Italy 2009: summer holiday planning guide (by Gill Charlton - Telegrapf.co.uk)

[Christian]

The good life in Italy: a couple have dinner in a canal-side restaurant as a gondolier glides by in Venice Photo: GETTY IMAGES

The fountain in Piazza Navona in Rome Photo: GETTY IMAGES

• Italy 2009: cost-cutting tips
• Italy 2009: accommodation options
• Italy 2009: activity holiday guide

Telegraph readers voted Italy “Best European Country” in our annual Travel Awards. And not for the first time. Who can resist its charms: ancient
hilltop towns rising from sunflower fields, unrivalled classical and
renaissance treasures, a pleasure house of food and wine? And, of course,
the warm, expansive welcome of the Italians, for whom language is no barrier
to communication.

Italy was quite expensive even when the pound bought €1.50. Now, it’s easy to run up big bills especially if dining out, hiring sunbeds and drinking on
cafe terraces. Some things remain good value, including train travel, wines
direct from vintners, organic groceries, and village trattorie off the main
tourist trail.

Here we offer some top tips on how to make your pound go further, and a comprehensive guide to travel in Italy which will help you identify which
companies are offering the best value for your holiday in 2009.

More information
The Italian State Tourist Board (020 7408 1254, www.italiantouristboard.co.uk
).

Getting there

By air

There are direct flights from British airports to 26 destinations in Italy; the majority leave from London but there is also a good choice from
Birmingham, Liverpool and Glasgow. For longer holidays in high summer it can
be cheaper to take a charter flight. The seat-broker Avro (0871 423
8550, www.avro.co.uk)
offers seats to Naples, Venice and Catania in Sicily from seven UK airports. Holiday
Options (0844 477 0451, www.holidayoptions.co.uk)
operates charters to Alghero, Olbia and Cagliari in Sardinia from nine
airports, and to Catania from Gatwick and Manchester.

Who flies where

All destinations listed are served by direct, non-stop flights. All airports with flights between Britain and Italy are listed, but UK regional airports
may not offer all routes.

Alitalia (0871 424 1424, www.alitalia.co.uk) flies from Heathrow and London City to Milan and from Heathrow to Rome.

Bmi (0870 6070 555, www.flybmi.com) Heathrow and Manchester to Venice.

British Airways (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com) Heathrow or Gatwick to Bologna, Catania, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Pisa, Rome,
Turin, Venice, Verona. Manchester and Birmingham to Milan.

EasyJet (0905 821 0905, www.easyjet.com) flies from Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, East Midlands, Bristol, Newcastle,
Belfast to Venice, Milan, Rome, Olbia, Naples, Turin, Pisa, Palermo and
Cagliari.

Flybe (0871 700 2000, www.flybe.com) flies from Birmingham and Manchester to Milan.

Flyglobespan (0871 271 9000, www.flyglobespan.com) flies from Edinburgh to Rome.

Jet2 (0871 226 1737, www.jet2.com) flies from Edinburgh, Belfast, Leeds-Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle.
Destinations: Venice, Bergamo (for Milan), Pisa, Rome and Olbia in Sardinia.

Meridiana (0871 222 9319, www.meridiana.it) Gatwick to Florence.

Monarch (0871 423 8642, www.monarch.co.uk) Summer charters from Bristol, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and
Glasgow. Destinations: Venice, Naples and Catania.

Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) All destinations available from Stansted; selected routes from Bournemouth,
Bristol, East Midlands, Liverpool, Newcastle, Edinburgh. Destinations:
Alghero (Sardinia), Ancona, Bari, Bergamo (for Milan), Brescia (for Verona),
Brindisi, Cuneo (for Piedmont region), Forlì (for Bologna), Genoa, Lamezia
(for Calabria), Olbia, Palermo, Parma, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Rimini, Rome,
Treviso (for Venice), Trapani (Sicily), Trieste, Turin.

Thomson Airways (0870 1900 737, www.thomsonfly.com) has the biggest choice of summer services from Manchester and Gatwick; a few
routes also from Bristol, Newcastle, Birmingham, Glasgow and Belfast.
Destinations: Catania, Naples, Venice, Verona, Pisa, Alghero, Olbia.

By rail

For advice on travel to Italy see “The Man in Seat Sixty-One” website: www.seat61.com. Fares
from London to Florence start at £119 return, including berth, and the
journey now takes only 16 hours.

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (0845 077 2222, www.orient-express.com) Two-day journey from London to Venice £1,550 full board (single cabin
supplement £280); some departures continue to Rome.

Rail Europe (0844 848 4070, www.raileurope.co.uk), Italia Rail (08700 841414, www.italiarail.co.uk)
and Ffestiniog Travel (01766 772957, www.festtravel.co.uk)
sell international rail tickets, rail passes and reservations for fast
internal ES trains.

Getting around

Car hire

Check that all extras are included, such as airport fees, out-of-hours fees, second driver and theft cover. Watch out for high insurance excesses hidden
in the small print.

Car rental companies include Avis (08445 818181, www.avis.co.uk); Budget (0844 581 9998, www.budget.co.uk);
Europcar (0870 607 5000, www.europcar.co.uk);
Hertz (08708 448844, www.hertz.co.uk).
Brokers include Holiday Autos (0870 400 4461, www.holidayautos.co.uk)
and Holiday Cars Direct (0870 112 8101, www.holidaycarsdirect.com).

By rail

For fares, timetables and online booking see the Italian Railways website: www.trenitalia.com
.

By ferry

A list of inter-island ferry operators can be found on the Italian Tourist Board’s website: www.italiantouristboard.co.uk
.