Advice for new 2-month travelers

Kaeleku, you’ve brought up a great point! I’ve always been a very thorough pre-planner with lodging reservations, etc. locked in way ahead of time. But since we wouldn’t be traveling during high season, we could have much more flexibility for which city to stay, depending on the weather for that next week. Excellent! I can pick out some examples of lodging in the next few weeks and track them close to March this year to see what remains available if we decided to go with one or two weeks per city.

This sounds even more spontaneous & exciting now - thanks!

My husband and I decided to spend the month of October in Venice after we retired in 2013. We added on time in London and the Dolomites on the front end, so the entire trip was six weeks. We both really like staying in one place for a month, rather than constantly moving around every week or so. We did do a short two-night overnight trip to Orvieto and Ravenna, but otherwise we stayed close to “home” and thoroughly explored Venice. We liked having a routine and being recognized and greeted by the people in the neighborhood bar and the market.

Two years later we did the same in London, but we wanted a bigger apartment (two bedrooms) so we could invite family and friends to stay with us. We could only afford three weeks, not a full month, as the place we really liked did not offer a discount for a full month stay. (The place in Venice did offer us a 20% discount for a full month stay).

My husband is seriously studying Italian and we plan to go back for a winter visit sometime. For that we will probably do the ‘one week here, one week there” plan, but I know from experience that 3 weeks is the maximum for that type of travel for us. I am now looking at home exchange possibilities so where we go may depend on what we can arrange, but Sicily is high on the list.

My husband and I have spent a total of at least two months south of Rome (on different trips): a week in Naples itself, a few days seeing Pompeii and Herculaneum, a few days in Matera, a week in the rest of Campania except for the Amalfi Coast (which does not appeal to us), a week in Sicily, one day and night in Molise, and the rest of the time in Puglia. We could easily spend that much time in the south again since there was plenty more to see and do.

I'd recommend March and April or October and November.

Yes, pack light and get apartments with a washing machine. A few places even have an actual dryer.

Stay a week or two in each place and take day trips, so maybe 4 or 5 different places. I would rent a car for every place except Naples! It is so much easier in the south for most places. Stay in apartments on the edge of the historic districts of towns so you can park outside the ZTL and also stay in small houses in the country --- in parts of Puglia you can rent a trullo.

Plan to eat breakfast at "home" or go to a bar or bakery for coffee and a pastry as many Italians do. Choose either a lunch or a dinner in a restaurant, then have the other meal be more of a snack or picnic --- believe me, if you eat a nice, slow, big southern meal once a day, you will not want another on the same day!

Jean, First of all, congratulations on heading toward Life 2.0! We retired in 2015 and are loving every minute .
Secondly, you asked questions my husband and I were just talking about an hour ago! We have been to Italy 5 times, but never south of Rome. The longest we have stayed in one place is 2 weeks, but are considering another trip of at least a month. We, too, were debating on having a home base and travel around by car and train, or moving each week.

I will tell you, though, that if you choose to move around, the spontaneity is worth it. We always have our first and last 1-2 nights (sometimes longer) booked. Then we use this forum, Trip Advisor, and Booking.com to locate lodging in the next area we want to travel in. We have had so many wonderful experiences traveling this way.

We have traveled by train, bus, and car. We prefer renting a car so we can see the the backdoor villages and countryside.

I am a planner and it took some getting used to this type of travel, but I love it. I just make sure to have done my research and have our options with me when we leave home.

I look forward to reading the responses to your questions.

I have spent the last four summer in Europe. Time in each city seems to be a very individual thing. As long as there are still a lot of enticing places I haven't visited even once, I will be staying in each place just long enough (the best I can determine it) to see the local sights and take day-trips of modest distance. I might spend 10-14 days in Rome, but I'm not yet ready to stay that long in any other Italian city unless it is one with an awful lot of viable day-trips. I don't like lengthy trips out and back along the same rail lines or bus lines, seeing similar scenery day after day.

On the other hand, I really, really hate changing hotels, so you better believe I research side-trip possibilities and try to find a central point--ideally one with at least 1 or 2 days' worth of sights of its own--that is well-positioned for seeing neighboring towns. I try very hard to have at least 4 nights in each place, and I haven't yet spent an entire summer in Italy, so I have certainly not made all the possible good side-trips from my base cities. The longer you are positioned in one place, the more flexibility you have to respond to weather conditions and new information (such as a fiesta or special museum exhibition you didn't find out about until arrival).

Three good bases I have used so far are Lecce (for Puglia and Matera), Bologna (too many side-trips to list) and Padua (Ravenna, Ferrara, Vicenza, Verona and more). Each of those has at least one solid day's worth of sights.

I highly recommend Sicily for up to 3 weeks, or even a bit longer if you want to relax, without a car. You will not run out of things to do. However, you really cannot see Sicily from one or even two bases. If you decide to include it (it's the warmest in the country in spring, obviously), come back here and others will give you some suggestions for bases. In my view, a reasonably comprehensive trip to Sicily requires stays in the southeast (Siracusa is best), the northeast (Taormina, Catania or a smaller city like Acireale), in or around Palermo, in the interior (Piazza Armerina/Enna/Caltagirone) and in the northwest (around Trapani). Even that list doesn't give you access to the Aeolian Islands.

In terms of timing, I always choose to extend my "summer" trips into the spring rather than the fall because the days are so much longer. Short days bother me a great deal, affecting my energy level. If it's not an issue for you, you can consider things like special events, flight costs, etc.

I'll do a separate post about long-trip issues that aren't specific to Italy.

Here are some things about long trips I've learned, mostly from personal experience:

• You are likelier to get sick on a long trip. Take your favorite OTC medications with you. Zinc lozenges and Pepto-Bismol are not available in Europe, as far as I know. I take more than I think I could ever use after having run out of the lozenges two trips in a row.

• Be sure your shoes are broken in but fairly new. Two months is long enough for old shoes to break down rather badly. Try out your travel shoes at least once on a high-mileage day at home. Unless you are regularly on your feet a lot at home, consider whether you might benefit from some cushioned inserts for your shoes. The beginning of a two-month trip is not a good time to find out that your feet start hurting by mid-afternoon every day. I found out the hard way that waterproof shoes with hard, rubber soles are not good for my feet, so I recommend cushy soles.

• Examine clothing carefully to be sure seams aren't beginning to split, buttons are securely attached, socks aren't wearing thin, etc. Spending your evenings mending isn't a lot of fun.

• I don't know about 2 months, but 3 months is long enough for the strap of a cross-body purse to wear thin spots on a summer-weight blouse, one in the front and one on the back. I've had two woven cotton blouses that didn't quite make it to the end of the trip. I'm not sure there's anything that can be done about that--and tops are pretty easy to pick up while traveling--but I wouldn't take a favorite or expensive blouse on a long trip.

• Be careful about sun protection. You will be outdoors a lot, day after day. I wear a hat that cinches under the chin, because I want my face protected at all times and really hate walking down the sidewalk with one hand on top of my head to keep my hat from blowing away. Needless to say, I am not a fashion plate.

• Be sure you have good, low-fee or no-fee ATM cards and credit cards. On a long trip, you can waste a lot of money if you have travel-unfriendly cards.

We have done 2 or 3 weeks many times but in the past two years we have done recent trips of 7 and 8 weeks. For the 8 week trip in 2017, we moved around too much and decided in the future we would endeavor to spend at least a week in each stop unless it was very transitional, i.e., 2 nights in our arrival city prior to moving on, 3 nights in a location to break up a long day of travel. For long stays we always choose apartments and for those 2 or 3 night transitional stays, we choose nice-but-not-luxurious hotels. In each trip we had a two weeks stay in one location and that was a wonderful opportunity to settle in and “live.” We did so in London (had already been there 3 times for a total of 3 weeks and still found endless things to do) and in the Dolomites, again in a place we had been many times before but dearly love. Each of those two week stays ended up being our favorite part of the trip.

As a result of these experiences we have some “rules”:

• Do not settle for an apartment that does not have everything we want. Must haves are washer, dishwasher (I like to cook but hate trying to wash up in a tiny Italian sink and having to put dishes in the “sky rack” over the sink to dry,), a separate living room with a couch, and a decent table with chairs.
• A/C is not optional even October in some regions. We took a place in Liguria in October and thought it would be fine. It was not. West facing, warms days, noisy nights. If you go in May, insist on A/C everywhere. In April you probably need it in the south, too.
• Elevators are mandatory if there is more than one flight of stairs. Too much trouble with luggage otherwise. An acquiescence to aging.
• For trips of 6 weeks or longer, have a two week stay in one location.
• Take taxis on arrival in a new place or anywhere where we would have to struggle with luggage on mass transit. We always do this in Paris and London, sometimes in smaller places where we know there would be uphill schleppingor it would take more than 15 minutes to walk to our lodging with luggage.

We have a 5 week trip coming up and only two one-week stays as we are traveling with another couple who want to move faster. We are going to treat ourselves to nicer accommodations a couple of times to make up for the speed with a small degree luxury.

FWIW, Italy gets quite busy in May. It is not really as much shoulder season as it once was.

Yes, we've done six weeks with one two-week stay in a location, taking no more than we pack for a shorter trip. Frankly, the only bad thing about a long trip to Europe is dealing with the piled-up mail and so forth when you get home! We did freeze one late March in Sicily. Be prepared.

Ha Janet, We had a freezing stay in Sicily one March as well!

That brings up a good point: Even though I am packing light, I have a lightweight merino sweater to layer over a long sleeved tee and under my jacket in case of colder weathr, and I have a short sleeved blouse or shirt (or 2) in case of hotter weather. In a trip spanning two months in spring or fall, you will probably encounter some conditions colder and some warmer than you expected. I also bring light gloves if I am there in any month from October to April.

1. Talk to an insurance agent about medical insurance and/or travel insurance. I'm sure you'll get all kinds of advice on this forum, but only you know your situation and only your agent knows what's available/affordable for you. Find out what you can about the cost of routine medical care in the places you'll be visiting so that you can evaluate the level of coverage you need.
2. If you take prescription medications, talk to your physician about making sure you can get what you need before you leave. I feel like Europe Through the Back Door has a good section on medications. In fact, ETBD has a lot of good tips for long-term travelers.
3. Someone else mentioned your banking. You shouldn't be paying any international transaction fees to any bank or credit card company. Shop around. Boeing Employees Credit Union (all WA residents are eligible to join if you're not already a member) does not charge an international transaction fee on its debit cards (well, really I think Visa charges it, but BECU reimburses it--I don't pay it, that's what I know).
4. Get your mobile accounts squared away. If you're not on T-Mobile, switch if you can. You'll be able to use your phone mostly as you would at home (except for voice calls, which are expensive). If you can't switch, find out what your options are with your provider. If you and the hubs both use smart phones, consider getting a local SIM in one of your phones (make sure it's unlocked before you leave) for voice calls. Get WhatsApp, Skype, FaceTime, what-have-you, so you can call home as desired. If you have to pay for voice calls, make sure it's only to conduct urgent medical or financial business.
5. In terms of packing, I'm going to go against the grain here. If you plan to pack in as much sightseeing as possible in your two months, then by all means, follow the RS party line and pack as little as possible and make sure your one pair of shoes is up to the job. If, on the other hand, you intend to take your husband's suggestion and have two one-month stays (by the way, I second Laurel's rules for apartment rental), packing light is less of an issue. Take clothes and shoes you like to wear and wear them. Leave a little room to maybe buy some more if that appeals. I'm not suggesting steamer trunks, but mobility is not your issue on this trip. You can check a bag. You can check two bags if your ticket allows it. Bring the pretty dress and sandals you might only wear once (If you like wearing them now, you might like it even better in Italy). Bring the hiking boots if hiking is your thing. Bring your golf clubs or tennis rackets or whatever.
6. Just because you paid for an apartment for a month doesn't mean you can't spend a night or two away from it. If you're thinking that day trip looks a little long, throw a change of clothes and your toothbrush in your day pack and get a hotel. Leaving your stuff in your rented house or apartment is perfectly safe. If it's not, why are you staying there?
7. Don't feel like you have to "do" something every day. You are doing something. You're relaxing or reconnecting with your husband or eating as much pasta as you can or whatever your purpose is. It's your time, your money, your choice. There won't be a test.

Have a great time planning. Your trip will start before you know it.

Wow, thank you, everyone, for your valuable insight & detailed comments! Some of them, like having T-Mobile, using FaceTime, and no fee cards we already use but could be helpful advice for others who will read this post.

G3rryCee, oh no, you mentioned golf clubs! Ha! My husband is an excellent golfer, but so far, European trips have not been merged into golf trips. (He does have Scotland on his bucket list.)

Janet & Laurel, which part of Sicily were you staying when you were so cold in March? ...just in case there’s a common factor.

Andrew.reis, we have so many of your favorite areas to research, I.e. Apulgia, etc! Our initial list was Sicily, Rome, Arezzo, Verona, Stresa as base locations, but then I realize we’ve just listed sections of the country we have been previously, plus adding Sicily. This is the chance to explore more new areas.

I really appreciate the comments regarding staying flexible. My husband really wants to stay at least a week in Rome, and we both agree a couple of weeks in Stresa would be a good finale; otherwise, we could keep several weeks of the trip spontaneous.

My husband & I travel really well together on 3-week trips. But, even then, we recognize that I am more antsy to go explore and not “waste the opportunity” while he enjoys a more relaxed pace when we are at a city for 4-5 days. It’s not been an issue; I just go while he might nap. This type of trip will probably accentuate those travel personalities - which is still all right with both of us. We’ve both already commented that I will be taking more day trips, so planning good bases with train or bus connections will be essential.

Regarding cold in Sicily, we were In Trapani and we did have one warm day where we hiked in short sleeves and a couple that were dry but overcast and coolish. We also had a couple of cold, rainy, windy days including encountering snow flurries! That was over the course of a 7 night stay and the rest of Italy, at least as far north as Rome, was just as bad if not worse. (We lived In Rome at the time so paid attnetion ore than the average traveler might.)

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Thank you, Kathy! You caught it before I saw it in my email list.