If you’re thinking about hiring a chauffeur service in Italy, you might have some questions about what to expect from your driver. Of course, any discussion about what to expect when you hire a private driver in Italy has to begin with a discussion about regulations. (In a country with the largest body of legislation in all of Europe, amounting to more than 200,000 normative acts, there is always going to be a discussion about regulations! Some say Italy is a place of “a million laws and zero rules”, but we’ll leave that topic for another day.) It might seem a bit tedious, but understanding Italian regulations is the key to unraveling a lot of perplexity about why things are the way they are with regard to drivers and guides in Italy. Avanti!
Allora… regulations. Let’s begin with the fundamentals. The work that DriverInRome does (transfers, shore excursions from cruise ships, day trips from hotels and other lodgings) falls under the passenger transportation sector in Italy. This sector is referred to as “NCC” — Noleggio Con Conducente — a hired car with a driver. In popular tourist areas like Rome, Florence/Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, and cruise-port cities, the work carried out by NCCs has morphed over the past several decades into a sort of hybrid profession, where drivers don’t just drive, they also explain.
For you trivia lovers: This evolution began in the 1980s, as the cruise business was taking off in Italy. DriverInRome was one of the first to enter this new world of opportunity, when founder Remo Melaragno returned to Italy with his teenage sons after spending many years in Canada. (Son Daniele, having grown up in Canada, was a natural in the burgeoning NCC sector. Today, more than 30 years later, Dani is General Manager of DriverInRome.)
When you book a service with DriverInRome, you don’t just get a driver with basic English skills to take you from Point A to Point B; you get a professional, experienced, licensed local who speaks fluent English and can explain things to you as you’re driving around. For this reason, we like to call them “driver-guides”. While you’re in the vehicle, they’ll be telling you the story of things as you pass by, and they can answer any questions you might have. (If you care to talk about Italian politics, they can do that, too.) In an expansive place like Rome, where there are a number of stops on the itinerary, the driver will give you a little background information at each stop before you set out on your own to take a closer look on foot.
At this point you might be wondering, “Why can’t the driver go with me??” Which brings us back to regulations. According to Italian law, drivers are not permitted to accompany you when you leave the vehicle. Strictly speaking, they’re not supposed to even say anything to you once you exit the vehicle — because this is the domain of guides. And in some places, like Rome and Florence, the guides are watching like a hawk and will literally call the cops on your driver if they even see them giving you directions. (Yes, we know it sounds like over-the-top drama, but that’s Italy.)
While licensed guides do have profound knowledge and are authorized to enter tourist sites with you, they are very expensive. For this reason, our tours with a driver-guide are an optimum solution. They balance transportation with guiding as you go plus time on your own to explore, all at a more moderate rate.
There are certain instances in which a licensed guide is indispensable — when you want an in?depth tour inside the Colosseum or the Vatican Museums, for example. But for a tour that covers a lot of ground in a limited amount of time, it’s hard to beat the functional bundle of convenience, information, and freedom that you get with DriverInRome’s driver-guide formula.
Whether you are coming to Italy on a cruise or you’re staying in Rome or Florence or on the Amalfi Coast, our driver-guides would be pleased to show you around in air-conditioned comfort! We offer both private and shared transfers and tours. All private services are customizable.
