- Important points
- Choosing wings
- Hotel or apartment?
- Transport subtleties
- Nightingales are not fed with fables
- Useful details
- Best travel to Italy
The name of this country sounds like a balm for the soul and for fans of ancient history, and for desperate shopaholics, and for beachgoers who cannot imagine a vacation without the sea, and for adrenaline-in-blood lovers who rush along the Alpine ski slopes during their Christmas holidays. And also a trip to Italy - this is real pasta and pizza, a thin fog that enveloped morning Florence, the ever-falling bell tower of the Basilica in Pisa and the light sadness of the barcarole - the song of the gondolier flying over the Grand Canal in Venice.
Important points
- Italy is a multifaceted and surprisingly diverse country. Each of its areas is completely different from the neighboring, and therefore, within the framework of one trip, it is better not to strive to embrace the immensity.
- Major seasonal sales in Italy's department stores start on January 7th and July 10th.
- Despite the stereotypes that have developed after watching movies, the Italian carabinieri are incorruptible, and therefore offering a bribe to the traffic police for violating traffic rules on a rented car is a crime under local laws.
- The tax refund system for purchases in Italy works from a check amount of at least 155 euros. Look for the Tax Free sign on the store doors, keep a specially issued receipt and return legal money at the country's international airports or TAX Refund or Global Blue offices.
Choosing wings
Italy and Russia are connected by regular flights of several airlines at once:
- Aeroflot connects Moscow with Venice, Milan and the Italian capital. The travel time between Moscow and Rome is just over 3.5 hours, and the ticket price is about $ 300.
- A flight on the Alitalia's wings costs about the same.
- The S7 company delivers passengers to Verona and Genoa several times a week.
- The aircraft of the Italian carrier Meridiana Fly will help you to get to Bologna, Naples and in the summer to some of the beach resorts.
- With the beginning of the beach season, charters are plying in the skies over Italy and Russia, whose concern is the transportation of tourists to Rimini, Sicily and Naples.
By the way, flights with a transfer in one of the European capitals may be 20% -30% cheaper. Belgians, Swiss and Serbs have good deals.
Hotel or apartment?
Hotels in Italy, if we are not talking about luxury apartments, are quite austerely equipped. A room in a 3 * hotel will contain only the most necessary things and will not please the guest with excessive spaciousness. But the service looks decent, and the hospitality of the Italians will be able to neutralize all the roughness of the local "star" classification system.
In Rome, a three-note room near the ring road can be rented for $ 45 per night. Guests will be provided with free Wi-Fi and a continental breakfast. As you approach the center and historical sites, hotels become more expensive and the cost of a night rises to $ 55-$ 70.
The situation with prices in Milan is about the same, but Venice even breaks capital records. Hotels in the insular part of the city are all palazzo of considerable historical value, and the cost of a night in the simplest ones starts from $ 150. It will be cheaper to stay in a hotel in the mainland, but it will take a lot of time to get to the sights and money for travel, and therefore everyone decides for himself what to prefer.
While traveling in Italy, you can successfully rent an apartment, especially since this country is very widely represented on specialized sites. A private room in the Vatican area in Rome will cost $ 50, and the owner will provide an apartment with a bedroom near the Colosseum for $ 110.
Transport subtleties
Traveling in Italy is very simple - the country has an extensive network of both railways and domestic airlines. Buying tickets for intercity trains has been simplified to the point of impossibility, and you can get a travel document using machines installed both at train stations and at newsstands. Low-cost airlines connect all major cities in Italy, with ticket prices starting at $ 15.
Urban public transport starts at around 5.30 am and usually carries passengers until midnight. Bus and metro tickets are sold at stations at ticket offices or vending machines, tobacco and newsstands marked with the abbreviation ATAF.
For tourists in Italy, there are special passes, with which you can move without restrictions from the moment of the first composting until midnight. The ticket is called BIG and costs about $ 6.
Nightingales are not fed with fables
Even the most fastidious tourists have no problems with food while traveling in Italy. The country also has luxury restaurants, family trattorias, cozy coffee shops, and stalls with a variety of fast food. Each region has its own specialties and traditions, and therefore there are no uniform recommendations in the style of "What to try in Italy".
The average bill per visitor for a dinner with wine and dessert in an inexpensive restaurant will be about $ 35.
Useful details
- The purchase of the Italy Rail Card will help you save on travel costs. The cards are sold at train stations and travel agencies.
- On holidays and weekends, as well as at night, a taxi in Italy increases prices by about a third.
- Menu Turistico is a nice Italian analogue of the domestic set meals offered by some cafes. A multi-course lunch with a glass of wine will cost $ 25.
Best travel to Italy
The Italian climate, like the cuisine, is very varied, and the weather in the resorts and in the cities of the country differs significantly as you move from north to south.
The best time to travel to ski resorts in Italy is from December to March, when the snow is stable.
The beaches of Rimini and Sorrento fill up at the end of May and the last sunbathers meet until late autumn. People swim in Sicily in April, and fans of solitude stay on the local beaches until November.
It is better not to plan sightseeing of Roman sights in the middle and the end of summer - at this time in the capital it is too hot, stuffy and at the same time very crowded. April and late October are the best times for a Roman holiday.
Venice is most prone to flooding between October and January and March and April. "High water" can significantly disrupt the plans of tourists, but it is almost impossible to guess the exact dates of floods in advance.
