Travel Tips for Travelers coming to Italy

Safety 1: Drink Lots of Water
When sightseeing, tourists never realize how much more walking they do then what they are usually accustomed to. From May until late September the temperatures are often quite hot and dry so it is particularly easy to dehydrate. This is equally true fro children and adults.  TOP

Safety 2 : Watch out for gypsies and pickpockets
The modern gypsies no longer wear the long colorful skirts that used to make them stand out in a crowd, making it more difficult to identify them. Today you will often see a group of 2-3 young women almost always carrying a baby or a cardboard with a request for money written on it. Beware of these tricks as often it is a fake arm that is holding the baby or cardboard while the real hand is picking your pocket. These pickpockets are often young children and in any case are often harmless although very capable – so beware.  TOP

Safety 3: Keep your money in various places.
It is always a good idea to split your money into two or more pockets and most importantly do not let one person be responsible for all your money. If this one person or one wallet gets pick pocketed it could really ruin your vacation. Try to limit the liability by using at least 2 wallets. Pickpockets will usually try to get only one item from a person. TOP

Comfort 1: Choose the right shoes
Together with 'drink plenty of water' this is perhaps the most important tip of all to guarantee an enjoyable visit to Italy. I do not know how many times I have seen miserable tourists (admittedly mostly women) complain about blisters sore feet. No matter how comfortable flip flops and sandals might be back home, only a good pair of walking shoes (i.e. sneakers) and socks will keep you going all day.

Remember many quaint and beautiful towns in Italy are located on hilltops that are closed off to traffic so count on walking every day. Other cities such as Rome are mostly paved with cobblestones and then there is Venice with its 400 plus bridges which there is no way of avoiding. TOP

Comfort 2: Dress for the occasion - Rules for Visiting Churches
Most of Italy's artistic patrimony is located within churches and the Vatican has guidelines on the dress code to observe when entering its churches. The main two rules are: 1) no bare shoulders and 2) no bare knees. Although many places are not too strict, there are some sites such as the Vatican Museums or St. Peter's Basilica, which will not let you in no matter how hot it is.

We recommend carrying a large scarf if you want to wear a sleeveless top and consider long trousers that can turn into shorts if it is particularly hot. Skirts are permitted as long as they are not too short (i.e. no mini skirts). TOP

Comfort 3: Public Restrooms
Public Restrooms (Toilets) are few and far apart. Take advantage of them whenever you have the chance. Coffeehouses and restaurants will often not allow you to use their facilities unless you purchase something and shops very often do not have restrooms for customers. TOP

Recreation 1: Make time for people watching
With so many cultural things to see in italy and time often being limited to one or two weeks, if that, we often see tourists go home happy but also slightly frustrated. The most common sentence is "I now feel like I need a vacation". Experience ha taught us that visitors to Italy do not plan any "downtime".

Italy is a country to experienced as well as visited. Make sure you find time to order a bottle of wine in a cafe (bar) and enjoy it while watching the world go by. Italians will do this while wearing a dark pair of shades so no one knows who they are scrutinizing. TOP

Recreation 2: Take advantage of summer festivals
There is hardly a city, town,village or resort in italy that does not host a summer festival between June and September. Italians love to be outdoors and many cinemas, clubs and theatres close in the Summer only to reopen in open air arenas.
The location of the events are not always in the city's main square but rather are often spread out in varios locations. Events will include concerts, plays, children's pantomimes, open air restaurants, cafes and cinemas. Most events are either free or carry a nominal fee and are a wonderful way to spend an enjoyable evening outdoors. TOP

Money 1 : Use ATM machines
There are ATM machines conveniently located in the entire country. This way you can limit the amount of cash you have on you at all time. Remem ber however to make sure your card and account are activated for foreign transactions. Call your bank to set this up BEFORE you come to Italy. Finally, do not forget to have all your PIN numbers with you. TOP

Money 2 : Tipping
If happy with a service you received showing your gratitude with a tip is customary. Aproximately 10% in restaurants and taxis is acceptable, while the tip amount for a good guide or driver is completely up to you. TOP