FIve Specific Tips on Renting A Holiday Home in Italy

When looking for a place to stay in Italy, many people think about going to a hotel or those people on a smaller budget, a hostel. However, more and more tourists are looking at renting accommodation in Italy. Here are some tips on what to look for in your next holiday home.

Reviews
There should be reviews of all the holiday homes by past guests. If there are all positive reviews, then it will put your mind at ease and you can book your accommodation. If the reviews are negative, have a read why, maybe the price of the house/apartment is lower which means not everything is 100% perfect.

Additional costs
Make sure there are no hidden fees in the rent. Some places may expect you to pay for cleaning and will charge your credit card after you have left the place. A lot of rental companies will ask for deposit and you should get this back once you have left the accommodation in a good state.

Personal touch
Due to the economic crisis there has been an increase in the number of people renting their holiday homes. Those that have advertised their homes on a holiday rental site will normally be the home owner. Drop them an email and ask them a few more details about the place. Also check to see if they will be there to greet you. Some owners leave a welcome basket for their guests which is a nice touch.

Amenities in the local area
You should look to see how far the apartment is from the city centre. For example when looking for apartments in Rome you do not want to be crammed in a tiny flat, and the only view is of your neighbour's bedroom. Sometimes, it is worth renting a place a few streets away in the quieter part of town, such as the area near the Vatican.

Genuine site
As there has been an increase in the number of holiday homes, there are a lot of different sites advertising the accommodation, some genuine, others not. Holiday rentals.co.uk, worldwide-accom.com and ownersdirect.co.uk are some of the more established sites. If you know someone who has tried a new site and they have had a great holiday, it may be worth checking it out as well.

There is a lot of choice out there, so make sure you do your research when looking at Rome accommodation rentals when you next go on holiday.


Robin is a freelance travel blogger, writing about places to visit in Europe and renting apartments in Paris , Rome and London.

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Five Reasons to Rent a Holiday Home in Italy

Next time you are heading over to Italy, instead of booking yourself into a hotel, why not think about renting an apartment when visiting Italy's capital. Here are five reasons why you should look at renting a holiday home in Rome.

Cost
It is much cheaper to rent accommodation than stay in a hotel especially if there is a large group of you. You can get an apartment/villa with bedrooms plus a kitchen and lounge whereas for the same price in a hotel, you would just have the bedroom. Sometimes it can work out as much as 50% cheaper renting accommodation than going for a hotel, especially if you go off peak. Holiday owners will want to fill up their flat/house as they incur costs as well.

Eat when you want
You are not bound by the meal times at the hotel. You can buy food from the local markets from wherever and whenever you want. If you choose to make an Italian meal for your housemates, you can do so and you have a kitchen and lounge to host them.

Fun for the whole family
If you have children, renting a holiday home means you don't need to worry about the kids causing a scene in the hotel restaurant. Of course if your children are well behaved, this is not an issue, but you do not have to worry about whether the hotel is child friendly or not and the kids will also have more freedom to do what they please. If you have pets, some holiday homes will allow you to bring them with you for the duration of your stay.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do
Renting an apartment in Rome gives you access to the main tourist attractions but also lets you enjoy your stay as if you lived there. You get to live with Italian neighbors, be part of their community, maybe if you are lucky, get invited over for an authentic Italian meal.

Flexibility
Unlike the package holidays, there is no set schedule when renting a holiday home. You choose when you want to get up, go and visit the sites, when to eat your meals. You are in control of your holiday and why shouldn't you be, you have worked hard for it.
There are a number of reasons for renting Rome accommodation apartments instead of the usual trend of staying in a hotel. Make sure you research the holiday you want to ensure you have the vacation of a lifetime.

Robin is a freelance travel blogger, writing about places to visit in Europe and renting apartments in Paris, Rome and London.

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Italy Eco Friendly Aperitif: Sugheritivo

Since 2011 there is an interesting news regarding aperitifs in Italy. It is the sugheritivo!

Aperitif is a very popular dolce-vita-style moment of the day in Italy. After a day at work, and before returning home for dinner, Italians often stop at bars, wineries, and cocktail bars to have a drink munching on something while entertaining into pleasant conversations with friends and coworkers. It is a very old tradition in Italy, so much that Crivel, an Italian composer and songwriter, in 1932 wrote the song "L'Ora del Campari", or "It's Time for Campari", the still nowadays very popular vermouth. The song states that after a tedious day at work finally the liberating time of Campari has come!

In recent years aperitifs were transformed into more substantial food events with elaborated appetizers of all kinds, so much that they started to be called aperi-dinners! By the way, if you are out and about an Italian city, and do not feel like returning to your hotel for a dinner or going to some restaurant, you can stop and have a quite inexpensive flat fee aperi-dinner, usually lasting until 11 PM. The average price is 5 euros per person.

What is the sugheritivo? You could translate it into aperi-cork. Cork wood is indeed at the center of this new eco-friendly trend. After the new silicon corks entered the market with clear intents to replace the more expensive cork wood, producers and consumers discovered the poor quality of silicon. Moreover, silicon is impossible to recycle and does not degrade for millenniums. Cork wood is much better for wine. It allows the bottle to "breathe" allowing gradual air exchange and fosters the good aging of wine. Most importantly, cork is 100% recyclable, and can be utilized in many ways. Plus, regions such as Sardinia live on cork woods producing tons of this precious material each year and allowing these trees to continue a healthy life.

When going to aperi-corks, or sugherivo, bring along a bottle cork, and you will receive a free glass of wine. Corks will then be recycled appropriately. And remember, usually mistrust wine bottles with silicon corks. That is the first hint you may be drinking cheap wine.

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Touring Rome

If you are traveling to Rome then you need to take into account several aspects. The first thing is to plan right, then you'll have a fantastic time in what is the most amazing locations of the world. You must plan your means of transportation to get there, how long you want to stay, the hotel where to stay, what to visit, and other things. If you want a fantastic journey in Rome, you need a clever planning.

How to get to Rome
Rome can be reached many ways. You may fly in to Fiumicino or to Ciampino airports. Fiumicino is much better serviced though, and you will get a train directly into town. Cheaper flights get to Ciampino, which does have a shuttle bus to Rome.

Transportation inside the Italian capital
If a car rental worries you, or you drove in with your car, then you may use public transportation, leaving your car at a long stay parking lot. Buses, trams, subway, and taxis provide for plenty of alternatives to your car and relieve you from worries. Green buses are a great transport in Rome. During the night there are more than 20 lines running the city. Taxis are also a good option, and they can also be used as tour guides for an extra charge. They know the spots you should not miss and are to be trusted.

Accommodations in Rome
A huge city such as Rome offers hundreds of places to stay at for all budgets. If you go the traveled booking route, you will get more expensive hotels, but if you put in some effort you can get better deals. Among the places to consider are the Westin Excelsior Rome in Via Veneto, and is considered a kind of monument. Or the Baglioni, again in Via Veneto, near Piazza di Spagna. Finally the Hotel Albani is in the Parioli area, set in a place to remember.

What to do in Rome
Rome offers plenty to see. Needless to say, you can spend a month visiting and just see a glimpse of it all. The cornerstones are St. Peter’s Basilica plus the Vatican. Then you have the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, and the Palantine Slope. The history of this city is unbelievable, rich of well preserved Roman architecture.

A better way to enjoy the archaelogic sites of Rome is by purchasing the Roma Archeologica card, including a series of historic locations throughout Rome that are must see. The card will give you access to the Colosseum, Palatino and also Palatino Memorial, the Normal Roman Museums, Terme Di Caracalla, Cecilia Metella, plus the Villa Dei Quintili. Must-see museums are Palazzo Altemps, Palazzo Massimo, Terme di Diocleziano, and also the Cripta Balbi.

Rome Shopping
Looking to just relax and walk around doing some serious shopping? Then you must go to Piazza di Spagna and Spanish Scalinata. This section of Rome literally bursts with all kinds of shops, bars, restaurants, and markets. These are very characteristic of the city and should be visited. Just remember that this is the reign of pickpockets, so keep your values tight.

Rome deserves several days to be appreciated. Do not commit the mistake to go for a daytrip, as you will just be exhausted, confused, and hungry, trading good food for the first tourist joint at hand. You will hate it! Plan ahead instead. Choose your places in advance, then go straight to the point, and always remember to leave some space for the unforeseeable and unexpected, which is the zest of life!

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