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Getting There & Away

A plethora of airlines link Italy with the rest of the world, and cut-rate carriers have significantly driven down the cost of flights from other European countries. Excellent rail and bus connections, especially with northern Italy, offer efficient overland transport, while car and passenger ferries operate to ports throughout the Mediterranean.

Flights, tours and rail tickets can be booked online at lonelyplanet.com/bookings.

Entering the Country

» European Union and Swiss citizens can travel to Italy with their national identity card alone. All other nationalities must have a valid passport and may be required to fill out a landing card (at airports).

» By law you are supposed to have your passport or ID card with you at all times. You’ll need one of these documents for police registration every time you check into a hotel.

» In theory there are no passport checks at land crossings from neighbouring countries, but random customs controls do occasionally still take place between Italy and Switzerland.

Air

Airports & Airlines

Italy’s main intercontinental gateways are Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport ( 06 65 9 51; www.adr.it/fiumicino) and Milan’s Malpensa airport ( 02 23 23 23; www.milanomalpensa1.eu/en) . Both are served by non-stop flights from around the world. Venice’s Marco Polo airport ( 041 260 92 60; www.veniceairport.it; Viale Galileo Galilei 30/1, Tessera) is also served by a handful of intercontinental flights.

Dozens of international airlines compete with the country’s national carrier, Alitalia, rated a 3-star airline by UK aviation research company Skytrax. If you’re flying from Africa or Oceania, you’ll generally need to change planes at least once en route to Italy.

Intra-European flights serve plenty of other Italian cities; the leading mainstream carriers include Alitalia, Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa and KLM.

Cut-rate airlines, led by Ryanair and easyJet, fly from a growing number of European cities to more than two dozen Italian destinations, typically landing in smaller airports such as Rome’s Ciampino ( 06 65 9 51; www.adr.it/ciampino) .

Land

There are plenty of options for entering Italy by train, bus or private vehicle.

Border Crossings

Aside from the coast roads linking Italy with France and Slovenia, border crossings into Italy mostly involve tunnels through the Alps (open year-round) or mountain passes (seasonally closed or requiring snow chains). The list below outlines the major points of entry.

Austria From Innsbruck to Bolzano via A22/E45 (Brenner Pass); Villach to Tarvisio via A23/E55

France From Nice to Ventimiglia via A10/E80; Modane to Turin via A32/E70 (Fréjus Tunnel); Chamonix to Courmayeur via A5/E25 (Mont Blanc Tunnel)

Slovenia From Sežana to Trieste via SS58/E70

Switzerland From Martigny to Aosta via SS27/E27 (Grand St Bernard Tunnel); Lugano to Como via A9/E35

Bus

Buses are the cheapest overland option to Italy, but services are less frequent, less comfortable and significantly slower than the train.

Eurolines (www.eurolines.com) is a consortium of coach companies with offices throughout Europe. Italy-bound buses head to Milan, Rome, Florence, Venice and other Italian cities. It offers a low-season bus pass valid for 15/30 days that costs €215/320 (reduced €185/250). This pass allows unlimited travel between 51 European cities, including Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome. Fares increase to €355/465 (reduced €300/385) in midsummer.

Car & Motorcycle

From Continental Europe

» Every vehicle travelling across an international border should display a nationality plate of its country of registration.

» Always carry proof of vehicle ownership and evidence of third-party insurance. If driving an EU-registered vehicle, your home country insurance is sufficient. Ask your insurer for a European Accident Statement (EAS) form, which can simplify matters in the event of an accident.

» A European breakdown assistance policy is a good investment and can ibe obtained through the Automobile Club d’Italia.

» Italy’s scenic roads are tailor-made for motorcycle touring, and motorcyclists swarm into the country every summer. With a motorcycle you rarely have to book ahead for ferries and can enter restricted-traffic areas in cities. Crash helmets and a motorcycle licence are compulsory.

» The US-based Beach’s Motorcycle Adventures (www.bmca.com) offers a number of two-week tours from April to October, with destinations including the Alps, Tuscany and Umbria, Sicily and Sardinia. For longer-term auto leasing (14 days or more) or campervan and motorhome hire, check IdeaMerge (www.ideamerge.com) .

From the UK

You can take your car to Italy via France by ferry or via the Channel Tunnel (www.eurotunnel.com) . The latter runs four crossings (35 minutes) an hour between Folkestone and Calais in the high season.

For breakdown assistance, both the AA (www.theaa.com) and the RAC (www.rac.co.uk) offer comprehensive cover in Europe.

Train

Regular trains on two western lines connect Italy with France (one along the coast and the other from Turin into the French Alps). Trains from Milan head north into Switzerland and on towards the Benelux countries. Further east, two main lines head for the main cities in Central and Eastern Europe. Those crossing the Brenner Pass go to Innsbruck, Stuttgart and Munich. Those crossing at Tarvisio proceed to Vienna, Salzburg and Prague. The main international train line to Slovenia crosses near Trieste.

Depending on distances covered, rail can be highly competitive with air travel. Those travelling from neighbouring countries to northern Italy will find it is frequently more comfortable, less expensive and only marginally more time-consuming than flying.

Those travelling longer distances (say, from London, Spain, northern Germany or Eastern Europe) will doubtless find flying cheaper and quicker. Bear in mind, however, that the train is a much greener way to go – a trip by rail can contribute up to 10 times less carbon dioxide emissions per person than the same trip by air.

From Continental Europe

» The comprehensive European Rail Timetable (UK£14.99), updated monthly, is available from Thomas Cook Publishing (www.thomascookpublishing.com) .

» Reservations on international trains to/from Italy are always advisable, and sometimes compulsory.

» Some international services include transport for private cars.

» Consider taking long journeys overnight, as the supplemental fare for a sleeper costs substantially less than Italian hotels.

From the UK

» High-velocity passenger train Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) travels between London and Paris, or London and Brussels. Alternatively, you can get a train ticket that includes crossing the Channel by ferry.

» For the latest fare information on journeys to Italy, including the Eurostar, contact the Rail Europe Travel Centre (www.raileurope.co.uk) or International Rail (www.internationalrail.com) .

Sea

Multiple ferry companies connect Italy with countries throughout the Mediterranean. Many routes only operate in summer, when ticket prices also rise. Prices for vehicles vary according to their size.

The helpful website www.traghettionline.com (in Italian) covers all the ferry companies in the Mediterranean. Another useful resource for ferries from Italy to Greece is www.ferries.gr.

International ferry companies that serve Italy:

Adria Ferries (www.adriaferries.com)

Agoudimos Lines (www.agoudimos-lines.com)

Anek Lines (www.anek.gr)

Blue Star Ferries (www.bluestarferries.com)

Commodore Cruises (www.commodore-cruises.hr)

GNV (Grandi Navi Veloci; www.gnv.it)

Grimaldi (www.grimaldi-lines.com)

Jadrolinija (www.jadrolinija.hr)

Minoan Lines (www.ferries.gr/minoan)

Moby Lines ( 199 30 30 40; www.moby.it)

Montenegro Lines (www.montenegrolines.net)

SNAV (www.snav.it)

Superfast (www.superfast.com)

Tirrenia ( 0923 03 19 11; www.tirrenia.it)

Venezia Lines ( 041 882 11 01; www.venezialines.com)

Ventouris (www.ventouris.gr)

Virtu Ferries ( 095 703 12 11; www.virtuferries.com)

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Getting Around

Italy’s network of train, bus, ferry and domestic air transport allows you to reach most destinations efficiently and relatively affordably.

With your own vehicle, you’ll enjoy greater freedom, but benzina (petrol) and autostrada (motorway) tolls are expensive and Italian drivers have a style all their own. For many, the stress of driving and parking in urban areas may outweigh the delights of puttering about the countryside. One solution is to take public transport between large cities and rent a car only to reach more-remote rural destinations.

Air

Italy enjoys an extensive network of internal flights. The privatised national airline, Alitalia, is the main domestic carrier. A useful search engine for comparing multiple carriers’ fares and purchasing low-cost domestic flights is AZfly (www.azfly.it) .

Airport taxes are factored into the price of your ticket.

The many cut-rate airlines within Italy include the following:

Air One ( 89 24 44; www.flyairone.com)

AirAlps ( 06 22 22; www.airalps.at)

Blu-express ( 06 9895 6666; www.blu-express.com)

Darwin Airline ( 06 8997 0422; www.darwinairline.com)

easyJet ( 199 201840; www.easyjet.com)

Meridiana ( 89 29 28; www.meridiana.it)

Ryanair ( 899 552589; www.ryanair.com)

Volotea ( 895 8954404; www.volotea.com)

Bicycle

Cycling is very popular in Italy. The following tips will help ensure a pedal-happy trip:

» If bringing your own bike, you’ll need to disassemble and pack it for the journey, and may need to pay an airline surcharge.

» Make sure to bring tools, spare parts, a helmet, lights and a secure bike lock.

» Bikes are prohibited on Italian autostradas (motorways).

» Bikes can be wheeled onto any domestic train displaying the bicycle logo. Simply purchase a separate bicycle ticket, valid for 24 hours (€3.50). Certain international trains, listed on Trenitalia’s ‘In treno con la bici’ page, also allow transport of assembled bicycles for €12, paid on board. Bikes dismantled and stored in a bag can be taken for free, even on night trains.

» Most ferries also allow free bicycle passage.

» In the UK, Cyclists’ Touring Club (CTC; www.ctc.org.uk) can help you plan your tour or organise a guided tour. Membership costs £41 for adults, £25 for seniors and £16 for under-18s.

» Bikes are available for hire in most Italian towns. City bikes start at €10/50 per day/week; mountain bikes a bit more. Some municipalities, including Rimini and Ravenna, offer free bikes for visitors, as do a growing number of Italian hotels.

Boat

Craft Navi (large ferries) service Sicily and Sardinia, while traghetti (smaller ferries) and aliscafi (hydrofoils) service the smaller islands. Most ferries carry vehicles; hydrofoils do not.

Routes Main embarkation points for Sicily and Sardinia are Genoa, Livorno, Civitavecchia and Naples. Ferries for Sicily also leave from Villa San Giovanni and Reggio Calabria. Main arrival points in Sardinia are Cagliari, Arbatax, Olbia and Porto Torres; in Sicily they’re Palermo, Catania, Trapani and Messina.

Timetables and tickets Comprehensive website TraghettiOnline (www.traghettionline.com) includes links to multiple Italian ferry companies, allowing you to compare prices and buy tickets.

Overnight ferries Travellers can book a two- to four-person cabin or a poltrona, which is an airline-type armchair. Deck class (which allows you to sit/sleep in lounge areas or on deck) is available only on some ferries.

Bus

Routes Italy has everything from meandering local routes to fast, reliable InterCity connections provided by numerous bus companies.

Timetables and tickets Available on bus company websites and from local tourist offices. Tickets are generally competitively priced with the train and often the only way to get to smaller towns. In larger cities most of the InterCity bus companies have ticket offices or sell tickets through agencies. In villages and even some good-sized towns, tickets are sold in bars or on the bus.

Advance booking Generally not required, but advisable for overnight or long-haul trips in high season.

Car & Motorcycle

Italy’s extensive network of roads span numerous categories. The main ones include:

» Autostradas – An extensive, privatised network of motorways, represented on road signs by a white ‘A’ followed by a number on a green background. The main north–south link is the Autostrada del Sole (the ‘Motorway of the Sun’), which extends from Milan to Reggio di Calabria (called the A1 from Milan to Rome, the A2 from Rome to Naples, and the A3 from Naples to Reggio di Calabria). There are tolls on most motorways, payable by cash or credit card as you exit.

» Strade statali (state highways) – Represented on maps by ‘S’ or ‘SS’. Vary from toll-free, four-lane highways to two-lane main roads. The latter can be extremely slow, especially in mountainous regions.

» Strade regionali (regional highways connecting small villages) – Coded ‘SR’ or ‘R’.

» Strade provinciali (provincial highways) – Coded ‘SP’ or ‘P’.

» Strade locali – Often not even paved or mapped.

For information in English about distances, driving times and fuel costs, see en.mappy.com. Additional information, including traffic conditions and toll costs, is available at www.autostrade.it.

Automobile Associations

The Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI; from non-Italian phone account 800 116800, roadside assistance 803116; www.aci.it) is a driver’s best resource in Italy. Foreigners do not have to join to get 24-hour roadside emergency service but instead pay a per-incident fee.

Driving Licences

All EU member states’ driving licences are fully recognised throughout Europe. In practice, many non-EU licences (such as Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and US) are accepted by car-hire outfits in Italy. Travellers from other countries should obtain an International Driving Permit (IDP) through their national automobile association.

Fuel & Spare Parts

Italy’s petrol prices are among the highest in Europe and vary from one service station (benzinaio, stazione di servizio) to another. At the time of writing, lead-free gasoline ( senza piombo; 95 octane) was averaging €1.79 per litre, with diesel (gasolio) costing €1.69 per litre.

Spare parts are available at many garages or via the 24-hour ACI motorist assistance number, 803116 (or 800 116800 if calling with a non-Italian mobile phone account).

Hire

Car

» Pre-booking via the internet often costs less than hiring a car in Italy. Online booking agency Rentalcars.com (www.rentalcars.com) compares the rates of numerous car-rental companies.

» Renters must generally be aged 25 or over, with a credit card and home-country driving licence or IDP.

» Consider hiring a small car, which will reduce your fuel expenses and help you negotiate narrow city lanes and tight parking spaces.

» Check with your credit-card company to see if it offers a Collision Damage Waiver, which covers you for additional damage if you use that card to pay for the car.

Multinational car-rental agencies:

Auto Europe (www.autoeurope.com)

Avis (www.avis.com)

Budget ( 800 472 33 25; www.budget.com)

Europcar (www.europcar.com)

Hertz (www.hertz.it)

Holiday Cars (www.holidaycars.com)

Italy by Car ( 334 6481920; www.italybycar.it)

Maggiore ( 199 151120; www.maggiore.it)

Motorcycle

Agencies throughout Italy rent motorbikes, ranging from small Vespas to larger touring bikes. Prices start at around €35/150 per day/week for a 50cc scooter, or upwards of €80/400 per day/week for a 650cc motorcycle.

Road Rules

» Cars drive on the right side of the road and overtake on the left. Unless otherwise indicated, you must always give way to cars entering an intersection from your right.

» Seatbelt use (front and rear) is required by law; violators are subject to an on-the-spot fine. Helmets are required on all two-wheeled transport.

» Headlights are compulsory day and night for all vehicles on the autostradas, and advisable for motorcycles even on smaller roads.

» In the event of a breakdown, a warning triangle is compulsory, as is use of an approved yellow or orange safety vest if you leave your vehicle. Recommended accessories include a first-aid kit, spare-bulb kit and fire extinguisher.

» No licence is required to ride a scooter under 50cc but you should be aged 14 or over and you can’t carry passengers or ride on an autostrada. To ride a motorcycle or scooter up to 125cc, you must be aged 16 or over and have a licence (a car licence will do). For motorcycles over 125cc you need a motorcycle licence. Do not venture onto the autostrada with a bike of less than 150cc.

» Motorbikes can enter most restricted traffic areas in Italian cities, and traffic police often turn a blind eye to motorcycles or scooters parked on footpaths.

» Italy’s blood-alcohol limit is 0.05%, and random breath tests occur. If you’re involved in an accident while under the influence, the penalties can be severe.

» Speeding fines follow EU standards and are proportionate with the number of kilometres that you are caught driving over the speed limit, reaching up to €3119 with a possible six- to 12-month suspension of your driving licence.

Speed limits are as follows:

Autostradas 130-150km/h

Other main highways 110km/h

Minor, non-urban roads 90km/h

Built-up areas 50km/h

Mopeds The speed limit is always 40km/h

Local Transport

Major cities have good transport systems, including bus and underground-train networks. In Venice, the main public transport option is vaporetti (small ferries).

Bus & Metro

» Extensive metropolitane (metros) exist in Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin, with smaller metros in Genoa and Catania. The space-age Minimetrò in Perugia connects the train station with the city centre.

» Cities and towns of any size have an efficient urbano (urban) and extraurbano (suburban) bus system. Services are generally limited on Sundays and holidays.

» Purchase bus and metro tickets before boarding and validate them once on board. Passengers with unvalidated tickets are subject to a fine (between €50 and €75 in most cities). Buy tickets from tabaccaio (tobacconist’s shops), newsstands, ticket booths or machines at bus stations and in metro stations. Tickets usually cost around €1.30 to €1.80. Most cities offer good-value 24-hour or daily tourist tickets.

Taxi

» You can catch a taxi at the ranks outside most train and bus stations, or simply telephone for a radio taxi. Radio taxi meters start running from when you’ve called rather than when you’re picked up.

» Charges vary from one region to another. Most short city journeys cost between €10 and €15. Generally, no more than four people are allowed in one taxi.

Train

Trains in Italy are convenient and quite cheap compared with other European countries. The better train categories are fast and comfortable.

Trenitalia ( 199 303060; www.trenitalia.com) is the partially privatised state train system that runs most services. Its privately owned competitor Italo ( 06 07 08; www.italotreno.it) runs high-velocity trains on two lines, one between Turin and Salerno, and one between Venice and Naples.

Train tickets must be stamped in the yellow machines (usually found at the head of rail platforms) just before boarding. Failure to do so usually results in fines.

Italy operates several types of trains:

Regionale/interregionale Slow and cheap, stopping at all or most stations.

InterCity (IC) Faster services operating between major cities. Their international counterparts are called Eurocity (EC).

Alta Velocità (AV) State-of-the-art, high-velocity trains, including Frecciarossa, Frecciargento, Frecciabianca and Italo trains. with speeds of up to 300km/hr and connections to the major cities. More expensive than InterCity express trains, but journey times are cut by almost half.

Classes & Costs

Prices vary according to the class of service, time of travel and how far in advance you book. Most Italian trains have 1st- and 2nd-class seating; a 1st-class ticket typically costs from a third to half more than 2nd-class.

Travel on Trenitalia’s InterCity and Alta Velocità (Frecciarossa, Frecciargento, Frecciabianca) trains means paying a supplement, included in the ticket price, determined by the distance travelled. If you have a standard ticket for a slower train and end up on an IC train, you’ll have to pay the difference on board.

Reservations

» Reservations are obligatory on AV trains. On other services, outside of peak holiday periods, you should be fine without them.

» Reservations can be made on the Trenitalia and Italo websites, at railway station counters and self-service ticketing machines, or through travel agents.

» Both Trenitalia and Italo offer a variety of advance purchase discounts: the earlier you book, the greater the saving. Discounted tickets are limited, and refunds and changes are highly restricted. For tickets and prices, see the Trenitalia and Italo websites.

Train Passes

Trenitalia offers various discount passes, including the Carta Verde for youth and Carta d’Argento for seniors, but these are mainly useful for residents or long-term visitors, as they only pay for themselves with regular use over an extended period.

More interesting for short-term visitors are Eurail and InterRail passes.