Taxis:
Be wary of any person approaching you offering unofficial taxi services. If you do not have an airport transfer included and you need transportation, make your way to the official taxi desk or to the regular taxi line outside the terminal; choose Only * those vehicles with a meter and a taxi sign. We recommend you pre-negotiate the fare, as taxi drivers in some countries may attempt to overcharge unwary travelers.

Offices:  Mondays  to Fridays:      08:30am - 1:00pm and 3:00pm - 6:00pm
Banks:   Mondays  to Fridays:      08:30am - 1:30pm and 2:45pm - 4:15pm
Stores:  Mondays  to Saturday:    09:00am - 1:00pm and 4:30pm - 7:30pm

Bank business hours in Italy. Bank business hours are regulated across Italy. Business hours for banks in Italy begin at 8:30 and continue until  1:30pm when they close for lunch. These banks open again in the afternoon Only * for one hour from 3.30pm. Banks in Italy are open from Monday to Friday.

Business hours in Italy. Business hours in Italy oscillate depending on the nature of the enterprise and the location of these in Italy. While business hours for most government operations are more or less standardized across the country, there is some variation in opening times between the north and south of Italy. Generally, things in the south of Italy tend to stay open until later in the evening. Below we've outlined as accurately as possible the business hours for various places you might need to use while in Italy.

Shop business hours in Italy. Shops in Italy usually open their doors at 9:00am and stay open until among 1:00 and 2:00pm when they close for lunch. Afternoon shop opening hours are generally from about 4:00 to 8:00pm. Most shops open for at least a half day on Saturday while others treat it as a normal working day. Few shops are open on Sundays. Large supermarkets and department stores are the exception to this and many of them open for half a day on Sunday while throughout the rest of the week they are open from 10:00am to 7:30pm.

Pharmacy business hours in Italy. Pharmacies in Italy generally open their doors at 9:00am to 12:30pm and from 3:30pm until 7:30pm. Most pharmacies are open on Saturday mornings although it’s strange to find them open in the afternoon on a Saturday and Sunday. There is always at least one pharmacy in every area that is open at any given time. There will usually be a sign on the door of any closed pharmacy stating where the nearest open pharmacy at that time is.

Every town and city has at least one or two local holidays in Italy. Many Italians take their holiday in August yet; some businesses close for the entire month, others for one or two weeks, Everything, excepting traffic headed for the beach, slows down and the Versilian coastline becomes a temple to sunburn. National holidays are on the 1st and 6th of January, Easter Monday, the 25th of April, May the 1st, August the 15th, November the 1st, and finally the 8th, 25th and 26th of December.

Shopping: 
Most shops are closed on Sunday, except for certain barbershops that are open on Sunday morning and tourist-oriented stores that are now permitted to remain open on Sunday during the high season. Stores are open daily from Monday to Saturday. Some observe a "siesta" from 1pm to 4pm, re-opening until 7pm. Some malls close later in the day and are open Saturdays after sundown.  Although normally shops are open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3:30/4 p.m. to 7:30/ 8 p.m., in large cities and tourist areas there is a tendency to stay open from 9.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. with possible variations from town to town. Department stores such as La Rinascente, Coin, Upim are found in many Italian cities and towns and are open from 9.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.  Some excellent purchase options are: Clothes for men and women (dresses, shoes, gloves, silk ties, shirts); lacework, jewelry, leather goods (handbags, cases, boxes, luggage), ceramics, gold and silver items, alabaster, woodwork, straw, embroidery, glass and crystal ware. As your tour escort for regional specialties products which the countries/cities in your itinerary are known for (i.e. Paris is known for fashion, Venice is known for hand blown glass, Santiago de Compostela for the pilgrim shell, etc.) Enjoy some stress-free Christmas shopping during your travels; small, light items that you can easily carry home make splendid and festive gifts.  Don’t forget to buy something nice for yourself too, to take home to evoke pleasant memories of your vacation abroad.  Whenever traveling abroad, be aware of your personal belongings when shopping in crowded areas.  If you purchase a video or DVD, please check very carefully that it is compatible with your home viewing system (for USA and Canada – VHS   NTSC and DVD region 1; for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific – VHS PAL and DVD region 4).  Sales tax or VAT (value added tax) is already included on price tags; VAT refunds, if applicable, may sometimes take up to three months to process.

Tax Free Shopping in Italy (VAT Refund):
THE VAT (also called IVA tax in Italy) TAX IS 16.67% of the purchase price of nearly everything sold in Italy.   Every non-EU citizen is entitled to a reimbursement of the VAT  tax when they purchased personal goods for more than € 180.00 (EURO) in a single shop at once.  There are no rebates of the VAT tax on hotels, restaurants or tourist services. Upon making a purchase, the buyer must ask for an VAT refund. This form itemizes what has purchased and stares the refundable VAT amount. Stores that display a Global Refund “Tax Free Shopping” sign offer VAT refunds in cash upon departure from Italy, otherwise the Only * refund options are by credit card or by bank check. Bank check refunds should be avoided, as fees to cash them in the USA can be very expensive. As with all exports, purchases must be declared at the Custom Office upon departure from Italy or the European Union (EU) and a validation stamp must be obtained. Validation stamps can be obtained at the Customs Office of an Italian airport Only * if purchased goods are shown first to the Custom Officer and then inserted immediately into the luggage to be checked in for final destination outside of the EU. If the purchases will remain the traveler’s carry-on luggage, the customs stamp can Only * be obtained at the Custom Office of the EU airport where the travel will be in transit for final destination outside of the EU. If the traveler is departing the EU by train or car, the customs stamp for Italian VAT refund form must obtained at the border (travelers are departing the EU when they cross from Italy to Switzerland). Stamped Global Refund Checks can be exchanged immediately for cash or credit card refund at the nearby Cash Refund Office. Allow two to three billing cycles for a credit card refund. All other VAT refund forms should be sent to their respective stores within 90 days of the date of the receipt. On receipt of this stamped form the vendor can then forward the VAT rebate to the tourist who made the purchase.

Tax Free Italy Stores:
If a store has a "Euro Tax Free" sign on its window or door this means that the store participates in the "Tax Free Italy" program. When making a purchase at such a store, present your passport at the cash register and ask the store clerk to issue you a "Tax Free Shopping Cheque" together with a receipt for the goods. The store will charge you tax at the time of sale. However, the Tax Free Shopping Cheque will indicate the amount of VAT  refund that you are eligible to subsequently claim. Non-EU travelers can claim for the reimbursement either at the Italian customs office or at the last EU Customs before their final destination . Keep the goods bought ready together with the appropriate bill of entry for inspection by the customs officer (s). Customs normally inspect the relevant merchandise before stamping the Tax Refund Forms: (a) therefore, if the relevant goods are contained in your unaccompanied baggage to be checked-in for a non-European destination, you should get the Customs receipt/inspection before check-in; (b) If the relevant merchandise is contained in your accompanied baggage, it is also possible to get the Customs receipt after passport control, upon inspection of the relevant goods contained in your hand carried baggage. Then, you can obtain refund of the taxes of all the Tax Refund Forms stamped by Customs: (a) in cash, by addressing an ETS desk in the airport (beware to address the right one!); or (b) receiving by mail the tax equivalent amounts in Tax-free Shopping Cheques ; or (c) by transfers to your credit card account. A word to the wise about VAT rebates: allow plenty of time at the airport to process your claim!
 

Meals / Food:
Most European  countries tend to dine later than we are accustom to.  Please expect that your dinners  will be scheduled around 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm.  Most breakfasts are buffet style.  Unlike in the USA, it is frowned upon to take food out of the breakfast room.  Most dinners will be served "sit down" with a pre-determined 3 or 4 course meal.  Your meals include iced tap water and coffee or tea.  While some restaurants may be able to provide for a special diet, such as vegetarian or salt-free, there is no way for us to guarantee this. Please note, vegetarian meals tend to lack variety and imagination.