Planning 1st Trip to Italy - HELP!

Thanks for the update. Sept. is probably are first choice anyways. For my husband, he likes to wear shorts when its hot and I see that it may not be proper in a lot of the cities visited!? Would you recommend light weight pants instead for a majority of the trip? As I had mentioned, this is our first time to Europe, we usually travel to tropical island destinations.

Laura,

I'd highly recommend visiting Italy in September if possible. August is often hot and crowded, and many Italians take their holidays then also so some tourist facilities may be closed.

As Steve mentioned, can't help with the question on shoes. I prefer to travel with only ONE pair of good quality walking shoes. I took two pairs on the last trip, but found that wasn't really necessary.

Happy travels!

Ah, the old shorts debate!! There should be 100 replies in this thread pretty soon...

Europeans, in general, don't wear shorts except in beach areas. So Sorrento, yes, Rome, no -- that's the standard advice. However there ARE europeans that wear shorts, and when its 90F outside I'd rather be comfortable than correct.

Hi! I agree with traveling in September. Better weather and better crowds = better trip all around. I think you can easily get away with the shoes you've suggested. Personally, I didn't even bring dress shoes as we didn't venture into any places where they'd be necessary, but I brought sandals and more comfortable leather shoes (not sneakers). That part is more up to your style and discretion though. Comfort does play a huge role, though, since you'll be walking quite a bit, and the cobblestones are pretty brutal at times.

Laura, my daughter and I wear Teva Sandals. Ours are 5 years old now and no sign of breakage or breakdown. The sandal has sort of a cushioned feel. Normally, my feet will hurt after a few miles of walking and my daughter has horrible feet. Both of us can walk all day in these sandals with foot pain.

I wear short cushioned running/jogging socks with mine as I don't want dust or dirt on my feet.

Another reason we like ours is because we can walk in the rain and no problems.

This is the pair similiar to ours:

http://www.teva.com/ProductDetails.aspx?g=w&productID=6021&model=Open%20Toachi

Here are other models:
http://www.teva.com/productslist.aspx?g=w&categoryid=425&page=1

Without foot pain.

Laura,

"Would you recommend light weight pants instead for a majority of the trip?"

It's difficult to recommend clothing choices for others, however I don't wear shorts so that's not something I would advocate. I use Tilley travel clothing extensively during travel, as it's comfortable, durable and mostly designed for washing in a hotel room sink.

You might enjoy reading Rick's thoughts on the subject.

As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door, as that will provide a lot of the information you'll need.

Cheers!

Just returned from Spain and Portugal and saw many more men than usual who appeared to be locals wearing shorts. We had temperatures in the 30's Centigrade during the first week.I was comfortable in my REI long pants which wear well when you only travel with a carryon. Audrey brought two pairs for walking but one was good for "business casual" dress. As a veteran traveler, we asked several questions before heading for Italy last year and this list was a huge help... so after you read Through the back Door, try us on other subjects. George, Pittsburgh