sit down with your wife and find out exactly what your priorities are, why does she want to go to Italy, etc. There are many public gardens across Italy where you can visit. I vote for either Spring when everything is blooming or in September/early October for the Fall views and food.

Keep asking ?'s here, people are more than happy to guide you as you can see already.

If you are art lovers, add Florence to your Rome and Venice
itinerary. If not, consider Verona for a few days. It is
easy to get there from any direction. From Verona, you can take day trips by train to Padua, Balzano, Vicenza, or Trento.

Another idea is to use Sienna as a base. From there, you can take a public bus to Florence for the day or your hotel could
help you to arrange a day trip to another town in Tuscany. Sienna is lovely.

Get a good guidebook and arrange advanced tickets to sights
over the internet. You can do this for the Borghese Art Museum. The art museums in Florence and the papl audiences.
A good guidebook will have the Internet addresses.

Pat

You'll need to balance your desire to go particular places that are best visited by car with the expense and possible hassles of rental and driving in Italy. The Autostrada (toll freeway) can be unnerving in a small car. Rentals are fairly expensive there, and I believe it is not possible to waive the CDW so you have to pay that. Also, you need to be comfortable with a manual transmission as automatics are expensive and hard to find.

That said---we rented a car to tour the Veneto and reach Lago di Garda on our last visit, and we really enjoyed the freedom of the car---once we got off the Autostrada!

We normally travel by train in Europe, but if you want to get off the beaten path in Italy, you might want a car for a few days.

Hi sfg,

Charge whatever is chargeable. Use the ATM for cash.

CapitalOne doesn;t charge a currency conversion fee.

Insist on being charged in Euro. Do not let them do you the "favor" of converting your bill to USD. You will pay more.

If you are going to drive, who is going to navigate?

((I))

I would also suggest that instead of doing the "big 3," you choose a more northern or more southern itinerary. For example, you could visit Venice, Florence and the Cinque Terre, or Venice, Florence and Tuscany, for the north.

I agree that you'll only need a car for your more rural destinations. Try to do that part in the middle, and start and end in the cities (fly open jaws). That way, you can fly into city #1, pick up the rental car as you leave, drive around, then drop the rental car as you enter city #2 at the end of your trip.

Whether the autostrada is unnerving probably depends on your driving experience, and what kind of driving you usually do. I like driving on the autostrade - while the cars can drive faster, it's usually more orderly than highways in the U.S. And back roads, while narrow and curvy, are also beautiful and interesting. I do almost all of the driving on our European trips, because I enjoy it (and DH does the nagivating, which he's much better at than I am). BTW, most cars are standard transmission, so keep that in mind (my primary car is a stick, so I'm used to that, too).

Hi,
We currently are planning our 12 day trip to Italy. We were lucky enough to book our airfare using miles so we could only fly in and out of Rome. This will be our 3rd trip to Italy (our first to Venice) and first time bringing family (my parents, sisters and our two small children). It will definitely be slow travel compared to what we were able to accomplish in the past.
In the past, we flew into Milan and saw "The Last Supper", then drove into the countryside staying at B&B's outside Aque Terme...visited Cerretto winery romantic and relaxing. Then headed down to Porto San Stefano for some beach relaxation, stopped by Pisa and Lucca (for the olive oil and more wine) before arriving in Florence and Rome. Our first trip we stayed in Radda in Chianti and had the best bistecca for 2 (my husband was a vegan until that night). Florence we always stop in as we really enjoy Buca Del Orafo restaurant there. If I were going back without the group, we would have ventured to Southern Italy. But 12 days (landing in Rome, then immediately training to Florence(with day trips to Pisa, Lucca and countryside) for 4 nights, train to Venice for 3 nights, train back to Rome for 4 nights) we thought would cover a good portion and feel for the Italian life...as my parents probably won't make it back there.
Our Italian friends who live here say to change your money here before you go, although I think in the past we used ATM's and cc's. Driving license now is easy to get at AAA.
Enjoy!

If you want to buy seeds, there’s a place in Venice. Walk from Campo San Stefano towards the Academia Bridge, and there’s a small stall on your left that sells plants and seeds. We bought tomato, basil, radiccio and artichoke seeds there. But no sunflower seeds.

We took almost no cash with us, and had no trouble with using ATM’s. There’s an ATM at Venice (Marco Polo) airport. We found that there was a 250 Euro limit on withdrawals, but we could make more than one withdrawal in a day. There are ATM’s everywhere. Maybe not in the tiny towns, but in Venice, for instance, we had a choice from half a dozen within 200 metres of where we were staying. In Italy, you will sometimes receive a discount when you pay in cash. People love it when you make an effort to give them the correct change – there’s a chronic shortage of small change in Italy. I saw a guy attempt to buy a postcard, offering a fifty Euro note. The vendor shrugged and said “forget it”.

Language – will always be a problem. We've found the phrase “Sono Australiano, piccolo Italiano” works wonders in shops. i.e. “We come from Australia, we don't have much Italian, so please make allowances for us”. It invariably brings a smile, sometimes it opens a conversation, sometimes it brings a reply in perfect English, or brings the response "Piccolo Englese". The question, “Do you speak English” is uncomfortable at best, a barrier at worst, in the same way as being asked "Do you speak Italian" in the middle of Kansas would erect a bit of a barrier. All that aside, we conducted transactions with people who had no English without too many problems, and sign language is universal.

hi sun'guy,

welcome to europe! you'll find us much more polite than those nasty lounge lizards. we even agree with each other sometimes!

and I would tend to agree with the other posters above, that Venice, Florence, Rome can be just too overwhelming. unless you have a degree in art history, you'll be hopelessly confused by the time you get to the 3rd or 4th gallery or museum.

i like the town/countryside/town typ of trip and venice/ ? /Rome works well for this.

to find somewhere in the countryside, you can try www.slowtravel.com or google "agriturismos in Tuscany". an agritourismo is usually a B&B on a farm in the countryside. that sort of place would be lovely in September.

regards, ann

regards, ann

Sun, my boy, this should help you decide on some areas where you'd like to visit. Sit back with a nice glass (bottle) of Chianti. Here is our three week trip in words and photos. Repeat after me, "Put the correct petrol in the car."

http://travelswithmaitaitom.typepad.com/travels/

sfguy-

I've been reading your posts since you came aboard, so I feel in some regard, I know you. :)

That being said- I think you ought to stick to the 2-week plan for your first visit. You don't want to cram in so much that a month after you are home, you won't remember much of any of it. :)

Additionally, I think being a newlywed, you might be on more of a strict budget than some. This would lead me to tell you that apartment rental is much more economical than hotels, and even more so if you rent by the week. If you don't feel comfortable renting an apt, there are PLENTY of budget lodgings available in Italy, especially in Rome. (There is even a little hostel run by nuns near the Vatican. No tv or phone, but clean bed to sleep in and great rate!)

October is an ideal time to visit, but September would be fine, too, if it is late September. (If you are using FF miles, you should go after 10/15, as that is when most "peak" seasons turn to "off" seasons and you will need far fewer miles to travel after the 15th.)

I also think you should skip the car on your first visit. If you fly into Venice, you can take the train to Florence and bus to Siena for a day. Then train to Rome.

Since the Vatican was on your list, I should tell you that you could probably take 3 days and not see everything at the Vatican you want to see. :) But 6 or 7 days in Rome is a good start for first trip. Make sure that once your plans are firm, you contact the Vatican Excavations office to get on the list for a Scavi tour.

I think your very first step is to go through as many trip reports as you can on Italy. Then decide what is most important for you to see. Does Mrs. Sun like art and history and food? Or do the two of you really just want to see pretty countryside? Or an ocean view? If the latter, maybe the Cinque Terra is a better option for you.

You might want to start a "Vacation" document and separate it by tabs, like "cities", "museums", "arts", "food", "travel". Then, cut and paste items from the trip reports you are reading. This is exactly how I started planning my trip to Italy. Somewhere on here is a link that has pretty much every church in Rome on it, and what it's best features are, etc. including what famous art might be located there. (Lots of "free" art viewing in Roman churches!) So, when you see a restaurant recommendation that sounds great, cut and paste it. (We sorted by city first.) Or museum or shop or etc...

Also, my daughter did a great spreadsheet which summarized all the info. Shortly before our trip, we made up a Plan A and Plan B. (Always have a Plan B- Italy is NOT the U.S. You may run into a museum closed due to transit strike or church under renovation, etc.) Additionally, the spreadsheet had addresses and phone numbers of all the places we wanted to see and their days/hours of operation. Reservation numbers, etc.

And the MOST important piece of advice I received here (adn thank heavens I followed!) is to get your mind set right now (and if you keep repeating it to yourself until your trip, I guarantee it will be foremost in your head)... that something WILL go wrong somewhere along the way. The really important thing is to NOT let it affect the rest of your vacation. Move past it quickly and move on! (In our case, there was a transit strike our first day in Paris- all museums closed! And I took a nasty tumble face-first in Rome- ironically, just after having been blessed by the Pope! hahaha)

I'd be happy to answer any questions I can. I'm no expert, BUT I did enough planning off of these boards to know what might be useful to you and where to find it. :) (email me at paulam910@hotmail)

The Italian phrase I also found went a long way... "Mi dispiace!" (I'm sorry!)

So, please start yourself a file and start reading trip reports. AND OH YEAH--- head over to your local Borders Books or Barnes & Noble. Head straight to the travel section and start browsing the travel guides. I highly, highly recommend the DK Eyewitness Travel guides. Full color, great maps, easy to read and follow. Great books! :)

I have been in Mid October and the weather was terrific. If you are going to drive be sure and learn the international signs. I found driving in Tuscany a breeze but departing Rome with the car and dropping it off in FLorence was nerve wracking. I would recommend dropping one of the big 3 and spending the time in Tuscany or Umbria. You can always go back.

hi sunflowerguy

The dollar is worth a lot more than it was a year ago, but I think you need to plan on it staying between 1.30-1.40 to the euro.

I'm just here to point out that many of the country locations people are suggesting to you are touristy. Many people seem to think that all the small towns and countryside of Italy is located in Tuscany. In reality, most of Italy is food-producing farmland. Tuscany is only the part of Italy that has most aggressively marketed itself to foreign tourists (and Rick Steves has made CInque Terre a very touristy destination out of a handful of fishing villages).

You can have a fantastic -- truly fantastic -- time in Italy visiting small towns near Venice -- like Treviso -- where tourists don't go. Do a google search for Treviso, and you'll see what I mean. If you have any interest at all about getting truly off the beaten track when it comes to tourism, don't be afraid to go anywhere in Italy. The Italians will always welcome you.

I'm also surprised to read in this thread that October is "the idea" time to go to Italy. I live in Italy. I plan to see more rain in Italy in October than September. And I usually do!

Italy generally has nice weather, but September is usually dry and warm. If you don't like warm weather, move into fall.

Where to start? As per your suggestions I decided that making this a surprise trip was not going to work so I spoke at length with Mrs. Sun as to what we would like to do on our first adventure to Italy. We both agreed that we wanted to see the countryside at some point but from what we have read and looked at I think that the visit to the country would be better served on a second trip. So we have dropped the car idea for now, I also need to learn to drive a stick it seems.

There is so much to see it seems. Every time I read a TR it seems there is just one more thing that we would want to go see. Italy sounds like a place you could spend a lifetime and still have one more thing to go see.

Also, Italy seems like a place where time is not the task mater we make it into. It seems like they want you to slow down and enjoy what you are doing not rush all the time. While Kansas is not what I would call a fast paced society it does seem that Italy runs slower and that is a principal that I want to embrace.

So with that thought in mind, I think we will stick to the big three and maybe a day trip to Sienna, or a variation there of. I just want to take it all in and I don’t want us to feel like we have to get up and get going, I want to wonder, get lost and find my way back. Does that sound crazy?

Ira and others on currency, thank you for the advice I will look into what my banks policies are as well as their fees etc. Maybe I should look into opening an account with a more “global” bank for this trip?

Peter, really like your phrase and the logic behind it I will add it to my list of things to practice.

Maitaitom, I am surprised you all made it back. I don’t think that poor car ever had a chance. Nice report by the way.

A question to someone other then Maitaitom (from his TR I know they never wondered this ;) ) I know Italy is well known for its wine but Mrs. Sun and I don’t drink, is this going to cause issue with the locals? I don’t want to offend them “no Chianti for us but I will take a water”

I've been reading your posts since you came aboard, so I feel in some regard, I know you.

Sarge, I know and thanks for putting up with me :) Do you happen to still have all those lists? Mrs. Sun is the queen of the thrifty so she is really good about cutting down our costs, me not so much. Our budget for this trip will as you said be more constricted as we have had a lot of money going out (buying the house, the wedding etc) so I will look into the apartment rental, it will be hard to say goodbye to room service. :(

Zeppole, the moment I saw your name I had a hunch as to where you might live :) I like your suggestion about seeing little towns around the bigger ones. That is one of the debates that we are having (Mrs. Sun and I) as to what would be our best plan go to one city and really soak it and the towns around it in or stick to just trying to see the big three.

See our very long and history filled report about our Rome, Tuscony & Cinque Terre trip (link below)several years ago. We also did a second trip to Italy that included Bellagio, the Dolomites and beautiful, awesome Venice. Can't go wrong with anything in Italy in my opinion (humble as it is). Happy planning. Feel free to ask any questions, we would love to help if we can.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ue-terre.cfm?5

Footnote: We prefer September for European travel and have found that to offer the best of all worlds for many different activities.

Sun, they'll be happy to offer you water (I am an acqua frizzante guy), Coke Lite or other non-alcoholic drinks.

((H))

For day trip ideas, you can look at Viator.com. You can just use it for ideas, not actually purchase anything there. Most of their trips are with private cars or motor coaches. You can take trains instead and save a lot of money but you would not be getting guides of course.

You can rent auto transmission cars. It costs more because they're rare. I paid for it because I didn't want to deal with manual transmission on hills and winding roads with very narrow roads (in some areas, you go off the shoulder and you could end up in a ravine). On a 8-day rental or so, I think I paid about 80-90 a day. I was suppose to get a Mercedes compact A180 but they gave me a 220 turbo diesel which was nice, very low mileage.

On wine, no it's not required. But the restaurants will charge you a lot for bottled water anyways. If you don't like fizzy water, remember "naturale" (natura-lay). It never hurts to sample a glass or two though.

As for credit cards and ATM cards, Amex was 2% but the more commonly accepted Visa is 3% from some banks. It's still way better than the exchange rate you'd get by exchanging physical dollars at exchange places.

For ATMs ("bancomat"), most credit unions will refund any fees charged by networks and not charge any fees on their end. Big banks like BofA won't, they will tack on their own charges. Most brokers like eTrade and Schwab also have ATM cards for which you pay no ATM fees.

Schwab has a Visa card which offers 2% cash back on all purchases but you have to open a SchwabOne brokerage account (where they will credit your 2% cash back awards) and this Visa is also not suppose to have any surcharges for foreign currency transactions.


You're right about being able to come back to Italy or other European countries over and over again. Most of these nations are younger as political entities than the US, even though their cultures and civilizations are much much older. Most of them were smaller countries or regions, with different dialects, different govts. etc. For instance, in 1850, only 50% of people in what is now France spoke the French we know today. Italy also has a lot of dialects. So there's a lot of differences packed in countries which are smaller than some of our states.

You might find that you keep going back over and over to "Old Europe."

Alright let me ask you all a real tough question if you were only able to go to one of the big three, which one and why?

Answer to your tough question: Rome

Why: It has something for everyone. Ancient Rome, Vatican, shopping restaurants, big city feel, medieval winding streets old center, a variety of museums and sights. And if you feel the need, you can leave town easily for a number of good day trips.

Florence is mostly about Renaissance art, so if you are not a fan, it may wear thin quickly. Venice is fabulous, a favorite of mine,but it does not sum up Italy the way Rome does.

A Beverage Warning for Your Budget: a Coke in a restaurant in Italy will cost the same or even more than a glass of wine. And Italy also has beer,if you prefer.

"...if you were only able to go to one of the big three, which one and why?"

Tough one.

For romance, nothing beats Venice at night.

For history, Rome has the bragging rights.

But the city that made me fall in love with Italy was Florence, when I visited for the first time in the mid 1990s. I have been back four times, and we have enjoyed it each and every time. Yes, it is crowded, but so are Rome and Venice. If you like history and art, there is plenty to see. Check out the bling on the Ponte Vecchio. Great restaurants. Gardens. Sit at an outdoor café and sip vino (sorry, water).

It is within two hours of Cinque Terre if you want to go there for a day or two. After Florence, rent a car and drive through the Chianti countryside on the Karen Valentine Highway (222) on your way to Siena. San Gimignano and Volterra (beautiful drive from SG) are other places to check out if you stay in that part of Tuscany. Siena Duomo is spectacular.

Further south, the Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza part pf southern Tuscany makes a great base. We love the Palazzo del Capitano hotel in San Quirico d' Orcia. Great base to see that area. Then drive to Rome, drop the car and fly out from there.

If you wanted to see Venice from Florence, you can take a morning train that gets you there before noon. Spend a few days there.

I don't know how long you plan to spend, but if you can get at least two weeks, then you can really get a feel of the country and you won't have to limit your stay to just one of the big three. In any event, deciding where to go in italy is a fun problem to solve, and best of all, there are no wrong answers.

((H))