alan h's activity

Questions Asked

My place is between Lakes Orta and Maggiore, and I have used Flybe in the past to fly from Birmingham to Milan Malpensa.Looking for flights in Sept/Oct, I was disappointed at the high costs - so went to the Easyjet site to look at the Luton to Tur

Thu, 08/20/2009 - 04:27

I have often advocated swinging up through Belgium when travelling from UK to Italy, on the grounds of the cheap petrol in Luxembourg and toll free motorways. I did this route again a couple of weeks ago, but found the roadworks on the Dunkirk-Lil

Tue, 07/28/2009 - 09:32

 I thought it might help people not break the law [or get caught breaking it] to some info on speed cameras they might come across in driving down to Italy. [This really applies to people like me who don’t have a sat-nav that tells them all the in

Sat, 07/04/2009 - 11:03

When driving to Italy, [Lake Maggiore area], from Calais, I almost always drive up towards Dunkirk and then head East towards Luxembourg.   The reasons for doing so is simple:-

    Fri, 07/03/2009 - 12:52

    If you are driving down to Italy, this regularly updated AA site gives you the latest info on fuel prices across Europe.  Its useful for deciding where to fill up. Note - in Luxembourg, [where I always fill up - its worth the minor detour from Cal

    Thu, 07/02/2009 - 05:32

    .     I heard this today on Radio 4.  I take it you already know of tough and bough and cough and dough?Others may stumble, but not you,On hiccough, thorough, lough** and through.Well done!

    Sat, 06/20/2009 - 16:58

    .   I'm considering handing over ownership of my Italian Holiday Home to my kids. Does anyone know

    • How easy this is to do, and how costly?
    • Whether this can be done in the UK - or do I have to do it in Italy?
    Fri, 06/19/2009 - 04:54

    Comments posted

    Wed, 04/14/2010 - 13:01

    " the right people to sell your geometra on the idea of a Sewage Treatment Plant are the (Italian) people who would sell it to you"   Is it an italian company that makes the STP? - or were you buying in one from abroad

    Tue, 04/13/2010 - 12:41

    [and that is not uncommon in Italy], your chances of getting the necessary approvals from the Commune will be remote   Good luck

    Answer to: Camper van
    Tue, 04/13/2010 - 12:30

    but, remember to book ahead for decent sites in high season

    Answer to: Newbie
    Mon, 04/12/2010 - 12:59

    "2. Accessibility to and from airports." Remember [especially if flying 'budget' airlines] that routes change - sometimes just for Winter, but also sometimes forever   Where my place is [up North, so not where you are looking] there are 4 airports within 2 hrs of the house [5 if you include Geneva] and you can drive there in a day [if you're mad/desperate] or by easily get there by train in under 24hrs

    Sat, 04/10/2010 - 18:15

    We've used them a couple of times now - big plus point - no coach parties! http://www.norfolkline.com/ferry/ Very good boats, food not bad

    Sat, 04/10/2010 - 15:31

    Dover - Dunkirk  [cheap ferry service - very good Lille - Belguim, - Luxemburg [fill up with petrol] - metz - Nancy - mulhouse - Basel - lucerne - St Gotthard Tunnel [or pass - pretty and adds about 30 minutes or so] and on into Italy No charges on roads until you get to Switzerland, where you need the annual vignette [buy on line] Then pay in Italy

    Thu, 04/08/2010 - 04:20

    "But, aside from fruit growing considerations - could you cope? 900slm can be pretty restrictive November through February: think snow chains or complete isolation. Before you take the plunge make sure you live there for at least a month in the 'brutta stagione'." Now that is what I call good advice. I recently spent a couple of days snowed in at my holiday place in northern Piedmonte [at about 650m] - loved every minute of it - so relaxing  BUT my Italian neighbours were  bemoaning the weather and how disruptive it was,  You do need a different mindset when living there, as opposed to holidaying

    Answer to: Renovation
    Fri, 04/02/2010 - 08:28

    Marco If UK based - if the pound rises in the meantime, UK based buyers of Italian property also lose out that way.   I bought when the  Euro was about 65 pence - if I sold now ][at about 90p] for what I paid then [in Euros] I'd make about 38% profit - [and the place is worth more now that 8ish years ago.] Now - if the reverse happens and the pound rises again [a big if at the moment] the reverse effect would occur for UK based buyers now.  In fact, as an investment for Italian based people, it would most probably pay to buy in the UK by converting your Euros to pounds

    Tue, 03/30/2010 - 18:07

    It takes between 3 and 5 hrs for the train journey from Ttrapani to Termine ImereseApparently there is a bus from the airport to the train station [and on to Palermo] http://www.terravision.eu/trapani_palermo.htmlBest site for train times is the [German!!] Rail Planner site http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/enSome general info http://italianpropertyconsultant.co.uk/2009/05/04/trapani-airport-tps-si...