I am going to Italy this summer by car. Has anyone travelled to Rome, and could you give me any tips?!?

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Bud ha

Driving in most big Italian cities can be nerve racking but I think Rome is not worth the trouble unless you have no choice. I think park and ride in is the answer because apart from the traffic there are local laws that you will not know about. You could end up with fines arriving at your door after 2 months, It happens believe me! When driving in Italy drive like Italians then the other drivers won't get confused, being too polite can cause accidents because they don't expect it.

Italy is a great place, I prefer the central/south regions (not Rome) but everyone has there own idea's. Some places I like are: Pisa, Florence, Largo Trasimeno, Assisi, Pompeii, Almalfi, Positano, Naples(by car ????) all of the Puglia region.

Try this web site for cheap BB, http://en.bbplanet.it/.

At present petrol is â‚¬1.40 litre and on the motorway you pay.In the past you could get cheaper tokens for both at the border but I'm not sure of the situation now.

Italians on the whole are very nice people, they will try there best to make you welcome. Have fun.

Ryan

Rome's a nice place but be careful of the traffic - it's chaotic. I nearly got run over near the Vatican when I went there!

Angela G

I hope its a small car driving and parking in Rome is an experience to be missed

travelersguidebook

Driving in Italy can be a challenge; however, we drove all over for 5 years and managed to stay accident free.....so, don't be too scared. Typically, the futher south in Italy you go the more agressive the driving. One piece of advice would be to park your car outside the city walls of Rome if at all possible. If you drive within Rome I am afraid you would spend much of your time stuck in traffic and looking for a place to park your car.

If at all possible, I would try to stay within the city walls of Rome (called the Aurelian Walls). It might be cheaper to stay outside, but you have to consider the time you will lose by traveling to and from the city. As long as your hotel is within Rome, I really don't think that it matters what attraction you stay near....maybe just look for the best deal and spend the money you save on a tour or even the hop on hop off bus that takes you around the city. We typically loved using public transportation while we lived in Italy; however, in Rome we really enjoyed the hop on hop off bus.....the public bus was a nightmare that we didn't want to repeat.

On the website we are creating, Traveler's Guidebook http://www.travelersguidebook.com/Rome.html there is a lot of practical information for Rome as well as a link to the hop on hop off buses. Even if you don't choose to use these buses, you should check out the link because it breaks down the 9 bus stops and gives you an idea of what tourist attractions are within walking distance of each other. This way you might could choose a hotel that is closest to where you want to be centrally located. We also have a link to accomodations within Rome. This hotel link allows you to select around what tourist attraction you would like to find a hotel. Plus...there are tons of travelers' reviews about the hotels which is often invaluable.

As far as other places to see within Italy....there are so many! If you are looking to see the bigger cities, I would have to say don't miss Venice and Florence. If you want to see some of the smaller places, I would recommend Cinque Terre or even some of the small hill towns in central Italy. Another recommendation is driving up in the Dolomites....Oh, also I would recommend San Marino...a small country of it's own located within Italy.

I hope that this helps you some and that you have a wonderful time in Italy!

philiprobo

You seem to have run into a load of yank answers so far...
heres one with someone from europe who isnt up their own jacksy.

Rome traffic is pretty mad, Italians dont really pay much attention to traffic law, though it all seems to work quite nicely.

You'll find it very busy, lots and lots of bike's whipping past as your stuck in traffic.

Find a very very good map and give yourself plenty of time for any trips.

Other than that, park your car up somewhere in Rome and catch the metro, its pretty good.

buster

Rome is just another busy city. So much traffic.
Are you used to driving with one hand on your horn? Watch out for motorcycle too.

midknight_6

You must be independently wealthy if you can afford the price of petrol in Europe. As stated above Rome is a nightmare to park let alone drive in traffic!! If you are not used to chaos don't drive in Rome!!

baby87

hello! im italian. i live in sicily and i love roma!!!! usually to roma i go with car..and if you go to roma in car i to advise of to park near to COLOSSEUM ,because near there is the metropolitan! i hope you understund!! ah! you can visited VENICE beautiful....SIENA ( in TOSCANA near FIRENZE) .. PERUGIA ( in UMBRIA). :-D GOOD TRAVEL!!

stephen h

I was in Rome last week and was very disappointed with the people, food and expense.

But: the Vatican took my breadth away and the Coliseum blew me away.

Don't let anyone dressed up take your camera to take a picture for you; it cost me 10 euros

st george

i have drove to lake garda which has a lovely campsite, watch the roads, they are really bad, very bumpy!

Megan

Certain parts of Rome are nice to see, but like any other big cities driving will be really, really hectic, and Rome is one of the worse off places. Public transportation might be better for the city, but having a car does have its advantages. Get a small one, definitely, streets in Italy can be very tiny.

As far as where to go. Rome is fairly close to the Amalfi Coast, definitely go there. You can see Pompeii, Sorrento, take the ferry to Capri. Its about 5 hours from Amalfi to the region Puglia, which I always highly recommend. Tuscany is also drivable. Probably less than 5 hours to some places.

bella joe

if u want to go to Rome you can stay near the center of the town and go with the subway or the buses...anyway I recommend you to go to Parma, my city, where there is parmigiano cheese and the famous ham..also Florence is not bad

dontstopmenow

Hi! I'm from Rome! Since you're passing through florence, I think you can visit also Pisa and Siena... Once you're in Rome I suggest you to find a parking near a subway station and visit the center by public transport... there's a lot of traffic in Rome, and it's difficult for people who lives out of Rome driving... because there are a lot of motorcycle, and in the traffic nobody follows his queue, everyone tries to pass the other car in all the possible ways... eheh! but don't worry, if you drive in the right way you can survive. The parking is another problem... you will see the art of parking in Rome eheh, usually you have to invent a parking when it's impossible to find a legal one!

ÇuoÊŽÊžÉ”ÉÊ

Southern Italy is wonderful the link gives you many places to vist

http://www.thereareplaces.com/Guidebook/pdest/italy/campania.htm

StingRay

Rome is a dump, I've been. I wouldn't drive in Rome either.
Edit: I can only assume that whoever gave Me the thumbs down has never been, or lives on a council estate.

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