Getting around in Italy

Italy has excellent railway services, the railway system connecting all main cities and towns and the train tickets costs reletively cheap by comparison with other european countries. Italy is a very densely populated country so a train travel to your desired places is indicated. Its geographycal shape long and narrow makes it fit for a railway system. The natiowide railway network is Trenitalia (website www.trenitalia.com or www.ferroviedellostato.it). Main routes include Milan - Rome, Milan - Reggio Calabria, Turin-Milan-Venice, Milan-Bologna-Bari; Rome-Genoa-Turin. There are train schedules displayed in every station and beside buying a ticket form the ticket offices there are also touch-screen ticket machines and you can buy tickets online from the Trenitalia's website. If you plan to travel a lot by train during your trip in Italy Trenitalia offers special deals : a zone ticket card to travel in a region or you can get a Trenitalia Pass: you buy a number of days of travel to be use within 2 months so that you can sightseeing every destination that you choose during your Italy holiday by train. Travellers under 26 years receive a reduction. There are different types of train : Eurostar, Intercity, Interregionale and Regionale. Eurostar travels between the major italian cities and is the classiest and the fastest of all. For Eurostar seat reservation is compulsory. Intercity and the newer Intercity Plus trains are reliable too, they are stopping in the largest cities and provides first and second class seats. They offer airconditioned cars and restaurants. Interregionale and Regionale trains stop in many towns along their routes and they are offering less services than the first two types of trains. But they are very useful when you want to visit unusual sites or new places . Don't forget to buy food and drinks because this type of trains do not provide bars.

Due to its peninsular form, Italy has an abundence of ports and ferry options for its vistors. There is a very developed network of passenger and car ferries opperating througout the year connecting the major ports of Italy and linking the islands to the mainland. Boat services and hydrofoils connect the major islands of Italy Sicily and Sardinia, the island of Capri, Tremiti islands and the Aelion islands . "Touring" Italy by sea can be a great experience and the major italian sights are easy to reach from the seashore. If you want to take a cruise to the charming italian isalnds , the main ports for embarkation are : Naples, Fiumicino, Civitavecchia, Genoa, and Livorno. Operators that offer cruises on this routes are : Tirrenia ( www.tirrenia.it ), Corsica Ferries ( www.corsicaferries.com ), Caremar and Vetor ( www.vetor.it ). There are also ferrie companies operating on the lakes of Maggiore, Guarda and Como. The italian name for cruiser is Traghetti.

Italy has an extensive road network with more than 479,688 km (298,064 miles) of roads. In the north there is a very good system of highways but in the southern part the roads are not so developed. Everey highway is identified by the letter "A" followed by a number and drivers are charged for a toll for using it. There are toll stations at every acces points and most of them accept credit cards as well as pre-paid cards. The highways are well monitorized for exceed speeding and hazardous driving. Car rentals are available in all cities ,airports and resorts. Car and accomodation services are very frequent along the roads. The rest stops provides besides refueling , bed and breakfast , information and bars. Driving regulations: the speed limits are 50 km (31 miles) per hour in urban areas, 90 km (56 miles) per hour on secondary and local roads, 110 km (68 miles) per hour on freeways and 130 km (80 miles) per hour on highways. Gasoline is called "benzina" and diesel is called "gasolio". Traffic is on the right and seatbelts are mandatory. Driving violations are punished hard and the fines are very expensive.

There is no national bus company in Italy but there are very good coach services between the main cities and destinations and every town provides a good local bus service. A major italian company operating between cities is SITA ( www.sitabus.it ) City tickets are relatively cheap and you can buy them from any shop displaying the "biglietti" symbol or from the newsagents or tobacconists. Once on board you must validate your ticket. For a tourist the most conveniant way is to buy daily tickets which alows you to travel the entire day and makes it possible for you to make small trips in every sight of the town.