How to Plan a Trip to Italy
To plan a trip to Italy, you can work with a travel agent, join a tour group or make arrangements on your own. If you want a customized trip with maximum flexibility, the best option is to plan a trip yourself. Although research and planning takes some time, it is not too difficult with an organized approach.
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Instructions
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Determine When and Where to Go
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Decide when to visit Italy. Spring and autumn have the mildest weather. Summer is a popular time, although many Italian cities swelter in July and August. Winter is also a good option if you have flexibility.
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Apply for or update your passport several months before your trip. It can take six to eight weeks for your passport to arrive after you’ve submitted the paperwork.
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Determine which cities you want to visit in Italy. Popular cities include Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome and Sicily. It is easy to travel between cities in Italy, so consider visiting several. For example, a 10-day trip should give you enough time to visit Venice, Florence and Rome. You should even have enough time to spend a day exploring Tuscany.
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After you’ve identified the cities you want to visit, decide whether you want to take day trips to each city (i.e., returning to a “home base” each night) or move from hotel to hotel in different cities. If you want to stay in one hotel for your whole trip, choose a city and hotel that are central to your planned excursions.
Find Hotels
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Search for hotels in your chosen city or cities. Although you can read hotel reviews in many print and online guidebooks, you’ll typically find the most helpful information in the traveler reviews at TripAdvisor.com.
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Search hotel reviews on TripAdvisor. The site offers ratings by popularity, cost, and hotel rating. Start reading reviews for the most popular hotels first. Keep a map of the city in another window or tab on your browser so you can see the location of the hotel in relation to your top attractions for each city.
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Keep some perspective when you are reading hotel reviews. Read the reviews with an eye to the features that are most important to you. For example, inadequate air conditioning may not be as important to you in November as it would be in July. Likewise, you should do extra research on hotels that only have a couple of reviews because having a small number of reviews inflate or deflate the hotel’s ranking.
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After you’ve narrowed down your list of hotels, check online for the best rates. Start with the popular booking sites, including Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, Hotels.com, and Travelocity.com. Venere.com is also useful for searching Italian hotels. Be sure to also check the hotel’s website for additional deals.
Travel to and around Italy
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Determine how you will travel to Italy. Although most Americans and Canadians travel to Italy by plane, those coming from other countries in Europe have several travel options, including train, car, bus and even cruise boat.
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If you are flying into Italy, check online for flights to your chosen city. You can often get direct flights from the U.S. into Milan or Rome. However, it is often cheaper to take a connecting flight through London, Paris, or Amsterdam into Italy. Check Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, and Travelocity.com to find the lowest rates, on average. If you only have a limited amount of time in Italy, consider flying into and out of different airports (e.g., arrive in Venice and depart from Rome). This will help maximize the time you can spend site seeing.
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Once you are in Italy, travel between cities by train. You can view schedules and find more information at Trenitalia.com. Plan to rent a car if you want to explore areas off the “beaten path.”
See the Sights
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In Venice, cruise the canals by boat or gondola. Also visit St. Mark’s Basilica, St. Mark’s Square, and the Doge palace. If you have time, plan a day trip to one of the glass making factories on Murano. Many of the glass-making factories will pick up tourists by boat at their hotels and bring them to Murano for glass blowing demonstrations and a tour of the showroom.
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In Rome, be sure to visit the Colosseum and the Vatican City to see the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museum, and St. Peter’s Basilica. Also plan to visit the Pantheon, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. Take an evening stroll to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.
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In Florence, spend some time wandering around the city to discover the artwork hidden around every corner. Start your walk at the Duomo to see Brunelleschi’s Dome, the preeminent landmark in Florence. Continue towards the Piazza della Signoria to view the outdoor sculpture gallery with copies of many famous Florentine works, including David, Perseus, and the Rape of the Sabines. Then stroll across the Ponte Vecchio, over the Arno River. Save time to visit the museums in Florence, including the Uffizi, the Accademia, and the Bargello.
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Spend at least a day in the Tuscan countryside. Consider renting a car for maximum flexibility. Cities to visit include Greve, Siena, Pienza, San Gimignano, and Montepulciano. Drive along the Chianti Road (S222) for beautiful views.
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Tips & Warnings
If you research hotels online, keep a map of the city in another window or tab on your browser so you can see the location of the hotel in relation to your top attractions for each city.
Try to learn some Italian before your trip by signing up for a class at your local community college or listening to audio CDs.
If you plan to visit the Vatican, consider pre-booking a tour with a reputable tour group. You’ll be able to skip the regular entrance lines, which could save you some time. Being with a tour group will also allow you to skip the entrance line for St. Peter’s Basilica.
In Venice, ride the water bus (i.e., Vaporetto) for an inexpensive way to see the city.
Know the hours of operation for any museums you plan to visit. Some museums close early in the afternoon, so it is important to plan ahead so you don’t miss anything.
Try to avoid the gladiators outside the Colosseum. They often take pictures with tourists, then harass the tourists for additional payment.
Soda/cola is very expensive in Italy. Make sure you know the price and size of your beverage before you order it.
