Book cheap flights to Bologna

Avoid the crowds, high hotel costs and low availability by visiting Bologna during the autumn (September to November). From September, you can still enjoy the warm and pleasant weather that marks the peak tourist season of late spring and summer (May to August). The amount of tourists will be on the decline as winter approaches, and you will have access to lower hotel prices towards November. The off season is from December to April (winter to mid-spring); however, Bologna comes alive during this time with the student life, exhibitions and lectures. This means busier restaurants and higher volumes of rain, though there are plenty of portico-covered sidewalks to keep you dry.

South Africans will need an Italian Schengen Visa to enter Italy. Make sure you leave plenty of time for visa processing. Your passport will also need to be valid for a minimum of 3 months after your return date and have 2 blank pages free for entry stamps. Passports may not be older than 10 years.

South African Honorary Consulate in Italy

Address: Via degli Agresti, 2, 40123, Bologna

Phone: 39 051 27 26 00 / Fax: 39 051 27 15 06

Email: mail@belvederi.com

The Centre for Diseases Control advises that you visit your local doctor four to six weeks before departing for Italy. You will need to get all the routine vaccinations, and may wish to get additional vaccinations against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and rabies, depending on where you will be going within Bologna.

Beware of beggars and pickpockets in Bologna. Make sure you keep a hand on your valuables and avoid taking money out in public. Pickpockets tend to work in pairs; one will try to grab your hand to distract you while the other goes for your pockets. If you can’t keep a hand on your valuables, ensure that they are in a secure compartment and not immediately accessible.

There are plenty of hotels, as well as bed and breakfast rentals, in Bologna. Common features of these establishments include free Wi-Fi, conference centres, bars, lounges, and restaurants. The cost of staying at these places ranges from around €170 to around €900.

The two most popular options for travelling around Bologna are buses and bikes.

The TPER company controls all the buses in the city. You can buy tickets in central locations, such as railway stations, coach stations and the city centre, as well as when you board the bus. A single ride ticket is valid for 75 minutes and costs €1.50. Main ticket centres sell multi-trip tickets at a discount, with a 10-trip ticket costing €12 and the 24th ticket costing €5.

Bike rentals are available throughout Bologna. The city is perfect for this mode of transport, with many bike trails and routes on the side of the road. Make sure you have locked them safely away, especially around the university, which is a common spot for bike theft.