You have made your plane and hotel reservations. You know where you will be going and where you will be staying.

There are some other things travelers need to consider. Anyone traveling abroad should be aware of any effects the local landscape and climate may have on them. If you are sensitive to pollution or to humidity, or to other conditions of your destination, consult with your physician. Although you should not have problems with things like altitude in Italy, you may encounter heavy pollution in some cities so do your research before you leave home.

Don’t forget to leave a copy of your itinerary with someone at home. It is always good to have a friend or relative know where you will be staying and how to get in touch with you in an emergency.

What else do you need to do before you leave for your trip to Italy? Here are some things you need to do before you set of on your trip.

How do you develop a travel itinerary? In other words, how do you get where you want to go and where should you stay when you get there?

Some travelers like to wing it when they travel. No hotel reservations, no advance purchase of train tickets or reservations on ferries. Armed with their plane ticket, yes you always need to purchase that in advance unless your schedule is very flexible and your pocketbook knows no bottom these travelers set off on their trip.

Other travelers schedule every minute of every day they are away from home. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle, hotel reservations when traveling during the high season or if we really want to stay in a particular hotel in a particular city.

Most of us like to plan some things but leave enough time to take advantage of spur of the moment activities whenever they pop up. Happening on a town having a festival can be so much fun that you want to be able to change your plans and stay there for the night.

And, of course, there are times when you have to change your plans because of strikes, illness, travel delays or any number of things that happen when you travel.

Here are some tips to developing your travel itinerary for your trip to Italy:

Some people were born to travel on their own. They love the adventure, they don’t like structure and they love the unexpected. If all those things strike fear in your heart then you should consider traveling with a tour group.

These days there are tour groups to satisfy every interest and style of travel. Gone are the days of taking a bus through 10 countries in 6 days. Now you can find tour groups of all different sizes, covering different interests and that last from one week to one month.

If your travel group is large enough contact a tour group and they will plan a trip for you, arrange transportation and provide tour guides.

Of course, you can always mix it up. Travel with a tour group then stay an extra week or go a week early and meet your group when they arrive.

Are you a tour group traveler?

Planning your trip to Italy can be almost as much fun as taking your trip. By making your planning fun, you can start enjoying your trip before you even leave your house.

Traveling provides a lifetime of memories. Make the most of your trip by turning away from the familiar and overcoming your fear of the unknown. The more you plan the more you will eliminate those things that make you afraid to travel.

Don't forget to include some relaxing time in your trip. Mingling with locals at a market, enjoying a cappuccino in the morning while you watch people heading off for work, eating a gelato in the afternoon sitting on a park bench watching children play or drinking a glass of wine in the evening while you watch the boats come in and out of the harbor in Vernazza may turn out to be the highlight of your trip.

So here are a few tips for planning your trip:

Siena with its high walls and large Piazza is a favorite of many travelers to Italy. If Rome is associated with the Roman Empire and Florence with the Renaissance with Siena it is the Middle Ages.

Free of all the famous art you find in Florence, Siena is a place where you can relax and not feel guilty about doing nothing but enjoying the atmosphere.  Traffic is not allowed inside the walls of Siena so pedestrians rule. You can walk aimlessly through the streets and around the Piazza without having to dodge cars and Vespa's.

Siena is famous for the Palio an event straight out of the Middle Ages. Every year on July 2 and August 16 Siena hosts a horse race that takes place in the Piazza del Campo. Dressed in the brightly colored silks of the different neighborhoods, jockeys riding bareback race horses in circles around the Piazza. The Palio is a celebration full of pageantry that takes place over several days. The competition is intense and emotions run high creating an air of excitement throughout the area.

What to see in Siena:

Most places you visit in Italy transport you back in time to Ancient Rome or the Renaissance. In Portofino, you will feel like you have gone back to the 1950’s and 60’s. That is when Portofino became popular with jet setting celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Ingrid Bergman, Ernest Hemingway, Frank Sinatra, Brigitte Bardot and on and on. The rich and famous would arrive by yacht and spend their time lounging around luxury hotels and private villas. It was a place to see and be seen.

It is no wonder Portofino attracts masses of wealthy people it is beautiful and there are a lot of people there with cameras. Sitting on a small promontory, surrounded by water Portofino is irresistibly photogenic. The small, colorful harbor is crowded with yachts and sailboats, large and small.

The things to do in Portofino are walk and people watch. The best walk is up the steps that lead from the port to the church of San Giorgio. From San Giorgio you will get a beautiful view of the harbor and bay. If you are up to it, you can continue up the path to the Portofino Lighthouse where you will get an even better view.

Lucca, Italy is a town of narrow streets, small shops, family owned restaurants and friendly people. In other words it is like most of the small towns you find in Tuscany. What makes Lucca unique is that it is surrounded by walls that have paths you can walk on and it has a tower with trees growing on top. It can be almost as confusing to find your way through the winding streets of Lucca as it is in Venice. In Lucca, rather than heading toward a canal you go towards the walls.

Most of the streets in Lucca are now open only to pedestrian traffic. You can stroll the streets and window shop in the many stores some with names you know while others are small family owned shops.

If you are looking for a day trip from Florence, Lucca is a great option. Since Lucca is on the way to Pisa if you are pressed for time you could spend the morning in Pisa and the afternoon in Lucca. If you prefer to stay in Lucca, there are a number of nice hotels both inside the walls and out.

Bella Bellagio! Every time to you tell someone who has been to Bellagio that you are planning a trip there they will sigh and say ahhhh, bella Bellagio. And it is true. Bellagio is beautiful.

Lake Como is dotted with small towns that sit right at the base of the mountains on the lake. All are worth a visit but none are more beautiful than Bellagio. Bellagio sits at the fork in the lake where the western and eastern arms of the lake split giving the town views of both sides of the lake.

It is tempting to spend your time on the busier side of Bellagio that has the stores and restaurants overlooking the docks and boats. But you should wander up to the top of the town and take one of the paths that lead over to the back arm of the lake which is a little quieter and more peaceful. You can sit on one of the benches and enjoy the view of the lake and small harbor that is full of pleasure boats. The Hotel Belvedere has a restaurant where you can sit outside and look over this side of the lake without having to do much hiking (though you do have to hike up to the hotel).

Umbria is fast becoming a tourist destination for travelers wary of the crowds in Tuscany. Umbria is populated with many small medieval hill towns as well as the lively university town of Perugia, the capital of the region. Known as the “Green Heart of Italy” because of its green, rolling hills Umbria is one of the most pleasant places to visit in Italy. In Umbria you can enjoy both the exciting nightlife of Perugia and the quiet of an agritourism vacation.

Here are the best places to visit on your trip to Umbria:

Perugia – With a population of about 150,000 Perugia is the largest city in Umbria. Perugia was settled by the Etruscans in the 5th century which qualifies it as old. Today Perugia is young, cosmopolitan and artsy. It is home to both the University for Foreigners and the Umbria Jazz festival.  Piazza IV Novembre is the heart and soul of Perugia. This large open piazza is where locals and tourists congregate at all hours of the day and night. The Piazza is home to both the impressive Palazzo dei Priori and the beautiful Fontana Maggiore. Perugia is also home to the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, considered the most important art museum in Umbria and a beautiful Duomo dedicated to San Lorenzo.

Which is better for you? Solo travel or Group Tours? That depends on how you like to travel, how comfortable you are with traveling by yourself or with family and friends and how much you enjoy planning a trip.

Italy is an easy place to find tours that cater to your specific interests. Like art? There are plenty of group trips that focus on museums? Like walking? There are tours that cater to serious hikers and leisurely walkers.

Italy is also a country you can easily explore on your own or with a small group of family and friends. Italians are used to tourists and try to accommodate reasonable requests even if they don’t speak Italian. And there are so many travel guidebooks focusing on Italy that help is close at hand.

Now there is something called independent travel which combines the two. You travel with a tour group but you can decide to tour on your own or participate in a group tours. As for me, I like to plan my own trips but there are times when group travel makes sense especially if you are traveling to hard to get to places or places with restricted access.

Here are some tips to help you decide if you should plan your own trip:

I initially bought the Kensington 64343 Lock because I work at a University where laptop theft is a huge problem. After I bought it I thought well this was a good idea because now I can take it when I travel and lock my laptop up rather than trying to hide it in drawers and closets.

I was originally planning to order the Kensington ComboSaver Lock since it was one of Time Magazine’s top 25 travel gadgets. It got such bad reviews from users that I continued looking. When I saw one reviewer describe the Kensinton 64343 as robust I thought that’s it! Robust is what I need.

A big advantage of the Kensington 64343 is that it has keys rather than a number lock. Locks using numbers can be difficult to unlock as anyone who has spent 10 minutes at their health club trying to open their locker knows.

The last thing I need is to be unable to unlock my computer that would be both embarrassing and maddening. I have not had to do this yet, but you can get replacement keys if you lose yours.

Beautiful and wild Sardinia is unlike anywhere else in Italy. In Sardinia you can stay in 5 star resorts complete with golf courses and tennis courts as well as rustic accommodations on a rural farm. Want to party the night away with the jet set crowd? Then head to Flavio Briatore’s Billionare or the Lord Nelson Pub. Not all the wildlife is in the clubs, if seeing soaring eagles is more your thing then go to Gennargentu National Park.

Sardinia has more outdoor opportunities than just about anywhere else in Italy. Whether your preference is hiking, boating, surfing, kayaking or horseback riding you will find it here. Sardinia is home to parks, nature preserves and UNESCO Heritage Sites all with their own unique fauna, birds, animal’s, and marine life.

Here are just some of the areas highlights: