Useful information about Your travel in Italy

When to go: Italy’s climate is one of the best in the world. Summers are dry, winters mild, springs and autumn colourful seasons. So the best time to visit Italy can be from the beginning of April to the end of October. In August and July the beaches locations are crowded but if you are interested in visiting some cities in this period it could be a good chance to escape the traffic and the crowds of the cities.

Temperatures: Central Italy in general has an average temperature starting from a minimum of 14-15 C° in April up to 25-26 C° in summer (August and July). Of course these averages are not valid for particular areas (seaside or mountains) where the values can be different.

Money: Italy, as many European countries, from 2002 has Euro currency. Euro is issued in pieces of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Euro bills and 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents and 1,2 Euro coins.

Banks and payments: you can easily pay with international credit cards in Italy, but in some small towns or countryside areas credit cards may not to be accepted. For this reason, once you are in Italy, we suggest to go to a money change office or in a bank (Bank hours: 8,30 AM to 1,30 PM and usually 2,30 PM to 3,00 / 3,30 PM open
from Monday to Friday).

Post Offices: have similar work-hours , they are open from 8,00 PM to 2,00 PM. At the post office you can buy stamps (you can do this in a tobacco shop, too) and send packages. For other expeditions or money transfer there are some specific points (Western Union, Mailboxes stores…).

Health: The place to buy medicines is the Pharmacy (farmacia) generally signed with a green luminous cross. But if you are experiencing a serious medical problem, you may need to call a local
doctor or medical guard or go directly to the public hospital (in case of emergency these are the numbers to dial: Ambulance/Medical: dial 118, Police-General emergency: 112/113, Fire, disasters: 115.

Documents: if you are an European citizens from a country belonging to EC, an identity card is enough, while for all of the others citizens a valid passport is required. Driving licenses and other traffic documents valid in other countries are recognized as valid in Italy.

Distances: are indicated in kilometres (1 km = 0.621 miles). An international insurance certificate is required for citizens from non-EC countries. Fastening seat belts in both front and rear seats is obligatory, speed limits are indicated with circle red and white signals. In a highway (signed by big green signposts like A1, A2, Autostrade, etc…), speed limit is 130 km/h when it’s dry weather.
When it is rainy or foggy weather limit is lower (110 km/h and even 60 km/h if there is too fog). Payment (at the toll gate) is due for Highway roads transit, to learn more about it visit this website:
https://www.autostrade.it/en/home.

Tourist information: once you are in Italy it is suggested to search for a tourist information point (in general indicated by the letter “i” in a yellow or brown signposts). These offices are a useful place to get local maps or tourist brochures and moreover to have information about car rental and other services.

Electricity: the voltage used in Italy is 220 Volts. Many accommodations, especially those placed in the biggest cities, provide in their rooms Satellite TV and phone line. There are public phones, too, and a large part of the country is supplied by the 4G or 5G signals, so if you have a mobile phone is not hard to make or receive a call. Some Internet points are available all over the country and near or inside train stations.

Public holidays in Italy: January 1st New Year’s Day / January 6th Epiphany / Easter Monday / April 25th Liberation Day / May 1st Labour Day, June 2nd Anniversary of the Republic / August 15th Assumption of the Virgin / November 1st All Saints Day / December 8th Immaculate Conception / December 25th Christmas Day/ December 26th St Stephen’s Day.

Accommodation types: Italy offers different types of lodgings and accommodations: Hotels (classified by international ranking with stars), Bed and breakfasts (they usually provide a nightly stay and breakfast service), Farm holidays (farmhouses or agritourisms, a type of lodging usually placed in a country position or just out of a town, which generally provides rooms or apartments, they can offer meals, typical self-production foods, or simple breakfast). They often offer some facilities like swimming pool, horsemanship and mountain bikes rental.

Restaurants and other places: Italy offers a large variety of restaurants, the cheapest place to eat are the Pizzerias (in this place you can enjoy one of the most popular Italian food: pizza) and the international fast-food (mainly in the biggest cities) while the most expensive ones are the gourmet-restaurants, generally placed in the big cities downtowns. For those who love Espresso (Italian coffee) there are thousands bars (coffee). For those who love Italian wines, we suggest to ask a local person for an Enoteca or Wine-bar.

Transportations: In central Italy the most important airports are Fiumicino-Leonardo da Vinci (near Rome) and Milano Malpensa, but there are also other airports in Florence, Pisa, Ancona, Ciampino (Rome), Torino, Bologna, Perugia… For land transportations you can use public local company buses, trains or the taxi-cab. Trains services and timetables info can be easily find here: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

Travel Insurance: it is strongly recommended to stipulate a private travel insurance with your local company before your arrival in Italy. In particular we recommend a specific Covid-19 insurance in case of forced Covid quarantine. Remember once you are in Italy that you can always contact your Embassy.