We are a family of four (2 teenagers) and are considering doing a round trip by car - Milan, Venice, Rome, Florence, Milan. I have been told that this will be tiring to do in 19 days. Any thoughts?

With only 4 driving legs in 19 days, I don't think it would be especially tiring. From your posted itinerary it seems you're only stopping in major cities, so, unless you are planning a lot of driving day trips, you will be paying rental and parking for something you won't be using most of the time you are in Italy. You would have to calculate whether or not 4 train legs for 4 people would be more or less cost effective than renting the car.

I advocate car rental for lots of trips in Europe, including Italy. But Rufus has raised some good points. I'll expand, and ask this question - - any particular reason you are returning to Milan at the end? It really isn't necessary - - you should be able to get a very comparable airfare flying into one city and back out of another.<BR><BR>A car is much more likely to be a burden than beneficial in Rome, and has virtually zero use in/near Venice. Even in Florence its value is more AROUND than IN.<BR><BR>Unless you have already bought your air travel (I'm assuming that you are coming from another continent), I urge you to re-think the itinerary. Ther are some great places to see in Italy by car, and I would &quot;cluster&quot; this trip into two or three segments. One longer segment (in the middle?) WITH car, and Venice and/or Rome segments without.<BR><BR>What season are you planning to do this? and what other constraints go into the planning of your trip (visiting family, attending an event, etc).<BR><BR>Having a car will not make this trip tiring. Relying on a car EXCLUSIVELY for travel from A to B to C would probably not be your best bet.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>

up to the top, for mo_han1<BR>

Thanks guys for your input. We are going to be there in July, flying in from London on 02/07. We have a return flight from London to Cape Town so we have to get there on 22/07. We have no contraints in Italy (family etc.). We just want to kids to experience Italy. The reason for thinking of renting a car was that we could explore the little villages on route to the major cities. We are not really wanting to spend too much time in the city as such.<BR>We have also heard that Lake Garda is beautiful and would like to spend a few days there. Maybe we are trying to do too much in too little time? I'm trying to sort out an itinerary whereby we can see quite a bit of Italy. I don't really want to spend our holiday in one place. Your idea on flying out from another city is a good one. Thanks. I also need some advice on where to stay. With our SA Rand conversion, it's going to be expensive from what I've seen regarding lodgings, but we'd still like something decent. Do they have pensione like they do in Greece? Are the rates that they quote per room or per person?

I think your trip sounds wonderful. I do however, also wondered about the logistics of visiting four major cities and having a car to deal with. Consider the idea of staying on nearby towns and train in for sightseeing into the mayor cities such as Rome, etc.

mo_han: Room rates are generally quoted as single room (one person room); double or twin room (two person room--twin indicates 2 single beds); or double room used as a single (one person wants to use a double/twin room). Then some will show triple or quad room prices as well. Others will have a charge for a cot or extra bed. So it is generally by the room, not the person.<BR><BR>Yes, they do have pensions--though some call themselves hotels or locandas or albergos or... . How much is in your budget for lodging each night for the 4 of you? Will you all want to share a room? Would 2 rooms do? Or would each teen require his/her own single room?

I would not drive in Rome or Florence. Traffic is terrible and no where to park. Last year we took trains. In Italy they are reasonable and quick. We did use a travel agent, to book them for us. There was no cost and it save us trying to figure out the routes and reservations. The agency was located in the Rome train station. We stayed in hotels near the train stations, except Sorrento. We did get off in in Pompei then back on to continue to Sorrento.

From your second post it sounds like you want to see the small towns in various parts of Italy and for that a car is important. Our family of four did a 22 day trip last july to Italy and didn't find it too tiring. There are plenty of wonderful places to stay in Tuscany, Umbria, etc.<BR><BR>We found quad rooms to be less than two doubles all of the time. They were not hard to find but the smaller, &quot;quainter&quot; places are less likely to have them. We found many on sites like venere.com, itwg.com, etc. Once you start searching more and more sites come up, with more and more hotels. We booked everything on the net. In July we felt air conditioning in Italy was important and we were right.<BR><BR>Parking in Venice is not a problem. We found the best deal was to park in Mestre and take the train (10 minutes, less than 1 euro) over. Parking is right across from the train station and is about 5 euro per 24 hours. For Rome we left the car in Orvieto (big free lot next to the train station). Train ride is longer (a little over an hour) and more expensive but the freedom from the car in Rome was worth every penny. Then when we got back to Orvieto we stayed there a couple days and really liked it.<BR>

Milano and Venice are both weel connected to the most part of nearby villages by train or bus, with trains and busses often departing twice per hour from 6 am to well past 10 pm, therefore it seems to me that this part of your trip might be better done by public transportation. Also keep in mind that kids under the age of 12 travelling with their parents enjoy a substantial discount on Italian train. I would suggest to rent the car only for the last part of the trip, for visiting villages in Tuscany and Lazio.

It all comes down to cost. Will a 15+ day rental from abroad with parking fees in the places where you do not drive be more or less than train tickets plus the various rentals (Rome to Florence?) either reserved from abroad or done locally? You will have to park your car for the duration of your stay in cities, but hotels are usually good in indicating a long-term parking garage near-by.

What a great website this is. I'm having such fun reading everything! I was wondering if anyone has been to the Lake districts? Is it better for us to fly in to Verona (is there such a flight from London?) rather than Milan. If so, how long should we spend there and then should we go to Venice and then make our way to Rome and then on to Tuscany? Thanks for your info on the trains - makes more sense than having a car in the major cities. How long should we stay in Rome?

There is a flight from London (stansted) into Verona (Brescia) on ryanair - - it's about 25 minutes away by buses, synchronized to the flights.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>