I'm visiting Italy in Early February & plan to drive from Rome to Sorrento to Assisi to Venice etc. Is it safe

Question

I have heard that driving in Rome is not recommended. But we have a rental car and plan on driving from Rome to Sorrento, all the way to Venice. Also, we plan on going to Innsbruck (to see Swarovoski Museum). Will we have any problems?

Answer 1

The streets are safe

Answer 2

Absolutely not, Italy's roads are safe and informative.

I have to say you must visit Venice between the 9th and 20th of February they have there annual Carnival in St. Mark's Square please check this site:   http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=th...

Have a wonderful holiday

Answer 3

I can't tell you strongly enough - don't rent a car for that entire trip. You will have a LOT of unnecessary headaches and possible expense.  I would do a combination of trains, buses and car rentals. For the cities and towns, there is no good reason to rent a car. The traffic is horrendous and you cannot park a car in even slightly large towns in Italy. You will invariably end up with a parking ticket which is quite expensive. Unless you speak the language quite well, you won't be able to read the parking signs.  Public transportation is very easy to navigate and a worry-free way to get around. Walking is also good. You'll see more and feel the culture better. The metro (subway)  is  great in the Milan. Buses may be better for Rome, it  only has two metro lines, which are great for most sights. Venice has vaporetto and traghetto (water buses). I assume you know there are no cars in Venice (past the car park). Crime in Italy is mostly thievery (very little to no personal harm) and they do like to break into cars and/or steal the entire car or moped. They also park by braille. Watch the cars parallel park on any street after you arrive and notice that they know they've gone too far when they bump the car ahead of them and behind them...repeatedly. They are excellent drivers, but unless you are a professional driver, you don't want to match wits with a local. They'll win and you'll learn a very expensive lesson. As far as the country side - I'd rent a car. The hill towns of Tuscany, Umbria, Amalfi Coast, etc. are all  best seen by rental car. You can have the freedom you are probably envisioning in those more out of the way places. Even some of these hill towns will have less than favorable parking conditions, but it's possible. In between your cities/towns where there really isn't much scenery to see by car you should take the fastest train available, get there quckly, quitely, rested, cheaply and see what you went there to see. Fast trains cost no more than the slow trains. Become familiar with the system at www.trenitalia.com and use it regularly. It's easy and actually fun. You can see prices, schedules and can even buy them with a credit card and print the ticket after you get to the station at a self-service kiosk that speaks English. I'd take a bus to the out-lying areas that are not easily serviced by train. Consider home-basing in a city, seeing that city, taking day trips to the surrounding areas, then moving to the next city as fast as possible. Then repeat from there. You'll be more relaxed and have more time than if you rented a car. If you are adept on a motorcycle/scooter, I highly recommend that from Sorrento and Amalfi coast. You'll be able to pull over whenever you want and see what it's all about. Driving a car there your eyes will never leave the roadway (or bumper in front of you) and yes, they have tremendous parking problems on the coast. Buono Vacanza!