Italy
One of the largest and most populous European country with a long coastline on the Mediterranean sea, Italy is one of the most significant tourist destinations in the world. Thousands of visitors flock various parts of the country throughout the year. From the Tuscan wine county to legendary canals in Venice, from the ruins in Pompeii to upscale quaint towns in the Amalfi coast, and historic sites dating back to the millennia before Christ, Italy has something for everyone.
We begin by focusing on a small sample of locations below with some fundamental ‘things to know’ to make your trip memorable and hassle-free.
Suggested Itinerary
Italy |
Suggested Itinerary |
| Duration 10 days | |
| Rome | Day 1 – Arrive at FCO, relax and sight-seeing in Rome |
| Rome | Day 2 – All day in Rome |
| Rome | Day 3 – Vatican City and others in Rome |
| Rome | Day 4 – All day in Rome |
| Naples | Day 5 – Travel to Naples/Napoli, sight-seeing in Napoli |
| Pompeii | Day 6 – Day trip to Pompeii and Visuveous |
| Positano | Day 7 – Travel to Positano (Amalfi Coast), all day in Positano |
| Rome | Day 8 – Travel back to Rome |
| Rome | Day 9 – All day in Rome |
| Return Home | Day 10 – Return trip back home |
Essential Italy Trip Guidelines
- Visa: For visitors requiring a Schengen Visa (Check here if you need one), apply through the country you will be entering the Schengen area, or the country where you will spend most of your time while in the area. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to us or visit our FAQ page dedicated to visa requirements based on our learnings.
- Language: For the most parts of Italy, you will not need to know any Italian. But if you venture out into the rural areas for a real Italian treat, knowing basics would be good, although most people would understand English.
- Currency: Most places in our experience these days accept credit cards, but carry some currency bills to your comfort. We have found local ATMs using your home country debit cards to offer the best foreign exchange rates. Check with your home country bank to see which banks in Italy offer zero service charge for overseas ATM usage.
- Theft Protection: Please remember that most public and touristy spots, especially in Rome and Napoli, there are pickpockets. They have fairly advanced methods of stealing from casual tourists. So follow the below sets of instructions in order to protect your valuables and ensure a stress free vacation –
- Cash – Do not carry a lot of cash in your pocket or wallets. Distribute a bit with fellow travelers or in multiple pockets.
- Cards – Have a handy list of phone numbers for each of the credit cards you are carrying, just in case of lost/stolen card.
- Hidden carrying belts – We have used these kinds of money belts (click here for an Amazon product description) in several trips with theft risk.
- Getting Around: Italy is fairly well connected via public transport (e.g. subways in Rome, intercity fast trains and SITA buses). Walking is the best option in most cases, although we have used Ubers/Taxis frequently. Renting cars are viable options but often they get expensive due to insurances and demand. Google Maps is fairly precise these days, and you can download offline maps too if using an Android device.
- Staying Connected: In this day and age of smartphones and wifi everywhere, it makes more sense to be prepared to use some cool smartphone apps for virtual tour guides and getting around Italy. We highly recommend the following apps in your smartphone artillery for a memorable Italy trip without creating heavy dents in your budget.
- Tripadvisor (TRIB) not only allows you to do research before leaving, you can download offline maps of major cities and navigate without using data. We have found good recommendations for food, drinks and everything else here.
- Yelp is not as robust as in the US, but still it is catching up on the restaurants and bars space.
- Foursquare is an useful tool to check in and keep track of places you have been to. We have used it to identify some of the lesser known places/POIs on our random walks around the world cities.
- eTips Tour guides for iOS – we found it incredibly helpful in navigating through the major attractions. In most cases, the itineraries are not that useful but a brief narrative on history and culture made visiting these attractions enjoyable. In some cases cool features like augmented reality will blow your mind, but we found it still to be at a very nascent stage.
- WeTap supports a cool environment friendly initiative, especially in Rome where drinking water is easily available from fountains. All you need is a water bottle and fill up as you walk around. WeTap app can help you find locations of ~2500 water fountains across the city.