Going to Italy in Aigust. Is it better to get a car or get a tour??

Question

We are going for 10 days to see Rome, Florence and Venice with side trips to Sorrento and Verona and Pisa. We are travelling with out two boys (15 and 12). Should we make our own reservations and rent a car or is it better to get a tour and have some structure?? Anyone knows some great tours in Italy??

Answer 1

I think 10 days are really few to see all these places. You need at least 4-5 days just for Rome, and Florence and Venice are very interesting and full of things to see. They are also relatively far one from another (from Rome to Venice, 5 hours by train, 6 or 7 hours by car; from Sorrento to Venice, at least 7 hours by train). It's hard to find great tours that visit so many places in few days, and if you find, you risk to spend the most of your time on travel.

Rentig a car is not very advisable: gasoline and motorways are expensive, and in Venice car is completely useless. Towns like Florence, Pisa, Verona and Sorrento are not big, and you'd better visit them by foot. Train is much better than car, it's confortable, sure and cheap (especially if you avoid the most expensive trains called Eurostar).

Answer 2

Boy its going to be hot in August !

Driving in Italy can be quite an experience you know and with only 10 days holiday you'll be against the clock if you travel by car.

I would suggest that you travel by train to your three main destination. For instance from Rome to Florence takes around 2.5 hours by car and Florence to Venice is around 6 hours drive. Rail travel in Italy is relatively cheap and very well organised.

A car is a bit of a false economy in Venice as you can't drive around there anyway. You have to park on the Piazzalle Roma and the take the canals to your hotel. There are trains from Ferrovia on the grand canal to Verona on a regular basis, plus its not very far away.

Florence is a very small city anyway and easy to walk around.If you do feel that you want to hire a car just be careful where you decide to park. Generally there are parking bays by the Arno but be sure to find ones that are not for permit holders or you will be clamped and towed.

Rome is a very busy city and a nightmare to drive through and parking is at a premium. Also beware if you park on the streets in a permitted area other drivers may park all around you and block you in for an indefinite period. The metro in Rome is so cheap and simple that it is makes sense to use the public transport. Also there are lots of tour buses that admit you on a hop on, hop off basis if you purchase tickets.

I have travelled to Italy on many occasions and having had silly qotes from tour companies have always booked the trips myself.

For hotels try www.venere.com and trenitalia for rail tickets.

Answer 3

Hello,

First of all I have to say that going to Rome, Florence and Venice in 10 days doesn't give you a lot of time  to enjoy these cities let alone do side trips like the ones you mentioned.  Personally, I make all my own arrangements and reservations.  Italy is a very easy country to get around in.  The train system is wonderful.  Do not even consider renting a car as you won't be able to drive it in any of the cities mentioned.  You are required to have a special pass to drive in Rome and Florence and there are no cars in Venice.  Just take the train from city to city.  It is very cheap and fast.  You can buy your tickets a day or two ahead of time once you get to Italy.  You can check the timetables and prices on the trenitalia site.  You can also check out great sites like virtualtourist.com and tripadvisor.com for more information and travel guides.  These sites will help you with all the information you are looking for.  

If I were doing this trip I would spend most of my time in Rome with maybe 2 days in Florence.   This would give you enough time to take a day trip from Rome to Naples to visit pompeii or spend an extra day in Florence for  a day trip to Pisa.  Florence and Naples are both about 1.5-2 hours away depending on the train.  Venice from Rome is 4.5 hours by train.  With so much to see in all the cities you mentioned you won't run out of things to keep the kids interested.  You will enjoy Italy more if you slow your vacation down and limit the number of cities and the time spent getting from hotel to hotel.  

Donna

Answer 4

I went to Italy twice 2004 & 2005.........April & May the weather was beautiful.........August I hear is very hot & lots of Italians go on vacation..........Both my trips I did all the arrangements online my self (Train tickets, musemuns etc.) I saved a lot of money & most of all time.

Answer 5

I've traveled all over Italy, if this is your first time I would suggest a tour. First of all it's going to be hotter than h**l in Italy in August, so be prepared, but also make sure you take comfortable clothing because they won't let you in to visit churches and temples if you do not cover your shoulders. Secondly a tour gives you the chance to travel with other fascinating people with similar interests and you can make friends to go out and eat. Besides that tour groups don't have to wait in long lines to enter such landmarks like the Colosseum in Rome, or the Duomo in Florence. If you go at it alone you'll have to wait 2 to 4 hours in line under the hot blistering sun just to get inside many of these tourist spots, in a tour group, you just go right in. On top of all that the gas is about $12 to $15 dollars per gallon in Italy right now, so don't rent a car, Italians are rude and drive hysterically anyway. Finally guided tours give you many hours during the day to explore the cities on your own.

Rome is crowded, dirty, full of graffiti, traffic, and loud, stick to the guided tours. Buy a travel book which shows you walking trips which you can do on your own. Be patient with vendors.

Florence is amazingly beautiful, but also extremely crowded, call ahead to make reservation if you want to see the duomo. The shopping is great though, and you can always bargain with the street vendors in the outdoor markets.

Venice, crowded, loud, crowded, dirty, crowded. I suggest taking a tour to Burano, it's an outlying island which is so quiet and contains all the beautiful things of Venice. If you want to go on a gondola ride, expect to pay about 75-150 Euro per PAIR. Expect long delays. Expect to pay anywhere from 15-20 Euro for a cup of coffee if you want to sit at a table within Saint Mark's Square. Yes, that's how expensive it is. There's a McDonald's walking distance from the square for your little ones.

Pisa, stay away from street vendors, if you buy anything from them, like a fake Rolex watch, bargain with them. They'll give you an outrageous price like 80 Euro, promising you that they're actually real watches, I got them down to 5 Euro! also the best currency exchange is in the bank inside the Plaza of Miracles directly across from the Leaning Tower. You'll most likely get the best exchange there. Again expect large crowds, and hot hot hot weather.

Don't get me wrong, Italy is amazing, and it's definitely worth your time and effort to visit, but you are going in August, that's still part of the high tourist season, and it's friggin' hot!! Also buy the large water bottles, they're actually cheaper than buying small water bottles. Don't expect to get ice with your Coke, and don't expect jumbo sized cups. Don't worry about taking your own cases of water from the states to Europe like so many people do, Europe has better tasting water than the US. The food is awesome anywhere in Italy!! Don't wear any expensive jewelry, Italy is famous for it's pickpockets, also you'll have a whole lot of gypsies and vagabonds begging you for money, just make a diagonal gesture with your arm in front of your body, that way they'll leave you alone and they'll know you mean business, otherwise telling them 'no' repeatedly will not work.