Travel by Car

Julie, if you haven't already done so, check out the Via Michelin website. It can give you itinerary suggestions, tolls, travel time, etc.

A couple of thoughts: 1. Every driver needs an International Driver's Permit. It's essentially a translation of your driver's license. Stop at a AAA to pick up an IDP. If you have an extra passport photo, bring it with you to save a little time and money. 2. Bring a good GPS (TomTom or Garmin) from home. Make sure it has up to date European maps and you know how to use it. Signage in Italy is, by far, the worst I have seen anywhere I've yet driven (includes Asia, Europe and most of N. America). It's virtually impossible (not completely impossible, I did it - once) to navigate using maps - primarily because there are so few street signs to help you figure out where you are or whether this is your turn. 3. Tolls aren't cheap but may be worth it for the time saved. Sometimes there's a route that is nearly as fast, other times skipping a toll bridge means a three hour detour. A TomTom GPS will ask you each time whether you want to avoid tolls. I let the GPS plan a route once with tolls and once without. If the time difference isn't too big, I'll skip the tolls. Garmin allows the same calculation but avoiding tolls is in the settings. You have to change the settings to let it plan the route both ways before deciding. 4. If you haven't yet visited Italy, remember the key is to have fun. Italy has an interesting approach to life (I call it, "Come what may."). If you can laugh about the lack of urgency generally shown by Italians, you will be fine. If you let yourself get worked up about the ticket agent who seems oblivious to fact you are trying to catch a plane or train, you'll go mad. Laugh and remember it will all work out (if not exactly on the schedule you had hoped for).