Published on Monday, May 20, 2013 by Steve I’m Steve Perillo of Perillo Tours. I'm thrilled to have started a new video series called Steve's Travel Tips to share all the insider Italy travel tips I have learned over a lifetime of travel to Italy. This week I'm talking about the great Italian tradition of drinking coffee or espresso at an Italian coffee bar. Now it isn't as easy as you might think - there...

Published on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 by Kathy McCabe When visiting Italy and staying in a hotel, depending on which city you're visiting, you will be paying a "city tax" or "tourist tax" for each night of accommodations. Usually this tax must be paid directly to the hotel (no matter who you booked through) at the end of your stay. Here is a handy table of current taxes in Italian cities: CITY TAX 3 STAR ...

Published on Monday, February 18, 2013 by Steve I’m Steve Perillo of Perillo Tours. I'm thrilled to have started a new video series called Steve's Travel Tips to share all the insider Italy travel tips I have learned over a lifetime of travel to Italy. This week I'm going to tell you all more about value added tax or VAT in Italy. Its an extra tax that you should know about before you travel to Italy...and kno...

Published on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 by Steve I’m Steve Perillo of Perillo Tours. I'm thrilled to have started a new video series called Steve's Travel Tips to share all the insider Italy travel tips I have learned over a lifetime of travel to Italy. This week I'm joined by my friend Kathy McCabe, editor of the travel newsletter Dream of Italy and frequent contributor to this blog. Kathy and I sat down and c...

Published on Tuesday, January 22, 2013 by Kathy McCabe Anytime is a great time to go to Italy. There is no right or wrong month to visit the Italian boot. Italy is filled with tourists between June and September. So if you’re traveling during this period, expect to have plenty of company. You want to make sure that you’re either on an escorted tour or that you have booked all of your Italy travel plans ahead of time....

Published on Tuesday, December 4, 2012 by Kathy McCabe I’m Steve Perillo of Perillo Tours. I'm thrilled to have started a new video series called Steve's Travel Tips to share all the insider Italy travel tips I have learned over a lifetime of travel to Italy. This week I'm talking about Christmas in Italy, traveling to Italy for Christmas, Italian holiday traditions and more. If you want to get into the Italian Chris...

Published on Monday, November 26, 2012 by Kathy McCabe I’m Steve Perillo of Perillo Tours. I'm thrilled to have started a new video series called Steve's Travel Tips to share all the insider Italy travel tips I have learned over a lifetime of travel to Italy. So you're going to Italy and you're going to need to use cash (euros) at some point. In this brief video, I give you the ins and outs of using cash and the banc...

Published on Monday, November 19, 2012 by Steve I’m Steve Perillo of Perillo Tours. I'm thrilled to have started a new video series called Steve's Travel Tips to share all the insider Italy travel tips I have learned over a lifetime of travel to Italy. People always ask me how they should behave in Italy. I find it instruction to start with what NOT to do first - you can see what I mean below. Remember, do as I s...

Published on Thursday, November 8, 2012 by Kathy McCabe Breakfast (colazione) for the typical Italian is not a big meal. The traditional breakfast usually consists of cappuccino and a pastry (a cornetto or brioche) which may be eaten at home or just as likely, at the local bar or cafe.  Fortunately for travelers, nearly every hotel in Italy includes breakfast in its nightly room rate and you can expect a self-service ...

Published on Thursday, October 4, 2012 by Steve I’m Steve Perillo of Perillo Tours. I'm thrilled to have started a new video series called Steve's Travel Tips to share all the insider Italy travel tips I have learned over a lifetime of travel to Italy. For instance, Italians love it when visitors try to speak some of their language. So in the video below I teach you some common Italian greetings to help you on yo...