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How to get in and around Italy – It is actually very simple.
No need to rent a car as public transportation is awesome. You just need to know a few tricks, and I share you some here.
Planes, trains, and automobiles, or should I say Alitalia, Frecciarossa, and Ferraris. It’s easy to get in and around in Italy.
When planning your trip to Italy you should consider if you are comfortable driving yourself or prefer to use public transportation.
Here are some tips to help you to choose your way to get in and around Italy.
Italy on rails
Italy has a very good railway infrastructure – as it is in Europe in general.
Trains do stop even in the smallest stations.
Ticket prices are surprisingly low, though the bullet trains are not cheap at all, but they run like an arrow – On a rush choose Frecciarossa, Frecciargento or Frecciabianca (Freccia as an arrow).
If you have time to spend, pick a local train and stop in the places you’ve never even heard of before.
Yes, as you’ve probably heard, trains might run late due to a strike or whatever another reason, but I’d say Italian railways are running very well. Expect some delays.
But do not stress about those, you are on vacation anyway!
You can buy your tickets at the stations, but in the peak season (summer months) trains are often full and queues at the stations can be painful.
To make it smooth (and to avoid ending up in the most expensive first class) you could book your ticket in advance online.
Just one day before is usually enough.
Italian railways’ tickets
Search here for your tickets
All of these sites have English-speaking (well, written) service and are selling tickets to all long-distance trains in Italy. These links lead directly to their English pages.
One thing for the local trains: Be sure to stamp your ticket before hopping on a train.
You can find machines to do that on the platform.
Without the stamp you could get fined even with the ticket in your hand.
That’s because the ticket for the local train can be used anytime in the near future and only the bullet trains demand a seat reservation.
Affordable long-distance buses in Italy
Oftentimes buses are a much better option in Europe than trains.
They are cheaper, and their connections are better, but in Italy, I would trust a good train network.
If you are getting into or off Italy you could check for example *Flixbus
I’ve traveled with them from Turin, Italy to Montpellier, France, and Trieste, Italy to Belgrade, Serbia (and many other destinations elsewhere in Europe).
Renting a car
As said, you don’t need a car to get around.
Think about all those great wines you could taste if you are not driving…
If you definitely want to tour around Italy by driving yourself, or driving by yourself and not in a crowded train in the heat of the summer, it’s of course possible.
And sometimes it makes life easier if you are touring around the countryside.
Rental services are not too expensive either. *Compare the prices for example here.
One more thing. We Europeans mostly drive cars with manual gear, so be sure to check that you are renting an automatic if you need or prefer to have one.
Do not start practicing in Italian traffic, please don’t!
Plus check the coverage of your insurance.
Also be careful on autostradas, and motorways. Even if it’s not a Ferrari Italian speeding, but a Fiat, they drive like they were participating in an F1 race and accidents are common.
Tip: It might be very difficult to find a parking spot in Italy so choosing that small Fiat might be a better idea than renting a huge devil with V8, especially if you are planning to drive in the cities.
Flights to & in Italy
For flights I am nowadays using mostly *Momondo’s search engine as this site compares the prices not only between the airlines but also the other sites offering similar services.
And finally some rest
Italy is also full of intriguing places to put your head down on a pillow.
I nowadays use mostly *Booking.com to book as you can choose anything between fancy hotels to hostels to apartments.
Pick what you like!
As a full-time nomad, my choice often is an apartment, because I need my peace for my work and want to feel at home.
I used to book a whole lot via Airbnb, but as *Booking.com has started listing also apartments I returned to using them almost 100 % on my travels.
Whatever way you choose to travel I hope you can reserve some time as Italy has places to see for a lifetime.
Do not try to do Italy in a week and certainly do not try to tour around the whole Europe in a couple of weeks.
Leave time for wandering and wondering.
Buona notte!
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