Introduction
Date
July 31th - August 10th, 2006
Money
Prior Reservations:
Hotels: 1090 Euro (Cheap-Mid range hotels but within the tourists season).
More 100 Euro were paid early on for 2 sites (Opera and the Last Supper)
Spending Money:
Each of us spend 600 Euro in total. So the average cost was 60 Euro a
day per person. We usually spend the money on transportation, average
restaurants, midday snacks, tickets for various sites and few souvenirs.
If you plan on buying a lot of souvenirs, clothes or just want higher
standards you should bring more than 60 Euro a day.
Flights
Flights to north Italy usually land in Milan, Verona, or Venice. Most of the flights and also the cheaper ones land in Milan and that's why we took it, but the ideal flight for this particular trip is actually Verona.
Books
I used two books for planning the trip and
both of them were very helpful. The first is Lonely Planet's "North Italy".
It gives wide range of activities and practical information for any
interesting place such as transportation, restaurants and so forth.
Lonely Planet's book fall short in the area of full description and this is
exactly the area were Eyewitness book is exceptional. Eyewitness books
provides full descriptions accompanied by pictures and stories.
Prior Preparation
I advise reserving hotels at least 2 months prior the flight. Since the popular places get really busy in high season. Additionally you should buy tickets for attraction that will be problematic or you know that it would consume needless time. Most of the reservation can be done by the internet or by phone.
Hotels
Hotels are to be reserved at least two
months prior the flight. I reserved them one month prior and was left with
few options and high prices. In high season the hotels charge quite a lot
but it's possible to find reasonable hotels for reasonable price as I did.
Most hotels include continental breakfast and you'll usually find salads,
sandwiches, cheese, gems, and good pastries.
When you reserve the hotel it is important to clarify if you want a bed for
a couple (double room), otherwise you'll might find yourselves in a twin
room.
Transportation
Out trip was based mostly on trains and
sometimes buses and taxis. My trip description presents the transpiration
with these vehicles.
The public transportation in Italy is very reliable and the trains are
usually right on time. Many trains work 24 hours a day although their
frequency in night is very low. Prior getting on a train you should mark
your ticket in a special machine. The fine for not marking a ticket is 50
Euro so don't make that mistake. It is possible to buy a regional ticket
from 3 to 10 days but for our particular trip it wasn't profitable.
If you plan on transporting using a car I don't have a lot to offer on the
subject. From one hand you'll be a lot more agile and from the other hand
concentrating on driving and directions can sometimes damage the atmosphere.
Weather
in August and July the weather suppose to be between hot and very hot. Luckily for us we following a wave of comfortable weather and we even encountered rainy days. Still I'll recommend spring for the ideal season for weather. Not too hot and not too cold when reaching the colder places.
Clothing & Equipment
In August it was comfy to walk around with
short clothing. In night it is a bit chilly and warmer clothing are advised.
Rains can surprise tourists even in summer so it might be smart to carry
winter clothes just in case.
The Dolomites are cold to freezing even in summer - warm clothes are a must
and you should learn from my mistake. Hiking equipments depends on the type
of treks that are planned. For difficult treks I recommend getting all the
essentials including equipment to chain yourself to iron bars.
As long you are using public transport I suggest to keep away from bags with
wheels. Sometimes the way to the hotel takes a bit time and usually the
wheels tend to break more than rotate. (My Dafna insisted on bringing wheels
bag and I suffered because I had to carry her bag for her).
"School bag", comfortable shoes, secured wallet for avoiding thieves. An
empty bottle is very useful since mineral water is quite expansive and there
are endless amount of drinking fountains that you can fill your bottle with.
Maps, Books, and documentations of the trip, hotels and transport will help
you guide with no troubles.
Food & Water
The Italian food is well known around the
world and I think that the food is an attraction on its on. There are a lot
of good restaurants and I suggest at least visiting one or two good ones. In
more popular places you will find restaurants presenting their food with
gorgeous pictures - stay a way from these. They aren't too bad, but their
quality/price ration will never be to your favor.
Italian "junk food" is composed mainly of pizzas and ice creams which can
probably be your only source of food for a whole trip. The pizzas and ices I
had were some of the best I ate in my life. The pizzas style is varying from
place to place, so if you weren't amazed by your first pizza just eat
another one in another place.
As for water I suggest walking with 1.5-2 liters in your bag. In most cities
and villages there are numerous drinking fountains and its a shame to pay
for mineral water - at least in my opinion.
The Italian People
I found the Italian people very warm and nice. They are happy and talkative fellows and most of them hurried to assist any tourist so much that sometimes they strayed from their doings just for guiding you. Most of the Italian fold don't speak English properly or at all, so I advise going through basic word in Italian. Especially learn about directions and common places.