Your Trip to Italy Starts Here

When is the Best Time to Visit Italy?

That’s an easy question - visit Italy in either April to June, or September to mid-October. You’ll find the perfect combination of good weather and reasonable crowds during those times. My trip was in late September and it was pretty much perfect.

Summer is scorching hot and packed to the brim so I would try to avoid it. Winter can be cold and rainy with the added bonus of Cinque Terre being pretty much closed up since it’s a coastal town and a higher chance of Venice being flooded.

Wait a Second - Venice Floods?

Yes, Venice flooding is a way of life though in the past it was more annoying than vacation ruining. High tides have a lot to do with it, typically happening in November, December, and October, in that order. Add to this the impact of Global Warming and it’s a real problem - parts of Venice were 6 feet under water during the flood of 2019. So avoid going in months where historically there has been flooding.

How Safe is it to Travel in Italy?

Italy is very safe - actually safer than the US. The only thing you should be wary of is pickpockets at the typical locations like crowded metro trains or outside crowded train stations. Walking down the street at night, no problem. Just be smart - keep your wallet in your front pocket, don’t have expensive cameras hanging off your back on the train, wear your backpack on your front in crowds. I wore these shorts (and matching pants) with a secret zippered pocket to stash my cash and passport. It sounds nerdy but these are pretty cool shorts - I’m wearing them right now!

What about Covid-19?

Yes, that’s an issue for sure. I wrote this guide based on my experiences in a pre-Covid world. I am assuming that we will all get back to normal someday and that Italy returns to normal. However, no one knows that the future holds so do your research and be flexible - I’ll do my best to keep this guide up to date.

What Airport Do I Fly Into and Out Of?

For my trip I flew into Rome Fiumicino (FCO), the main international airport. I found it to be the cheapest to fly into with easy access to where I wanted to be - about 30 minutes to the main section of Rome, connected via train for around €14 or via taxi for around €50.

To fly home you can fly out of Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE). This gives you a nice itinerary with no backtracking to get home. We actually went to Paris after Venice via Easy Jet, their low cost (really low!) airline that’s a bit like Southwest Airlines in the US. It was significantly cheaper to fly back to the US from Paris so ooo-la-la, who doesn’t like a weekend in Paris?

Speaking of Airports, How Do I Get from Venice to the Venice Airport?

Good question. Venice is an island so you do need to plan ahead. Logically, you might think you would jump on the train but LOL, the train doesn’t go to the airport. Your options are:

1. Get yourself to the bus station which is near the train station. The buses run every 15 minutes and take 25 minutes to get there. Cost - currently €8. This is what we did and it was fine - don’t forget to validate your ticket on the bus.

2. Take the Water Bus: Perhaps a nicer way to end your vacation, though remember you’ll be schlepping your suitcases so your vacation frame of mind might already be over and morphed into a “get me to the airport on time” frame of mind. Boats run every 30 and take an hour and 10 minutes. Cost - currently €15. Here’s the water taxi site, a bit confusing but you’ll figure it out.

3. Hire a water taxi, around €130. Get picked up near your hotel, a big advantage, though a bit costly. If you have the bucks there is no better way to end your vacation.

How Much Does a Trip to Italy Cost?

I’ll leave airfare out of this equation as that will vary based on where you are coming from but shop around - flights vary a lot in price.

Hotels: We budgeted $225 per night and found plenty of options. We did a lot of price comparisons on the various booking sites but in the end used booking.com to keep everything in one place.

Transportation Between Cities via Train: Rome to Florence was around $50. Florence to Cinque Terre was around $80. Cinque Terre to Venice was around $50.

Meals: Breakfast was always pretty cheap - don’t expect a huge US style Grand Slam sort of breakfast. Figure €5 tops, per person, for a coffee and a pastry. Choosing hotels that include breakfast not only saves time but can be cost effective as well. For lunch we love street foods or more casual restaurants. With a beer or glass or wine, maybe €15 to €20 per person. Dinner was always a splurge, we probably spent around €40 per person but always got exactly what we wanted. So figure €65 per person for food, add another €15 for miscellaneous beer, Spritz, wine, or goodies (gelato) during the day. You can definitely go cheaper. I mean, for sure you can, we just really like food.

Don’t forget, you don’t have to tip your waiter, though a few euros at the end (no more than 10% max) is appreciated, though never expected. For small items like coffee or pastries, just round up and they will be appreciative.

Attractions: In Rome get the Roma Card for attractions - €52. You’ll want to book a tour for Vatican City - we used The Roman Guy - €60. In Florence we bought the Firenze Card - €85. Those are the big ones that will get you into the major attractions and skip the lines. Yes, skipping the lines is essential unless you like waiting sometimes for hours to get into the major attractions.

GEE, LET’S DO SOME MATH:

$225 for Hotel + $200 for food for two = $425 per person per day. If you did a 12 day trip your costs would be $5,100. Add the cost of transportation ($180) and cost of passes and tours (approx. $220 using current exchange rate of 1 euro = $1.09) and your total cost without airfare is around $5,500. Add $425 for each additional day you stay. You can spend less, you can spend more, but this is a good ballpark for your budgeting.

Do I Really Need to Visit All Those Museums and Churches?

I’m not even going to answer that. OK, I will. Yes, you do. It’s not because you goofed off in high school, it’s because this stuff is absolutely amazing. Download the Rick Steves free audio tours and it will make a lot more sense. We’re talking about the greatest art and architecture known to mankind. There’s plenty of time to get a beer later, Geez Louise.

What Should I Pack?

Pack as light as you can and keep it down to one suitcase, preferably one you can carry on. You can expect to be schlepping your suitcase from train station to hotel, over cobblestone streets, up and down stairs, running to catch the metro, you get the idea. Make sure your suitcase has good wheels and is in good shape because it’s going to take a beating.

Also, the airlines are very strict on size and weight. Easy Jet puts every suitcase to the test. Off a half inch, you pay to check your bag - and that includes the wheels so don’t cut it close. So use a small suitcase, pack light, and bring clothes you can wash out in a hotel bathtub or sink and hang to dry.

Despite what you might have heard about everyone dressing up in Italy, I found that not to be true in the cities we visited. Bring one nice outfit if you plan on going to a fancy dinner. Women will want to be able to cover their arms and legs for visiting churches or Vatican City - they’ll turn you away if too exposed and they’re serious about that. And bring good shoes. You will be walking a lot - we walked 5 miles a day on average - and the street surfaces vary from cobblestones to gravel to dirt.

From dirt trails to gravel walkways to brick and cobblestones, make sure your shoes can handle them all.

Do I Need Euros and How Do I Get Them?

Yes, you will need Euros. Many businesses do not accept anything but cash, including some hotels. Be prepared.

Before you leave home exchange a few hundred dollars into euros so you have some spending money the moment you land. Verify with your bank that you are traveling to Italy and make sure your debit card will work in a foreign ATM. Tip - when you insert your card into the ATM you will get the option for English so don’t worry if your Italian is limited. Tip 2: Bring a second ATM card because there is nothing worse than watching your card being swallowed up by a machine and wondering if it will spit it back out.

For credit cards bring a Visa or Mastercard. When you charge a meal they will bring the machine to your table and you will have the option of being charged in Euros or Dollars. Always choose Euros because if you don’t they will covert it to dollars and you have no idea what exchange rate they will give you but it is rarely to your advantage. Make that never.

As for tipping, the US standard 20% tip rule doesn’t apply in Italy. In fact, no tipping is required. This might seem odd at first, even uncomfortable, but it’s always OK to round up or leave a few Euros if the service was good. If the waiter asks you what tip you want to include, decline and say you will leave cash.

I Don’t Speak Italian. Do They Speak English?

For the most part, yes. Most people, especially those in the tourist areas, speak fluent English with an irresistible Italian accent. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know a few words in Italian such as hello, thank you, and phrases such as excuse me, I’m sorry, and where’s the bathroom?

I’ll leave it to you to do your own googling on essential Italian words and phrases. Learn it. They like it, you’ll feel more like you are on the “inside” versus being a dumb tourist, and you get more smiles and maybe even nicer service when you at least try. And make sure you download the google translator app. It reads and converts print to English (nice for menus) and you can speak into it and it will say it back in Italian, and vice versa. It’s not perfect but it will get you out of jams.

Can I Use My Phone There?

That will depend on your carrier so make sure you verify your data plan and the costs before you leave the US. You will want to be able to use your data plan for google maps when you are walking to destinations. Of course, there is WiFi at most hotels but that doesn’t help when you are lost in Venice. You can get a new SIM card once you arrive but that seemed like too much hassle for me. Just call your carrier and add international data to your plan.

Also, plan for the worse and make sure your phone is backed up and has a good password lock just in case you lose it or it is stolen. I always made sure I was on WiFi when I got back to the hotel so my photos would back up to the cloud.

BEFORE YOU ARRIVE: In the US if you have an address you can find your hotel. In Italy some of our hotels, legit, real hotels, were just a door downstairs in a building that you buzzed to be let in. I strongly recommend you go to google maps, street view, and save a photo of the front of your hotel and landmarks beside it so you recognize it when you arrive. The photo above was our hotel in Florence. You could easily walk past that door a dozen times if you were looking for an actual hotel facade.