Kristin
I travel to Italy the most since that is where I want to live someday. I usually stay in Rome and travel from there to other location for day trips. When traveling I prefer to rent an apartment instead of a hotel but that only make sense if you stay in one location for more then 3 days. Eurail Passes are the easiest way to if you are doing more then 2 days of train trips Always get a prepaid credit card...