Considering that we stood in a subway station in New York City and asked a "conductor" if this was the train that would go to the area of the Bronx we were trying to get to -- after we had gotten confused trying to figure out the different trains -- and he looked at us with a quizzical look and threw his hands in the air -- I'm not surprised the same thing could happen in Italy.
The difference is there is more of a reason to expect it in Italy since theoretically there are two different languages involved.

That's a point, willit! Even if the state doesn't care when you're ripped off, they do care about the taxes they loose. You have to be given a correct receipt. If they don't and the taxman knows about this, it's going to be real expensive for them!

I'm not sure that I've been to a country yet that didn't have some unscrupulous businessowners that take advantage of foreigners.

I spent a week on an island in Greece once that was a popular stop on the cruise-ship circuit.All of the shopkeepers had "special" price signs that they used for the cruisers,then when they all went back on the ship,the prices went back to the usual.

Interesting fire storm that I started on the 9th. My friends felt that the conductor was rude. It isn't too complicated when one points to the train and says "Fierenze." I will not go to Rome. There are too many wonderful places where people do not try to take advantage.

NativeNewYorker-Are you sure you're a New Yorker?You of all people should know that you can't judge a large city by a few unscrupulous characters.

I just got back from Italy two weeks ago, although it seems like years ago at this point. I am of Italian descent, born in Canada, and can speak Italian fairly well although I'm a little rusty. When I spoke Italian in the tourist places we visited, most people would reply in English. I really didn't expect people to speak English to me. I'm not sure why they did, since a few times Italians mistook me for a native Italian. The only place people did not reply to me in English was in Florence.

Despite this, my husband and I were ripped off at a restaurant near the Trevi Fountain in Rome. In hindsight, we should have tried to find a place away from this very touristy spot. We paid what the menu said, but the food was inferior. My husband ordered veal and what he got looked more like slices of lunch meat. He was so mad, and he is a fairly calm person. He left the restaurant and I ended up paying. We could have made a scene, but I doubt it would have made any difference. I'm sure the place is full of tourists as I write this. We found the worst place for ripoffs was in Venice. Does a glass of coca cola really cost 6 euros? We had done some research before our trip and were really not surprised by this.

We also took a train from a small town in Lazio to Termini Station in Rome. There were two British women on the train who had not validated their tickets. The conductor only spoke Italian and they only spoke English. Everyone was getting a little frustrated. I stepped in and explained what the conductor was saying to them. The conductor and the women both thanked me and everything was fine.

We didn't have any problems with Italians and we travelled as far north as Venice and as far south as Positano. We tried to fit in as much as we could and to respect the country that we were visiting. On the whole, we found Italians to be friendly, helpful and fun-loving. We are already trying to figure out how we can go back again next year.

I think most of us can accept the idea of occasionally being overcharged. When we went to Costa Rica, we were outrageously overcharged at a pharmacy. (The hotel manager had even warned us against going, due to their reputation, but DH went anyway.) But otherwise, we found the people in CR to be very honest.

However, I become uncomfortable when the over charging seems to be "institutional." Years ago we went to Cancun. We took a cab to a restaurant; the fare seemed a bit high, but we didn't have a lot of experience with cabs. We found out during the course of the trip that the price they quote is usually about 10 times higher than the fare, and that you're supposed to bargain for the fare before every trip. In my mind, I don't want to have to do that on vacation and that is one of the reasons I don't like Cancun. I guess we all have our own level of tolerance. I think a lot of the problem is not being fluent in the language.

After many meals in Rome, I can't remember anything close to this. We,however,research where we will eat at or return to places we like. Generally, researching here and other websites steers us away from "tourist trap" restaurants.
We did have a "rip-off"_ situation in a nice restaurant in Milan, but never anywhere else in Italy.

This just happened to us in Nice. We bought some items in a small grocery. On the receipt, there was an additional charge---some sort of VAT percentage charge. We just assumed it was kosher!! But, we were not charged anything additional at the large Monoprix in Nice!

The VAT is always paid on something bought in France - the ticket may or may not show the detail.

Would a thrifty Roman restaurant customer ask in advance how much the bread/cover (?) charge is, or is it posted somewhere where we didn't see it?

I ask, because that was the "wild card" on our restaurant checks. We had three teen/tweens with us. Most of the restaurants only added the charge for adults; a couple added it for all five of us. In most places it was 2 euro, but in some (of similar quality) it was 5. That is quite a difference in your dinner bill; adding a low of 4 euro, to a high of 25 euro. I would think that the average Roman restaurant customer would know or ask the cover charge in advance, rather than risking a 25 euro surprise at the end of the meal.

We've traveled to Italy many times and I've only had this happen once. We were on a trip with my aunt and uncle and were departing from Naples to the Aeolian islands. My aunt and I are of Italian descent and we have a typical dark, southern italian look.

My uncle, on the otherhand, is a big, very light balding male of German descent. He went up to pay for a couple of limonatas, ordered in Italian "Due Limonate per favore" and the counter clerk charged him twice the amount listed. I was standing behind him, but I don't think the clerk knew we were together. I called him on it and he gave us back the extra money.

I'm sure this happened to us...my solution is never check the bill. Just enjoy the experience and pay. Figure it equals out for all the local discounts we get in Hawaii.

''Figure it equals out for all the local discounts we get in Hawaii''

How so? I don't reside in Hawaii, and consequently end up paying the inflated 'tourist' price.

Bit of background...the State of Hawaii will issue special ID card to residents of that state, entitling them to discounts in many places. The card is called something long and unpronouncable (in Hawaiian) presumably to disguise its function to the dumb tourists.

How is this practice different than the practice of surcharging (aka "ripping off") tourists in Rome or anywhere else? It strikes me that it's not, really.

Face it, fellow travellers....when vacationing, you're perceived as 'bucks on feet', nothing more than an exploitable resource. Don't expect fair and equitable treatment at the hands of the locals, whatever their nationality.

Regarding the idea of "all the discounts in Hawaii", when will people realize that if a place can afford to give major discounts to all the tourists who have bothered to clip a coupon, that the "regular" prices are raised as a come on to those tourists? If a place can afford to give 20% off to anyone who happens to have a coupon, then that means their standard prices are raised by 20% to cover that. I'm amazed how many people think they're getting a bargain, when in fact they are only ending up paying what the price should be in the first place. And also surprising how many people will use a coupon to eat at a place and end up paying more for something mediocre because they're getting a discount, than if they went to another place that didn't offer discounts but had better quality and lower prices to begin with.

In my experience, chances to be ripped off by local restaurants/bars rise dramatically in a few well-known "tourist traps". Rome is first, then comes Venice and some seaside places such as the Amalfi coast. Florence, strangely enough, is less dangerous. The rest of Italy is fairly free of bad surprises when the bill arrives. Of course, bad excepitions are always possible.

My most recent rip-off in Rome was a taxi driver from Termini who had the meter set to rate 3. I thought the E25 short trip was very expensive, but the taxi was from an official rank, looked like a usual Rome taxi and had used the meter so I paid up - I did think the rate 3 seemed a little suspect though.

Sure enough when I did the exact same journey back to Termini the meter was set to rate 1 and it cost E8. This honest taxi driver had a notice up explaining rates 1 and 2, I expect this is a legal requirement?

Still, at least they've sorted out the airport taxi fares now! That's one less rip-off to worry about.

Could a kind poster advise me a bit about the various rate levels in Rome Taxis and when they are supposed to be in use? Thanks!

Ek,

Basically, it's always supposed to be Rate 1 (Tarriffa 1) within central Rome; it only changes to Rate 2 when the taxi goes outside the GRA, the ring road around Rome - and the taxi driver is supposed to tell you when he changes it to Rate 2.

Mind you, there are other quirks: the drop rate is different after a certain hour; they can, I think, charge you for baggage; etc., etc. But it <b>always&lt;/b) has to be Tarriffa 1 within central Rome.

The straight rate from Fiumicino to central Rome is 40 Euro - no ifs, ands or buts and no wxtra for baggage. But don't be surprised if you get quoted higher rates...

Over at SlowTalk, many Italians are urging unsuspecting tourists like ourselves to threaten the taxi driver that you will call the Guardia di Finanza (117 on the telephone; I think it might even be a free call). But I'd be afraid to be heaped with abuse if I tried that. I'd suggest just going from taxi driver to taxi driver until you find an honest one who tells you it's 40 Euro.

Or you can use www.romeshuttlelimousine.com (you have to reserve in advance); they charge 35 Euro. Their drivers see their job as getting you from the airport to your hotel, period. You will not get friendly chit-chat from them or a free guided tour, but I personally can do without that. I've used them and found them satisfactory at what they do.</b>

So sorry; I obviously goofed in turning off the bold...