Where to Look for Italy Travel Deals

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So you’re looking for Italy travel deals, and you’re not sure where to begin. The key to getting good deals is preparation and research. To start, you need to have in mind how long you want to stay, and where you want to go. Three weeks on the Amalfi coast, Or a week in Rome? Two weeks in Florence, with daytrips around Tuscany? Only when you have a plan in mind can you really begin to do the research for the best deals.

Next think you need to know is what kind of vacation you’re looking for. Do you want to be on your own, managing your own itinerary and agenda from day to day? Or would you rather be part of a tour group, traveling with a group of people you don’t know, with a predetermined itinerary?

Italy has a thriving tourism industry, with something to suit every taste. But you really need to do your homework first. Italy’s rich culture and history, not to mention terrain, makes for a cornucopia of possibilities. Agri-tourism, where you stay at a working farm. Wine tourism, where you stay in wince country and spend your days visiting wineries and tasting the local wines. Art tourism. Bicycle tours, if you’re athletically inclined.

Another very important factor is how much you’re willing to spend. What might look like a good deal to someone with an unlimited budget is not going to be suitable for someone else with a more modest income. What constitutes a good deal is, to mangle a phrase, in the pocketbook of the beholder.

So once you have the parameters, such as how long you want to stay, what cities or provinces you want to visit, the kind of accomodations and activities you’d prefer, and some budget guidelines, then you can really dig in and start your research.

Next, check some of the top online travel portal sites. Sites like Expedia.com, VirtualTourist.com and LastMinute.com find the best deals on various kinds of travel packages. Sites like Farecast.com try to predict when airfares will be lowest. Bing.com has a whole section of the site devoted to travel planning tools.

Try a local travel agent, too. Sometimes travel agents can get discounts that may not be available online.

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If you’re not going to travel with a packaged tour group, you can save on accomodations by looking for rentals. There are networks of vacation rental properties all over Europe. Try sites like RentVillas.com or TuscanyNow.com. Or try sites that don’t specialize by country, like VRBO.com (Vacation Rentals By Owner) or EuropeanHomeRentals.com.

House swapping is an option you may want to consider if you have a home to swap. Don’t make the mistake of thinking your home, or your city, isn’t anything special. The web opens up new possibilities in the long tail of any market. That is, if there’s even one or two people with homes in Italy to swap, who are interested in your area, either because they have relatives there, or are just attracted to some feature of the place you live, the web makes it possible for you to connect with those one or two people. You can find swaps on sites like HomeExchange.com HomeForSwap.com, and others.

I hope this article has helped give you some ideas on how to find Italy travel deals for your next vacation.