My husband and I are traveling to Italy

07/18/2016 - 10:24

My husband and I are traveling to Italy this August. We will arrive in Venice then Florence, then spending a day in Capri before we travel to Rome.
We have not addressed transportation there. Should I book train rides now or once we arrive?
Also traveling from the train station to hotels and the port to go to Capri, how trustworthy are taxi drivers? I've heard some bad stories so I'm trying to avoid a bad experience. Also if you could tell me where to find Valentino Rossi, that would be great ;)

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Where do you intend dumping hubby while you go galavanting?聽 LOL聽聽聽 At least you didn't ask for George!!I understand if you book in advance for train it's cheaper but I don't know as we always hire a car.Have a great time!聽聽聽

No need to prebook any transportation. My experience prebook in is getting the tix to print with PNR, is the hassle. You pay sometimes a little more but it depends on day/ time. Look at trentalia schedule. What ever you do don't forget to validate printed tix at station, Fast trains are most reliable however I take regionals because I enjoy the views. No need to worry about taxi just stay alert. In Venice Treat yourself with gondola ride ,it will make you fall in love with the greatness of the city @ San Marco square ask if the Gondliere Moreno Mainardi is working he is a great guide ! FYI, people make the mistake assuming negotiating price is allowed, it isn't. Eat at Trattoria Rivetta 5 minutes from San Marco. Take the tour at the Doeges palace. Eat Gelatto close to the Greece white church - amazing! Don't take cafe on San Marco square because it will be 9 euros when off the square its 2 . 聽It is very humid in August ! Don't over pack you will be miserable. Take as little as posdible the bridges will kill you lugging luggage. I use to live in Venice.. Enjoy Buon viaggaio聽

Leaving Italy today after a 4 week trip with hubby and two kids. Pack light! You will get sick of repacking each time you move. Also lugging suitcases is tough!! Use trains between cities. We prebooked tickets-go first class. Doesn't cost much more but makes BIG difference! We used travel card for cash-preloaded of course. Also got excellent free travel insurance in Australia b4 we left with a new credit card. Also try going remote -get out of the cities! Our kids loved this experience more than visiting monuments and museums!!we had brilliant time! No problems with so called pick-pockets, gypsys etc. Always felt very safe. People were always very friendly and helpful!!

I would have thought booking the inter-city trains in advance is better, certainly cheaper. Local and some regional trains are slower than buses, so check them out before booking e.g quote an hour to get from Pisa airport to Florence city bus station (just next to the rail station), Trenitalia show up to 1 and a half hours. More research you do using sites like Google maps, Rome2Rio the easier you will find your trip. Airport sites are also a font of information for travel as they give web links for train, taxi and bus companies. Most will also likely have a link giving an idea of taxi costs. Licenced taxi鈥檚 in Rome are white, have a big badge and price list, but many say public transport is actually quicker. Like any major city you need to be savvy about your security especially at stations.

I would book train tickets ahead of time, but have them shipped to you. Capri is beautiful, take a boat ride around the island! Capri is pretty laid back, but be careful if you are going through Naples. Oh and definitely take a gondola ride in Venice :) enjoy your trip!聽

Expect it to be very hot and humid in each of your locations- Venice will definitely be more so as it is on the water. Try to plan all of your major sightseeing excursions for as early in the morning as possible so as to avoid the heat and hopefully the crowds. Perhaps do your transport in the afternoon so you can hopefully be relaxed and out of the heat and in a A/C train car. A rental car is of no use to the locations you want to visit. Use the train system. You can book train tickets now and receive some discounts if the discounts are still available. Use only the official trains of Italy's websites: Trenitalia.com or Italotreno.it I suggest you book the faster Frecce trains so as not to waste time in travel. The regionale trains also can be more crowded and often the air-conditioning does not seem to be working. I suggest also that you click the "Select seats" button to ensure that you can choose the optimal seat. There is no problem printing tickets at home - simply book the tickets by clicking the ""go on without logging in" button when it comes time to enter your information. Once printed, you have your official ticket and these do not need to be validated. Train stations you will want to enter into the system are "Venezia S.L. (Santa Lucia)", Firenze S.M.N (Santa Maria Novella) and Roma (find the station that is closest to your hotel location). I am concerned about your day trip to Capri coming from Florence and before Rome. The entire day will be spent in travel. Then, what will you do with your luggage on that day? You could find luggage lockers, but it depends on your route. If you want to do Capri, then I suggest you do it as a day-trip from Rome...or alternatively, spend a minimum of 2 nights in Sorrento and do Capri from there. However, note that it is August and it will seem as the whole of Italy (and the rest of Europe) will be at any beach/sea location you visit. Reservations are a must! Re: Taxis. Venice you won't need them, however do buy a vaporetto pass for the length of time you will be there. Florence, you may or may not need a taxi depending on where your hotel is in relation to the train station. Find a cab directly in front of the station at the Taxi stands - these are the official cabs. In Rome, same thing, go to the official taxi stands and only take an official Rome cab. (White with markings the door of the Roma seal and SPQR) they should also all have a number. Make sure it has a meter. You can find cab stands in Rome by the orange "Taxi" street sign. Taxis from Rome central to the Rome airport are at a fixed rate of 48 euros. They should charge you no more.
Best of luck
Cat - Vitalia Tours

I would generally advice to get tickets once you arrive at the train station--there is something about traveling spontaneously that seems so authentic; however, being that it will be in August (a very busy travel time), I would pre-book train tickets. 聽Don't know when you will be leaving in August but I have a very resourceful link that might help and a post will be coming out August 1 talking about Ferragosto, (when almost everyone travels in Italy, hence a hectic and busy time to travel), which has a lot of helpful resources for your trip.www.fortheloveofallthingsitalian.comI hope this helps and ENJOY your trip!!!

I never pre-book my train tickets. It's true that it is cheaper, but buying them on the day allows more freedom with your arrangements. I generally use the Trenitalia web site to check the schedule and buy my ticket at a ticket machine half hour or so before departure. I prefer the Frecce trains, but Regional and InterCity trains, although slower, are fine too.There is also the Leonardo Express from Rome airport (FCO) to Roma Termini. The cost is Euro 14 each for way--approx. 30 minute journey.Whichever you choose, always remember to validate your ticket (as someone else mentioned). I have forgotten on a couple of occasions and was 'caught' once. I had to pay a small fine of Euro 5 I think.聽Some tickets don't need to be validated, but I do it anyway--just in case!

Prebooking isn't really necessary. We did it, but it's easy enough to get your tickets at the station. The machines are easy enough to use... the real advantage is flexibility. We felt pressured to get to the station at a particular time and date. It depends on how rigid--or flexible--you want your Voyage to be.聽