Couple of Questions

Yes on reply above from Liz--short change--read about it and then had it happen in Athens last spring--count bills out individually!!!--Cab driver got our stuff out of trunk, returned to driving position, rolled down passenger window to take taxi fee. I handed him three 20's at one time and he slides out a 5 from underneath and hands it back and claims we owe him another 20, which he got and he zooms off.
Yes on others answers on shorts--not often that you see anyone wearing shorts--have been on several Rick Steves trips tours and those who wear shorts have to adjust on visits to cathederals, and some dinning areas ect.

Generally speaking, Italian men do not wear shorts outside of beach resort areas or on soccer fields. You will of course see exceptions. If you will be visiting churches to see art etc, then for both men and women shoulders and knees need to be covered.

We saw a lot of capris, both on men and women. In all the times we have been in Italy, the only time I saw anyone in shorts was one of our hosts going to rugby practice.

If you do opt for new shoes, make sure that you allow plenty of time to break them in properly. You will be doing more walking than you anticipate.

You have brought two of the great debates. the shorts/no shorts and the car/no car ones.

If your trip only includes major cities like Rome, Florence, and Venice having a car can be a liability. Most of the time if you are in a city, you won't touch the car after you arrive until ready to leave. Parking is usually expensive and there are frequent zones where only local traffic is permitted. In many cities those are monitored by automated cameras and the fines are stiff.

If your plans include spots that are not served by trains or busses then a car is a must. But we try to arrange our travel to only get the car for the spots needed not the whole trip.

When comparing costs, you might also want to include the cost for the excess coverage on the car rental. The have a problem and walk away with no cost to you kind.

Most people say no shorts as you can't go into ANY church wearing them. They will kick you out. Also, unless you are at the beach it is not something you see a lot of in Italy.

There are many scams in Rome. Some guy gives you a flower and then insists you pay for it, another guy makes a bracelette on your arm and then insists you pay for it. The guy in the car looking for the train station who needs money for gas but will give you a designer jacket for your trouble. They are all scams.

Parking is very expensive in Italy so you may want to consider not having a car until you really need it. Getting from large town to large town is very easy on the train and if you have kids you will qualify for the family discount. Driving in Italy usually takes more time than taking the train so just another reason to consider not renting a car. Also, most roads are toll roads so when you add up the cost of the rental, gas, parking fees, tolls and taking the train into town you will be spending a lot of money. Check out the trenitalia website and input the trip you will take and see what point to point tickets will cost as opposed to a car. I think you will find it the same or cheaper.

Donna

Hi Ron. As for parking safety, we had a car for 4 days in Tuscany and we of course parked in public lots outside of each town that we visited. The lots did not seem unsafe at all and we did not have any problems. Perhaps in larger cities, this might be an issue but I didn't think about theft once while driving throughout Tuscany. We did not ever have to leave our luggage in the car while unattended but in case we did, I took a thin black blanket to cover everything with.

In terms of people moving our luggage for money, we were very confused one day at Termini in regards to how to find the train platform that we needed. A nice guy asked if we needed help (he was definitely not a Trenitalia employee). He looked at my ticket & then immediately grabbed my luggage & escorted us to our train. He also lifted the bags onto the train. He did not have the chance to ask for money because we automatically tipped him; we were very thankful for his help. Perhaps what I experienced was actually a scam for money but I didn't mind.

Have a wonderful trip.

Two websites that will help you:

Tourist Scams

Ron in Rome

One of the more common scams in Italy is the art of short-changing. You pay with a 20e and the cabbie insists you only gave him 10 and still owe (your 20 having mysteriously disappeared). This can happen in cabs, shops, restaurants, etc. Several members of our RS tour caught a barista short-changing folks at a cafe.

The easiest solution to this is to pay with exact change, giving them no opportunity. If you have to break a bill, pay attention and some people like to say the number as they hand over their money. Most scams can be defeated by paying attention and exercising common sense.

The flower thing, also offering to take your picture or sell you something cheap, I don't really consider to be a scam. It's more on the lines of pushy salesmen. If you're at a tourist spot and someone offers you a flower or to take your picture (Trevi fountain is notorious for this), just say no. At least in Italy, I've found that a firm no, then ignoring them, generally sends them off to harass someone else.

When its in the 90s locals are wearing shorts as well as tourists. Not all of them, but I didn't feel like I was the odd person out wearing them either. The problem is that you can't go into churches, though. As for your shoes, be sure they're ones you can walk around in all day. Personally I wear a darker pair of running shoes; then again, I'm not going to high-end restaurants either.

On the shorts thing, it's exactly as already described - most European men don't wear them. My husband, however, doesn't care what the European men wear, and there are times (I remember Bologna specifically) where I said to him, "only you and the construction guy are wearing shorts." We even had lunch at a rather-nice restaurant in San Gimignano when he was wearing shorts - nobody batted an eye.

I (a female) don't usually wear shorts in Italy. That's because it's usually not warm enough for me to want to (we try to travel Sept-Oct or May), and I wouldn't wear shorts in an American city, either. If I wanted to wear shorts, I just would, regardless of what the locals in Europe were wearing.

In our experience, not EVERY church prohibits people wearing shorts. On our most recent trip to Italy, both husband and 10yo daughter tried to make sure they didn't wear shorts on days where we knew we'd be visiting churches, but I remember at least one day (Santa Maria Novella in Florence) where they were both wearing shorts, and nobody said anything.

We always have parts of our European trips where we rent a car, and parts where we don't. We try to route the trip so that we start in a city where we don't want a try, and pick up the rental as we leave that city. And the same with the end of the trip - drop the rental car as we enter the city. We have visited places with luggage in the car; sometimes you can't avoid it. Just keep it in the trunk so it's no obvious.

And from someone who lives in a hot, humid climate for much of the year

For women, a skirt is often more comfortable than shorts, even one that is well below the knees. Maybe that's why kilts are popular with some men lately.

Thanks again everyone...once again some very good info...those were especially good Frank II...

Ron

Okay, here is the primer on shorts in Italy...at least for men:

You must be over 50, have not shaved for a couple of days, you're wearing leather sandals with black socks, either a dark t-shirt or 1950's style button shirt, the shorts are dark brown or black, and you are preferably sitting under a tree watching a game of bocce.

You'll fit right in.

Extra points if you can argue about the government in Italian.

lol...give me a year or so and
i'll fit in...

ron,

A few points about driving in Italy and your other questions....

Be sure you have the compulsory International Driver's Permit (easily obtained at any AAA office). This must be used in conjunction with your home D.L., as the IDP is not a "license". Although it doesn't happen often, foreign drivers can be fined on the spot for failing to produce an IDP if requested.

Also, be sure to check some of the posts here regarding the dreaded "ZTL areas", which are becoming common in many Italian towns (even smaller ones).

Driving will take longer than trains (especially the Alta Velocita) so be sure to include the time and cost of tolls in your planning.

I can't help with the shorts issue, as I don't wear shorts when travelling in Europe (the locals would probably call-out the "harpoon squad"!). As the others have mentioned, shorts will be a problem if you're visiting Churches. A pair of zip-off travel pants might be a good accessory if you're planning to visit any Churches.

Regarding scams, if you're using trains at all, be a bit wary of those offering to "help" load your luggage. They may be dressed in some kind of official-looking uniform, but in fact may not work for the railway. They WILL expect compensation for their "services"! I've also seen one case where the helpful luggage handler lifted a wallet (and lots of cash and credit cards!) while putting the luggage on the train, but that was in Austria / Germany).

On that note, happy travels!

I never wore shorts in my many trips until last June.It was in the 90s in Venice,Florence and even the CT.I wore shorts all the time and so did almost everyone else.On days we were going to Churches we wore pants for that part of the day.