Best piece of advice?

Don't leave the results of your hours of research sitting at home on the piano while you are taking your trip. (been there, done that)

Relax, have fun.

Make sure you bring plenty of root beer with you from home. The Italian Government has outlawed it;)

I would say just go for it...

(the saying take 1/2 the stuff and twice the $ also comes to mind)

One can imagine a perfect trip -- sunny weather, every meal fantastic, no lines where you go, not getting lost, etc. You will not have a perfect trip, but you can have a very fun trip with the right attitude.

Are you trying to tell me I am worrying about the wrong things...you know me too well!! Great advice...thanks.

Ciao!

Sheree,

The best piece of advice I can offer....

Italy is well, "Italy". It's a bit of a different world, so be flexible and try to enjoy the experiences as they will provide many great memories.

I sometimes find it a bit frustrating, but it's the first place I always want to return to.

Cheers!

Remember your patience hat... and just have a great time going with the flow!!!!!!

Safe Travels!

We were newbies to Italy as well when we went two weeks ago..did a lot of research, read the Helpline, bought Steve's Florence/Tuscany book, etc. Savor the moment..and enjoy the magnificence, beauty and history of every city you visit! Happy travels!

Learn as much Italian as you can before you go. You'll be glad for every little word you know. I wish I'd learned more. Now I play CDs periodically in my car just in case we ever return:).

Ron's comment made me LOL!

The advice already given is excellent, especially the 'go with the flow' advice. Italy is, as I'm sure you know, a different country and things aren't the same as at home. Furthermore, you're the guest and the responsibility is on you to adapt. If you accept everything that happens as part of the grand adventure, then even those things which make you want to tear your hair out at the time will make for great stories later.

Oh--and if you encounter a toilet with no seat in the airport, check the next stall before assuming this is the standard mode in Italy. (You'd be surprised how many seat-less toilets I've found overall though!)

Gelato - lots of Gelato!!!

If traveling by train don't forget to validate your ticket

Eat lots of gelato

Drink lots of wine

Relax and Enjoy!

I have been to Turkey and that picture was of a very nice toilet!

Thanks again guys, for all the advice and well wishes!

Had to laugh about the porcelain hole in the floor for a toilet! Luckily we didn't encounter too many of those but when we did I had to take a picture of it as well!! My piece of advice is to eat gelato at least twice a day! We walked off the calories every day & had fun trying all the different flavors. Enjoy!

Oddly enough I haven't encountered the hole in the floor yet. That would have actually been less of a surprise to me than the standard Western toilet, sans seat. (Note to ladies--such a construction is usable, but proceed with caution!)

Ditto to all said above...especially about gelato (if it has fruit = acceptable form of lunch). Make it your goal to try as many flavors as possible. I tried 32 in my trip, several flavors possible in one serving. Just thinking about this part of my trip there makes me super, super happy :-)

And, expect a strike or two to inconvenience you - I experienced three different strikes (metro, ferry, train) on one 2.5 week trip. Not impossible to work around in any case and it became part of the adventure. It's kind of what makes Italians Italian. That and gelato. And coffee. And pasta. And those really big, thin bath towels that look like American kitchen towels. Limoncello! Pesto! Baci candies!

I'll stop now. Have fun, you can't miss.

Plan but don't schedule your trip - meaning be sure you have plenty of time to wander and explore. Some of our best memories are restaurants/sights we stumbled upon.

Step outside the box. Try food/wine you think you don't like. Not a fan of art - visit a museum anyway. You'll like more than you thought you would.

Best piece of advice:

Pack light. You will be glad you did.

Italy has lots of stairs, steep hills and cobblestones.

The best deals on lodging won't have elevators or bellhops - you will have to carry your bag up to your room.

P.S. The other advice here is useful too.

Bring ALL directions/information in ITALIAN as well as English . When I went through an Italian rental agency for an apt in Positano and reservation and directions for a shuttle to a hotel in Rome all my info was in English, I was showing this English to Italians and of course they could not read it!! DUH!! I did not realize this until I was back in the states!! Nancy

Pack one half of what you now consider to be absolute bare bones " gotta have it" stuff.

Thank me later.

Have a great trip.

I agree with everything the other folks have said, but also remember to wear your money belt. I always say every trip has at least one day when nothing goes as planned. So, when I start having a bad day, I say, "Oh, this must be my bad day." and then go out and have a gelato which immediately helps my attitude.

If you're taking the train in Italy remember to validate your ticket in the yellow box before you board the train! It's so easy to forget and if you do forget, you could be fined.

I'm envious! You'll love Italy! Have a great time!

Take the RS phrasebook with you and read through and find the phrases he threw in to make you laugh. We actually used the one about the taxi driver slowing down or we would throw up. My husband made a lifelong friend of a little Italian Mama in a restaurant when he told her that the food was "As good as my Mama's kitchen". She hugged him and kissed him on the head.

Walk as much as you can, taking different routes to and from the hotel every day. You may stumble upon something that you weren't looking for that makes a great memory.

Also, if you stop at a fruit stand and want to buy some fruit, if you don't know the name of the fruit in Italian just smile, point to it and tell the seller the number of pieces you want (in Italian). Don't pick up the fruit and feel it and put it back down like I did. He would immediately pick up the fruit, wipe it off and tenderly place it back down.
You tell them how many you want and they are the experts, they expect to pick it out for you. I got no smiles there!

Have a great trip!

Others have said it, so to re-inforce their advice: pack lightly. Only take carry-on. You'll thank yourself over and over, and no one will be the wiser.

Avoid the summer months! Too hot and too crowded. May and October are our favorite months.

Take a pocket sized compass to keep from getting turned around.

If you going to a major city. Spend a night with Google's Street View of the areas you want to see. You'll feel like you've been there.

Also keep all your subway tickets, even after you've been though the entrances. Sometimes there are spot checks and they will not let you through if you don't have the canceled ticket.

Try to retain small bills. Always work to get as much small denominations as possible at every exchange. I call it the "wad method."

Pack your own Sunscreen, and if you wear contacts, bring your own eye wash through checked luggage or bring enough little bottles to get you through.

Bring your own empty bottled water container. And fill it up in the fountains.

Jump in with both feet!

Butcher the language, it's appreciated that you even try.

It is polite to ask if someone speaks English, not just start speaking it.

Don't over research!

Take time to wander. Too much planning can keep you from experiencing the real culture.

And best advice, roll with it.

We always bring our own laminated Insight Flexi Maps with us from home for major destinations we visit in Europe. Italian towns are available for Rome, Venice and Florence. I think these are plenty detailed and you won't waste time at the T.I. getting a map. You can get them at a Barnes and Noble or Borders book store.

Learn a few words of Italian. Ask someone to take a photo of ALL of you so you have some group shots too. From our experiences people are more than happpy to do this.

Pack Light, Pack Light,Pack Light. Pack your stuff and then take at least 1/3 of it out or more. You will not regret it and won't miss the stuff either. Packing light feels so freeing!!

Remember they don't always do things the way we do over here, i.e.--no ice in pop for one. Adjust and get over it. If we wanted things to be the way they are at home why travel?

Go with the flow and ENJOY! Some of our family's fondest memories are from visiting with guests from other countries at some of the agriturismi we have stayed at. On a trip to Croatia we spent an evening visiting and sipping slivovitz (sp?) on the patio with guests from the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Germany. This would never have happened if we were staying in a big-box hotel.

Slow down, enjoy and assume you will return!! Have a great trip!

Expect the unexpected.
Wander down little alleys and don't worry about getting lost.
Be quiet and respectful in churches.
Sit in piazzas and watch the world go by while enjoying a gelato.
Don't spend all day in a museum.
Get up early and stay out late. You won't regret it.
Laugh and enjoy all the craziness that makes Italia so completely unforgettable.
Play like you won't be back...even though you will.

Take half as many clothes and twice as much money :)

I use the Streetwise city maps - you can get them from Chapters-Indigo or Amazon - very useful when you get turned around coming out of the subway - been there, done that.

Also mentioned, learn as much Italian words, especially the polite ones - they really do appreciate the effort, also useful for reading signs.

Eat lots of gelato - it tastes so much better there.

Go shopping at the street markets, do not buy anything put out on the ground on a blanket.

Be always aware of pickpockets and use your moneybelt always, keep out only enough money for small purchases.

Enjoy every minute and don't try to do everything - you will return again someday.

Relax and soak in the experience. Don't be put out by things not going right and best-laid plans going awry. Try as much of the local cuisine and produce as possible and just enjoy la dolce vita!

Relax, it's Italy...

Have a general idea of what you want to do and be extremely flexible because things will certainly not go according to plan. Roll with the punches and enjoy the show that is Italy.

I always enjoy watching the Brit tourists get completely wound up and go mental trying to function in the Italian system.

Two words for the visually challenged - disposable
contacts.

Pack light and climb ever tower you can.

Do something most tourists would not do. Go local. It will be the BEST memory you have of your trip. Find a non-touristy town or hotel or eating establishment; eat some food that looks nothing like what you'd get in Canada but very much like what the locals eat every day, etc. Don't rush. Most importantly, be in the moment. Happy travels!

Advice from experience:

Make sure you have some small change to pay for your toilet paper. In nicer places I found that when I would go to the toilet an older lady would be sitting there with small squares of toilet paper. You were expected to give her a tip and she would provide you with one (1) square. Another tip: carry one of those small tissue packs with you for the toilets (you will need it).

Don't be so focused on getting from one location to another that you miss the scenery and local life surrounding you. Relax and enjoy the moment - if you miss the closing time at the next location, find something fun to check out that wasn't on your itineray. It will probably be more fun.

Don't be embarrased to talk to locals, they are just as interested in you as you are in them. Just think to yourself, if someone from Italy was sitting next to me here in my hometown and wanted to talk to me, would I enjoy the conversation and time spent?

Order more local dishes. Try something new. If you hate it? So what . . . order extra dessert (smile).

Keep a journal of your experiences, even short notes or a funny story. It will be fun to share with your family.

Have fun!

Thanks to all who gave me the encouragement to make our trip to Italy in May. I am nervous, mainly about the train to the airport and where to stay the night before. 8am flight...stay in Rome or at the airport? Heard the shuttles are not dependable. Any ideas? Everyone made it sound like so much fun. Now I have to go take things OUT of my suitcase!

Two pieces of advice:

1. Learn a bit of Italian.

2. If there's someone outside a restaurant saying, "Come in, Spaghetti, Pizza." Don't go there.

Have a good trip

Two words: doing and being. Do less of the former and more of the latter.

bring an umbrella. i got rained on last june and july from sorrento to venice.

and of course, have fun!