Sweet 16

Sounds great. When my friends rent a car, they use Kemwel and have been very happy with it. I have heard mixed reviews about Maggiore.

Do you intend to get out of the car in Caserta as you say you will drive by the palace? If you are driving from Sorrento to Rome you have plenty of time to visit the palace. Driving past, especially as the road closest to the palace goes underground, would be a waste of time.

I would have concerns that your first day is very tight with almost no margin for error.

Sounds like wonderful, albeit "full" holiday with lots of driving. A few comments.....

• You'll need to ensure that your iPhone 4S is unlocked when you "slap" in the new SIM or it won't work (BTW, I still use a 4S so it's not that "old"). Don't forget the Plug Adaptors.
• You might also consider a SIM card from TIM. They're the largest network and may have more sales outlets. You'll probably need to register with the Italian network using your Passport, so be sure to have that at hand when you buy the SIM.
• As you may be aware, EACH driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. The I.D.P.'s are easily available for a few bucks at any AAA outlet.
• You're probably aware of ZTL (limited traffic) areas, and I'm sure your relatives can ensure you don't violate any of those.
• Are you clear on the method for travel from MXP to Milano Centrale? DON'T forget to validate!

Buon Viaggio!

Wow. So many replies. And so quick! Thx!

Zoe- I have my fingers crossed w Maggiore. They had by far the best rates there is a trenitalia rate u can get w them as long as u have a valid PNR) and were one of the few that would stay open late in Salerno for the pick up. If they are a disaster on the first leg. I will cancel w them on the last leg

MPH - Thx for the Caserta info. I was hoping to "just do a drive by" as I hear it's a bit seedy in and around the palace. Now I am leaning towards skipping it. There was a southern Italian saying about the fountains of Caserta. Now that I am an adult "I get" that they are talking about the fountains by the palace. Maybe "next time" (if I can ever convince my wife to go again - she is not a good flyer)

Frank - I am concerned as well. I did by a partly refundable train tix, but hope that I don't have to use it as it may mess up my car rental pick up. Ugh.

ken - I am told that ALL Verizon iPhone 4S are unlocked (is there a way to check/confirm). I was leaning towards Vodafone over TIM since I hear the texts they send and customer service may be available in English. I have my IDL. My wife is too gunshy to drive. I have been reading up on ZTL. My one night in Milan is in a hotel that has free parking and just outside the ZTL. I have the MXP express time tables eaves at 13 and 43 mins after the hour and takes 53 mins. €30 for a "family ticket". Thx for reminding me about validating. I need to put that in my notes.

great ticket prices, and the A380 is the largest passenger jet in the world. I flew on it ...lotsa space :-)

Put in someone else's SIM in your iPhone 4 to see if it works.

Thx

Jim in Va - yes, Emirates has driven down the cost of flights from JFK-MXP so much that it made the inconvenience of having to fly into and out of Milan worth it (esp when you need to pay for 4 tickets). I am also thrilled to check out the A380. When I booked the flights I think it was being serviced by a 777-800 and I had great bulkhead seats. I did not realized they changed the equipment until a while later. So I have run of the house seats.

Eileen- what a great and simple suggestion. I should wear a dunce cap!

"partly refundable train tix, " Not sure what you would have purchased? There are no partly refundable tickets in Italy. There are changeable tickets - economy ticket one change and base tickets are completely changeable. However, all changes have to be made before the train leaves the station. If not, the ticket is dead. So if you are running late and miss the train the ticket is finished.

Eileen - having a hard time finding a micro SIM. All working SIMs are nanos in my house. I will have to find a volunteer at work to conduct this test

Frank - I purchased an economy ticket. So I can do one change or one refund (less 20%). From what I've read I can do the change or the refund online at trenitalia.com (since I purchased the ticket directly on their website). Hopefully this is moot and all my transfers work out!

Frank, you can change a base fare ticket at no charge up to one hour after the train leaves, but you can only do that at the ticket window at the station.

What a fabulous Sweet 16! The only thing I would add is that you should bring a car charger for the phone. I have a 4S and they were never great on battery life (and it's worse now that it's "old"). The only difficulty we had in driving was when the battery died on a long day of Google mapping! All ended well but it was a bit dicey getting back to our B&B that evening.

Have a great trip!

Thx for the car charger tip.

I have a mophie, but will get my hands on a cigarette lighter variety in case the kids need the mophie.

Here we are separated by a common language.... what's a mophie?

I wonder if it a kind of mobile phone? But then the kids using it? Maybe a game?

A mophie is a portable rechargeable battery that can juice up your devices (like iPhones and ipads)

Mine looks something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HCM8DJO/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?qid=1436967677&sr=1-7&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&dpPl=1&dpID=31BSwkqgJNL&ref=plSrch

I see.... that's powerful - 12 thousand milli Amp Hours. wow.

My mobile fone company gives away back up batteries... good for 2 charges.

I've never rented from Maggiore in Italy. I generally use a consolidator from one of the two websites below:
www.autoeurope.com
www.kemwel.com
Generally the cheapest price with them turns out to be with Europcar, however Hertz is also competitive.

In terms of purchasing a SIM card at Malpensa, as far as I know the store closed a few years back. Last year I flew to Milan and purchased my Vodafone SIM for my Iphone5 at a shopping center in nearby Gallarate, about 5 min from the airport. I had a rental car so I had no problem getting there.
To find a vodafone store in any location use this website. Enter a location (for example Malpensa Airport) and it will show where they are. You can click on a VODAFONE STORE or also a RIVENDITORE AUTORIZZATO (Authorized Dealer). Click both.
http://trovanegozio.vodafone.it/
I didn't see anything pop up inside the airport. The closest vodafone stores to MXP are in Busto or Bellinzago, but there are several authorized dealers in Gallarate and also Somma Lombardo.

Unfortunately the car rental consolidators don't work for late arrival (9pm) in Salerno. So I am stuck w paying Maggiore €40 to stay open late.

On a brighter note, I did find a micro SIM to put in my iPhone 4S, and it worked. So Verizon did automatically unlock the 4S (as advertised).

Well, I am back state side and I am happy to report the trip went well.

All the transfers on day 1 went well.

Vodafone SIM cards are sold by an FX desk in baggage claim. It was a 5 minute transaction. Pay €30. Take a photocopy of a passport and done. You get 300 mins, 300 texts (and these can both be to Italians, US or most western nations) and 2GB of data. Worked well.

Maggiore car rental went well. Both rentals went without incident.

And emirates is a VERY good airline.

TIM has a store at Milano Centrale, they (or you) can set the language default to English. Some texts will still come through in Italian, but they are mostly about how much time/euro you have left, or special offer (I just ignore those).

" So I am stuck w paying Maggiore €40 to stay open late. "

I trust you have a back up plan in the event that there is no one there awaiting your arrival. What happens if you are an hour delayed?

Most everything else makes sense & allows a little wiggle room- have a great family memory!

He's home, Bob.

Indeed I am home. It was $40 to stay open 2 hours. It would've been another $40 if I ran late.

Plan C was to book a room in Salerno.

Lucky plan A worked!

Glad everything worked out well.

Glad everything worked out well.