Trading into Italy

We have never been to Europe and are thinking of going to Italy in the summer of 2009. How hard would it be to get an exchange? We would be trading a summer Marriott's Kauai Beach Club week.

Thank you,
Bee

Italy can be one of the more difficult trades in Europe, but you would seem to have good trading power. The other thing to watch is ''quality filters'' which would mean that they may not offer you many resorts. In trading to Europe, you want to try to get them to turn off quality filers so you can see everything that is there and then make up your mind if you want it, based on reviews, location, etc.

DAE has had a lot of Italy lately. You might also want to try them www.daelive.com

Carolinian,

Thank you for your response. I have alot to learn about Italy and Europe. Are there many condo/villa type of vacation rentals in Italy?

Thanks again,
Bee

If it's a villa you want, you may want to consider www.vrbo.com That's Vacation Rentals by Owner. Just rent where/when you want and keep your TS for other vacations. For a first trip to Europe, you might feel more comfortable with an escorted trip from an outfit like Gate 1 travel or Grand Circle Travel. These will help you see a lot, in a reasonably short time and will handle the logistics of meals/lodging/transportation. Then add on some time at the end for independent travel, or just exploring on your own. If I was planning a wonderful first trip, especially to Italy, I'd recommend shoulder season (April-May or Sept-mid Oct) in Florence. Smaller crowds, wonderful art, fully developed tourism infrastructure.

Just my $.02 Have a wonderful trip.

Jim Ricks

I would tend to agree about shoulder season in Italy which can get hot in the summer. I would definitely differ on escorted tours for Italy. For Morroco, an escorted tour is the way to go, but not for anywhere in western Europe and for very few places in eastern Europe (perhaps Russia for a very greenhorn traveler).

Italy

Yes, I have even been in Rome during January with very pleasant weather- 60-70 degrees during the day- small crowds too. I would avoid February because it is rainy and I wouldn't go north of Rome before April. It really depends on what you want to do. Obviously, if you want to go to the Amalfi Coast and swim etc. then April and May are ideal because earlier much is closed.

The areas on my list include Venice, Florence/Tuscany, Rome and the Amalfi Coast. Most likely I will only have two weeks for this trip. Shoulder season won't work for us, as my daughter will be going and she is a college student. Our only options are summer or January.

If we skipped Venice, would the weather in January be o.k. in the other areas listed above?

We are not really group tour types, so I was thinking of hiring local tour guides. Is this realistic?

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.
Bee

We adored the Italian Alps. We stayed in Cortina. I would be cold then, I'm sure, but beautiful.

There are local guides for some specific attractions, like Pompeii, which should not be missed.