Getting around Italy
 

Eight of us would like to go to Italy next year. We don't like the prices or the schedules of the bus tours. We would like to see Venice, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome, Amalfi, Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, Palermo & Taormina. We don't want to be lugging luggage on and off a train. So we thought we would rent a couple of cars. Is this a good idea or not, Is it hard to rent cars & hotels on your own. Does anyone know of a good site to compare hotels. That's all the questions I can think of now, I'm sure I will have more later.

No it's not hard to rent cars in Italy. But how comfortable are you with driving and navigating in a foreign country.

Also how long is this trip? You mention 11 places you want to see. If your total time is anything less than 3-4 weeks, an organized tour can probalby get you to more places, faster, than you can do on your own. Moving 8 people around is not exactly easy. Would you be willing to use the trains instead for some part of the trip? Personally I think that's a LOT more relaxing and easier to plan, than attempting to drive in a country (assuming) you don't speak the language.

We are looking at 2 weeks. There is not alot we want to see in Pisa or Florence or Palermo. I have thought about the trains, but I they sometimes get pretty crowed, I think it could be difficult to deal with luggage.I was on a train in Italy about 10 years ago and people were in the aisles sitting on their luggage. I saw on another site someone was takeing a bus for part of their trip does this sound like it might work.

I suggest you start with a map of Italy and a guidebook and then start actually looking at the details of your proposed itinerary. To me, 11 places in 14 days is an amazing race, not a vacation and you are going to spend most of your time in transit and little experiencing any of the places you are going to. It sounds grueling and not at all appealing to me.

Luggage is only an issue on trains if one over packs and rental cars in Italy are small with trunks to match. You will need two and then you are still zigzagging all over the country.

As for comparing hotels, you need to take a step back and really do some research as that is the least of your challenges IMO.

11 places in 14 days simply does not work.

Since <There is not alot we want to see in Pisa or Florence or Palermo> I would immediately cross them off your list, just for starters.

Seriously you need a map (I say this gently and kindly)!!

Pretty much everyone who takes a train has a suitcase. You just need to limit yourself to a 22-24" on wheels to make it work.

"I was on a train in Italy about 10 years ago and people were in the aisles sitting on their luggage."

Since most train tickets now come with a reserved seat, the situation you describe does not happen much anymore.

Buy a 1st class, instead of a 2nd class ticket, if you want to avoid this possible scenario.

Also, travel off-season for less croweded trains and ease of getting hotels on the fly (without reservations)

The preliminary suggestion doesn't make much sense. Hard to use a car in Capri so you are just wasting those days. And it is nearly possible to use a car in Florence and Rome. About a year after you return you will receive a notice for the dreaded TL zones and fines of a couple hundred Euro to remind you of you wonder vacation. If luggage is a problem on the trains, it will be a problem with cars. Then you are restricted to hotels that provide parking which is often further from the town center or very expensive. Again, spend some time with good guidebooks and a map.

Everything said before is true, except for the last post about car parking. If you're doing your homework before traveling, you'll always use free and legal street parking, won't need a hotel providing a garage, and won't violate any ZTL rules. I'm saying this with a 21 years experience of driving a car on my Italian travels. Ah yes, and while it's true that the car will be parked all the time in Florence, I hate being in Rome WITHOUT a car. I need it there for the far outlying sights on which I'd have to waste hours by bus.

I've been on plenty of trains in Italy in the last few years and never, ever had to sit on my luggage or sit in the aisle. Yes, a few of the trains have been pretty crowded. But, there are several different types of trains in Italy. The regional trains (cheapest, slowest) tend to be the most crowded. Some of the more expensive, faster trains also require reservations so no one will need to sit in an aisle or on their luggage - they'll have an assigned seat.

I love traveling by train in Italy. The trains go almost everywhere and are reasonably inexpensive. I can see driving in some areas like in Tuscany but certainly not everywhere.

Franco likes having a car in Rome but he has 21 years' experience driving in Italy. The rest of us, who may only have made 10-12 trips to Italy say you don't need the aggravation. it'll be much worse than taking the train with reserved seats.

you do not need a car for Venice, Florence, Pisa, or CT. or Rome. And with your travel schedule you won't have time for those outlying places he likes to go to. The rest of the places, maybe.

Sorry, Franco, but I have to disagree with you on this!

In your 2 weeks pick a max of 4 destinations and go from there. Sicily is another animal---I would not go for less than a week.

I want to thank everyone. It looks like I am going to have to rearrange my thinking. I'll be back with some other questions in a few days

To answer your question about renting cars on your own, we always rent through autoeurope.com or kemwel.com -- practically the same company but sometimes have different rates. Never had a problem. For hotels, I like bookings.com. Other posters will like other sites. I like bookings because their site is easy to navigate, easy to cancel if needed, competitive rates, pretty accurate reviews/ratings. Whatever site you use to reserve hotels -- and there are many -- check ratings and reviews on tripadvisor.com before you decide on a hotel.

[I think you mean booking.com (without the s).] The one with the s is just a junk portal site.

well we don't have to worry about driveing or hotels. we are going to take a tour. we were in taoramino about ten years ago, we met a couple [franchesco & pina who with their sons owned a little pub called sunrise pub.Does anyone know if they are still there