richardzscott

Italy Travel Tips

Cities visited: Milan, Florence, Rome

When making your plans for Italy you should consider what type of trip you want. You are most likely considering your hotel and transportation. In addition, also think about how much time you have and whether you want to relax and enjoy the many wonderful cafes and piazzas, or you want a trip filled with packing in all the sights. If you have enough time, you can definitely get a blend of both.

I highly recommend checking out TripAdvisor for reviews of hotels. Hotels.com was also very helpful in planning our trip. While on the phone with a Hotels.com representative, I requested he make a recommendation for hotel in another city. He put us right on a convenient place that was just right for our plans – and our budget.

Accomodations:

Milan – Hotel Michelangelo – This is a great place to stay in Milan. It is just around the corner from the central station that connects with all the rail lines and also the subway. It is certainly not up to the standards of an American four star hotel, but it is more than adequate. The rooms are cozy, quaint, but small. The bathrooms are excellent with marble everywhere, a nice big tub, and towel warmers. The included breakfast is a huge spread of fruits, breads, eggs, bacon, sausage, and more. They even have a machine that puts out fresh squeezed orange juice.

Rome – Una Hotel – We stayed at the new UNA hotel next to Termini station. It is less than a block from the main station and is convenient to everything. The hotel is polished, tidy, and contemporary. The problem is that its maybe a little too contemporary or polished for my taste. Wood floors, all wood furniture, all marble shower, sink, and floors in the bathroom may be impressive to some, but the hotel was not cozy. The room also had many seemingly cheap controls on the wall. Our room had a decent view, but the door out to the balcony is a little tricky.

Traveling in Italy – Many choose to rent a car in Italy to drive through hill towns in Umbria or Tuscany. We traveled by train. I definitely have some recommendations here. Traveling by train in Italy is definitely convenient but there a few things you should consider. First, you can get an Italy Pass from Eurail.com. If you are traveling with someone else, buy your tickets together and get a “Save Pass” which will be one tickets for all passengers.

Consider how many days you will be traveling and to what cities. You should find out how much individual tickets to those cities cost and consider buying the train tickets when you get there. If you are traveling between Florence, Rome, and around in Umbria and Tuscany, you should definitely consider this option because trains of this short distance are relatively inexpensive. For example, a Eurostar train between Flornce and Rome is 40 Euros second class.

If traveling these short distances, you may break even by buying the Eurail pass. There are a couple of reasons. First, you must purchase a 10 Euro reservation before getting on the train. You can purchase them at the kiosks in the station. Additionally, you may have to wait in line to get the reservation. You might as well have stood in line to buy and individual ticket.

Obviously if you are traveling longer distances with higher train ticket prices, the Eurail tickets will be more valuable.

Consider the luggage you are bringing. If you have a lot of baggage, it may be worth it to upgrade to first class as they have more room for storage and fewer people in each cabin.

If you are bringing children, Italy is not set up very well for young children. Restaurants do not generally have a lot of room for strollers, do not have high chairs, and will not be accommodated well by your server. This was only my experience. At the same time, Italians were very happy to see a baby and were very friendly towards us. Finally, if you are nringing children, consider paying extra to go first class, get taxis, or other conveniences over fighting the hoards of Italians around train stations, sights, and many other places.

Other tips:

You will definitely notice that everything is ridiculously expensive, especially in the touristy areas. I recommend finding a shoppette or grocery store out of the way to buy things like water, soda, beer, wine, and pretty much anything. Though we all want to eat well on vacation, especially in Italy, but you also want to avoid getting gouged at cafes, sandwich stands, and other places near touristy spots.

Eat on the go. You pay extra to sit down in a restaurant or cafe.

If you want a laid back atmosphere in Italy, head out of the big cities to some of the attractive hill towns in the countryside.