We are planning Italy in May and would appreciate any advice re booking strategies. We have a month of travel and are wondering if internet booking is a wise approach or if anyone has recommendations of agents. We had amazing results with our on line advice from Fodorites last year regarding India. As a result we booked thru a Delhi agent , which was smart and more economical for us. Does this make sense to do for Italy ?

We worked with Megan at http://www.bellavitaitalia.com for our honeymoon this past summer and it was absolutely the best decision for us and worth the money. She planned the entire trip, putting us in excellent accommodations and tours plus took us on some fabulous tours herself of Florence, Tuscany and the Cinque Terre. I highly recommend her as so do others on the Fodors board!

Hi D,

If you know where you are going and are looking for accomodations, train tickets, etc, I suggest you look at

Helpful Information: Italy 2
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34568596

and DIY.

I think you should realize there is a difference between a "travel agent" and a "travel consultant". If you book through a travel agent, he will only book you into places which are commissionable to him, and the cancellation policy may be for much longer than it would be if you booked directly with the hotel. One of the joys of Italy is staying in small places which will not be on an agents radar, and would not pay him a commission.
On the other hand travel consultants, like the one recommended above, do not get commissions, you just pay them for their time. They tend to be people who love Italy and are very knowledgeable. There are several who advertise on www.slowtrav.com and participate on the slow travel message boards, www.slowtalk.com
If you just want the "hit the high spots" "must "sees", then those are well covered in Rick Steves books.

It largely depends on your budget. If you're willing to go upscale then a travel agent can do a lot to help you. If you want to trtavel on a budget it really doesn;t work - since less expensive places don;t pay them a commission - and you then have to pay significant fees to the agent for the time they spend.

Also- traveling in italy is much eaiser than in India.

So - unless you want a very complicated, deluxe itinerary I would simply do it yourself - and get what YOU want for what YOU want to spend.

Hello, IF you are looking for a special day with a driver for example say you do the Amalfi Coast; I would love to recommend a company called Benvenuto Limos. We used them and had such a brilliant time. IT's hard to drive on the Amalfi coast and having a driver made everything far more enjoyable. Also if you do go the AC be sure to stay in Positano
www.benvenutolimos.com