Italy in 14 days - Travel Tips

Want to see Italy but feel overwhelmed with how to make it all happen? Love a seamless yet “in the moment” type of trip? We’ve got you covered with all the lessons we learned along the way in our 14 day journey through Italy (some learned the hard way). This will be tips for the actual travel part, packing, & preparation. I’ll do another blog post on tips for when you’re actually there. Here we go!

Book a travel agent.

We used Pandy Hinson with TravelMation - her services are free for you, but are priceless. She’s been there/done that and can arrange pretty much every single detail. This saved so much time and headache. 

Book business class.

Especially if you’re going to fly a red-eye or basically anytime that could involve any amount of sleep. It’s cheaper than first class but pricier than economy. But the best parts - at least on our flights - were that you get TONS of leg room, ability to lay down, a real pillow & blanket, and amazing food/drinks. We flew Lufthansa into Frankfurt from RDU, then Frankfurt to Venice. 

Plan to see as many cities/towns as possible. 

We met lots of other travelers here who had only booked 1-2 cities and then regretted it. It’s a long flight, and not cheap - so make the most of it by doubling down on all the best places to see and go. We did Venice (included Dolomites) —> Florence (including Tuscany) —> Rome —> Sorrento (included Capri, Amalfi/Positano). Choose your own adventure!

Pre-book your transfers to/from airports, trains, and hotels. 

Best. Decision. Ever. It may be more costly but I’m telling you it’s worth every single penny. We saw so many frustrated travelers dragging luggage on nasty, cobblestone streets, up hills, in the heat. It looked completely miserable. Meanwhile, we rode in air conditioned Mercedes vans with a professional driver who met us at the airport, each time we checked out of a hotel, or arrived to another train station. He unloaded our bags and got us to the doorstep every time. WORTH IT.

Checked bag vs. Carry-On

This topic alone sparked so many comments on my Facebook post in the weeks prior to our trip - to carry-on only or to check a bag? The simple answer: don’t try to be a hero. Check the bag. Not because you can’t put your stuff in one carry-on. You definitely could (although it would be exceptionally difficult!!!!), but the biggest thing is… you’re in ITALY. You’ll want to buy things. Lots of things. Souvenirs, gifts, mementos (we brought home all our corks we used from our wine bottles, a champagne bottle, etc). Check. The. Bag. We tried to be carry-on people, with the exception of only 1 checked bag. It wasn’t enough. We ended up buying a big check-bag from a Samsonite store in Rome. LOL.

Skip packing the fancy clothes.

We thought - hey, we’ll be dining in Italy… we’ll need a sport coat (the hubby) and a few nicer dresses and some high heels. None of those EVER left their spots in the suitcases. Yes, you’ll want to dress nice here - the fashion is more than just casual. But not high heels & fancy dress kind of nice. More like pretty sun dress with fashionable sandals or espadrilles for the ladies & thinner (because it’s HOT here) Polo shirts and thinner chinos or nice shorts with Birkenstocks or loafers for the guys. 

Shoes. 

Here are the shoes you’ll need: very comfy tennis shoes (1 pair that goes with everything) & very cute but comfy sandals/Birks for the evenings. That’s it. Honestly. Sorrento is especially known for its handmade sandals & shoes, so you’ll end up probably buying a pair (or 3 in my case) while here. Otherwise, you’re going to be doing a LOT of walking. Like minimum of 10K steps per day - some days we got over 25K steps. I did not think this through and only brought a couple pairs of socks. Given that laundry is a challenge (more to come on that in the next blog post), I recommend bringing at least half of the days in numbers of pairs of socks. I learned the hard way & had to find a Nike store in Rome to stock up.

Sunscreen. Seriously.

I don’t know what it is about the sun in Italy, but everywhere I looked people’s shoulders, backs and faces were terribly sun-scorched and burned. Being that I specialize in skin health, I was more conscientious about sunscreen more than most and only got a mild sunburn on my back when I fell asleep without reapplying one time. However, one thing you’ll not think about and what got a ton of travelers in trouble: the walking through the city streets for hours. The sun is beating down on you. Here are the specifics that worked for us to avoid sunburn in Italy:

1. Apply sunscreen to your face, ears, neck, chest, shoulders, arms, legs, and feet before heading out for the day. 
2. Pack one regular size sunscreen - not travel size - in your checked bag. Pack one travel size one (or a travel size empty bottle to transfer some into) for your every day bag that you’ll have with you during the day to reapply every 2-3 hours. 
3. Reapply every 2-3 hours. Don’t skimp.
4. Wear a hat when possible. Make it stylish - you’re in Italy for goodness sake! ;)

Invest in a couple of good power banks for your phone.

For those who don’t know, power banks are portable phone chargers. You’ll be using your phone to navigate pretty much everywhere and this drains the battery. We used one made by Clutch most days due to their slim, lightweight design. On bigger days - when we were out for 8+ hours, we used a larger one by Anker.

Adaptors for your electronics

To charge any electronics or use any hair styling tools, you’ll need to bring an European adaptor. Take at least 3 - one for either of you to charge your phone and a 3rd for miscellaneous so you don’t have to keep unplugging the one for your phones. Some hotels did have regular US outlets, but don’t bank on it (most did not). 

Bring a sling bag or cross-body bag for your day-to-day meandering/tours.

We used it for our power banks, chapstick, sunscreen, etc. I can’t think of many times we went without at least one of us having a sling bag. 

Euros vs credit card payments

It’s best to exchange dollars for Euros from your local bank before you leave, best to do so 1 month before leaving (sometimes they have to order it). You can exchange at the airport or basically every couple of blocks while in Italy but the exchange fees are tremendous. Also, most take credit cards with the exception of Amex. Just let your CC company know you’re traveling internationally so they don’t flag your card the first time you try to use it (ask us how we know). They do also have a lot of ATMs. We didn’t take our debit card, but thankfully most of their ATMs accept “tap” function on your Wallet app, so maybe add your debit card and CC to that.

Travel Size vs Full Size Toiletries?

If you’re checking a bag (I recommend), go with full size of the items you’ll use a lot. For me, that was:

• Skincare
• Body lotion
• SPF

Travel-size for items otherwise:

• Shampoo / conditioner (but ONLY if you’re a shampoo snob like me, otherwise they provided us with those in the hotel)
• Body wash (I did run out of mine, but a full size would be too much… I would have been great with 2 travel size body washes… ended up using the hotel body wash and my skin paid for it)
• Toothpaste
• Hairspray
• Hair products (I love the tiny size Moroccan oil for traveling)

Washcloths - you may need them

Half of our hotels provided washcloths, but apparently that is not a common thing in Italy. For 1 of the hotels we didn’t get some from, we simply used the small towels allotted for the bidet (since we weren’t into that thing, lol). They do make travel washcloths that are small dry discs but when you wet them in the shower they become a thin disposable washcloth. We had brought some just in case, so used those in one hotel. Not my favorite option, but was useful. 

So those are our top recommendations for traveling to Italy. Next up, we’ll share what we learned while there so you can benefit! :)