European Trip (Italy) This Winter

airmenair

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If all goes to plan, and it looks pretty decent now. I'm going to make my first European trip this winter, which I am infinitely excited about! :D I'm going to go with my brother and mother too probably, and our plan is to stay in the Tuscany area and rent a one bedroom Villa for two weeks. As far as getting there, I find that what looks to be one of the cheaper countries to fly to is Germany, and take the train into Italy. So here is where my questions come.

What is the best way to get to my destination? Are there any problems with what I have tentatively planned? How much would a train ticket from Germany (Frankfurt?) to Italy cost for one person? What should I avoid?

I'm not sure of the best questions to ask yet, but these should get it giong. Basically some advice from some of you over the pond and others who have been would be greatly appreciated!
 
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Should have put this in Off-Topic.
 
The best option is probably to fly from germany, lots of low cost airlines like ryanair, easyjet etc.

Edit: just checked, you can fly from frankfurt to pisa for 10 euro (tax included) with ryanair. (obviously it depends on the date)

Wow, that really is cheap. I might have to go with that even though a train ride sounds like more fun. Thanks avanti.
 
Do any of you have any comments on lodging? Are there other alternatives to renting a villa for a couple of weeks, aside from inns? I figure a villa would be the most relaxing method so I wouldn't have to worry about the hassle of booking different hotels every few nights.

Also, what would be some good towns/cities to stay in in the winter in Tuscany?
 
Do any of you have any comments on lodging? Are there other alternatives to renting a villa for a couple of weeks, aside from inns? I figure a villa would be the most relaxing method so I wouldn't have to worry about the hassle of booking different hotels every few nights.

Also, what would be some good towns/cities to stay in in the winter in Tuscany?
I?ve been to Tsucany in Autum 13 Years ago wich is said to be the best time there and it was beutiful. Boring (for me at that time) ... but beutiful :)

Taking the Train there can be done, but Frankfurt - Florenz(Firenze) is 10 to 12 Hours and Changing Train at least twice. You could visit Munich or Milano on the way ... but it?s kind of long and i don?t think it will be cheap. Caution though with flying too, Ryanair doesn?t fly from Frankfurt, they fly from Frankfurt-Hahn, that?s 120 Kilometers from Frankfurt, transfer only by bus or Car - a lot of people fall for that trick. -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt-Hahn_Airport

Places to visit in Tsucany ... Florenz/Firenze is a must. The only "real" Place there I thought were People don?t just live on Tourists. Great sights and a lot of what you think of as "Italian Flair" (Crazy People mainly :mrgreen: ). Pisa ... i hated. Apart from the Tower and the Church next to it, there isn?t much to see and the Place is crowded with tourists and those who want to rip them off. I?ve been told it would be a nice and pretty City somewhere away from the tower, but I never found something nice. Siena on the other Hand was awsome. Great small old Town. San Gimignano, wich is UNESCO World Heritage i realy liked too. Vinci had a great Leonardo da Vinci Museum when i was there, but not much else ...
 
Tuscany is a good choice. I've been there quite a few times, and I promise you will love it. 8)
efoolution has given some good suggestions. Also, if you go to Florence, you might want to check out Fiesole. It's a small village on a hilltop near Florence (15 minutes by bus), and it has magnificent views over the city and the Tuscan landscape. Also, some very interesting Roman ruins (complete amphitheatre) and an Etruskian city wall.
I don't like Pisa that much either. Instead, go to a place like Lucca (very beautiful city centre, few tourists) or Siena (even better, but more tourists).
 
Excellent advice guys, thanks!

I want to avoid as many tourists as possible :) which is the main reason I'm going in the winter and also because its cheaper. I'll probably end up doing a few touristy things though.

I can't say I know too much offhand about Italy's winter climate. I imagine Tuscany in the winter (December) to be pretty damn cold, what kind of winter climate does the Amalfi Coast have in the winter? Where would it be most mild? (I imagine the southern coast).
 
I can't say I know too much offhand about Italy's winter climate. I imagine Tuscany in the winter (December) to be pretty damn cold, what kind of winter climate does the Amalfi Coast have in the winter? Where would it be most mild? (I imagine the southern coast).
Tuscany is a bit of a Hill-thing, so Temperatures can variate a bit depending where you stay, how high it is there and how far you are from the Med. But you should get around 5? to 10? Celsius during Nights, up to 15/18? C at Days, pretty mild, i?d say, but you might want to bring more Pullovers than T-Shirts. January is the coldest Month. It usually doesn?t snow at all and is rather sunny. But do take into consideration that in these "mild" Regions around the Med, most houses don?t have any heating - people don?t need it for some few cold nights. So if it get?s a bit cold in the night, you might want to have your thick underpants with you, or at least check the Hotels/Rooms/whatever before you go. If your travel in/thru the Alpes or Germany in general, you have to expect Temperatures around or lower than 0? Celsius during winter. You might want to bring a thicker Jacket just for that, or you?ll catch a cold. Rain is more likley in Oktober and beginning of November than Dec/Jan, but it does rain sometimes. From a German Standpoint, Italys Winters are wounderfully mild and sunny. From your Texas Standpoint ... well, I guess you?ll find it a bit colder than at Home. Watertemperature goes down to 13? in January , 15? C in December.

It?s warmest at Italys South of course, but all around the Med, it?s nice. The Sea stores the heat in the summer, and doesn?t let the Temperatures drop too much in Winter. The Area around SanFrancisco in Califomnia is said to have a similar Climate.
 
Tuscany is a bit of a Hill-thing, so Temperatures can variate a bit depending where you stay, how high it is there and how far you are from the Med. But you should get around 5? to 10? Celsius during Nights, up to 15/18? C at Days, pretty mild, i?d say, but you might want to bring more Pullovers than T-Shirts. January is the coldest Month. It usually doesn?t snow at all and is rather sunny. But do take into consideration that in these "mild" Regions around the Med, most houses don?t have any heating - people don?t need it for some few cold nights. So if it get?s a bit cold in the night, you might want to have your thick underpants with you, or at least check the Hotels/Rooms/whatever before you go. If your travel in/thru the Alpes or Germany in general, you have to expect Temperatures around or lower than 0? Celsius during winter. You might want to bring a thicker Jacket just for that, or you?ll catch a cold. Rain is more likley in Oktober and beginning of November than Dec/Jan, but it does rain sometimes. From a German Standpoint, Italys Winters are wounderfully mild and sunny. From your Texas Standpoint ... well, I guess you?ll find it a bit colder than at Home. Watertemperature goes down to 13? in January , 15? C in December.

It?s warmest at Italys South of course, but all around the Med, it?s nice. The Sea stores the heat in the summer, and doesn?t let the Temperatures drop too much in Winter. The Area around SanFrancisco in Califomnia is said to have a similar Climate.


Awesome thanks. :D The cold doesn't bother me, I'm not a "native" Texan I grew up in the northeast in Maine, where I lived in a house with no heating for 3+ years.

I'll probably post more questions as I start thinking about the trip more.
 
What's the car rental policy in Italy? America has some strict rules about the ages of renters. Seems unjust to me, you're allowed to drive at 16, can vote at 18 and fight in a war, drink at 21, but you can't rent some cars until you're 25. :? According to a travel agent, if you rent through an American company for a car in another country, you have to be 25. Personally I'm a little confused as to how you rent through an American company but I guess there is some sort of connection with foreign renters, I don't know. But that's beside the point. I'm 21 now, and will still be at the time of the trip. Now, how would I go about renting a car in Italy, like where to go, and what kind of restrictions can I expect, such as age restrictions, etc.

Thanks,
Emile
 
What's the car rental policy in Italy?[...]
So, you really do want to experience some Fiat, Renault, Opel (vauxhall) or Peugeot (that?s mostly what you get as Rentals), do you? And do expect them not to come with an automatic Gearbox. Almost everything at the rentals has Manual. If you need an Automatic, maybe you can book it in advance or so.

I didn?t rent in Italy so far, but read the insurance carefully. In Greece or Spain, if something happens to your side-mirrors or the Windows, insurance will not pay even if you have "full insurance". Mirror or Window Damage is so common it can?t be insured so you end up paying for yourself if some Vespa rips of your mirror in the night. I don?t know if it?s the same in Italy ... but look out for something like that. I would always recomend a big Rental-Firm like sixt, Hertz or Europcar as mentioned above.
 
Alright, thanks guys. As far as it being a manual, I don't care, all I own are manuals. I'm not really renting to see if I can get a "cool" car either. I've owned Peugeot's in the past, so I know what it's like :D This is more for a utilitarian purpose, maybe it's the American in me but I like to be in better control of where I'm going and when I'm going. So that's why I'd like to have a rental car, I don't want to limited to places because public transport doesn't go there, or it's hard to go there. Catch my drift? Plus I live in a city that has no public transport, so my experience is limited as to how well it works.
 
Good luck, Italy is a great country I long to go there someday.
 
Okay I'm going to bump this thread.

I've got another question, cost.

Taking what we thought to be the convenient way, we talked to a few travel agents. The first was really trying to force us to commit immediately and book. We didn't like that so we moved onto another one who recently came back with a number. For 10 days and 3 people was about $10,000 USD, including airfare. Our budget is about $8,000 USD.

So, what would be really helpful, is if you guys could give me some idea on what you spent going to Italy. We're not looking at anything ritzy at all, I'm down for a very modest trip, staying at modest hotels/inns/hostels etc. Now, the cost is going to vary largely with airfare, so just exclude that from whatever you spent.

Some kind of list with what I might expect to pay for various things, (transportation, lodging, food, etc.) would be fantastic! :mrgreen: But anything you can provide will help enormoulsy as well.

As far as currency conversions, don't worry about that, I'll do them.

Thanks!
 
I've got another question, cost.

Some kind of list with what I might expect to pay for various things, (transportation, lodging, food, etc.) would be fantastic! :mrgreen: But anything you can provide will help enormoulsy as well.

As far as currency conversions, don't worry about that, I'll do them.

Thanks!

Ok, I assume the 10 grand was everything included, how much of that was the airfare?
2.000-3.000 dollars? If that is the case then 7.000-8.000 for the rest seems very expensive....

Regarding lodging, a triple room in a 4 star hotel in Florence can be had for about 150-170 euros per room per night. (I paid 170 this summer, high season).

For an agriturismo you can expect to pay about 150 euros per night (I paid that this summer). Week-long deals might be cheaper.

Summary: High standard of living for 3 people for 10 nights : 1500-1700 euro.

Now that is the biggest expense.

Car rental, 10 days Volvo V50 Stationwagon with europcar (I recommend them!) cost 430 euros with unlimited kilometers (extra insurance excluded).

Public transport in bigger cities cost between 1-2 euros for a ticket that is valid for 75 minutes.

So thats about 2.100 euros so far for hotel and car.

Then the rest varies a lot depending on what you want to spend.

Food:
Breakfast included in hotel price.

Lunch -
A good Pizza can cost from 5-10 euros depending on location, more touristy = cost more, but not equal to better taste. Prices the same pretty much all over the country.

Dinner -
A good Pizza can cost from 5-10 euros depending on location, more touristy = cost more, but not equal to better taste. Prices the same pretty much all over the country.

Then there is the Gelato of course, the best ice cream in the world!! A big cup or cone should cost from 2.5-3.5 euro. But as with the pizza, location affects the price.

So, another summary.

food : lets say 25 euros per person per day excluding Gelato= 750 euros.

Grand total, for living the high life: 1.700 + 430 + 750= 2880 euro. Lets be on the very safe side and say 3 grand.


Then you have to add gas and souvenirs.

So it seems to me that you are getting screwed by the travel agent.

If you give me more details about where you are going and how much you pay for the tickets I'll gladly help you.

EDIT: a quick search on Expedia gives me a total of $2,156.40 for a round trip Houston, TX to Milan (that is for 3 ppl including taxes). So the way I see it, DON'T go via germany, you will waste 2 days of your holiday getting from germany to italy and back.

Ciao!
 
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Man that is some awesome information avanti, thanks! :mrgreen: As far as trip planning goes and where we want to go, its kind of changed a bunch so we haven't settled on one thing or another, but, here is kind of an outline on what we want to do:

Rome:

We thought of flying into here and staying 2 days or so in the city so we can walk around and explore. From what I here you can get most anyplace on foot in Rome.

Tuscany:

I think this would be the main part of the trip, we'd probably stay in some cities listed above. Such as Sienna.


We also want to visit the Amlafi coast and the bay of Naples and such, see Pompeii, Naples ancient Herculaneum etc.

I know my brother and I would love to visit some historical car sites. Ferrari and Lambo manufacturing plants among many other places.

There is so much to do we haven't quite narrowed it down, but we're going to see if we can piece it together this weekend then I can give you a much better idea.


Thanks again!
 
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