Italy is one of my favorite countries in Europe to visit but it can be intimidating to plan your first trip to Italy. From picking which cities to visit for restaurants and tours, it can be a lot for a first-time visitor. After many visits to both Europe and Italy, these are my top tips that you should know. While this is not an exhaustive list of Italy travel tips, these are a good starting place.
- Traveling Light
If you’re touring around Italy you are likely going to be traveling by trains, taxis, and even public transport. Hauling multiple bags around public transport in Italy is not fun.You won’t find as many elevators and will have to carry your bag up and down stairs at some point. Make your life easier by packing carry on only. If you can’t travel to Italy with just a carry on, try just having one rolling bag. Make sure you’re able to lift your bag too! If you are worried about being able to travel home with souvenirs, I always bring a collapsible duffel bag. I will then check my rolling bag on my flight home and use the duffel bag as my carry on.
I always use packing cubes to organize my suitcase and fit more clothing in. Rolling your clothes really helps to maximize your luggage space too. You likely need fewer items of clothing for Italy than you think. I make sure that I can easily mix and match the items I pack so I can make different outfits. You will want to make sure you have a cardigan or something to throw over sleeveless shirts, as you’ll want to cover your shoulders when going into churches in Italy.
Make sure your shoes are well broken in. You’ll be walking a lot while in Italy and the last thing you want are blisters or sore feet. I always pack 3 pairs of shoes, a walking sandal that I can pair with dresses and pants, a sneaker for heavy walking days, and a cute pair of flats or wedges if I am planning on a lot of nice dinners.
- Book train tickets in advance
My preferred method of travel in Italy is by train. The fast trains make it very easy to get from Venice to Rome or Rome to Florence. For long distance trains and fast trains such as Rome to Florence you will save a lot of money by booking these online as early as you can. I prefer Italo trains for long distance travel.
- Reserving your tickets for Museums
Italy is a very popular destination, especially in the summer. It’s essential that you book museum tickets in advance. Standing outside for 2 hours in the summer to get inside the colosseum probably isn’t high on your to-do list for your trip to Italy. Make a list of the must visit museums and reserve a time in advance. If you can’t get a reservation, arrive first thing in the morning. The early bird gets the worm!
- Don’t plan too much
It’s tempting to try to see all of Italy in a 10 day trip especially when most Americans don’t have a lot of vacation time. If you are only spending 1 night in each place you are just going to come home from your vacation exhausted. Instead of trying to visit Rome, Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre, and Sicily all in one trip, pick 2 or 3 places to visit. Venice, Florence and Rome is perfect for a 10 day trip. Don’t forget you can do a lot of day trips from a city like Florence, instead of spending 1 night in Tuscany, you can easily do a full day trip from Florence. Just make sure you give yourself time to just meander, the highlight of any trip to Italy is to have down time to just walk and explore.
- Consider booking an open jaw ticket.
Open jaw tickets are where you fly into one city but out of another. Open jaw tickets can save you time and money. Sometimes they are the same exact price as a round trip ticket. For example flying into Milan but out of Rome. You will save yourself time and money by not having to backtrack.
- Don’t forget about Jetlag.
If you’re flying overnight into Italy you’ll probably end up getting jet lag. The sooner you can acclimate to the new time zone the better. If you can stay up until after dinner the first day it’s a lot easier! I suggest scheduling just one activity or museum the first day followed by an early dinner reservation.
- Tipping
In Italy tipping generally means rounding up your bill or leaving a few euros on top of the bill. There is no need to tip 18-20% in Italy. A lot of restaurants in Italy have what is called a coperto charge. This is typically around 1-3 euros and is basically a cover charge for your table linens, bread, etc. This isn’t the same thing as a tip so still round up your bill.
- Don’t forget your power adapter
Make sure to pack a travel adapter and make sure your items are dual voltage so that they work in Italy. Your electronics typically are dual voltage but most hair dryers are not. A travel adapter allows you to use your American plugs into the European outlets. I also pack a travel extension cord that has USB plugs so I can charge my phone, camera and external battery pack all at one time.
- Renting a car in Italy? Beware of speed cameras
If you’re driving around Italy make sure you are traveling the speed limit and looking for signs for speed cameras. If you’re using Google maps, it will usually tell you where they are. You can really rack up a bill with tickets so it’s best to drive the speed limit. I speak from experience! There is nothing worse than coming home from an amazing time in Italy and seeing $500 in speeding tickets charged to your credit card.
- Love photos? Consider booking a photographer for an hour.
One of my favorite things to do is book a photographer to take pictures of me in the places I visit. I usually book these through airbnb experiences and they generally aren’t too expensive. If you’re solo traveling this is a great way to make sure you get the pretty photos you want in Rome or Cinque Terre.
Hopefully, these tips are a good place to start when planning your first trip to Italy! If you need more guidance with planning your dream vacation to Italy, or anywhere, we offer travel consultations to help make the most of your time. You can check out our travel planning services here
