Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Moneychangers
You can change money in banks, at the post office or in a
cambio
(currency-exchange bur-
eau). Post offices and banks tend to offer the best rates; currency-exchange bureaus keep
longer hours, but watch for high commissions and inferior rates.
Taxes & Refunds
A value-added tax of around 20%, known as Imposta di Valore Aggiunto (IVA), is slapped
onto just about everything in Italy. If you are a non-EU resident and spend more than €155
(€154.94, to be more precise!) on a purchase, you can claim a refund when you leave. For
information, visit
Tax Refund for Tourists
(
www.taxrefund.it
)
or pick up a pamphlet on
the scheme from participating stores, which usually display a 'Tax Free for Tourists' (or
similar) sign.
Tipping
You are not expected to tip on top of restaurant service charges but you can leave a little
extra if you feel service warrants it. If there is no service charge, consider leaving a 10%
tip, but this is not obligatory. In bars, Italians often leave small change as a tip (usually
€0.10 to €0.20). Tipping taxi drivers is not common practice, but you are expected to tip
the porter at top-end hotels.
Post
Poste Italiane
(
www.poste.it
)
, Italy's postal system, is reasonably reliable. For opening
hours,
Click here
.
Francobolli
(stamps) are available at
uffici postali
(post offices) and authorised tobac-
conists (look for the big white-on-black 'T' sign). Since letters often need to be weighed,
what you get at the tobacconist for international airmail will occasionally be an approxim-
ation of the proper rate. Tobacconists keep regular shop hours.
Naples' main post office is on Piazza Matteotti.
Postal Services Rates
The cost of sending a letter by
via aerea
(airmail) depends on its weight, its size and
where it is being sent. Most people use
posta prioritaria
(priority mail), Italy's most effi-
cient mail service, guaranteed to deliver letters sent to Europe within three days and to the
rest of the world within four to nine days. Letters up to 20g cost €0.52 within Europe and
the Mediterranean basin, and €0.62 to the rest of the world. Packets weighing up to 350g
