Italy

[Wayne Bevis]

Good morning All - As a first time user on this forum I am unsure of the process in obtaining some info on a European trip my wife and I have planned. Having travelled extensively throughout Asia/Vietnam/New Zealand the European bug has now bitten us. Apologies in advance if my inquiry is outside the norm. Essentially we will be flying from Perth (Western Australia) to London and then going to Switz and France for several days before heading down to Rome by Train from Paris. Once in Italy it is our intention to spend a couple of weeks driving down both coastlines visiting the larger towns and out of the way places.
My questions are :-
> Has anyone on the forum undertaken a similar type trip (particularly driving throughout Italy for a similar time frame?)
> What sort of price should we expect to pay for a small rental vehicle in Italy for a couple of weeks?
> I am assuming hotel and B and B accommodation can be arranged as and when we arrive in various small towns?
> Any suggestions and/or advice on what route to take and any specific towns which impressed?

Once again, many thanks in advance for any information. Regards

 

[Colo]

Wayne - first and foremost Welcome!

I am sure Pauline will move your post to the Italy thread and there will be lots of good info forthcoming.

So what is driving the trip - history, food and wine, beauty, or just experiecing the place?

Once again Welcome!

 

[joe]

Hello Wayne and welcome to a friendly forum.

The travel approach of people here is more of the kind in which you spend the same time in less places, and are more focused on a region or province - so your planned itinerary might be a bit overly spread out. However, that is for you to choose, and for a first trip to Italy you can definitely allow yourself to cover more ground, perhaps focusing on specific regions and slowing down in future trips. Prepare to be overwhelmed by the beauty and intensity of the Italy travel experience.

I'd like to give you a couple of tips about accommodations, since that is one of your questions :
No problem with booking accommodations of any type, of course, either directly through owners' websites, or through third-party services. Like anywhere else, pay attention to photos and reviews of the options - use common sense and do your research. A good knowledge of English is not a granted with tourist-related businesses in Italy, so there might be communication problems.
A great option that Italy provides is the agriturismo - farms that have also gone into the accommodation business. There are multitudes of them all over the country, of every type and suitable to any budget. Our experience with the smaller type of family-run businesses like this has been simply fantastic. I can provide you with lists of websites if need be. Hospitality is great, and this type of accommodation gets you grounded in your surroundings in the countryside.
Another option that works well in Italy is AirBnB. Controversy over the negative impacts of this business model aside, the experience itself is very positive : you can live in an apt. for the time you like, and get the feeling of being at home. Other types of vacation rentals offer the same experience - so if you are the type who enjoys having the conveniences of a regular home while on vacation (such as preparing meals from local products), then here, too, there is no lack of options, both in cities and in the small towns.

 

[Wayne Bevis]

Wayne - first and foremost Welcome!

I am sure Pauline will move your post to the Italy thread and there will be lots of good info forthcoming.

So what is driving the trip - history, food and wine, beauty, or just experiecing the place?

Once again Welcome!

Thanks for the kind welcome Colo - driving force behind this trip is my wife (just kidding - we are both looking forward to this trip with great enthusiasm - me more than her I think . We have both wanted to visit Europe and in particular Italy for sometime and as the old saying goes - we aren't getting any younger! My great grandmother was Italian so maybe my interest was bred a long time ago. Essentially we were hoping to find out the "do's" and "dont's" in relation to driving around Italy , cost factor , hotels and B/B's etc etc. We are looking forward to that aspect and also the beauty and history of the place along with the food and wine scene. Hope this make sense Colo
Thanks again for the friendly welcome and your help. I must say this Forum is exceptional.

 

[Wayne Bevis]

Hello Wayne and welcome to a friendly forum.

The travel approach of people here is more of the kind in which you spend the same time in less places, and are more focused on a region or province - so your planned itinerary might be a bit overly spread out. However, that is for you to choose, and for a first trip to Italy you can definitely allow yourself to cover more ground, perhaps focusing on specific regions and slowing down in future trips. Prepare to be overwhelmed by the beauty and intensity of the Italy travel experience.

I'd like to give you a couple of tips about accommodations, since that is one of your questions :
No problem with booking accommodations of any type, of course, either directly through owners' websites, or through third-party services. Like anywhere else, pay attention to photos and reviews of the options - use common sense and do your research. A good knowledge of English is not a granted with tourist-related businesses in Italy, so there might be communication problems.
A great option that Italy provides is the agriturismo - farms that have also gone into the accommodation business. There are multitudes of them all over the country, of every type and suitable to any budget. Our experience with the smaller type of family-run businesses like this has been simply fantastic. I can provide you with lists of websites if need be. Hospitality is great, and this type of accommodation gets you grounded in your surroundings in the countryside.
Another option that works well in Italy is AirBnB. Controversy over the negative impacts of this business model aside, the experience itself is very positive : you can live in an apt. for the time you like, and get the feeling of being at home. Other types of vacation rentals offer the same experience - so if you are the type who enjoys having the conveniences of a regular home while on vacation (such as preparing meals from local products), then here, too, there is no lack of options, both in cities and in the small towns.

Gday Joe - thanks very much for the info you sent through and the welcome - really appreciated mate. If you would be kind enough to send or email me details of those websites you mention I will certainly have a gander. Did you happen to have any info regarding cost/hiring a rental vehicle etc in Italy - looking at leaving from Rome and winding our way down bottom then back up towards Venice etc. Thanks again.

 

[Sunflower]

I'm going to Italy this summer too, but just for 1 week and travel by bus. I hope 1 week would be enough (or not). For a road trip as you're planning, a longer time might be needed.

 

[Andrew]

Auto Europe and Kemwel are brokers for the major companies, and their sites are good in quoting inclusive rates, which need to be prepaid. Fuel is expensive, and most rentals are fuel-efficient diesels. With these brokers you can generally do one-way rentals without surcharges.

 

[joe]

If you would be kind enough to send or email me details of those websites you mention I will certainly have a gander. Did you happen to have any info regarding cost/hiring a rental vehicle etc in Italy - looking at leaving from Rome and winding our way down bottom then back up towards Venice etc.

I'm not that experienced with car rentals - I just check the regular sites and look for a sane price from a reliable company. Be sure you know how and who to contact if something goes wrong. Sorry I can't help more with that.

But on the agriturismo/accommodation subject, I can indeed offer a list of ways to find something :

1) There are quite a few sites that deal specifically with agriturismi (plural of agriturismo). If some of the following don't have an English version, just have translation enabled in your browser :
agriturismo.it
agriturismo.net
agriturismo.com
agriturismo.org
agriturismievacanze.it
turismoverde.it
bio.tuttogreen.it/bio/elenco/agriturismi/ (organic farms)

2) You can open any area in Italy in Google Maps, and just write "agriturismo" in the search bar. Any type of business like this that has published itself on Maps will pop up.

3) The big third-party sites (Booking, Trip Advisor) also strike deals with agriturismi - so you can use "farmhouse" (or whatever term they use) as a filter in accommodation searches on those sites.

4) Sites with a sort of "hand-picked" list of "special" places :
www.sawdays.co.uk/italy/
www.secretplaces.com/italy/piedmont/hotels#destinations-menu
www.charminly.com/region/piedmont-en/

5) Regional and provincial tourism sites will also sometimes offer a list of accommodations in the area.

Some general suggestions :

If you find something on a third-party site, do a web search on the accommodation name to see if it has a website. If it does, contacting the owners directly can have its benefits : price might be better, and you can already start a rapport with your hosts.

Many of these agriturismi are active family farms - a good place for kids, and a great way to connect to the local surroundings. Showing an interest in the farm, and not only treating the place as a type of motel, is usually appreciated by the hosts. OTOH, remember that the hosts can be very busy during certain seasons, as they have a farm to look after. IAC, hospitality is - at least wherever we have been - sky-high.
Many are not active farms, but are just farmhouses in the countryside, that are full-time tourism operations.

Many farms like this also offer activities of sorts : horse-riding, cooking classes, hikes/cycling, swimming pool, etc. All have breakfast included, but some also offer additional meals as well. Some have communal kitchens where guests can cook their own meals, or just have a coffee together.

Use common sense, check reviews and photos, ask for information - misunderstandings and mis-information are always a possibility.

Of course no lack of all types of conventional accommodations all over the country : hotels, motels, B&Bs, hostels, camping parks, AirBnB, etc.

And it goes without saying : if you need recommendations for accommodations in a certain area, chances are good that you'll get some from forum members here. Just ask, or read reviews that have been posted.

Good luck and enjoy your planning.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hi Wayne
Welcome!

Joe has beaten me to the recco on Agriturismo accomodation - which for your scenario of a new place every day or two, is likely to be ideal. Hotels can be a useful alternative, but I find them awfully repetitive after a while, whereas you get greater diversity/charm in farmstays, which have been great to us over the years. (p.s. Thanks Joe - that's a comprehensive site list that I'll copy down myself!)

I've not done such a road trip in Italy, the closest being doing the west coast of Australia (Cairns - Sydney) in 10 days which felt rushed.

Is the train from Paris booked? If not, there are direct routes to Turin, Milan and Venice, that might be better as a way of avoiding almost a whole day of daylight on the train. Indeed your plan looks like it has a bit of backtracking in it, as you could easily do London to Paris/France, then from there to Switzerland and down to Italy, taking train or flights as preferred.

I like the idea of a theme (coasts), though there is plenty of brilliant places (and more variety) if you were to mix it up. Not all the coastline is great in Italy, though its best is stunning. Inland there are some great parks / lakes / scenery, plus wonderful cities, towns and villages.

Assuming a round trip starting and finishing in Rome, it could go something like this, though I'd try to persuade you to go just south or just north:

South might include Frascati, Casserta, Vesuvius/Pompeii/campii flegri, Ravello (if only one night, stay where the scenery is best), Paestum/Cilento coast, then either head further south or cut across eastwards/inland to Matera, then Alberobello, and up the Puglia to Castel del Monte/Trani/Gargano peninsula. Head up the coast finding places to stop as required, aiming eventually for Ravenna / Comacchio. Although Ferrara is great, it's less great with a car, so I'd look at somewhere like Padova (perhaps a two nighter here and use it as an easy base for a day trip via train to Venice and hence a day off the stresses of driving?). From there to Verona and/or Lake Garda, then perhaps Monza, Milan or more lakes, with a view to making it across to Langhe wine country just south of Alba. Then down to Carrara/La Spezia/Lucca. From there I'd be tempted to head inland, taking in Florence if that appeals, but otherwise plenty of interesting places in Tuscany, before plotting a route back to Rome.

This will be a LOT of driving. In rural areas on trunk roads the driving would be comparable to the driving from Perth down to Margaret River - occasional choices and light traffic in moderately scenic terrain, though some rural areas can be very hilly with winding roads (including switchback turns where it is reasonably steep). However when heading through small older towns where there is no bypass (e.g. many of the Puglian towns), it's briefly quite stressful as you negotiate the tight one way systems. Driving in the big cities is much more stressful than Perth would be, with some cities being positively threatening to drive through (why do I have Naples in my mind??!). Over the years we've learnt to enjoy the smaller / more rural places when driving, and leave the cities for when we travel by train or bus. You'll cover less distance than in Australia, despite being able to drive at a faster speed. The Italian drivers we find to be fast, but typically very skillful. They'll tailgate you if you're holding them up, so to avoid stress we'll often swing into (e.g.) a garage forecourt to let them past, before rejoining the road. Oh and the roads in Italy are generally in poor upkeep and pay attention to the reduced speed limit when exiting the Autostrada .... they usually have a very sharp turn, almost doubling back in a loop, so too easy to carry too much speed for the angle of the curve.

In planning, my suggestion would be to have a plan A, but with options at every stage if you find you're spending too much time on the road, or want to seek a different experience e.g. city vs village, coast vs. hills etc. The beauty of such a trip over the slow travel beloved by most of us, is the flexibility, so make sure you have the mindset to rip any plan up and replace it as you go.

As you'll be likely staying a single night in places, it's worth thinking about laundry. coin operated laundromats are a bit more widespread than before, but still quite rare. They're often called 'American style' and outside of the cities, we've seen a few in out of town shopping centres, which can be convenient to dump the washing in there, grab a few groceries, perhaps a basic bit of grub, before retrieving the washing. Otherwise plan for an agriturismo / apartment with washing machine available, staying two nights to clear the washing through, whilst still exploring locally.

Probably plenty more I could comment, but maybe best to come back with additional questions rather than me brain-dumoing even more!

Regards
Ian

 

[Wayne Bevis]

I'm not that experienced with car rentals - I just check the regular sites and look for a sane price from a reliable company. Be sure you know how and who to contact if something goes wrong. Sorry I can't help more with that.

But on the agriturismo/accommodation subject, I can indeed offer a list of ways to find something :

1) There are quite a few sites that deal specifically with agriturismi (plural of agriturismo). If some of the following don't have an English version, just have translation enabled in your browser :
agriturismo.it
agriturismo.net
agriturismo.com
agriturismo.org
agriturismievacanze.it
turismoverde.it
bio.tuttogreen.it/bio/elenco/agriturismi/ (organic farms)

2) You can open any area in Italy in Google Maps, and just write "agriturismo" in the search bar. Any type of business like this that has published itself on Maps will pop up.

3) The big third-party sites (Booking, Trip Advisor) also strike deals with agriturismi - so you can use "farmhouse" (or whatever term they use) as a filter in accommodation searches on those sites.

4) Sites with a sort of "hand-picked" list of "special" places :
www.sawdays.co.uk/italy/
www.secretplaces.com/italy/piedmont/hotels#destinations-menu
www.charminly.com/region/piedmont-en/

5) Regional and provincial tourism sites will also sometimes offer a list of accommodations in the area.

Some general suggestions :

If you find something on a third-party site, do a web search on the accommodation name to see if it has a website. If it does, contacting the owners directly can have its benefits : price might be better, and you can already start a rapport with your hosts.

Many of these agriturismi are active family farms - a good place for kids, and a great way to connect to the local surroundings. Showing an interest in the farm, and not only treating the place as a type of motel, is usually appreciated by the hosts. OTOH, remember that the hosts can be very busy during certain seasons, as they have a farm to look after. IAC, hospitality is - at least wherever we have been - sky-high.
Many are not active farms, but are just farmhouses in the countryside, that are full-time tourism operations.

Many farms like this also offer activities of sorts : horse-riding, cooking classes, hikes/cycling, swimming pool, etc. All have breakfast included, but some also offer additional meals as well. Some have communal kitchens where guests can cook their own meals, or just have a coffee together.

Use common sense, check reviews and photos, ask for information - misunderstandings and mis-information are always a possibility.

Of course no lack of all types of conventional accommodations all over the country : hotels, motels, B&Bs, hostels, camping parks, AirBnB, etc.

And it goes without saying : if you need recommendations for accommodations in a certain area, chances are good that you'll get some from forum members here. Just ask, or read reviews that have been posted.

Good luck and enjoy your planning.

Hey Joe - great response and some very useful information we will explore thanks mate. Really appreciate you taking the time to send this to me. Best wishes

 

[Pauline]

I am sure Pauline will move your post to the Italy thread and there will be lots of good info forthcoming.

I am moving this thread to the Italy forum.

 

[Pauline]

You might read through some of our trip reports in the Italy Trip Reports forum, to get ideas. And read vacation rental reviews in the Italy Vacation Rentals forum to get accommodation ideas.

 

[Wayne Bevis]

Gday Ian - What great feedback mate!! Really really appreciate it and Kerry and myself will certainly go through it all. No doubt we will have some further questions for you from time to time. Coincidence that you mention Margaret River (we live not far from there in Bunbury). The driving aspect doesn't really faze me too much - quite looking forward to it in fact Ian - done that most of my working life. The farm stays are certainly something we will look at as we want to get to see some of the countryside and more out of the way places. Thanks again Ian - best wishes - Wayne (Ps. you are from UK - yes?)

 

[Wayne Bevis]

I'm not that experienced with car rentals - I just check the regular sites and look for a sane price from a reliable company. Be sure you know how and who to contact if something goes wrong. Sorry I can't help more with that.

But on the agriturismo/accommodation subject, I can indeed offer a list of ways to find something :

1) There are quite a few sites that deal specifically with agriturismi (plural of agriturismo). If some of the following don't have an English version, just have translation enabled in your browser :
agriturismo.it
agriturismo.net
agriturismo.com
agriturismo.org
agriturismievacanze.it
turismoverde.it
bio.tuttogreen.it/bio/elenco/agriturismi/ (organic farms)

2) You can open any area in Italy in Google Maps, and just write "agriturismo" in the search bar. Any type of business like this that has published itself on Maps will pop up.

3) The big third-party sites (Booking, Trip Advisor) also strike deals with agriturismi - so you can use "farmhouse" (or whatever term they use) as a filter in accommodation searches on those sites.

4) Sites with a sort of "hand-picked" list of "special" places :
www.sawdays.co.uk/italy/
www.secretplaces.com/italy/piedmont/hotels#destinations-menu
www.charminly.com/region/piedmont-en/

5) Regional and provincial tourism sites will also sometimes offer a list of accommodations in the area.

Some general suggestions :

If you find something on a third-party site, do a web search on the accommodation name to see if it has a website. If it does, contacting the owners directly can have its benefits : price might be better, and you can already start a rapport with your hosts.

Many of these agriturismi are active family farms - a good place for kids, and a great way to connect to the local surroundings. Showing an interest in the farm, and not only treating the place as a type of motel, is usually appreciated by the hosts. OTOH, remember that the hosts can be very busy during certain seasons, as they have a farm to look after. IAC, hospitality is - at least wherever we have been - sky-high.
Many are not active farms, but are just farmhouses in the countryside, that are full-time tourism operations.

Many farms like this also offer activities of sorts : horse-riding, cooking classes, hikes/cycling, swimming pool, etc. All have breakfast included, but some also offer additional meals as well. Some have communal kitchens where guests can cook their own meals, or just have a coffee together.

Use common sense, check reviews and photos, ask for information - misunderstandings and mis-information are always a possibility.

Of course no lack of all types of conventional accommodations all over the country : hotels, motels, B&Bs, hostels, camping parks, AirBnB, etc.

And it goes without saying : if you need recommendations for accommodations in a certain area, chances are good that you'll get some from forum members here. Just ask, or read reviews that have been posted.

Good luck and enjoy your planning.

Joe - Apologies in advance if this borders on a silly question - have located a place that interests us for a stay in Tuscanny (Agriturismo Fattoria Di Corsano) but try as I might can not seem to locate an email address and no website naturally. Any clues on that front please and do you know how far in advance we should book a few nights at stays such as this please. Many thanks mate. Wayne

 

[jan]

If that doesn't pan out you might look at Poggio Etrusco, near Montepulciano.

 

[Ian Sutton]

(Ps. you are from UK - yes?)

Hi Wayne
Yes, but with a partner whose siblings (and their descendants) have moved to Perth, so we've had the occasional trip to the area.

I'm wondering whether you're going for the new non-stop flights from Perth to Heathrow?
That would be interesting to get a view on.

p.s. in answer to the above - is this the place? http://www.fattoriadicorsano.com/en/contacts_D.html if so, there's an email address at the end.

In terms of advance booking, it can depend on the time of year, with August a peak period in the more rural / coastal places. In our usual April/May or Sept/Oct, as long as you have a little flexibility, we've found 1-3 months out usually has more good places available than already booked. However if you find somewhere that looks an absolute must, then it can be worth booking it, and then working around that firm booking with where you go before or afterwards.

Please fire other questions in as they come up. Such grand holidays can go through quite a bit of re-shaping as you work out the logisitics. It's worth it in the end.

One book I'd recommend, not for what it's meant to be about (food - there is a much better Italian book I use instead), but Fred Plotkin's 'Italy for the gourmet traveller' has an unnerving skill in painting an interesting insight into the places listed - so much so that it's often the first source I look at when shaping a trip. On the upside, any old edition will be fine, as the city/town/village descriptions won't change much between editions.

Regards
Ian

 

[joe]

Joe - Apologies in advance if this borders on a silly question - have located a place that interests us for a stay in Tuscanny (Agriturismo Fattoria Di Corsano) but try as I might can not seem to locate an email address and no website naturally.

Hi Wayne - no question is silly if you don't have an answer to it.

Is this the farm :
http://www.fattoriadicorsano.com/index.html

If it is, then I have another tip for you : when all else fails, read the instructions :

Some general suggestions :
If you find something on a third-party site, do a web search on the accommodation name to see if it has a website.

If not, give me a more exact location.

About booking in advance - Ian has given you sound advice.
Objective matters aside (free time for planning, ability to sift through the wealth of information available today), keep in mind that this matter is somewhat dependent on your travel style - everyone has their preferences, and the subject is often discussed on travel forums : how long ahead do you like to plan? Are you the type who wants the peace of mind knowing that all has been taken care of much in advance? Do you have the patience to wait for "bargains" or new opportunities that might arise during the months/weeks/days before the trip? Do you know exactly what you expect from the trip, or do you want to leave a lot unplanned and adapt to developments?

 

[Alpinista]

We've spent decades driving in Italy and have lived to tell our tales, so I think you will enjoy it. We have used both the coastal route and the central route to go from Rome to my wife's home territory of Lucca and actually find the central route much more scenic. That part of the western coast is cluttered and not overly interesting while the central route gives you access to places such as Orvieto and Viterbo and other very interesting/visually appealing places. On the other hand, we absolutely fell in love with the wildness of the coast below Lecce during our drives in Puglia -- the combination of small, beautiful towns and the windswept ocean views were special.

You say "both coastlines", but I'd strongly suggest limiting your scope so that you don't wear yourselves out with car time. If I had to pick, I'd probably go for the eastern coast from around Ravenna all the way down to Puglia, or some portion. The western coast has stops such as the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Paestum, etc. (too many to list), but it also has more people, more tourists, more traffic.

Some basics of driving in Italy: The street markings are far and few between in towns. Route numbers on highway signs are not very helpful, with the name signs giving you the next towns on the route (with the next nearest town on top). Bring or rent a GPS and life will be much better.

Blue signs are for local roads; green, for Autostrada. On local roads, the lane markers are suggestions only -- if there is a line of sight on a two lane road (sometimes even if not), cars will create a third middle lane so that they can pass. On the autostrada, stay right except when passing (or you will often find a German in a Mercedes driving up your tailpipe -- Italians are only slight less aggressive). On roads/streets where there is intersecting traffic, drivers usually look as if they aren't stopping -- if you slow up or flinch, the just might not stop, so be confident and maintain your right of way.

Circles are everywhere and greatly facilitate the flow of traffic. When in towns, be very attentive of the ZTL (Zona Traffico Limitato) signs. These are photo enforced zones closed to outside traffic and can be a very expensive surprise in the mail, often not coming for a long time after you've made it home and forgotten about the infraction.

 

[Wayne Bevis]

Hi Wayne
Yes, but with a partner whose siblings (and their descendants) have moved to Perth, so we've had the occasional trip to the area.

I'm wondering whether you're going for the new non-stop flights from Perth to Heathrow?
That would be interesting to get a view on.

p.s. in answer to the above - is this the place? http://www.fattoriadicorsano.com/en/contacts_D.html if so, there's an email address at the end.

In terms of advance booking, it can depend on the time of year, with August a peak period in the more rural / coastal places. In our usual April/May or Sept/Oct, as long as you have a little flexibility, we've found 1-3 months out usually has more good places available than already booked. However if you find somewhere that looks an absolute must, then it can be worth booking it, and then working around that firm booking with where you go before or afterwards.

Please fire other questions in as they come up. Such grand holidays can go through quite a bit of re-shaping as you work out the logisitics. It's worth it in the end.

One book I'd recommend, not for what it's meant to be about (food - there is a much better Italian book I use instead), but Fred Plotkin's 'Italy for the gourmet traveller' has an unnerving skill in painting an interesting insight into the places listed - so much so that it's often the first source I look at when shaping a trip. On the upside, any old edition will be fine, as the city/town/village descriptions won't change much between editions.

Regards
Ian

Great stuff Ian - thanks again mate. Very useful information - not sure if we are going to fly to Gatwick or Paris at this stage but will certainly stay in touch regarding that and other questions that you have most kindly offered to answer for us. Have a great day

 

[Wayne Bevis]

We've spent decades driving in Italy and have lived to tell our tales, so I think you will enjoy it. We have used both the coastal route and the central route to go from Rome to my wife's home territory of Lucca and actually find the central route much more scenic. That part of the western coast is cluttered and not overly interesting while the central route gives you access to places such as Orvieto and Viterbo and other very interesting/visually appealing places. On the other hand, we absolutely fell in love with the wildness of the coast below Lecce during our drives in Puglia -- the combination of small, beautiful towns and the windswept ocean views were special.

You say "both coastlines", but I'd strongly suggest limiting your scope so that you don't wear yourselves out with car time. If I had to pick, I'd probably go for the eastern coast from around Ravenna all the way down to Puglia, or some portion. The western coast has stops such as the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Paestum, etc. (too many to list), but it also has more people, more tourists, more traffic.

Some basics of driving in Italy: The street markings are far and few between in towns. Route numbers on highway signs are not very helpful, with the name signs giving you the next towns on the route (with the next nearest town on top). Bring or rent a GPS and life will be much better.

Blue signs are for local roads; green, for Autostrada. On local roads, the lane markers are suggestions only -- if there is a line of sight on a two lane road (sometimes even if not), cars will create a third middle lane so that they can pass. On the autostrada, stay right except when passing (or you will often find a German in a Mercedes driving up your tailpipe -- Italians are only slight less aggressive). On roads/streets where there is intersecting traffic, drivers usually look as if they aren't stopping -- if you slow up or flinch, the just might not stop, so be confident and maintain your right of way.

Circles are everywhere and greatly facilitate the flow of traffic. When in towns, be very attentive of the ZTL (Zona Traffico Limitato) signs. These are photo enforced zones closed to outside traffic and can be a very expensive surprise in the mail, often not coming for a long time after you've made it home and forgotten about the infraction.

Thank you very much for your info - really appreciated and certainly goes a long way in answering some of our queries etc regarding driving throughout Italy. Have a great day