Seven Tips for Saving Money on Your Italian Vacation

June 9, 2008 - PRLog -- While the dollar make be weak against the euro, that doesn’t mean Americans are giving up their Italian vacations. A Global Insight report predicts a 4.7 percent increase in the number of American travelers visiting Italy this summer. Whether they’re traveling on a budget or looking for luxury, these travelers can implement some easy strategies to make their dollar go further.

Here are seven money-saving travel tips from Kathy McCabe, editor and publisher of the award-winning subscription travel newsletter, Dream of Italy (http://www.dreamofitaly.com):

1. Use new low-cost airlines and get great introductory airfare deals.  This month Italian airline Air One launches service from Chicago and Boston to Milan. Low-cost carrier Zoom Airlines recently started flights from Toronto and Montreal to Rome.

2. Use the Web to find and predict the best airfare deals, but don’t hesitate to buy. Farecompare.com and Farecast.com offer predictions on whether ticket prices for your particular route will stay steady, increase or decrease over the next week But if you find a deal, snap it up, seats are nearly filled for summer travel.

3. Buy a package and save two ways.First, by buying a combination of airfare, hotel, rental car, and/or train tickets you almost always save over what each component would cost individually. Second, pre-paying in dollars before you leave eliminates the risk of currency fluctuations if you were to pay euros in Italy.  

4. Cruise the Italian coastline. Nearly every cruise line you can think of – Carnival to Princess– will be cruising the Mediterranean this summer, and by climbing aboard, you can cover your transportation, dining and accommodations costs with one price – in dollars.

5. Make a bid. LuxuryLink.com offers luxury hotel packages and villa rentals at discounted rates through online auctions, while Skyauction.com allows individuals to bid on air and hotel packages, coach and business class airline tickets, and hotel nights. The key – do your homework before bidding.

6. Skip the hotel. Hotel rates in Europe are up. Instead, rent a villa or apartment. You will pay way less per night and can save money by using your kitchen to cook for yourself.  

7. Get a tourist card. Italian cities like Naples, Orvieto, Padova, Rome, Turin, Trieste, Verona, and Venice offer tourist cards which can save you big bucks on public transportation, as well as often including admission to many of the cities’ museums, churches and monuments.

"With these seven money-saving tips, travelers can concentrate on the beauty and history of this wonderful country called Italy and not worry so much about what's left in their wallets," says McCabe.

More money-saving tips for travel to Italy:
http://www.dreamofitaly.com/members/444.cfm

# # #

About Dream of Italy:
This award-winning subscription travel newsletter is devoted to authentic travel in Italy. Published ten times a year, Dream of Italy covers everything from cooking schools to villa rentals, new restaurants and hotels to specialty tours. Dream of Italy  has been recommended by USA TODAY, National Geographic Traveler and U.S. News + World Report, among others. Yearly subscriptions start at $79 and include online access to over 50 back issues – perfect for trip planning!