Please talk to me about a vacation to Italy

[mahna2022]

Something that hasn't been mentioned: most AirBnbs in Europe will not have elevators and will not be on the ground floor. You'll have to bring your luggage up many flights of stairs on your own. If you're in a smaller town or the countryside, you will absolutely need a car to do anything, whether it's see sites or go to a restaurant. And as others have mentioned, AirBnb isn't always the most ethical, as it takes jobs away from locals and hikes housing costs for them, too. I adore Italy, having been several times - and all over the country. It's an incredible place, full of history and beauty. But if you haven't been out of the US a lot, you need to re-adjust your ideas of what a trip looks like in order to make it enjoyable.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

Something that hasn't been mentioned: most AirBnbs in Europe will not have elevators and will not be on the ground floor. You'll have to bring your luggage up many flights of stairs on your own. If you're in a smaller town or the countryside, you will absolutely need a car to do anything, whether it's see sites or go to a restaurant. And as others have mentioned, AirBnb isn't always the most ethical, as it takes jobs away from locals and hikes housing costs for them, too. I adore Italy, having been several times - and all over the country. It's an incredible place, full of history and beauty. But if you haven't been out of the US a lot, you need to re-adjust your ideas of what a trip looks like in order to make it enjoyable.

^^ 100%

Also some hotels may not have lifts (elevators) Many hotels in many European countries are not purpose built buildings. Our cities are hundreds of years old and down through the centuries buildings are repurposed and refurbed and modernized. However, modernization could mean they were last updated 30, 40 or 50 years ago. These hotels are often in the best locations and can be in all sorts of budgets from high end to budget.

 

[mahna2022]

^^ 100%

Also some hotels may not have lifts (elevators) Many hotels in many European countries are not purpose built buildings. Our cities are hundreds of years old and down through the centuries buildings are repurposed and refurbed and modernized. However, modernization could mean they were last updated 30, 40 or 50 years ago. These hotels are often in the best locations and can be in all sorts of budgets from high end to budget.

Agree! I once stayed at a beautiful boutique hotel in Paris that was in converted buildings. The elevator could not fit luggage, so the attendants had to bring it up the stairs for each guest.

 

[rigs32]

Some quick thoughts:

Get an esim to give your cell phone data for your trip. Google maps can get you anywhere and give you public transportation directions. It made getting around so easy. Plus I could always search for a top rated gelato spot.

I *loved* Venice at night. I hated Venice during the day while it was full of thousands of cruise ship passengers. Thankfully, we were there for 2 nights and 1 day. Locals were so friendly - even those with little to no English - because we were staying on the island and exploring more local places rather than just the tourist highlights.

If you want to go to the Cinque Terre, we saved a lot of money by staying in La Spezia and using the train to visit the villages. We bought one trip tickets on day 1 to go to the village we wanted to spend the most time in. Then we did a day pass for the second day to visit the rest. We had excellent meals that were a fraction of the price as the tourist spots in the villages, but we'd had amazing views all day and were fine without one for dinner.

Aperitivo spots - you buy a drink and get a lovely dinner buffet for free. We went to 2 in Rome.

You can take a tour that goes UNDER the Vatican. It was a highlight of our trip. Back in 2018, you had to fax a request and they would email you back. I believe that it's now online.

If you can handle the climb to the top of the Duomo in Florence, the views are amazing. We booked a spot towards the end of the day so the sun was starting to go down before it closed. The photos we have from up there are outstanding.

 

[AustinTink]

We went to Rome and Florence in January. The weather was perfect. Mid-to-high 50s and sunny during the day and high 40s at night. Great sightseeing weather, in my opinion.

January is very low season. We were so fortunate to see everything on our list with almost no crowds. We were able to take our time everywhere and didn’t have to move through the masses like cattle.

We flew into Rome from Barcelona and took the train to Florence and back. Easier to fly home from Rome.

 

[AnnaS]

Not much help......

Many years ago we took an 11 N. Med cruise (DCL). It really gives you a taste of the major cities (mostly Italy and France). Loved it!! My late husband and I are from Sicily (one of the ports was my city).

We thought we would go back not long after. We finally made the trip two years ago mid September for a little over two weeks. We wanted to go to our hometowns and explore some other towns in Sicily. We stayed at a B&B in my hometown which was recommended from my cousin. Awesome (need car)/great breakfast. One flight up. AC okay but we did have control over it. Many places say they have it and then you don't/it's turned off/only one bedroom has it, etc. etc.. Hotels are more consistent with this. Crowds were not bad at all. It was still hot!!!!

My husbands hometown we stayed in town oceanfront Hotel. Great AC. Great breakfast/brunch. We could walk to all the restaurants. If you do not rent a car, this is important or you will be walking forever. You can also hire a driver.

We did rent a car. It helps in the small towns. We did some touring on our own but I was lucky to have my cousin take us to some touristy places which were awesome.

I would not go during the summer months. I had international plan on my phone but used Face Time or WhatsAp. No charge for this).

Try to follow/use some tour trips as a guide. You can more or less do a similar trip on your own.

I would definitely recommend hotels or B&B for your first stay.

Get some Euros before leaving. Airfare will be your biggest expense.

Limit your stops. Stay long enough in one, two or three places tops to enjoy the area around it/within an hour's drive. We were going to add a third stop but glad we did not since it would not have been as relaxing. We planned on going back within two years.......but life changed as soon as we got back.

I want to go back someday soon. I wish we had not waited so long.

Happy planning!! Do it!

Happy planning.

 

[Moliphino]

If you can handle the climb to the top of the Duomo in Florence, the views are amazing. We booked a spot towards the end of the day so the sun was starting to go down before it closed. The photos we have from up there are outstanding.

It is a pretty tough climb in parts, though, and gets pretty claustrophobic. There are videos on YouTube where you can get a good idea and try to judge if it's doable for you. The bell tower is a little easier, but still quite a climb.

The duomo in Milan has elevators. Highly recommend going up there. The bell tower in Venice also has elevators.

 

[jimmymc]

Something that hasn't been mentioned: most AirBnbs in Europe will not have elevators and will not be on the ground floor. You'll have to bring your luggage up many flights of stairs on your own. If you're in a smaller town or the countryside, you will absolutely need a car to do anything, whether it's see sites or go to a restaurant. And as others have mentioned, AirBnb isn't always the most ethical, as it takes jobs away from locals and hikes housing costs for them, too. I adore Italy, having been several times - and all over the country. It's an incredible place, full of history and beauty. But if you haven't been out of the US a lot, you need to re-adjust your ideas of what a trip looks like in order to make it enjoyable.

Flashbacks to carrying my suitcase up to the 6th floor Paris apartment.

Still worth it to stay in the middle of the city for cheap, but a lot of work the first and last day.

 

[KarenB]

I admire your stamina if you can do all that stuff. Especially that sleeping in a different place every night. when I was 67 I went on a month long trip that culminated with a 10 day TransAtlantic Cruise back to Fort Lauderdale. I understand the desire to visit the area. Our trip included days in Paris, Venice and Rome. However, we rented apartments, (AirB&B), in Paris and Rome. There are a lot of places and things to see in Italy and found that having a base location in those cities gave us additional time to see things. Especially in Rome. There is a lot of different places and they are not bunched together so moving to a new location daily will take up a lot of your day that could be used to see the famous places in Rome or the surrounding day trip places like Pompeii.

Of course the choice is yours, just don't underestimate the amount of movement, walking and luggage handling that is required with a trip like that.

Thanks, but we want to avoid a new place every night. We plan to pick about three areas and stay a few days in each.

 

[KarenB]

Thanks everyone! For now, we are watching YouTube videos, looking at itineraries from group tours, talking to a variety of people, and watching Stanley Tucci all while looking at the map we bought! You have all been extremely helpful and already mentioned things we did not think about. Thanks again!

 

[goofyernmost]

Thanks, but we want to avoid a new place every night. We plan to pick about three areas and stay a few days in each.

Sorry, I must have misread your post, because I thought you said you wanted to stay in a different place every night and that seemed exhausting to me. The good thing is we do agree about it. Whatever you decide to do overall, have a good, fun and safe trip. Personally, the thing I like the best were the trains in Europe. They were the most fun and different than the US in equipment and quantity.

 

[GAN]

DH and I, both in our mid 60s, are thinking about our next major vacation for 2026. We have explored a lot of the US, and still have a few places we would like to see. However, we have been thinking about the idea of visiting Italy. We are flexible for our dates, looking at 10 days to two weeks, have never traveled to another country besides Canada.I listed a few things we want, and don’t want, if anyone has any input!

Wants:
Of course fresh, local food
A local coffee experience and how to enjoy it the way Italians do during the trip
Some physical activity/ hikes/ etc
A few tourist “must see” places
Safety
VRBO or Air B&B over hotels for a few days at a time before moving on
Public transportation
Smaller towns over major cities

Avoid:
Lots of crowds
Part of a Group tour the entire time
More pasta than beef or red meat
A different place to stay every night
Renting a car if possible

Thanks for any ideas. We have no idea where to begin, however we do know we can’t to it all. I’ll admit, we are very naive to the European travel. Oh and for a budget…. No idea but would want to have everything for $10,000 or less?

Karen

First of all, it sounds like you’re “independent” travelers …that’s great. If you’re comfortable handling your bags(pack LIGHT), interacting with locals, don’t stress when things go wrong -then you’ll have a great trip. Otherwise, look for a tour of some kind. I would start watching some travel vlogs of Italy -as others said, Rome and Florence/Tuscany should be a focus. That’s easily 7-10 days. Depending on how adventurous you are, you can rent a car(most likely a manual) on the outskirts of Rome and make the trip up to Tuscany… driving isn’t that bad. In fact, it’s gorgeous in Tuscany! With a car, there are some great agriturismo’s in Tuscany that are VERY reasonable (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_R...Canto_del_Sole-Monteroni_d_Arbia_Tuscany.html) -from this region all of Tuscany including Siena is easily within reach. Believe me, for $150 per night this place(as an example) is wonderful, run by a local family -there are many places similar as well. Then you can move up to Florence and spend 3/4 days in the city. The most important piece of advise I can give… learn the basics of the Italian language! Any effort will be repaid tenfold by locals -without that, they will not be as helpful. Buon viaggio!