Hi! My husband and I (we live in the US) are going to travel to Italy
for about two weeks in Aug - Sept. Neither of us speaks Italian or has
prior travel experience traveling to Italy, so we need your advice
regarding the following:
1. Time to travel: we plan our trip for late Aug - early Sept. I
wonder if we chose a good time of the year. We're relatively flexible
as to when to travel and would prefer still warm, but not too hot
weather. Did we choose the right time?
2. Car rental: we were planning to fly to Milan and then rent a car
and drive to Rome and fly back to the States from there. What is the
best place to rent a car in terms of a). rates; b). reliability; c).
pick up/drop off in different cities. We need the most simple car
there is. The major international car rentals like Hertz are pretty
pricy - are there any Italian rentals that are cheaper and just as
good?
3. Places to visit: we would like to visit the major cities and sights
(Milan, Sienna, Florence, Venice, etc.), however we both have really
limited knowledge of Italy (hopefully more by the time we go on
vacation, thanks to your replies :-). We would also like to visit
smaller towns, that are maybe not on a "must see" list of a regular
tourist guide, but are worth visiting. What are such places?
4. Hotels: I was going to reserve a hotel for our stay in Milan and
Rome, but look for accomodations in other towns as we get there. Is
this a good idea or will it be much harder/more expensive to book a
hotel the same day or a day in advance rather than weeks ahead?
What is the best way to look for a hotel - expedia, travelocity, etc.
or are there some Italian websites? We'd like to stay in 2-3 star
hotels, nothing fancy, not necessarily in the center, but within a
reasonable driving distance. Also - please tell if it is a crazy
idea:) - would it be convenient to stay at campings? Are there are
campings (those that have all major amenities) close to big cities? Is
it much cheaper than hotels? How can I find those campings online?
5. Meeting the locals: I would like to meet Iocals, who would like to
spend a couple of hours showing us around the city, chat about life,
share a lunch, etc. Since we don't speak Italian, we need somebody who
speaks English. What is the best way to look for locals who would like
to show us around? Are their some Italian websites where you can look
for activity partners?
6. Books/guides: there's still some time until we go, so I'd like to
read a good guide on Italy - one that is not too boring, yet gives all
the major information that you should know as a tourist and one that
you can use to plan sight-seeing. Any tips on a good book/travel
guide?
Thanks for any response and have a great day!
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