Travel Bound is the all-around best hotel booking source we know. It was designed for use by travel agents, who have no patience with those consumer hotel websites that show hotels that turn out not to be available and prices that turn out not to include fees and taxes. Here, what you see is what you get ! You also get better tools for finding hotels in the best locations. We use this same system in our travel agency.

Rail Europe is the source we use in our travel agency for booking trains in Italy. You can purchase individual "point-to-point" tickets as well as rail passes and seat reservations at the Rail Europe website. You can also order on the telephone by talking to a Rail Europe agent at 800-622-8600 (USA) or 800-361-7245 (Canada). NOTE: Rail Europe does NOT show all the choices for trains on certain routes, often omitting the more local trains. So before you telephone Rail Europe or go to their website to purchase tickets or rail passes, WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you familiarize yourself with the more detailed Italy train schedules found at the Italian, or Swiss, or German websites for European train travel.

Auto Europe, based in Portland, Maine, is a broker for car rentals, which means that the cars they book are supplied by some other company. For Italy, those cars are likely to actually come from Europcar, or Hertz, or Avis. We have used Auto Europe exclusively in our travel agency for 8 years, because they provide us with competitive prices, great service, and the best selection of rental locations and vehicle types. You can book your car rental on the Auto Europe website, but we find that it is generally more informative to call and talk to one of their friendly reservation agents at 800-223-5555. NOTE: you may be surprised at the cost of car rentals in Italy, due in great measure to the inclusion of insurance in the rate.

As with hotels, Travel Bound is the best all-around booking source we know for transfers...between airports, hotels, and train stations. And as with hotels, what you see is what you get, so the price you see first is the final price. We use this same system in our travel agency. NOTE: Most of the useful transfers are found under the category of Private Transfers. There are not many choices for the other category, called "shared" transfers. For the private transfers, don't get put off by the terms "VIP" or "chauffeur," which is just marketing bull. Most of our travel agency clients want the private transfers, and they don't consider themselves "VIPS." Also note that we never book the "English-speaking driver" for our travel agency clients...we don't think it's worth the extra cost.

As with hotels, Travel Bound is the best all-around booking source we know for sightseeing tours. They offer both group tours and private tours. For the major cities, you'll find quite a broad selection of sightseeing activities. It can be fun to browse through the list, if only to help you plan what you will do when you get there, even if you don't book any of those tours,