Recommendations for travelers include
- take a GPS
- don't go after Oct 31 as too many parks shut down
- avoid going to close to Sorrento in the van
- Camping Michelangelo in Florence is worth the extra cost
- check petrol station nozzles are unlocked late at night before
putting money in

The people at Freedom are great and we would be very happy
to lease a van from them again in the future.

Yazeed Altunisi, Saudi Arabia, 02 december 2011
It's A Life Time Experience
I Had always wanted to tour Europe in a motorhome with my wife and 2 daughters. Finally, I had the chance to do it.
I browsed the internet for the best motorhomes, and found Ideamerge.com to be one of the best websites offering a good motorhome. Italy was the closest to Saudi Arabia, so we went to Rome as the first destination.
In Rome, we visited most of the historical places, then rented a car to Pisa. It was a 3.5 hours drive, and after we visited the Pisa Tower, we went to pick up the Motorhome, It was a nice Fiat T 5841 McRent Comfort Standard that sleeps up to 4, almost brand new, fully equipped with W.C, Shower, Oven, Refrigerator ....

I hooked up my GPS, and away we went. The first destination was Venice. i had prepared for the trip before we left our country, all places to visit, roads, places to park the motorhome ....

We arrived at Venice in the evening, parked the motorhome in the special motorhome parking area just outside Venice, and took the People Mover train in a 5 minute trip to Venice (1 Euro per person) for a dinner at a nice restaurant, and went back to the motorhome.

It was a cold night, so I struggled to turn on the heater, the manual i had was in Italian, and the CD they gave me was in Italian too, but I managed.

Early next morning, we went to visit Venice, and stayed till the evening. 1 day is more than enough for venice, as my daughters (15 and 13Y) are young to be interested to visit art galleries and museums, but we enjoyed Venice, and we took a taxi boat back to the motorhome.

Our next trip was Gardaland park on Como lake, the biggest theme park in italy. a 3 hours drive, We stopped at a service area 10 minutes before Gardaland to spent the night, as motorhome parking is not allowed overnight in Gardaland as i knew when preparing for the trip. Early next morning, we arrived at Gardaland and spent a nice day there, they were celebrating Halloween.

We left in the evening, to Switzerland, our next destination was Interlaken, a nice city on a lake,
the girls did Paragliding and we parked the motorhome on the lake, and went for a nice quite walk, had dinner, and went back to sleep in the motorhome.

Next morning, we went to Geneva, spent the noo time there then went to Germany Europa-park, 1 of the largest theme parks in Europe. We parked the motorhome there, and connected to a power sources to recharge the Laptops, and Camera batteries.

The next day, we went to Disneyland Paris, arrived at 5 pm. We parked the motorhome at Disneyland, and joined the Halloween night, and spent the following day in Disneyland too.

our next destination was Annecy, we had a wonderful night and day there.

Then we went to Milan, my wife did some shopping, then went back to Pisa to drop the Motorhome, rented a car to Rome airport and took the flight back to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Time fly's !!!

Notes :
1. Time fly's, so enjoy the most of every minute.
2. Must prepare very well before the trip, use Google earth to find destinations (according to your interest), routes, and insert locations in the GPS. (as must do)
3- be prepared for many toil charge in Italy and France.
4- it is very convenient to use the W.C at the service stops.

Fatima Akhalwaya/ south Africa, 10 august 2011
We hired 2 x 6 sleeper campervan thru Ideamerge - Freedom Holiday. in Italy.
We had very good service from them from the beginning and good discounts.
We made our way to Freedom Holiday from Rome-it is very far and took us very long to get there as there was alot of traffic.The owners were very helpfull and friendly.
The campervan was great - we took our own sheets and pillows- in the summer u do not need a blanket so a sleeping bag is sufficient.
We also took our own dishes and kettle-mostly throw away stuff and plastic cutlery,plates.
We had a problem with the microwave as it did not work in the campsites- something to do with the power supply so we did not use it at all.Actually the gas stove was sufficient.
We were credited for it at the end.
The trip around Italy was great .We saw alot and went from: Rome,MtVesuvius,POmpei,Sorrento,Naples,Florence,Pisa,Cinque Terre,Milan,Verona,Venice,Modena, SanGimiano,Sienna and back to Rome
Yes we covered alot but managed to see the important areas in each place.We stuck with the motorways which charge toll fees but u save on time.The motorways were very good.
In the smaller towns the roads are narrow but with good driving skills we managed thru.Also tried to take the local transport into the city centres.
Most of the campsites had very good transport from there to the centre of town.
The campsites all had good facilities ie toilets and showers,laundry and electricity.Altho it was crowded in the peek period - as expected!!
You do save on the cost of the accommodationm however the petrol and toll fees are high in Italy.
You also gain with travelling at your own leisure between cities.
Do not take alot of clothes-in the summer take shorts and t-shirts and good walking shoes.All else is a waste.And use the washing machines at intervals
In all we had a great ,memmorable trip.
We would love to do it again
Ciaao!!!!!!!!!!

Rhoads Family, 08 august 2011
we had a GREAT time. The camper had everything we needed.
Sise OF the car wad perfect. When we got to pick up the RV,
staff explained everything very complete.

Kim Clarke, 08 august 2011
We had a wonderful time, the camper was almost brand new and very clean. Caravan parks very nice and every one very helpful. Great way to travel and save at the same time, found Italy very cheap. Camp sites only 30 eruo a night for 2 adults and we avarage 600 km per tank. Approx 100 eruo to fill the tank. The best caravan park book you can order is on line is called Camping Card ACSI a must as it has GPS in it very easy to follow. We are plaining to do more of Europe next year.

Rodrigo Abarca, 18 june 2011
The service was to our satisfaction, and getting more
than I expected. Camper equipment was requested, and
extras meet the requirements. This allowed us 21 days
touring Italy with great security and peace, reaching
places where we had not contemplated going.

DAVID, 12 may 2011
It was a wonderful vacation for me and my family,we had a nice welcomming in the Airport in Roma and they picked up us to Freedom Holiday company and within half and hour we took our Camper with a good explanation about details of Camper and contract,this was first time for us to drive with a camper and we were surprised that within a small space in sideof Camper we had all needs facility in hand,also there was a very good services and facilities for Campers in Italy so we enjoyed a lot.
The only thing which was not so good was the way of packaging Kitchen instruments and also Pic Nik Table and Chairs which were made lots of noise at the time of movement,which I think it is possible to do it in a better way.
Any way it was a great expirience for us.
Kind Regards.David.

Stephen Wray, 10 january 2011
We found the people at Freedom Holiday to be very helpful explaining thoroughly all aspects of the camper.
All our holiday was spent in Italy and we had a truly wonderful experience. Initially driving in Italy was daunting however we soon discovered that although traffic appears chaotic drivers were, in general, considerate to other road users. The same cannot be said of roadside buildings which as the road narrows can suddenly leap out to hit the wing mirror of an over-wide camper. First piece of advice always use a sat nav. Second piece of advice never trust your sat nav, it will always try to take you by the route involving the narrowest alley in the centre of the nearest town. Parking can be a problem with campers wherever you are but we knew that.
Minor gripes. Kitchen accessories were a bit light on and there was no proper storage facilities for same. Information on campsites from supplied books was not always reliable. Some campsites did not exist. Then others appeared from nowhere in the most beautiful locations.
Overall our experiences were positive and we had a great time.

Don and Toni Dooley, 14 november 2010
Yes, we just returned to the US after a wonderful travel experience using Idea Merge services to hire our camper. Went directly to Freedom Holiday from our arrival at the airport expecting to wait there, but were quickly set up with our camper, equipment and borrowed road maps and camp books for our trip through northern Italy and southern France - all the way to Lourdes, France and back.
We cooked great meals with the equipment and sampled great wines all along the way. We quickly got used to the road signs and driving and were off the next morning on this marvelous adventure - one we took for our 50th anniversary! I highly recommend this way to travel and see Europe. Our camper had some mileage on it, but was in excellent shape with not a problem. Returning it to Freedom Holiday was a snap as well because we returned it so clean!
We plan to tour through Germany, Sweden and Norway next year! Thanks Idea Merge for making this one dream come true. We had no problems and all our early questions were answered quickly and handled with our desires in mind. Toni Dooley

Russell Simmons, 09 october 2010
We rented a spacious, comfortable, and stylish motorhome in Italy. All in all we had a great trip. However, the motorhome broke an axle and whereas we are still negotiating for lost days with the vendor McRent, during the breakdown Ideamerge was very helpful. Ideamerge responded promptly to our calls and emails to expedite the repairs. We would highly recommend Ideamerge and their services.

Joseph Szabo, 05 july 2010
The embedded routine of driving on the right side of the road for fifty years has presented me with the greatest challenge when I had to drive our hired campervan on the European roads with traffic moving on the wrong side. ( Well it’s just the way we see it from Australia!) Not just the wrong side, but a greatly wider vehicle than the ones I used to drive. Nevertheless, after a few close shaves in the forever narrowing lanes in Italy me and my daughter adjuster well to the challenge and our motoring experience in the campervan became one of the most cherished memory of our five week tour. Our comfort was well catered for by the well equipped, excellent campervan from Freedom Holiday, and we were driving with confidence, at times travelling at 120k on motorways, through Italy, the Alps, Austria, Hungary and Slovenia. Returning the vehicle to the Freedom Holiday depot in Rome was the smoothest transaction we could expect, and handing back a clean campervan vas certainly in our favour.
Thanks to IdeaMerge for a worry free and courteous arrangement of the rental process and thanks to the people at Freedom Holiday –the visible human face of IdeaMerge as well – for their attention to detail, understanding our needs and for their assistance and guidance verbally and by loan of travel books. Hope to see you again!

Margaret Martin B, 01 july 2010
This was our first experience of hiring a motorhome and we thoroughly enjoyed our 3 weeks travelling around southern Italy. Depot not easy to get to as we travelled by train then bus from central Rome. This would have been a challenge without the helpful member of staff from our hotel who contacted the depot for us and helped organise the arrangement and we were evenually picked up at the bus terminal by staff from the depot. Our only quibble would be the minimal kitchen equipment - we had to buy our own frying pan and believe it or not in Italy - expresso coffee pot! On hindsight we would have picked up the motorhome in the morning as it was quite late by the time we got on the road and we hadn't planned our first campsite. In May it gets dark fairly early and did not give us much time to get used to the whole experience of driving, finding a site and settling down. We hired bikes, which were useful to get from the campsites to the local towns to go shopping, but a scooter would be more useful so you could explore further afield. Not sure if this is possible - but worth looking into. After a few days we were much more confident and by the time we returned to Rome we felt like old hands. Drop off was quick and straight forward. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend this type of holiday with IdeaMerge and would like to explore northern Italy by motorhome another year.

Gail Gagné, 01 july 2010
What a wonderful trip in Italy with the van from vanitaly.The pick-up was great and the return was sad because after 30 days traveling across that beautiful country with are home we got use to live in it. It is a very good way to travel every where and discover the beauty and the kindness of Italy.We will return in that country and we will rent a van with you it is easy in secure.Thank you Denis Pasolini, for your kindness.
Gail Gagné & Joel Emond (Québec Canada)

Mustafa Kureli, 01 july 2010
We had a wonderfull days in Italy. We had visited Napoli, Sorrento, Bari, Gargano and Pescara. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They answered us, for all questions. I want to thanks Mrs.Valentina. If you decide to user a camper van in Italy you MUST use this company.
Our Motorhome was very old. But we hadn’t any problem. Equipments was enough. We were very happy with the service and I recommend it to anyone renting an RV in Italy.
I am sure that ; few mounths later, we will rent Motorhome again, for to visit North of Italy by IDEAMERGE. Best regards and arm full Loves from Istanbul/Turkey.

Holly Bolton, 14 december 2009
We were highly pleased with our experience renting through Idea Merge. They were responsive to our requests and promptly provided us with revised camper estimates as our plans changed. The pick-up and drop-off of the camper was seamless and the staff at Freedom Holiday were friendly and knowledgeable. They even provided us with detailed maps and literature on hiking in the Tuscany region -- very helpful! We couldn't have been happier with the experience.

Jorge Ferrari, 30 august 2009
My experience was an excellent one. The people of Freedom Holiday is remarkably kind. It was my first travel by motorhome in Europe, and I enjoyed it very much.
No tengo problema si cualquier persona de Hispanoamérica quiere escribirme para pedirme consejos acerca del uso de motorhomes en Europa.

Dr Peter Swinyard, 26 august 2009
A reliable and professional service. The van was ready and sparkling clean for our pickup, including a (rather American) label on the loo that it was sanitized for our protection! Van was less than 2 years old and drove faultlessly and had facilities exactly as described. The English-speaking gentleman at the motorhome depot near Rome made sure that we knew exactly how to uise the facilities in the 'van and warned us of the new restriction on driving on the Amalfi coast and in certain town centres. A painless and easy experience all round. I can fully recommend this reliable company.

Michael Stockwell, 09 june 2009
I just thought I'd let you know that we had a wonderful family holiday in Italy. All the arrangements went according to plan and we were very happy with the camper rental and the services provided by the local agent. Pickups at the airport were on time, smooth and efficient and the camper was spotlessly clean and well equipped. We would certainly recommend using your company again to any friends thinking of having a similar holiday in the future.

Best regards,
Michael Stockwell

Roger and Kelly Anderson, 21 april 2009
We rented for 2 weeks from the Rome depot last November. It was a wonderful experience. It was wonderful way to travel and see the countryside and have a place to sleep every night. It was very convenient for us as we are a family of five and it is very hard to find a room that would accomodate all of us. We found rv supplies hard to find(maybe it was the time of year) we never did find camper gas(propane) luckily we had 2 full bottles to start with. It was problem free as far as pick-up and drop-off went.
the door handle was partially broke when we picked it up and broke about 3 days into the trip but we were not charged. we cleaned the camper upon returning it and were not charged any extra fees except for extra mileage and that we knew about. Thanks to the people at the depot for delivering as promised!

Jorge Crudele, Argentina (January'09), 10 february 2009
We booked the Motorhome easily with Internet, and got fast and accurate response to our several questions. The vehicle was exactly as promised, the service very friendly, and the return of the Motorhome was done with no fuss at all. VERY recomendable vendor.

Richard Harms, 14 october 2008
We're not long back from a lovely couple of weeks in Italy travelling with our two children. Very delighted with our experiences with Freedom Holidays. The kids esepcially loved the van. The team at FH are very helpful, our van was immaculate and well-equipped - and everything went without a hitch. The pick-up and drop-off at Rome was a smooth and uncomplicated process. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them wholeheartedly. Thanks to both Doug and FH - great stuff! We hope to come back again soon.

Evald Nergaard, Norway, 11 august 2008
Booking the van was quit easy, and we got all the help from Ideamerge when we needed it. Picking up and deliver the van was a nice experience. Freedom Holiday in Rome showed us all little scratches on the van, and inspection before and after was a great experience. We borrowed a little book where we could find different parkings in Italy, but it did'nt help us much. It was to difficult to understand and find our way in. We also did some research before our trip, but it's not easy to find good enough information about campingsites in Italy. Maybe suggested tours would be an idea, and adresses to most campingsites in the area you plan to go to should be presented on either the Ideamerge site, or as a folder or something on the rental office.

But, both IdeaMerge and Freedom Holiday seems proffesional enough, and I'm certain I will use them next time we go to Italy.

Carmel, Australia, 05 august 2008
This was our second experience with IdeaMerge and Doug. Both times we have been very happy with the service provided through IdeaMerge. It was a bit of an effort to organise our rental this time due to us creating our own problem by booking so late and trying to get a camper during the busiest holiday period! But Doug was incredibly patient with all the questions and liasing between us and the renters and the end result was great for us. So we would use IdeaMerge again. Unfortunately, our first rental (2 years ago) did not go well with McRent in Dusseldorf being extremely unpleasant to deal with when returning the van (we still had a great holiday though). They accused us of causing all kinds of damage to the van when we returned it and kept most of our deposit. I've seen lots of other similar experiences here! We actually consider ourselves lucky that we did eventually get a small part of the deposit back, but were unable to ever make an insurance claim because they never provided us with any invoice. So if you want to use the German connection make absolutely sure that you go over that van with a fine tooth comb and take photos BEFORE you leave the yard. And watch out because they will however try to rush this part through (for example tell you not to worry about checking the roof and then when you return immediately commencing the inspection by climbing on the roof and finding all these things that you've supposedly done to it). I recall this being done to three people in the time we were there. So of course this time we were ready to take photos and climb all over the roof and note every scratch and dent when we arrived at Freedom in Rome. Well, what a totally different experience. They were sooooooo friendly, insisted on inspecting everything and made sure that they pointed out every dent and scratch and indicated that it was on their inspection report. Nothing was a problem for them. We did have a small problem when we first left and went back the next day and it was immediately fixed and they made sure we filled up with water again. They also supplied us with travel guides to the places we were travelling. Upon return we were greeted like old friends. The inspection was simple and relaxed and they congratulated us on how clean we returned the van! Deposit immediately returned. The whole experience with them was just so pleasant and so different to McRent. I wouldn't hesitate to book with them again. So if you have a choice avoid the German connection and head for Freedom in Rome. And although we had no choice with the van, my advice is book early and book the smallest camper you can possibly manage to live in because some of those places in Italy are pretty scary to drive around in a big van!

marty, 10 july 2008
nothing but praise for idea merge.... we had no italian vocab and yet is was never an issue at the depot when picking up the van.... we had a very large camper..... may have been an error considering the type of skill needed to drive in italy ... anyway... the guys showed us eveything needed to enjoy our driving holiday in italy.... we did break a small thing in the van and this wasnt even a issue...... we loved it and would use these guys again with no hesitations..... from aussies on tour ...thanks

Irene Schotman Jeroen and Tijmen Scheer, 25 june 2008
Half May we picked up our camper at Freedom in Rome, Italy. We
exchanged the generator for an extra bicycle. Since we travelled with
our son (2 1/2 yrs), Freedom came with the excellent idea of giving
us a child seat for one bike. That was really brilliant. Two bikes at the
back of the camper, we travelled around South Italy extensively,
enjoyed everything. The camper was excellent, although already more
than 90.000 kms on its counter. At return the people at Freedom
were very friendly again, as at pick up. We really enjoyed our trip.

David and Doris Woolley, 29 may 2008
Picked our MotorHome up in Rome. Everythng worked well, and the staff were very helpful. I did not need any supplies(ie chairs, utensils etc) so I can not comment on that portion. Drove to Sorrento and back with no problems. Doug was very helpful at this end as well.

jim morgan, 25 may 2008
we picked up a motorhome in rome italy from freedom holiday. the unit was new we were the first to use it. the hot water heater and furnace did not work. we took it back and the renter thought he got it working, but it never worked for more than a minute. the motorhome ran great and got good mileage. overall the trip was great.

Nick Little, 21 may 2008
Overall good experience. Campervan was over 2 years old despite a specific enquiry and reply that it would be less than 2 years. The towel sets had only one bathtowel and about a thousand hand towels for 6 people. As others mention the microwave is close to useless because it would constantly trip the circuit breakers in the camping areas. Staff helpful and arranged transfers with no problems- returned deposit card receipt immediately on return. Chairs and tables not matching-half chairs effectively cloth stools. Engine started every time. Slow leak in one tyre required putting air in at least every second day. Very prompt response from ideamerge/freedom to enquiries pre-rental.

Dale and Gerda Edmonton, Canada, 25 november 2007
This was our second rental through IdeaMerge and was also a positive experience. The people at Freedom Holiday did a good job and the campervan was in great shape (if a tad under clean). Everything worked very well and the performance from the two liter diesel was impressive. Unfortunately our holiday was cut short near the last minute and we were unable to get even a partial rebate. Our only complaints with campervan itself was that the kitchen supplies were extremely modest (with several essentials missing such as a dishpan, kettle, basic cooking utensils, cooking knives etc. all of which we purchased and left with the unit) and that the camping chairs and table were not usable at all. In fact the chairs were dangerous to use as they were unstable and subject to collapse. We did point this out to the folks at Freedom Holiday and they were somewhat sheepish about the chairs and advised they were going to replace them. On the bright side the people at Freedom Holiday were extremely friendly and helpful, they provided sleeping sets for no additional charge (we forgot to order them when we placed our reservation) and gave as a free lift to the train station when we returned the campervan. All in all a good experience which could have been made better if the small trifles had been looked after.

Ariel Lejtman, 31 october 2007
We had a great time all together in the camper. Your handling of our request was fast, polite and to the point. Freedom Holiday were excellent, very friendly and servicial to us. Everything they promised was done, and they also went the "extra mile".
We got the camper in the morning at no extra cost, the camper was in excellent conditions and everything worked as planned.

We hope to have a 2nd chance to rent a camper again and have a joyful experience as was our first one.

Best regards,
Ariel

Sara Stevens, 14 september 2007
We picked up the vechicle in july 07 the depo was easy to find and then very accessable for our onward journey. The service was friendly and effective and we were on the road in no time. The vechicle was great, very well maintained and cleaned throughout. We had a lovely adventure in our RV and would reccommend them to any one.

Sara

Ole Jepsen, 06 august 2007
We had a wonderful trip in Italy - going on the west coast from Rome to Napoli/ Amalfi and Capri. Ideamerge did all well - Doug Bredesen answered all our questions fast and nothing failed. Only "bad" thing was, that the wquipment in the motorhome was no luxury - 5 person/ 5 spoons, bad chairs, nothing for opening a bottle of wine (in Italy!!!!) - take 50 euro more and make this much better!!. The motorhome itself was just fine and the firm in Rome very kind and helpfull - and we hope to make another trip to Greece next year - and will contact IdeaMerge again!

Giles Middleton, 24 july 2007
The campervan was great and it was a very easy process from booking to returning the van. I highly recommend using this company!

Deon Roe, 24 july 2007
For the most part, our experience was great even though we started out a little shaky. We were to be picked up at the FCO airport and taken to the depot. We waited almost an hour and nobody showed and made numerous phone calls and nobody answered. Needless to say we were stressed. Ended up taking a taxi. It turned out that a couple days before our arrival they realized our flight came in during siesta and they emailed us and Doug Bredesen that they would pick us up after siesta at 5 p.m. Shame on you Doug. You should have insisted that someone meet us as you knew we had left home over two weeks earlier and wouldn't get the message. Now being tired and frustrated that got us off on a bad footing and some of the motorhome explanations were either interrupted by their phone ringing constantly and our being stressed so some important things were missed. Like the steering wheel self locking mechanism preventing the vehicle from starting. Just a little important fact. Also, we had glass cups and ceramic dishes that drove us crazy when driving. We were able to soften the noise with towels but I was sure I was going to open a cupboard full of broken glass. With the exception of the above, Italy was wonderful. And other than not being picked up at the airport, the service from IdeaMerge was great.

Daniel Curley, 20 july 2007
Thoroughly professional service and totally delighted with our "brand new" camper van vehicle. If you decide to user a camper van in Italy you MUST use this company. Felt totaly at ease knowing this companybwas behind me if I had any isses whilst driving through Italy (thankfully no issues did arise). 10/10 for service.

Garduño Fam, 24 may 2007
thks to IDEAMERGE specially to Mr. Doug Bredesen because he always show special interst to solve the little problems that we have.

Sherry, 14 december 2006
We picked up our RV in Rome. The vehical was in great shape and easy to drive. The staff was very friendly and helpful, when we dropped off our RV they drove us to the train station and also gave us directions so we would safely arrive at our next destination. How nice is that! Very happy with the service and would recommend it to anyone renting an RV in Italy.

Bruce and Raewyn Bartley, New Zealand, 19 august 2006
We collected our campervan in Rome. We mistakenly arrived during the siesta, but only had to wait a short while before a staff member arrived and made us welcome. We were able to sit in the airconditioned van until all the paperwork was complete. The van was newish and in good condition. We had a fabulous time camping in central and northern Italy for 17 days. Wouldn't recommend hiring the microwave as the camping grounds electricity supply wasn't up to it. The campervan suppliers were very friendly and helpful and organised a private taxi for us when there was a taxi strike. Would certainly recommend them.

Delle, Mal and Takoda Ritchie, 07 june 2006
We had a fantastic time touring around Italy in one of your motorhomes. The Italian agents were very helpful, even though we made a mistake and turned up a day early they got the motorhome ready for us.

The motorhome was brand new and had everything we needed for a great holiday.

We will definatly do this again - we are looking at booking one for Australia in a few weeks.

patrick moriarty, 19 may 2006
Collected the motorhome near Rome. It was in perfect condition. Good backup from the office and very helpful.