OK sorry missed the 2017 pre pre planning time span.

Stand by my comments on St Rick's lack of unbiased advice.

Irish temperatures are not that much different to New York and judging by folk getting off the Boston flight in Shannon yesterday morning, its a lot warmer over here than there.

Unicorns, dragons, and unbiased advice. They all have something in common.

thusdaysd, I only wish to clear up for the OP any possible impression that March is a bad time to be driving in Tuscany or visiting Italian tourist attractions. It's fine. Obviously people are disputing some of the suggestions that seem to be getting put forward in this thread, but I only am concerned with would-be travelers to Italy getting the wrong impressions.

I did not realize that it was so fricking cold in Tuscany in March - thought spring would be sprung not winter with near freezing temps - but Tuscany has a lot of different elevations and different approximities to the sea which affect weather so in general may not represent where you are going. Or maybe it does?

Please realize that every time you change a city you lose at least 1/2 day besides the actually traveling time, there is getting to and from the bus, train, or plane, checking in and out of the hotels and waiting time.

We travel with the idea that is better to see a few places well than many poorly. Chances are you will return some time in the future.

I have driven in many countries but I cannot master driving on the wrong side of the road.

I am not a fan of the Rick Steves' books for various reasons.

Here are my assessments for guide books:

Frommer’s and Fodor’s-Good on restaurants and hotels, small town recommendations non-existent. Getting better on history and culture and appeal to a mainstream audience. They seem to be afraid of wit, as it might be insulting.

Rough Guide and Lonely Planet-Opinionated and edgy, good on history and culture, terrible on restaurants and hotels. Often have listings for smaller towns.

Cadogan-specialized for a specific areas. Quietly helpful. A bit dry

Eyewitness and National Geographic-Like stereotypical models nice to look at but good for little else.

Rick Steve’s-Look elsewhere

Michelin Green-the best for sites.

Time Out-They have specialized for select large cities

And like everyone else noted-do it yourself

Tours are cheap out of Dublin, we just did the Avoca/Glendalough/Wicklow tour for 32.00 in a small bus. Great guide and no way would we have cover 6 different stops on our own.
Hostel World has good cheap places to stay, you can get double rooms and not just a dorm style room now if you are trying to save money.
Travelodge/Premiere Inns in London are good.

Rome http://www.the-beehive.com/ Some rooms are with shared bath but each room has a sink and great cafe. They also have good links for other cities.
Squeeze in Florence. I liked it much better than Rome.

PQ - if you are referring to the numbers I posted they were for IRELAND. Why are people having trouble noticing the difference between Ireland and Tuscany?

<<ATMs give you a very good exchange rate but charge a small fee per transaction. Minimize this by taking fewer but larger withdrawals.>>

Bank ATMs in Europe do not charge transaction fees. American banks often charge for foreign withdrawals. Credit unions usually don't. Another source of bank income is the currency exchange rate. My credit union cards charge no transaction fees and only 1% over the interbank exchange rate.

With the ubiquity of ATMs in Europe, no need to make big withdrawals and carry large amounts of cash around. As long as your bank doesn't take you to the cleaners for each withdrawal, you can take out money every day.

So you need to research your credit cards and ATM cards and find out if a transaction fee is charged and also what the currency exchange fee is. You may want to get a new bank.

Wow! Lot's to consider! While I realize March is not the warmest time of the year to visit some of our destinations, that is the only time we will be able to go once he graduates so we will just have to make the best of it (and dress accordingly ha!) Thank you so much to all who gave advice and tips! It will truly help me in the planning process. I'm sure I will have more questions in the future but this is all a great place to start!

I would look at the average temps in the places you plan on going - and see if your idea of cold agrees with some of the posters here.

Europe - even northern - is generally warmer than much of the US due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream. If you are from FL it probably will feel cold to you - if from the northern half of the US will likely be warm by comparison.

And in Italy the weather will definitely be more moderate - although it can be chilly at night and also rainy/foggy. (The average high temp in NYC in March is about 45, while in Rome it's about 58 degrees - hardly wintry.)

Mrs.,

I add a note about tours. City day tours can be very interesting and fun. I have used Context Tours for Rome and loved them. They specialize in small group (6 max) almost seminar type tours. They also have some food oriented tours that are on my list for next time in Rome. Not cheap but worth every penny.

Using a city day or half-day tour give you a lot of independence and lets you dive into the sites/areas you are most interested in.

Definitely do it yourself. You have the time and lots of internet resources to make it great.

If it were me,I would just spend the whole 3 weeks in Italy and save London and Ireland for another trip......

Is there some reason you have to go in March? Not impossible weather wise, but May is heaven in Italy.

Happy planning!

IMDonhere, agree with your views on the books.

In terms of restaurants, I have three basic rules
1) Things, change, what was good yesterday can be bad today, books are poor at keeping up to date while Tripadvisor in Europe is pretty sound once you learn how to read between commments
2) If owner has a fat dog, don't eat there
3) If the restaurant in Italy has no one outside hustling customers and yet is noisy inside it will be great. If nothing else the theatre element will cover up poorer food :-)

Regarding guidebooks: yes, information changes rapidly and specifics, especially opening/closing dates and times, et cetera, should be checked from the source closer to travel dates to avoid disappointment. However, some information does not change as quickly and for this, I like the Blue Guides.

Having said that, I will read any and every guidebook I can get my hands on for whatever destination I'm planning, usually courtesy of my local library systems.

I'm sure with sufficient research and planning you can have a great trip, Mrs Riehl!

Basically a guide book is obsolete after the final edit. Besides restaurants changing chefs, hotels changing ownership, museums and attractions can be closed for a variety of reasons. Paintings could be on loan. Bus routes change, etc.

But one start somewhere.

The advice here is great. One thing though, ATM numbers. In the past your ATM code needed to be 4 digits. I still have mine in 4 digits. Does anyone know if this is the still the case? This will be key I think.

Yes 4 digits

One of the craziest things about ATM's machines is the obsession with the fees and I include myself. You spend $1,000's on a trip and you are charged an extra $3 four times that is $12. That is nothing when you order a meal or book a hotel. But everyone thinks a bank or financial institution is trying to screw you, which they are, but the same amount spent elsewhere is forgotten. Meanwhile we tie ourselves in knots, change credit cards, open up different accounts just to save a few bucks.

BTW, the very worst place to exchange money is a hotel. The second is the airport.

To use credit cards or cash is well trodden subject here. I like to use credit cards, because the credit card companies buy money in such volume, the exchange rate is usually excellent.

I also like to bring the equivalent of $200 US with me because there will be cab rides, a snack, a newspaper, etc. Some like to get their money at the airport.

Also make photocopies of your credit cards, passport, health insurance, travel insurance, bank cards, and driver's license and put that in your companion's suitcase. If yours is lost or stolen you have a record.

Also there is some discussion as to whether to carry your passport or leave in the hotel, especially if there is a safe. I like to take a photocopy with me.

"you are charged an extra $3 four times that is $12."

On a short trip, yes. (Although I think it's usually $5.) Some of us travel longer - I'm leaving soon for a three and a half month trip. And some of us just object to paying the banks dollars for something that costs fractions of a cent. Especially as it's usually on top of a 3% foreign conversion fee, when Credit Unions charge 1% and my Capital One account charges nothing.

Anyway, save a few bucks here and there often enough, and soon you're talking real money.

"I like to take a photocopy with me.'

In some countries you are legally required to carry the real thing. There have been a few threads about that here.

For the countries the OP is proposing to visit there is no reason to get currency ahead of time.

No bank or credit card company charges nothing. They might not add a supplemental charge, but their profit is built into the exchange rate.

Last year we were in Scotland and I went to HSBC, to exchange some money and they would not let me because my account HSBC US not UK. I rarely exchange cash for cash and was surprised I could not.

If you get the equivalency of $200, that is one less thing a causal traveler has to worry about after landing and clearing customs and immigration.

Thursday do you if the UK, Ireland, and Italy require that Americans carry original passports. Do you know of anyone who has had a problem in this regard?

"No bank or credit card company charges nothing. They might not add a supplemental charge, but their profit is built into the exchange rate. "

Incorrect. Capital One charge no ATM fee, no foreign conversion fee, and does not up the exchange rate.

I believe that answer is no for the UK and Ireland, and yes for Italy.