Posted by Nick on March 17, 2010
If you are visiting Italy no trip is complete without seeing the iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Pisa is situated in the Tuscany region of Italy. Traveling to Pisa is pretty easy and if all you really wanna see if the Leaning Tower you can easily make this a 1/2 day side trip. Do check out the town square in Pisa as it rivals that in Venice for best town square in all of Italy.
Transportation options to travel to Pisa, Italy:
Bus service is available from nearby towns and is clearly the cheapest, and possibly slowest, option. CPT is the bus service that goes to Pisa.
Galileo Galilei International Airport in Pisa is the main airport in the Tuscany region. It is serviced by all the major airlines, including Europe’s budget airlines like easyJet and Ryanair. No flights from the U.S. flight direct to Pisa’s airport.
Plenty of highways travel into Pisa if you want to drive. You can get there from Milan, Rome and Florence.
Two major train routes have stops in Pisa.
- Florence train line
- Rome – Genoa train line
Trenitalia is the national rail service in Italy. Book your tickets in advance or buy them at the train station. The ride from Florence is just one hour.
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Filed Under: 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.
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Filed Under: Italy
Posted by Nick on March 11, 2010
Train travel is Europe is a popular method of travel that can be less stressful than traveling by plane. Booking a seat on the high speed Eurostar train only requires a 30 minute early check-in as opposed to a couple of hours at the airport. Some train travel can be almost as quick as flying by plane as well. Traveling by train across Europe to Italy also gives travelers a way to see the scenery. If you are ready to book your travel to Italy by train it is something that you can easily do on your own.
Get rail tickets from the Rail Europe 
website before leaving the United States. You can only buy tickets from Rail Europe before you leave the US as they have to mail your train pass or tickets to you. An advantage to buying from Rail Europe is that you are able to make your purchase in US dollars. On the Rail Europe site you can buy point to point rail tickets or you can buy a rail pass. Rail passes are available that cover single countries as well as multiple countries. Passes vary in price and days of use.
Buy train tickets in person at a train station in Europe. Ticket machines as well as staffed ticket windows are available at train stations so that you can purchase your tickets on the spot. If you have questions about a connection or your travel you should go to one of the windows. Do not expect the train station clerk to be able to speak English. It is a good idea to have a translation dictionary with you if you do not speak the local language.
Book a seat on the Eurostar train if you are traveling to Italy from the United Kingdom. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Eurostar.com or on the Rail Europe website. The Eurostar is a high speed train that goes from London to Paris, France in just over two hours. The train also takes travelers to Brussels, Belgium. The Eurostar travels in the Channel Tunnel, which is under the English Channel. From Paris or Brussels you can take another train into Italy. Tickets can be purchased at the train station to get you the rest of the way to Italy or you can use a rail pass if you have one.
Posted by Nick on February 26, 2010
If you are planning a trip to Rome, Italy you may be asking yourself when is the best time to visit Rome. You for sure want to avoid visiting Rome in August. This is the month that Italians on holiday. You will find most of the hotels, restaurants and attractions actually closed in the month of August.
The best time to go to Rome is from late March through May and from late September through October. Not only will you experience less crowds during these periods but the temperature is also pretty mild. Your airfare will also be cheaper.
Peak travel season in Rome is June to August. It can get incredibly hot in Rome during the summer and the airfare during these months is the highest that it is all year.
Posted by Nick on February 25, 2010
If you are looking for a cheap airfare to Rome from another city in Europe your best bet is to try a budget airline. There are two airports in Rome that the European budget airlines will fly into. Fiumicino International Airport (FCO) is the main airport in Rome. The other airport that serves Rome is Ciampino Airport (CIA).
Budget airlines that fly into Rome’s FCO airport:
- Aer Lingus
- Air Baltic
- Air Berlin
- Air Europa
- Air One
- Baboo
- BelleAir
- Blue Air
- Blue1
- Blu-Express
- Brussels Airlines
- easyJet
- Flyglobespan
- Germanwings
- Jet2.com
- Meridiana
- Norwegian
- Smart Wings
- transavia.com
- TUIfly
- Vueling
- Wizz Air
Budget airlines that fly into Rome’s CIA airport:
