How to Plan a Vacation to Italy

Posted by Nick on March 16, 2010

Italy is home to 44 Unesco World Heritage sites, which Lonely Planet notes is more than any other country. The cities of Rome, Florence and Venice all attract art lovers to the Italy. Travelers also visit Italy for its history, its food, its medieval villages and its picturesque scenery. Before packing your bags and heading to Italy a little planning should be done to make sure that your trip is an enjoyable one that includes everything you want to do and see while in Italy.

Schedule your vacation so that it falls in the period of April to June. According to Lonely Planet, this is the best time to visit Italy as the weather is good and the country is not overrun with other tourists.

Use a guide book, such as those by Lonely Planet or Fodor’s, to find things in Italy that you want to see and do. Make a list of all of those things to determine how many things and places you want to see. If you are limited on time you may need to make priority list to see which things or places are the most important in case you have to cut some things from your list.

Give yourself at least two days in every city on your list of places to visit in Italy. If you have a lot of things you want to see in the city then go for three or four days. You may be able to do some cities, such as Pisa, in only a half day on the way to another city. This is a good plan if you only have one small thing to see in a city.

Remember to factor in travel time when you are making out your itinerary for seeing Rome. If you are taking trains you can view the schedules on the Trenitalia website. Be sure to leave some time in your schedule for possible delays in case the train does not leave on time.

Pick a transportation method to get to Italy and get around. According to Lonely Planet, you can travel to Italy by plane, car, bus, train or ship. Lonely Planet also mentions that bus travel is the cheapest if you are traveling from within Europe but that it can take longer than train travel. For direct flights from the United States, book with Delta, Alitalia, Continental Airlines, United or US Airways.

Book a hotel or other place to sleep. According to the Italian Government Tourist Board, there are around 40,000 hotels in Italy. Luxury and boutique hotels in Italy can be booked on the Italy Traveller website. Other types of hotels and lodging can be booked on the Venere website.