We travel between the United States and Italy roughly six times a year. Additionally, we talk with our guests all the time about which travel resources they use for their airfare. If you have airline points that you can use, we always suggest you call your airline and see if you can use them. If not, and you are looking for lowest price, let us know.

As a tour company, we are also an operating travel agency, and we sometimes have access to excellent fares through consolidators that make bulk airline purchases and sell them at wholesale prices. Finding these fares is always a hit and miss proposition. If we find them, we can often get much better fares than you find on the major travel sites like Travelocity and Priceline. If not, we also have access to similar fares you will find on those sites, but it might be to your advantage to do it yourself, unless you would like for us to do the legwork (which we are always happy to do for our guests).

We strongly urge anyone that is visiting Italy to rent a car, but only for time you spend outside of the major cities. In other words, if you are spending part of your trip staying in Rome, Florence, Naples, Milan, or Venice, use public transportation in those cities. However, the moment you want to venture out into the countryside, wine country, the Tuscan and Umbrian hilltowns, etc., if you are without a car, you will lose a great deal of the experience that awaits you. This is because the Italian train system, while extensive, really focuses on connections between major cities, and many of the smaller and more special destinations in Italy are not connected. Trying to use public transportation in these areas will be a huge waste of time between major train routes, small routes, and busses. If you rent a car, on the other hand, you free yourself to experience the beauty of Italy on your terms.

For those that are afraid to drive in Italy because they have heard how crazy Italian drivers are, don't worry. For one thing, extremely strict enforcement of traffic laws in recent years has served to calm Italians down on the road. More importantly, however, the 'crazy' driving is really limited to the major cities. Once you get into the countryside and the small towns, they calm down significantly.

As for what to rent, the first rule is to rent the smallest thing you can fit into. Most Italian towns were built centuries ago, and they lacked the foresight to plan ahead for Hummers :-). Instead their concept of a large vehicle was an extremely muscular horse. That said, if you get a big car, you may find places you just can't drive. We cannot stress this enough. We have seen guests time after time rent the big comfy car only to regret it. Suddenly they find that it is too big to park, or the GPS navigation system shows them one way to their destination, which happens to take them down a road that is narrower than their car.

As for where to rent, we simply suggest Dollar Rent A Car . They have multiple locations in Italy, offer Automatic Transmission for those of you that want it, and have generally newer cars than some of the others. Additionally, they are on-site at the airport in Rome and have competitive rates. If you will be our guest and would like for us to do the legwork for you, we will be happy to take care of your rental reservation for you.

As with airfare and car rentals, we will be more than happy to help you secure hotels for the time you will not be with us in Soriano. Just ask.

If you want to do it yourself, there are a few different ways to go, depending on your style

Big Cities, Traditional Hotels

If you prefer the big hotels, we suggest Hotels.com, Travelocity, and Priceline. Here are some direct links to some of the major cities on Hotels.com: Rome, Rome Airport (Leonardo Da Vinci - A good choice for your last night in Italy), Florence, Naples (Close to Pompeii), Sorrento (Close to The Amalfi Coast), Venice, Milan, Pisa, Genoa, Cinque Terre (These are listings in La Spezia, which puts you in the area).

The major sites listed above only list traditional hotels, and mostly only list the large cities. If you are looking for more off the beaten path areas, or smaller, more quaint lodging, read below:

Small Towns, B&Bs, Agriturismi & Independent Hotels

None of the major hotel search engines list the thousands of smaller locations, so if you are looking for a beautiful little bed and breakfast that is located at a winery in the hills of Tuscany, or a charming seaside inn at Cinque Terre, for example, you will have a difficult time finding it. We strongly suggest that you call us if you are looking for such places, as our experience can be extyremely valuable when choosing, but if you want to go it on your own, there is really only one website to look at: Venere.com. This is an Italian company that specializes in private lodging in Italy, and serves as a booking engine for thousands of places you will not find elsewhere. It is a hotel and accommodation reservation service that directly links the you with five star and budget hotels, bed and breakfasts, country retreats and villas throughout Europe, and especially Italy. Additionally, they show detailed profiles of properties, as well as guest reviews. Click here to visit their site.

Europe cruises are getting more and more popular, and the Rome's port is becoming an increasingly popular starting and ending point for many cruise lines. Additionally, many cruise lines are starting and ending cruises at sevaral of Italy's other ports. With this increased popularity, many of our guests have been combining a cruise with their tour with us. If you fit this bill, please let us know. We can help you organize the switchover between tour and cruise. Additionally, we can plan and book your entire itinerary, including the cruise. We have access to extremely favorable group rates on cruises, and can often get you free cabin upgrades and special perks. Furthermore, if you have us plan your cruise along with your tour, we will be able to make sure that the transition between cruise ship and Soriano is absolutely seamless. In other words, we can hold your hand from the moment you leave home until the moment you return.

Here are some driving and travel maps of Italy that you can purchase before your trip. We always suggest that you bring paper maps with you wherever you go, but if you will be renting a car, please also rent a GPS Navigation system with current Italian maps. It will make your life much easier. Italian roads can get confusing, street names are difficult to find, and the cities are full of one way streets. A GPS Navigation system will help you here where a map will fail.

• Rand McNalley Travel Maps of Italy
• Florence Street Map
• Milan Street Map
• Rome Street Map
• Sicily Street Map
• Tuscany Street Map
• Venice Street Map

Following is a list of Guide books to take along with you:

• Lonely Planet ROME
• Lonely Planet TUSCANY and UMBRIA
• Lonely Planet Venice