Buy maps now or upon arrival?
 

We are going to Italy at th end of the month. We will be taking the train for Rome to Florence, then renting a car for Florence Cinque Terre, and CT to Venice, then train back to Rome. Should I buy an Italy map for our road trip now? (And, by the way, can anyone give me a good reason NOT to do the rental car part.)
THANKS

Hello clarapist, the maps we purchased were all bought at books stores in Italy. The Touring Club Italiano maps always served us very well for driving around Italy. I sure can't give you a reason NOT to rent a car. I would pick up the rental car after visiting Florence, you will not need it while in Florence.

Under Italian law you are suppose to have an International Driving Permit. This translates your US State issued drivers license into different languages including Italian. You can obtain this at any AAA office whether you are a member of not. You will need passport size photos which you can also have taken at the AAA office.

I have a mental block...what and where is CT? Have a wonderful trip!

Buy the maps now. Plan your route, and study them. If you have an idea of where you are going, its easier to follow a map.

Try to find the best road map you can get. Allies are considered streets in many towns, so the more accurate the better.

Hi clarapist, if you do buy any maps before leaving for Italy do make sure the maps show all the cities/towns etc. in their correct Italian names versus in English (Firenze versus Florence for example). Best wishes.

Thanks for your reply, LoveItaly. I was trying to do an abbreviation for Cinque Terre by using CT :)

What if we DON'T get my husband an international license? Will they throw us in the slammer?

You won't get thrown into a slammer but depending of the officer you may get fined on the spot. I used to get the license then I stopped doing so but I was told that I should "in case".

An Italian policeman told my husband and I that if you get into some kind of non-compliance situation where they typically take the driver license away, they will take your IDP instead of your States driver license. That in itself is worth the $10....If you are a AAA Plus member, the pics are free.

As far as the maps, I can't even imagine planning a road trip without some sort of maps in advance, if anything for a "bird's eye" view. Granted, you could get really good road maps at the destination (we done that many times), but do get yourself an Italy/region map now (at a minimum). On that note, AAA does have very good general country maps.

The Michelin spiral bound atlas for Italy is excellent and a good buy...you can order it online from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

I do think you need maps for planning ahead, but for detailed driving maps, we found the rest stops on the autostrade the best source. Especially if you are driving in to cities -- they sell maps of the cities that will show you the best routes in to town and where to find parking. The location of parking lots can affect, for example, which exit you choose from the autostrada.

Another tip -- if you don't see the map you want on the racks in the Autogrill stores, look in the office at the gas station, where they will often have a better supply.

I agree with buying the maps now. You will miss out on nosing around in an Italian bookstore but they will most likely be cheaper here. As others have mentioned you will be able to scout your routes.

Part of the enjoyment of planning, for me and DH, is exploring the maps of the cities we're about to go to. It also helps you immediately get your barrings on your surroundings instead of you having to stop-down when you get there to figure out where you are and where you want to go.

i don't see why this question constantly seems to come up...

you're already on the internet and anybody without a printer is pre-historic, just print out whatever you think you'll need (or more) for free.

there are very good city maps available and sites like via michellin and mapquest are great for drivers.

even the freebo city maps you can get at almost any hotel desk are more than adequate.