My wife and I would like to take a self-guided tour to italy. I am looking for a company that can package hotels and in-country transportation, ie train travel. I would probably be better off booking my air travel from seattle on my own. I have looked at EUROPEAN DESTINATIONS but their add-ons for transfers, etc are way overpriced, in my opinion. To book our own hotel and in-country transportation seems a little overwhelming.

Thanks,
Rick

I'm not averse to using travel agents to make bookings. One thing to remember, though, is that agents will push you towards hotels that generate revenue for the agent. You are more likely to wind up in a Hilton, and less likely to wind up in a charming hill town if you use an agent.

Also, if an agent packages a trip for you, you are more likely to receive what the agent thinks you should see, rather than what you want to see.

You don't need an agent to book train tickets for you - there are ticket vending machines that speak English and accept Visa cards at the stations.

To get an idea of where trains run, what they cost and how long they take, have a look here:
http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html

hi rick,

as many here can testify, the internet makes it very easy to organise your own trip to Italy, without an agent.

there are many lovely people here who will try to help you, if you post what you would like to do. [they won't actually book the trip for you, but that would spoil the fun, wouldn't it?]

It really is not that difficult to do all the reservations yourself, with the internet and the help of all the fabulous fodorites. However, if you would still like some help I suggest you contact Megan at Bella Vita Italia (www.bellavitaitalia.com), we used her a few years ago for some planning for our stay in Liguria and she was fabulous!!

Go-today.com and Gate1travel.com should have packages like you want. You can select levels of hotels, trains, city tours, etc.

It often does seem overwhelming, planning an overseas trip. I've planned lots but still feel that way sometimes. But you will find it gradually comes together, just take it bit by bit. You should be able to do it a lot cheaper yourselves by cutting out the middleman - book direct with hotels etc. You can get a lot of good information on train travel in Italy on www.seat61.com

Unless you are going in peak season I don't think you would need to book all your train travel at once, if you book it once in Italy you can purchase tickets at a travel agent at no extra cost or get them at the train station. If you are worried about not speaking Italian - write it down and show the seller. You just need the departure city, destination city, how many adults, date and if it's one way or return.

If you do a bit of reading to see where you might like to go, look at a map of Italy, then check out hotels on www.tripadvisor.com you can get an idea of hotel prices etc and come back to this forum for help on any aspect you are having trouble with.

You might find, like us, you get a lot more from the trip by planning it yourself.

Another thought is to ask BobtheNavigator who is on this board a lot. He has a website and may be able to help you put a trip together.

Kay