Get Ready for Travel

What to Bring

Travel and Jet Lag

Hard as it is, I encourage you to stay up all day and as late as possible on arrival day. Doing this allows you to overcome jet lag. The exposure to daylight helps reset your internal clock.

Insurance

I strongly encourage you to buy travel insurance to cover you in the event that you are unable to attend, should the trip have to be canceled due to unforeseen circumstance, or you have a medical emergency. Carefully read policies to determine what is covered to ensure it meets your needs. Check with your existing policies to see what, if anything, they cover abroad. If you purchased your ticket with a credit card, many provide coverage for a variety of things. The following website allows you to compare programs  http://www.insuremytrip.com/   IAMAT, http://iamat.org, gives members a list of English speaking doctors abroad and more.  Also try 

squaremouth, tinleg or your local branch of AAA/CAA 

Cell Phones

If you are planning to put your phone on ROAM while in Italy, make sure your family has the number. You can also leave my contact information, trips@adventuresinitaly.ca, and my phone number:

+1 905-334-9375

I use an eSIM while I’m in Italy, which means you can’t dial my number like a regular call.  BUT you can call me through whatsapp or FaceTime.  You can also direct message through facebook and instagram. (For those outside of North America, the country code is 001)

The eSIM allows me to do everything except receive direct calls.  For me it’s much cheaper than using my regular cell provider and incurring international daily roaming charges.  I use a company called AIRALO, you can easily download the app and set up prior to travel (I can assist) and works like a dream.

Money

ATMs are the easiest, most convenient way to get Euros. You get the best exchange rate with them, although your bank may charge a fee for their use. Check with your bank. There may also be an ATM charge.  There are ATMs at the airport so you can get money when you arrive. You will pay an arm and a leg to change dollars at airport money exchange windows! Use ATMs.

Credit cards are a convenient way to pay for purchases. They, too, will likely charge a fee for use of the card. Capitol One does not charge a fee – at least on some of their cards.

Bring at least $100 in cash in case you have problems. A money belt is a good idea for your cash.

This is very important. Contact your credit card companies and the bank you will draw on for your ATM. Let them know you are traveling abroad and what your dates are. Bring phone numbers in the event you need to call them.

Keep Your Money Safe

Orvieto is a very safe city where there has never been a problem with pickpockets or stolen money. However, pickpockets love to target travelers! Crowded places like train stations or getting on and off public transportation, where people are jostling and pressed together is where thieves thrive. Use the following to keep your money safe.

• When you arrive at the airport, if you need cash, there are ATMs available. Get your money and then put it, your wallet, credit cards, and passport away.
• Putting it away means putting it where it can not be reached by thieves. Unsecured purses, pants pockets, and backpacks are all easy targets.
• Money belts work. Any place where your valuables are hidden under an outer layer of clothing is a good idea.
• If you carry a purse, make sure it has zipper closures. If it has a flap, keep the flap toward your body. If it is open in any way, hands will get in.
• There are travel pants that have a zippered front pocket which is behind an open front pocket. These work.
• While pickpockets come in every size and color, be aware of gypsies and gypsy children. Italy has done much to curtail them, but they are still around.
• If you use Rome’s main train station, Termini, there is usually a crush of people getting on and off the shuttle train to and from the airport. Your hands will be full with your suitcase and it is a perfect place for a pickpocket. Make sure your valuables are buried.

I don’t want to alarm you, just help you travel safely. Once in Orvieto you can relax. Until you get there, however, be alert.

Medicine

Remember any prescription medicines you take. Bring them in your carry-on bag on the plane.

Electricity

Italy has a higher voltage level (220 -240 versus 110-120 in the U.S./Canada) and their outlets are a different shape. Consequently you must have electronic devices that operate at 220/240 and an adapter to plug your plug into which will fit in their outlets. There also exist “voltage converters” that will convert their 220 to our 120.

Most computers, cell phones, ipads, and their chargers automatically work on both voltage levels. This information will be printed on the device, its charger, or “power brick” somewhere. You can contact the manufacturer if you are unsure. You will still need an adapter to plug into to fit in Italy’s outlets.

Most devices using heat – hairdryers, curling irons, etc. – will be destroyed by the higher voltage in Italy, unless made for travel with a voltage switch or you have a voltage converter.

The rooms at our convent B&B have outlets for charging any devices you have, but you will need to provide your own adapter. 

Italy’s Intercity Trains and Getting to Orvieto from Rome

Italy has an extensive, inexpensive and very good train system. You can get most places, easily and conveniently by train. There is a good web site to check schedules. The site is

www.trenitalia.com

At the very top of the page toward the right is a small Italian flag. Click on it and then click on the British flag to get an English version of the page from which you can search for train schedules. You must use Italian city spelling to do searches. Orvieto is the same, but Rome is spelled Roma, Florence is Firenze, Milan is Milano, etc. If you plan to visit other cities before or after you travel to Orvieto this is a great site for planning. When planning plug in the day of the week you want to travel in the next coming week or two. If you try to do it months in advance the site has problems. Schedules don’t change much. You can also check schedules and purchase train tickets through the trenit! app.

Rome’s Train Stations

For the purposes of getting from Rome to Orvieto you have a choice of two stations – Termini, the main station and Tiburtina, a secondary one with fewer, but perfectly acceptable options. When looking at the departure schedules you will see three choices: Roma Tutti Le Stazione, Termini or Tiburtina. The first will show all departure options, the latter two just from each of those stations. Regional trains (see below) leave from Termini but stop at Tiburtina and you can get the train from either station. The faster trains do not stop at Tiburtina.

Termini is Rome’s main train station. You can take the “Leonardo Express” direct from the airport  to Termini in Rome’s city center. Cost for the Express is € 15, and takes about 30 minutes. Trains leave every 30 minutes, at 5 & 35 after the hour. The departure screen will say “Roma Termini”  (see image below) – the only stop where everyone gets off. Termini is all one level and has more trains to Orvieto including faster ones getting there in an hour instead of 80 minutes.

Tiburtina, Rome’s second largest station requires escalators going up and over, or ramps going down and under to switch tracks. Trains from the airport to Tiburtina are slower, more frequent, take 45-50 minutes, and cost € 8.00. The trains from the airport are going to Fara Sabina or Orte. Tiburtina is not the terminating stop so you have to look for it. There are 9 stops before Tiburtina – the two immediately before it are Roma Ostiense and Roma Tuscolana. 

I suggest you buy your ticket(s) at the Rome airport station rather than trying to get them at home. It is easy to do and you can use a credit card. The agent will select tickets with the best connection which could send you to either Termini or Tiburtina. If you prefer one or the other station tell him/her.  

What are the practical differences between the two stations?

• Termini is easier to navigate, has faster, but more expensive trains to Orvieto, as well as the slower trains. The Leonardo Express from the airport to Termini is nicer and faster than the trains to Tiburtina but costs twice as much and is less frequent.
• Tiburtina is less congested, requires the use of escalators or ramps, has fewer trains.

Different Types of Train Service

For the purposes of getting to Orvieto, there are several things to know.  You have several options for trains to Orvieto from Rome and when traveling around Italy. 

• Regional trains, seen on train schedules as “Reg”, “R”, or “Rv” are the slowest, least expensive, oldest and stop more places. They are perfectly adequate for the short trip from Rome to Orvieto. Tickets are not reserved. As a result, should you buy a ticket and miss the train you planned to catch, you can take the next regional train using the same ticket. Tickets on regional trains are good for several months. To prevent people from using them repeatedly the ticket must canceled. This is done by inserting your ticket into the black slot on the blue-green machines. (You need to cancel your tickets from the airport to either Rome station too) There are no seat assignments on the regional train. You sit in any car that is the class ticket you bought. Second class is perfectly adequate. Cars have a large 1 or 2 on the outside indicating first or second class.

• Intercity trains, displayed as “IC” are newer, faster, stop fewer places. When you buy a ticket on an Intercity train it is a reserved ticket on a specific train at a specific time with an assigned seat. Should you miss that train, you will have to return to the ticket counter to have your ticket reissued on the next, or another train. It is usually not a problem to get a ticket the day you travel – for instance when you arrive in Italy. Tickets cost more than on a Regional train. Because there is an assigned seat and car you must look at your ticket and get on the correct car and find your way to the correct seat. The car number is on the door of each car. 

• Frecce trains also require a reservation. They are the fastest, most direct, connecting major cities. Their tickets are the most expensive. They do not stop in Orvieto, but you may have the option to use these trains on other routes while traveling in Italy.

At the airport station, and Rome’s two main stations – Termini and Tiburtina – there are departure screens constantly updating. Trains to Orvieto terminate in another city – Florence  (Firenze in Italian), Venice (Venezia), Milan (Milano) – and this is the destination shown on the screen.  Look for the train number on your ticket to locate the correct train. Do ask “Orvieto?” to be sure it is the right train whenever boarding. 

Display screens show arriving and departing trains. You want the screens saying “Partenza” for departing trains. The left most column shows the train type – Regional, IC, followed by the train number and the terminating city. “Orario” is the time of departure and BIN stands for Binario or track number. It is not unusual for the train to be listed without a track number until just minutes before scheduled departure time. So don’t panic! 

 Many monitors scroll through all the stations where the train stops. Look for Orvieto on these. 

 Your Train Choices to Orvieto

• If ease is most important just let the agent select your tickets.
• If cost is a concern you want to go through Tiburtina and on a regional train

The “Travel Guide” you will receive by email has more travel details for getting to Orvieto and our convent B&B. Please be sure to bring it with you!!

Finally, if you have any questions about the above, call or send me an e-mail!

General Information on Public Transport in Italy

• Practically every Italian city and large town has an inexpensive, efficient bus system. To travel within all Italian cities take an orange city bus, l’autobus. The coach, la corriera, is blue, and travels to outlying villages, while il pullman covers longer distances.
• You have to purchase a ticket, un biglietto, in advance at a tobacconists’, tabaccheria, a newspaper kiosk, or the bus terminal. Board the bus via the front and rear doors and exit via the central doors. To avoid a fine punch your ticket in the machine on the bus. 
• Italy’s large cities run a night bus service, un servizio notturno, which operates after midnight. These buses are denoted by an ‘N’ before the number. 
• The only public transport available within Venice is the waterbus, il vaporetto. Schedules are entirely dependent on the tides. Line no. 1, known as the Accelerato, is the slow boat down the Gran Canal and stops at every landing stage. The fast-track, line no. 82 also follows the Gran Canal but makes only 8 stops. There are water taxis, costing more than the public vaporetto, but less crowded and hassle-free.
• You can catch a tram, un tram, in Milan, Rome, Naples and Turin. The biggest and most complex system is in Milan, whose first horse-drawn cars began running in 1862. 
• La metropolitana, the underground, is usually referred to as la metro, and operates in Milan, Rome and Genoa. Milan’s tube system actually dates back to 1848 when it was first planned as a route for horse-drawn trams along the canal bed. Metro tickets are only valid for 75 minutes but in Rome you can buy a special ‘B.I.T’, un biglietto integrato a tempo, a ticket which gives you a day’s travel on buses and trams as well. The Milan system also offers a day pass, un abbonamento giornaliero, which makes travel cheaper. 
• Building the underground system in Rome has been fraught with delays. Construction is halted frequently due to discovery of ancient archaeological treasures. 
• Taxis are available in all towns and cities. Government-regulated taxis are either white or yellow and are metered. There may be extra charges for luggage, and night service.

Links:

• www.atac.roma.it – official site of Rome’s integrated transport system for buses and trains.
• www.urbanrail.net/eu/mil/milano.htm – details on Milan’s metro system
• web.tiscali.it/defalco_ivanoe/trasporti/net/indexef.html – information on Naples’ underground system