My husband, Chris, and I just returned from 10 glorious days in Italy. Our daughter, Sadie, is doing a 6-week study abroad program in Florence, and while we wouldn’t normally travel to Europe during high tourist season – especially during a heat wave – we felt like visiting Sadie in Italy was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Flying into Rome was the most budget-friendly flight option in the general vicinity of Florence. Chris and I had never been, so we were excited to explore that great city, then head to Florence, where Sadie is staying. The Biennale is also happening in Venice, so you know, we had to do that too.
We were pretty well-prepared, but we learned a few things – and made a couple of mistakes too – so I thought we’d share it all with you.
Bring SPF That Travels Well
If you’re not checking bags, you need to be strategic about your SPF.
We brought ABIB Sunsticks ($15.92, Amazon), which are solid K-Beauty sunscreens, kind of like clear deodorant sticks. I’ve raved about these sticks before (and am happy to do so again!). They glide onto the skin so easily, they provide moisture and really stay put. We also brought the Vacation Super Spritz, SPF 50 Face Mist ($24, Amazon) for the first time, which was a success. Both products are SPF 50, water-resistant for 80 minutes, and TSA-approved. The portable size also makes them easy to carry and reapply throughout the day. Many SPF’s make Chris’s eyes burn, but he had no issues with either of these.
Carry a Small, Refillable Water Bottle
An insulated water bottle is a must, but be careful about the size because some museums have restrictions.
My RTIC Little Journeys 12oz. Stainless Steel Water Bottle ($14.39 and up, Amazon) is made for little kids, so it’s small enough not to raise red flags at museums with strict policies on big water bottles. 16oz seems to be the max, so you could go that large. The insulated bottle keeps water cold and has a handle that can be clipped to a carabiner for hands-free transport. Italy is great about providing water spigots in their cities, but if your destination isn’t, you can fill up at bathroom sinks, where water is potable.
Pack Wipes (you’ll be glad you did)
I always travel with wipes because I like to freshen up during/after a long flight, but they really came in handy on this trip because we arrived at our Airbnb in Florence during a neighborhood-wide water outage. This, after a day of hiking around Bosco Santo Monster Sculpture Park, swimming and sunning at Bolsena Beach, and the long round-trip walk to Civita di Bagnoregio, aka The Dying City—all in 90+ degree weather. You can imagine how badly we needed showers, but alas, there was no water.
I really like the Good Wipes brand, and ideal for this purpose, there are Goodwipes Body Wipes, Really Big for All Over ($12.99, Amazon), Which are super-sized for a full-body wipe-down.
When Choosing Accommodations
Think very carefully about your laundry needs. If you’re traveling for several days and the weather is hot, look for a hotel with laundry service or a vacation rental with a washer so you can wash your clothes during your trip. The last thing you want to do is spend precious hours during your trip waiting around at a laundromat.
Detergent at vacation rentals isn’t always provided, so I suggest traveling with portable detergent. Rather than worrying about the TSA allowance for liquids, consider sheets, like Kind Laundry Sheets ($15.99, Amazon), which are TSA-approved and barely take up any space.
Book a Tour
Whether or not you’re “tour people,” a tour can be a lifesaver when you’re traveling in high season. Especially in cities with popular sites, like The Colosseum in Rome, a tour can ensure that you avoid long lines. We booked a Colosseum Tour with a highly-rated
TripAdvisor tour provider* where we saw the sites and learned some history without baking in long lines. I like TripAdvisor because you can read reviews and get a real sense for the providers. There are lots of different options for tour length, group size, and more.
Renting a Car (aka, our big mistake)
We all make mistakes when we travel, and some are more serious than others. Our big one was not getting an international driving permit for Italy. We have rented and driven in many countries, but had never encountered the need for a permit. Turns out permits are only required in a handful of countries, including Spain, Austria, Greece, Japan, Australia, and of course, Italy.
Had DiscoverCars.com, the rental car aggregator we booked with, alerted us to this, we certainly would have applied for one. After doing a little digging, I found a reference to an international driving permit on page 8 of 10 in the agreement from the rental car provider. I guess it goes to show you that no matter how many cars you have rented and how many countries you have driven in, it’s on you to research each country’s requirements.
In Italy, you need a paper copy of the international driving permit, which you can get the same day in the US at a AAA office (you can have the required passport-style photos taken there, too) or in about 15 days by mail, where you are required to include passport-style photos.
Because we lacked the permit, we were turned away at the rental car window and had to forfeit our $275 booking.
Eventually DiscoverCars credited us 67.06 Euros plus 83.04 Euros in booking credit for use on a future booking, “as a gesture of goodwill.” We will NEVER rent with them again, so the credit is meaningless. Thankfully, we ended up finding a rental car provider willing to rent to us without the permit (with many scary warnings of egregious fines and fees if we were to have an incident with the car). For this privilege, we paid a premium rate of almost $800 for a weeklong rental, vs. the original $275. But remember that the trains are great in Europe. While you don’t have the freedom to stop at places in between cities, as you do with a car, you could easily plan a fabulous itinerary using trains only.
GPS
GPS can be a bit unreliable in Italy.
If you do decide to drive, we found that the street view map in the app was more accurate than the pop-up window, and sometimes the verbal instructions were inaccurate, especially on roundabouts. Focus on the street view map and try to ignore the other stuff.
And when you’re walking around Venice, which has no cars, you will see lots of tourists looking confused at their phones. Follow the street view. And if your traveling companion can also use their phone, you might find that you have better luck with Apple Maps or Google Maps, or vice versa.
Luggage
Just a reminder to read the luggage allowance with your airline. We flew Norse Airlines, and because of their hefty baggage fees, we were too busy focusing on avoiding checking a bag that we didn’t notice that carry-on rollaboards had a weight limit of 22 lbs. And that the “personal item” size was about half of what we were accustomed to.
We weren’t the only ones. So many people in the check-in line had to shift things about, and we – and so many others – ended up having to check a bag after all. This would have been unavoidable because we packed as light as we could, but it probably would have been more budget-friendly to purchase tickets at the next level up and get a “free” checked bag.
And I do this for a living – shame on me!
*TripAdvisor hosted our Colosseum tour.
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