My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy where we will be traveling around the whole country during September 2001. We are planning to spend time in Rome after this month and we are staying in Siena beforehand. Basically, we don't know where to start the planning, like is renting a car worth the cost, we are on a budget. Any hints or helpful websites will be appriciated. <BR>Thanks

Sienna is one thing, but if you are staying in other major cities like Rome, you will not need to rent a car while you're there. Public transportation will get you everywhere you need to go in the cities, it's very easy to get around and a rental can be more trouble than it's worth. Could you be more specific about what you're needing help on -hotels/itinerary, etc?

Sonya: <BR> <BR>You requested web sites; here are a few: <BR> <BR>www.italiantourism.com <BR> <BR>www.itwg.com <BR> <BR>www.comune.roma.it <BR> <BR>www.initaly.com <BR> <BR>travel-italy.com <BR> <BR>italyitalymagazine.com <BR> <BR>www.italytour.com <BR> <BR>If you don't have any guide books, buy some and study them. Knowing what is available to you and what you wish to do in advance is very important. Italy is a wonderful country, a favorite of ours, and I'm sure you will enjoy your trip. <BR> <BR>If you have specific questions, don't hesitate to e-mail me. Joanne <BR> <BR>

Response: We are just starting out on the planning and are trying to determine how we can see the most and best of the country in about a month. What are the sites, ouside of the major cities, that are a must see in Italy? <BR>Sonya

Sonya, <BR>I would first break it up in chunks. You already know where you are going for two places: Siena and Rome. I would like at a map and read guidebooks for places nearby for both. They are too numerous to detail here. But you could easily spend a week exploring Tuscany and Florence and another in Rome and environs. From there you could go south to the Amalfi Coast and beyond or over to Umbria (Orvieto, Assisi, Perugia are wonderful in my opinion). <BR> <BR>It depends on what you like: cities or countryside, museums, beaches, "wilderness, hiking, walking, winetasting. As I said, you are off to a start, so begin narrowing your options. You may (emphasis on "may") be able to negotiate a cheaper price if you stay in one place for two weeks. <BR> <BR>Have fun. You will have a terrific time. There are a lot of "sagres" (small town festivals) this time of year, celebrating everything from porcini to pork and from wine to cheese to cinghiale. <BR> <BR>

Definitely agree with the above post about breaking it up into the Florence-Tuscany/Rome/Coast itinerary. Start with Florence/Siena and go from there. You would benefit first from searching for hotel recommendations on this site (search by location) to narrow your choices. <BR> <BR>My suggestion: if you do spend time in Florence I would highly <BR>recommend staying in Fiesole, 15 minutes on Bus #7 outside the city in the countryside. We stayed at Pensione Bencista and it was fabulous. You probably already know this but Rome is just a short train ride from Florence so I would recommend taking the train between the two rather than driving, just my personal preference.