Passion for Québec and Elsewhere

Pour la version française de cet article, cliquez sur Planifier un voyage en Italie.

Article updated September 16, 2025.

I have been studying the Italian language and culture for the last four years. I had the opportunity to travel to Italy twice in the last year to study abroad. I have visited several cities in the northern region and on the Amalfi Coast. I am embarking on my third trip in les than 48 hours.

I am sharing with you the websites that have been most useful to me for planning these trips, I might not have used all of them as some were recommended by other people and I thought to add them to my list. Some of these websites could also prove useful for trips planned elsewhere.

I do not receive any commission from these sites, do not hesitate to visit those that attract your attention by clicking on the link at the beginning of each paragraph.

Transportation

Rome2Rio: a great website and an application to find bus, train, or other means of transport, the duration of the journey and the price range depending on the chosen destination.

Trenitalia: to plan train trips and in some cases the autoubus is added if there is no rail connection. The mobile app is available for phones.

Italo: another website for travelling by train but I preferred Trenitalia. However, the latter is often recommended in Reddit.  The mobile app is available for cel phones.

ATM : a website and also a mobile app for public transportation in Milan, provides you with the map of the transport system and you could buy a pass or tickets online.

Flixbus: a website with very affordable bus travel options.

Bla-bla car: a website for car sharing or really cheap bus itineraries.

Direct Ferries: a recommended website for almost all ferries in Italy and elsewhere in the world.

Alilaguna: water transportation from Venice Airport to many places in and around Venice. More info after my visit in Venice scheduled for October 2025.

UseBounce: a website and app to book safe places around the world to store bags and luggage for a few hours or days.  The price is per day, per bag. Booking must be made and paid before dropping off bags, check operating hours as some locations are not accessible 24/7.

SeatGuru: a website to choose the best seat according to the configuration of the plane you will take.

Strikes in Italy : website in Italian informing you of strikes (scioperi in Italian) planned in Italy. They are listed on the Italian government’s website. A good idea to check if there is one planned that could affect your trips by train, plane or bus.

Instructions in case of a strike: the website of ItaliaRail gives instructions in case of rail strike. If you bought your ticket with another company, check if they also have instructions in case of a strike.

ArriveCAN: a website/application for travellers without a NEXUS account. This application speeds up the process of returning to Canada to clear customs. Customs entry can be submitted up to 72 hours prior to return to Canada. Once at a Canadian international airport, individuals will need to use an electronic kiosk to validate their passport and the information submitted to obtain the receipt that they will give to the customs officer upon exit. Recommended for people comfortable with technology and traveling alone or with family (not for groups).

US Mobile Passport Control: a website and application for US travellers wishing to complete their customs declaration to speed up the process once they return to US territory. Being Canadian I can’t use it but if Americans read my blog, I thought this information might be useful to them.

Another suggestion is to use AirTag from Apple to slip in your luggage or to attach to the collar of your animal if he is travelling in the baggage compartment to be able to trace either one to make sure they are aboard the same plane as you are, also useful if your animal runs away from you while abroad.

Tickets and guided tours

Tiqets: a website often recommended to buy tickets for museums and attractions. I haven’t used it yet.  It is suggested to buy tickets for major attractions in advance to avoid long queues.

TripAdvisor also know as Viator: website on which I booked some of my guided tours.  It is also possible to create sub-folders by city or trip and include all your reservations and activity suggestions, hotels and even restaurants if they are listed on TripAdvisor.

GetYourGuide: is another highly recommended website to book guided tours. I used it, it is user friendly and the guides were great for each tour I booked.

FirenzeCard: a museum card valid for 72 hours and possibility to add 48 additional hours giving you access to 60 museums in the city of Florence.

SüdTirol Guide: very useful website, there is also an app available informing you of what to do and happenings in the northern région of Trentino-Alto-Adige. Hôtels are also providing you with a visitors card with rebates on some activities. More info on how this works upon my return from my October 2025 trip in that region.

AskosTours: highly recommended website for archaeology visits. I booked my ticket for Pompeii with them.

TIM Mobile: website offering tourists to buy a SIM card valid for a month with voice and data. You need to make your purchase prior to arriving in Italy.

Hotels and restaurants

TheFork: a website and app to book restaurants in Italy, similar to OpenTable in Canada.

Booking.com: an excellent website for booking accommodation for all budgets.  It is also possible to book taxis and activities. Several hotels can be booked and paid only once you arrive at your destination.  This is the website I used for all my hotel bookings.

Google Map: A very useful website to target attractions, restaurants and hotels near places you plan to visit. Restaurants are indicated by yellow icons and in some cases it is mentioned if they are better rated, the price range, the type of cuisine. Tourist attractions are also indicated as well as the best places to take pictures. By clicking on the icon you will be redirected to the Google page with all the information and reviews of users, very useful to make a choice. You can also mark the places you are interested in and save them together in a travel list that you can label as you wish, either by country or city of your choice. You can use different symbols to distinguish between a restaurant, an attraction, an accommodation. You can then share this list with other travelers or friends and family members.

Trip itinerary

Wanderlog : a website and a mobile app to help you keep track of your itinerary. You can even save documents, reservations and link it with other apps like google maps. All your trip information in one place. There is a free version and a pro version that you have to pay for. For the moment, I am using the free version to plan my next trip. But if you want to save all your reservations you might need the paid version. You can also share your itinerary saved in this app with other travelers or members of your party. I tried it and I did not like the interface and it seems complicated to have an overview of your itinerary.

TripIt : is another website and app to help you plan your trip. I just tried it and after barely 30 minutes, I really enjoyed using it, it is user friendly, intuitive and you can easily refer to what you have to do on a daily basis. I also really enjoy the suggestions by categories near where you are with restaurants, bars, cafés, stores, medical, etc. You can also share it with other people in your party if you take the PRO package. You can also select if it is viewing only for them or if they can edit as well.

Other useful websites

Reverso: a very useful website and application to translate from one language to another, hear the pronunciation of words and see in what context a translation is used in relation to another. If you enter a single word say the verb LOVE you will have several ways to translate according to the meaning of your sentence. Small icons also allow you to have access to a verb conjugation table, synonyms and antonyms, pronunciation or to switch from one language to another when searching.

XE Converter: A website and application that allows you to quickly convert currencies. I only use this application as a guide to find out what is the equivalent of an amount in another currency. I never used their service to transfer money.

Other interesting blogs

Quasitaliano: a very interesting blog, about Italy from the point of view of an American expat who settled there a few months ago to obtain his Italian citizenship.

Girl In Florence: another interesting blog, written by an American expat who married an Italian and split her time between Switzerland and Florence.

My itineraries

Trip 1 in May 2023

Departure in the evening from Montreal to Florence via Zurich.
Arrival in Florence the next morning.

Florence (2 days)
Ravenna (2 days)
Siena (3 weeks)

During our stay in Siena, we went twice to Florence and weekends were free, so I made reservations at different places to continue my exploration of Italy.

Weekend 1 – Livorno (2 days)
Weekend 2 – Castiglione del Lago (2 days)
Weekend 3 – end of class- Florence (1 day)
Capri (2 days)
Sorrento (4 days)

Departure from Naples to Montreal via Rome

Trip 2 in May 2024

Departure in the evening from Montreal to Milan on a direct flight.
Arrival in Milan the next morning.

Parma (3 days)
Florence (1 day)
Siena (3 weeks)

During our stay in Siena, we went twice to Florence and weekends were free, so I made good use of these two weekends to help some fellow travelers discover some enjoyable places in Italy.

Weekend 1 – Pisa and Castiglione del Lago (2 days) as some students asked me to join them in Castiglione del Lago as I had been there the previous year.
Weekend 2 – Milan (3 days) as my father was joining me for the remainder of the trip, I had to go pick him up.
Weekend 3 – end of class- Florence (3 days)
Lecco at Lake Como (4 days)
Saronno (1 day)

Next trip September-October 2025

In les than 48 hours, I will be airborne on my way back to Italy, but this time adding a few days in Slovenia and Croatia before concluding my trip in Italy. This time I will be accompanied by a long time friend for our 2 week and a half adventure. I am also renting a car for the first time in Europe.

Departure in the evening from Montreal to Venice on a direct flight.
Arrival in Venice the next morning.

Verona (2 days) visiting Noale and Verona.

Lake Garda (3 days) visiting Malcesine, Lazise, Smirnione, and Peschiera del Garda.

Aldino (2 days) visiting Canale in Tenno, Rango, San Lorenzo Dorsino, Vipiteno, Novacella, Ortisei, Castelrotto, and Palmanova.

Petrovce in Slovenia (2 days) visiting Postojna, Predjama, Bled, Maribor, and Samobor.

Plitvice in Croatia (2 days) visiting the area including Rastolke.

Dubrovnik (1 day)

Trogir (1 day) visiting Trogir and Split then taking the ferry from Split to Ancona.

San Marino (1 day) visiting Gradara, San Leo and San Marino.

Venice (2 days)