Whether you plan to arrive before the wedding or stay after, you should try and see some of the beauty of Italy and the surrounding countries. Below are some ideas that I can help you with.
There are several that we can plan. However, if you are interested you need to contact me and let me know. I need to have an idea on how many people before I can ask for quotes from Tour Companies about taking us to sites. If enough people are interested in different sites, we can do a couple of tours. If people are there already on Friday, can also plan tours that day.
1. All day trip to Cinque Terre - this area is about 2 hours from the hotel. This would probably have to be on Saturday, September 14th. I hope to do this tour and will be planning it for Saturday if anyone else is interested.
2. Half day trip to Pisa. This could be on several days. Could do on Friday, Saturday or Sunday morning.
3. Trip to Southern Tuscany 4 to 6 hours. Visit a town there and a winery and/or olive oil farm. Could do this on Friday, Saturday or Sunday depending. No more than 6 hours on Sunday.
4. Tour of Florence. For anyone not wanting to take train back in and see the sights. Could include tour and/or visits to see David Statue and other sites.
5. Tour to one or both of the Ferrari museums and also possibly the Lamborghini museum. These are all outside of Bologna to the North of where we are staying. Will be pretty much an all day trip. Probably best for Saturday.
6. Trip to Lucca. Not far from the hotel so would be a good Sunday half day trip.
7. Trip to Prato. Also near the hotel so could be a shorter trip on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
6. Other tours. If you have an idea for something not mentioned here, let me know and I will add here for people to look at as a possible choice.
Are you arriving early or staying after the wedding and want to see some of sites of Italy?
I can help you package everything together with hotels, transportation, transfers, and activities. I can also just help you plan portions of your stay.
Or if you want to stop in some other countries, I can make that happen too.
If you don't want to travel around on your own but would rather be part of a group, I can help you find the perfect tour for you. I can also make sure you get to the wedding location or help you get to where the tour starts.
If you prefer to cruise on a large ocean cruise ship or on a small ship, I can help you find the perfect cruise for you.
Or maybe you want to head over to another European country and take a River Cruise. The options are endless.
I can help you explore the countryside near the wedding location and take some tours of the region. We can even put together some private group tours to see Florence, Pisa, and other regions nearby if people are interested.
I can recommend some tours and give you links to book them yourselves.
You can also use these links to book tours and I will be your agent to help if you have issues with the tour.
Viator- https://www.viator.com/Italy/d57-ttd?pid=P00003200&uid=U00051328&mcid=58086¤cy=USD
Project Expedition- https://pe.tours/NTkxNzAy/
Although the rules may only require 3 months validity for your passport from end of stay, I recommend your passport be good for at least 6 months after your return. Some airlines require your passport to be valid for six months to allow boarding. You don't want to be denied boarding because you didn't renew your passport.
Right now passports are processing quickly. People are getting passport renewals in 2 to 4 weeks without expediting. Times will probably increase as summer gets closer. Get your expiring passports renewed now. If you need your first passport then start the process promptly.
Here is the state department passport link that has links to the applications and explains how to apply:
I recommend that you register for the State Department's S.T.E.P. (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program). Once you are registered, you can enter information for any trip you make overseas and the State department will send you updates about strikes, unrest, demonstrations, etc... The U.S. embassy will also be able to reach out if there is a natural disaster or other emergency where you are staying.
S.T.E.P. Link: https://step.state.gov/
The State Department lists travel advisory information online for all countries. See link below.
State Department Travel Advisory Link: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/
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If you are flying through a country to get to Italy. Be very careful about transfer times. Less than 2 hours is very rarely enough time to transfer planes. I recommend at least 3 hours. If you transfer in a European country, you may go through Immigration there. That could take longer. If your luggage is checked through to end of trip, then usually you will go through customs in the final country. However, you will need to check the policy of the airport you are going through.
When you return to the United States, if you transfer in the United States, remember you will go through Immigration and Customs at the first city you visit. Then you will re-check your bags. Allow plenty of time.
Check to see if you will be switching gates or sometimes even airports (this can happen in Paris). Read everything very carefully for the flights.
Most foreign airlines will make you pay for your seats, even in regular economy and business class. If you want to sit together, and know were you are sitting on the plane, you will need to pay for the seats in advance. These costs are usually refundable if your flight is cancelled, but you will need to write to the airline about the seats to get your refund.
What's App If you have not already downloaded whats app, you need to. You can text, talk and even video chat as long as you are on a wifi at a hotel, station, etc... It is a good way to stay in touch with family and friends, to contact companies, etc... Also to contact me. Have your family download whats app also and it will help you keep in touch cheaply. Most transfer companies, tour companies, etc.. have a number on whats app.
Freenow- like uber (they do also have uber here)
Flush - Flush is a fast and simple toilet finder. It has a slick interface with beautiful animations and transitions inspired by material design. The database of tens of thousands of public toilets is stored on the phone for fast and offline access! Search for a location as well as pan on the map and we'll show you the nearest public toilets to you. Tap on the map to get directions provided by Google Maps. Or if you just really need to find a toilet, tap the directions button and we'll give you directions to the closest toilet, no need to fiddle about with anything.
Trenitalia or ItaloTreno app- Download the app for the company that you have tickets on. Trenitalia is the public train system. Italo Treno is the private high-speed rail. Download it to see current informtion on trains, etc... It is also a website.
Public Water Fountains- Fountains where you can get public drinking water. www.fontanelle.org
The Fork App- You can also go on the website. See restaurants and you can also book many of them here. There is also open table that you can download to book many places.
Google Translate- This can help you translate signs, menus, etc.. when you are in different countries. It is very useful.
I have made tip sheets for traveling in Italy and a tip sheet for dining in Italy.
Please excuse the spaces at the top and bottom of the documents. I am already traveling and have not been able to get the documents to format correctly without my good editing software at home. They will be corrected when I get back home, but I wanted to get them out to you.
These documents have been taken from my own travels, online information and other travel agents advice. They are solely for your personal use and should not be shared over social media.
I will send out copies to everyone that I can. If you do not receive a copy and want me to email them to you, please send me an email requesting copies.
cheryl@placestotourandtravel.com