Trip Coach: October 3, 2006

BT Editors: Go straight to the source--the official website of Italy's rail system, Trenitalia. You can price out train tickets for various types of service and make purchases online. Eurostar trains are the nicest, fastest option, and make the trip between Florence and Rome in about an hour and a half. You have two choices for how to obtain the tickets. Free ticketless service allows you to print out your email confirmation and bring in onboard the train in lieu of a ticket; self-service, also free, requires you to print out your ticket from a self-service machine at an Italian train station before boarding. (Home delivery is available for €3.35, but only within Italy.) For advice on making the most of your visit, consult our Rome Snap Guide and Eat Like a Local: Florence and Venice.

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Seattle, WA: My fiancé and I are traveling to Cape Town South Africa in November. We need suggestions on places to stay (B&B) in a cool area that won't break our budget.

BT Editors: Our free downloadable Cape Town Snap Guide is full of insider tips on hip, affordable places to stay, shop, eat, and play. Here are a few B&Bs to get you started: An African Villa, a 12-room guesthouse in the city with a pool and rates from $100; Dunkley House, a hidden haven in a gentrified neighborhood of narrow one-way streets and Victorian homes, with rates from $114; or Rosedene Lodge, on a quiet lane behind Sea Point's busy main road, just a couple of blocks from the water, with rates from $92 in the off-season. Before you go, read 25 Reasons We Love Cape Town.

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St. Louis, MO: Do you know anything about a travel company called Maxxim Vacations based in St. John, Newfoundland, Canada? They have escorted trips as well as independent trips. Thanks.

BT Editors: Yes! We regularly highlight travel packages organized by Maxxim Vacations, which specializes in travel to Eastern and Atlantic Canada, and our experience has been that they offer reliable, affordable service. As you mention, their options cover independent fly-and-drive packages, fully escorted bus tours, and even customized packages. One of our recent Real Deals, Flavors of Quebec, detailed a Maxxim Vacations package including airfare, six nights in B&Bs and hotels throughout Quebec, and a rental car from $1,109 per person. Over the summer, Maxxim's Prince Edward Island package caught our eye: airfare, three nights, and rental car from $749 per person. Both packages are still up for grabs.

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Philadelphia, PA: A friend and I are unable to find group tours to Corsica, other than Kalliste Tours, which costs almost $7,000 for one week (without airfare)! We could go at any time of the year. Independent travel is not an option because neither of us likes to drive, and we understand that train and public bus transportation on the island are infrequent.

BT Editors: Yikes! While group tours to Corsica are hard to come by, you shouldn't have to settle for such a hefty tab. In spring and summer 2007, Adventure Center has a seven-night trip to Calvi, Corsica, with guided walks, breakfast daily, and five dinners from $790 per person (airfare is additional). It would also be worth contacting Corsica's tourism board. Their deals section has no current listings for U.S. travelers, but they may know of tour operators that offer trips to Corsica. Good luck!

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