Flying to italy

What "all the crime" in Italy are you talking about? Italy is very safe and is not bad at all compared to where you are. The area where you live in San Diego County is so bad that when my friend Carl went there and asked what town he was in, people kept telling him "Carl's bad! Carl's bad! So he left in a hurry right away. When I fly to San Diego and I know there are passengers from Oceanside, I take my entire carry-on baggage to the bathroom just to make sure.

I was saying do I need to wear a money belt even on the plane since its highly recommended in italy. I guess with all the Internet postings of all the pick pockets and they use children too I was getting worried. I would like to have a nice trip ti Italy and not be paranoid. Also carlsbad is a nice beach community that a lot go people visit. A quiet community.

I don't like wearing a money belt that goes around my waist. I use a neck one, with the strap shortened. I put it (under my shirt) over one shoulder so it hangs just under my armpit. I use a safety pin to attach it to my bra strap. I never even feel it on me. You only use it for deep storage of things you won't need to get to during the day. I carry a crossbody purse that has a top zipper with a flap that clips closed over it. I have a small wallet with a ring attached. My purse has a strap inside with a clip on the end. I clip the wallet to the strap, so it can't be snatched out of the purse. I never take my purse off me, so I can't accidentally leave it behind somewhere. This is for when you are in Europe of course, not the plane.

@ Roberto - LOL!!! Sylvia, Are you traveling alone? If you are and it makes you feel more comfortable, just wear your money belt on the plane. No one is going to get into the overhead compartment and go through your things with a plane full of people. If you are traveling with someone you can take turns going to the bathroom while the other person watches your things. You are not likely to have pickpockets on your flight. Trains and buses is another story.

Sylvia, I got freaked out by reading too many "theft advisories" a few years ago. On the plane, I've never taken my bag to the bathroom with me (yuck!) but if it worries you, just check your bag when you come back. If something is missing, notify the flight attendant. Where's the thief going to go in mid-flight? I carry a normal cross-body bag when I'm traveling, nothing special. If you use ATMs you can take out what you need for the day (or a few days) and not worry about carrying a ton of cash around (which I've also done, before ATMs were so readily available - no problems). On buses, I usually keep my bag on the floor between my feet - never had a problem. Sounds like you're traveling solo - so do I. Just be observant of what's going on around you.

No, you don't need to worry much as long as your bag with your important documents is under your airline seat. If you are really worried, take the documents to the restroom with you - as you'll be doing when using restrooms in Italy. We lock our passports, any cards and extra cash that we are don't need for the day up in the hotel safe: it's best not to carry everything ON you if you can help it. Also, make sure to make Xerox copies of your documents and cards and carry those in a separate place so you have that info should your originals be lost or stolen. But relax about crime in Italy. Yes, there is theft and no, no exterior pocket is safe but with the proper precautions the risk of being robbed is very, very small. The majority of people this happens to have simply been careless. Yes, train and bus travel is different than on airlines: keep your important documents/card ON you.

Sylvia, no one's going to rob you while you're sleeping on the airplane. What would be their escape route after they grab your stuff? And how much would they have had to pay just to get on the airplane? But do keep an eye on your bags when deplaning, just in case.

I once had my carry on stolen off a plane, it's not a joking matter. Because the overhead bins were full, they put my bag in a bin several seats in front of me. Of course when the plane stops everybody gets up and by the time I got to where it was supposed to be, it was gone.

Thank you everyone for your response. Yes I guess I was freaking out reading all about thefts. Thanks for the balanced viewpoints. Calms me down. Can't imagine everyone wearing their money belts under their clothes and people don't rob you of that. Seems very uncomfortable. But we do what we must do
What's better and less noticeable a neck one or waist one sounds like a silly question but not to me.

Hi Sylvia. Actually I do wear my money belt on the plane. Not because of theft, just so I don't misplace my passport & other critical documents. If stuff is in my money belt, it's just about impossible to lose. Out of my money belt, there is a chance I may absent- mindedly put it somewhere (e.g. airplane seat pocket) and forget it. Enjoy your trip!

let me get this straight, all the pickpockets in Rome, I hear horror stories about, are not really from Eastern Europe, they actually fly over from the US for the summer.

Sylvia, I'm happy you've calmed down a bit. Italy is to be enjoyed and NOT to be feared! I hear you about money belts: I'm very short and find them uncomfortable and ridiculously difficult to access so both my husband and I have dispensed with them altogether. We bought a bag called a Pacsafe with steel-reinforced strap, sides and locking zippers. Worn crosswise across your body, it's virtually impossible to be cut off or accessed by light fingers. They aren't cheap but if you plan on traveling a lot, it's a good investment. We use this mainly for plane, bus or train travel between cities. For sightseeing, we both pin a small, zippered cloth pouch to the inside of our waistbands for our daily cash and a credit card - leaving the bulk of our funds/extra cards/passports locked up at the hotel. It's comfortable, virtually invisible (unlike neck pouches) and more easily accessed by our fingers but no one else's. Just for fun, I've tucked one of those "your name here" credit cards we get in our junk mail into my back pocket as a decoy - just to see if all the dire warnings are true - and never had it lifted. I sure wouldn't do that with the real deal though. HA!

Like Kathy, for several years I stuck a wallet with dummy credit cards and $3 in ones in my hip pocket. Still no takers after several years on the tube in London, crowded metro in Paris, trams in Budapest and Istanbul, and street markets in many cities. I was warned by several locals especially in street markets in Cape Town. I always wear a neck pouch with passport, credit card, and lots of ready cash and place it under my arm. I eventually gave up trying to tempt the pickpockets as a bad idea.

Yes, to parrot most of the others here, I would treat a flight to Italy (I will be on one next week) like any other flight. Same precautions apply but nothing beyond that.

Thanks everyone for your input. Need your experience . Don't know which way to go kinda locked myself into this schedule (inexperience) 3 days in rome arriving (Wednesday to Saturday) 1week cerataldo (check in Saturday to Saturday nice place) 1week sienna (check in Saturday to Saturday check out) ok place Need to be back for flight out of rome on (Wednesday 1:30 p.m.) Really really wanted to go to venice is that possible if I'm flying out of rome? Is it possible to drive from sienna to venice stay sat, sun, mon, check out tuesday and drive to rome To fly out Wednesday (can't change flight) Stayed in sienna because it was cheaper and thought I can go places from their What I do in those places is open. Still deciding if I should rent car out of rome or take train ????
Please help if you can figure out my vacation schedule Or just stay in Tuscany area. didn't find a place in venice and picked sienna because I thought venice might be to expensive regret that choice now?

I hate money belts and could never get used to one. I bought a PacSafe cross body bag that held everything I needed whether I was traveling on the plane or walking through Boboli Gardens in Florence. I NEVER once had to worry about theft. I see they have them in a variety of styles and sizes now...

I don't see much reason for splitting your stay in two separate towns in Tuscany that are so close. You can visit one while you stay in the other very easily with a car. Siena to Certaldo is like driving from Oceanside to Temecula, 45 min. top. Your stay is also long, basically two weeks in Tuscany between the two locations. If you decide to stay in that area and do day trips, a car is advisable, especially while in Certaldo. If you don't rent a car you should stay in a transportation hub such as Florence or maybe Siena, which is a bigger town. I would cut down your stay in Tuscany to a week, 10 days maximum, so that you can easily squeeze Venice in your itinerary. Florence to Venice is only 2 hours by high speed train from Florence (about 3 hrs by car). For example you could do: - Rome: 4 nights - train to Florence (90 min journey) - Florence: 3 nights - at the end, rent a car go to countryside. - Tuscany countryside: 7 nights (by car) based in one central small town or farmhouse (agriturismo). Visit small towns and country during that week by car. At the end of the week, return rental car to Florence, take train to Venice (2 hrs journey). - Venice: 3 nights. - Train back from Venice to Rome (4 hrs journey).
- Rome: stay 1 or 2 more night(s) before flying back to US. 18-19 nights in total. If you have more available, add them to wherever you wish. If you decide to buy an open jaw (fly to Rome, return from Venice, or viceversa) then you don't need to back track all the way back to Rome. YOu can save time and train money that way.

Roberto Perfect vacation schedule you picked out. My problem is I already paid for rome, cerataldo and sienna I can't get out of it. Locked in. Locked in also to flying out of rome. When I first starting planning wanted Tuscany,venice and Amalfi coast. I figured if I stay in sienna and certelado I could possibly do day trips. Didn't realize how close they really are. And amalfi to far so I thought I could get to venice some how. I guess I was very happy with choice of rome and certaldo I just paniced and picked sienna to stay for week in a place because I needed to stay some where reasonable. Yet catch is car rental and gas and back tracking. Should of found this site before, I could of had help planning. I'm kinda stuck. Venice was an after thought after I booked sienna
So question would u go to venice pay for parking three days or go back to rome for final four days before flight and just get rid of car rental and go different direction Don't know?

Sylvia:
Don't waste money driving from Tuscany to Venice with the rental car. Driving takes longer than the train and rental car in Italy is expensive because of mandatory insurance ($50/day is a good deal). In Venice your rental car would be collecting dust at the parking structures at Tronchetto island in Venice (that's where all the parking facilities are) where you'd still pay for rental car charges, even though the car is parked for those days since you can't use it in Venice. In addition parking isn't cheap either, it's over $30 day in most of the parking lots and parking structures. The reasonable thing to do is to keep the car only while you are in Tuscany, especially in Certaldo, which is small and with limited public transportation options (Siena and surroundings can be managed by bus, if your accommodations are in town). Then you should return your rental car (both Florence and Siena have rental car agencies) and go to Venice by train. Returning the car in Florence will allow you to catch the fast train from there. If you return the car in Siena, you need to take a bus or train to Florence first. PS: Since you already have accommodation arrangements in Siena, find out where exactly the hotel/apartment is located before renting a car in Siena. If it's in the historical center, the area is closed to the traffic and having a car is not a good idea in that case, because you wouldn't be able to drive it to the place you are staying. Give me the address (even via private message) and I'll tell you if it's in the Limited Traffic Zone or not.