Coming and Going

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TOURIST TRAPS

Italy Driving Alert

Unpleasant surprises postmarked from Italy showed up in the mailbox of Jerome Shapiro of the District after his return home from a trip to Florence. First came a $150 traffic ticket , with a warning that the fine would double if he didn't pay within 60 days; then came a second ticket .

But he'd never been stopped by police. Turns out his rental car had been photographed by automatic cameras as he drove through a ZTL, or Zona Traffico Limitato. His is not an isolated incident, judging from complaints in Internet chat rooms.

The Italian Embassy, in an e-mail, explained to CoGo that a ZTL usually covers the historic center of an Italian city and that you need a special permit to drive through at any time or, in some cases, during certain hours. Watch carefully for signs announcing a Zona Traffico Limitato, particularly when approaching a town square. If no times are listed, the zone is restricted at all times. Otherwise, times will be listed; "08,00-20,00," for example, means you can't drive through without a permit from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. If the sign has a symbol of crossed hammers, you can drive through on Sundays.

But what if your hotel is within a ZTL? You can drive to the hotel, but ask the receptionist to register your license with the police. Check later to make sure that was actually done.

Even though you'll be thousands of miles from the scene of the crime by the time you realize you've been caught, not paying is not an option. If you don't pay, traffic enforcers will go after the rental car agency, and it will pay the fine for you, using the credit card number you gave-- and perhaps adding a fee for the trouble.

UPRIGHT AND LOCKED

Ready for Your Close-Up?

Frequent travelers who paid $128 to enroll in Verified Identity Pass's Clear program can now get their irises scanned at Washington Dulles and Reagan National airports. Sixteen U.S. airports, including LaGuardia, Denver and San Francisco, now use the speeded-up security lanes. Preapproved passengers insert their Clear cards at special kiosks, then have either their finger pad or iris scanned for ID verification. They still have to go through security checkpoints, but special "concierges" help them with their bags, fetching bins and grabbing shoes and coats. The main advantage, Verified Identity Pass says, is time saved at security: about 20 minutes on average.

What really captures CoGo's attention, though, are the cool new technologies in the works . In future months, VIP says, it hopes to introduce shoe scanners, self-check baggage equipment and scanners for liquids. CoGo might pay $128 a year just for the privilege of keeping our shoes on.

At the DCA launch last week, VIP chief executive Steven Brill touted the advantage of more "predictable" airport experiences: No more wondering if the wait at security will be 30 minutes or three. He also equated the program with E-ZPass for highway tolls, saying that all travelers will benefit from registered travelers' getting siphoned off into separate lanes.

Details: http://www.flyclear.com.

RESORT WATCH

Virus Closes Couples

Norovirus , an intense and virulent gastrointestinal illness known to strike cruise ship passengers, has branched out: Couples Ocho Rios, an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica, was closed earlier this month after an outbreak there. The upscale resort had been scheduled to close April 1 for renovations, so it will remain closed through March. Guests have been relocated to other properties and are being offered a free two-night return for 2009.

Although norovirus outbreaks at all-inclusive resorts are not unheard of (outbreaks were reported at a couple of Dominican Republic properties in 2005 and 2007), anecdotal evidence indicates that resort closures are rare. (The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn't track norovirus outbreaks on Caribbean islands.)

CoGo's advice: Wash your hands frequently , and go for the fresh trays at the buffet table.

TRAVEL TICKER

Air Greenland will no longer fly nonstop between Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport and Greenland. The service, inaugurated last summer, had been slated to restart June 26 for the summer. Passengers holding tickets can choose a refund or rerouting via Iceland. . . . Delta Air Lines last week announced that Hawaiian Airlines is its newest partner , meaning the airlines have reciprocal agreements for earning and redeeming frequent-flier miles. Hawaiian Airlines flies among the islands and offers nonstop service between Honolulu and Sydney and, beginning next month, between Honolulu and Manila. . . . China is preventing tourists from traveling to Tibet, and the U.S. State Department is urging travelers already in the region and stuck in Lhasa to seek haven in hotels and stay indoors. Chinese authorities began a crackdown last week after protests against Chinese rule turned violent. Details: http://www.travel.state.gov.

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK

No, Not That Melbourne

Book a flight on USA 3000 and receive a discount of $10 each way. USA 3000 flies from BWI to Melbourne, Fla., Bermuda and several destinations in the Caribbean. After the discount, for example, nonstop flights to Melbourne start at $127 round trip, including $28 in taxes; connecting service on other airlines starts at $211. Travel April 1-June 13; book by March 24 at http://www.usa3000.com and request promo code GREEN.

Reporting: Cindy Loose, Christina Talcott, Carol Sottili

Help feed CoGo. Send travel news, road reports and juicy tattles to cogo@washpost.com.