Italy/novice traveler

Good for you! Start now getting comfortable by reading the Europe thru the Back Door book and other guidebooks. Take notes on what sounds interesing to you. When you look at Rick's suggested itinerary, see if it would work for you. I went to Rome by myself in my 20's with a couple of day trips out and had a very good time.
Get used to reading this site - look at the top where "travel tips" and the books. Enjoy the research as only you can decide what you like- museums or cafes or opera or the Med beaches....

With a two week trip that will give you about 12 days to sightsee. I suggest you pick 2-3 cities that you really want to see and spend 3-4 days in each. Grab some guide books, read some forums, ask friends, anything that will help you decide what interests you. Once you have the cities picked out it's a matter of listing the sites in each city. Which sites are the "most" important to you and which would you just "like to see if I have the time". With that type of information along with budget we can all chip in to help you arrange your trip. At this point it's really up to you to choose what is the most important to you. Have fun with the planning! To me that's one of the best parts. Donna

I was in the same boat about a year and a half ago. It's pretty intimidating and I was a bit paranoid when I got here but to be honest I've felt safer anywhere I've been in Italy as compared to the US. Probably the biggest thing you have to worry about is pickpockets and scams. Just use a money belt, common sense and stay aware of your surroundings and you'll be okay. I haven't had any problems in almost a year and a half. Won't suggest what to pack but do suggest to pack light. You may find yourself carrying your luggage up/down stairs. I'd suggest getting a good guide book and see which areas interest you but also use some alternate references (travel boards,internet sites, books) and make a plan on where to go. Decide how you want to get around (trains, drive). Learn some basic Italian, especially for ordering in restaurants. In bigger cities you can most likely get away without it but could be handy in smaller towns. You'll have a good time!
Ciao

Pack light. That said, try packing a skirt, sundress, tops that will all mix and match, and a cardigan. You can tie the cardigan around your shoulders or waist, or put in in your day bag, and pull it out for when you're visiting a church or the sun goes down and it gets cool. I pack one carry on and take a large purse/bag for up to 3 weeks. That way I don't worry about checking luggage and it getting lost - delaying my time in Italy. I like to pack a collapsable duffle bag in my suitcase, and as I go, I fill the duffle bag with souveniers. On the way home, I check my suitcase with all my dirty laundry (I don't care if it gets lost/delayed going home) and carry on my duffle bag of treasures.
ENJOY! You'll love it!

I agree with the post suggesting Europe Through the Backdoor. Its a good overall guide and hammers home the (good) idea to only bring one bag. After reading that pick up a couple of country specific guidebooks. I like Rick Steves and Frommers for Italy. In terms of what to see - look at the suggested itineraries in the guidebooks and also read them for other things that catch your eye. On my trips I've kept a journal and written about my experiences each day. I've also kept a photo log to help keep pictures organized. They're fun to look at years later. Your post prompted me to look back on my 2002 Italy journal which was my first trip to Europe. I crammed the following into two weeks (flying in and out of Milan). Warning - I took a lot of very early trains (and one overnight train) and was quite tired at the end of this trip: Milan Cinque Terre Siena with day trips to Florence and San Gimignamo Rome Sorrento with day trips down the coast, to Pompeii, to Capri, and to Naples Venice
Milan again I would not be quite so aggresive if I did it again. Depending on the type of traveller you are you might want to consider adding a free day or two to whatever itinerary you set. Don't plan to do anything and decide what to do once you get there. That will allow you time to both rest and have chance to soak up the culture. Since this is a first trip, I suggest that you arrange all of your lodging in advance. Also study up on transportation (i.e. how to read train schedules). Those two things will eliminate a lot of travel stress. Good luck.

Rebecca, if you haven't already done so, watch some of Rick Steves' Italy shows & see which places interest you the most so you can build your itinerary. I agree with another poster that you should pick 3 cities at the most to visit. Resist the urge to cram too much in your trip because you'll end up spending a lot of time on trains, buses, taxi's, etc. & less time actually sight-seeing. I also agree that you should pre-arrange your lodging & not wing it when you get there. I use Trip Advisor to research hotels & B&B's. Remember to re-confirm your reservations right before you leave the U.S. Have a look at www.slowtrav.com - there's some really good information under the Italy section regarding all sorts of topics. I would also suggest getting Rick's Italy Planning Map. It's a great map that I use in the planning stages; it also has city maps for Florence, Siena, Venice & Rome. To stay organized and keep all my travel details in one place, I use tripit.com. They have an option in which you can e-mail them all of your trip details and they'll organize it for you but I find it easy (& fun) to do that on my own. You can then print out your itinerary & leave a copy with family and during the trip, I access my itinerary on my Itouch so that at a glance I have all my information in one central place and I don't have to drag around tons of print-outs. Another web site that you'll want to use is DB Bahn (http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en) for researching train times and approximate length of train rides. You can of course use Trenitalia's web site but I much prefer DB Bahn's site. No need to pre-pay for train rides; you can purchase your tickets there.

2nd part of my reply: Finally, take lots of sunscreen and expect heat & humidity. Dress appropriately. Comfortable shoes are a must & I suggest tennis shoes; while they're not the most fashionable, they are a must in my book. You will walk & walk & then walk some more & you will probably walk on cobblestones some/much of the time which can be hard to walk on. Remember to contact your bank before you leave the U.S. & alert them that there will be international activity on your credit card(s). Have a great trip. You will fall in love with Italy & want to plan your return trip as soon as you return home.

Rebecca, I agree with the others that reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip would be a REALLY good idea (especially the Rail Skills chapter)! I also agree with the suggestion to watch some of Rick's Italy shows. Do you have a PBS station in your area? I would also highly recommend packing along a copy of the Italy 2011 Guidebook, as it will be a valuable reference source during the trip. Before recommending places to see in a two-week time frame, it would help to have some ideas on your expectations and what you most want to see? As the others have said, you'll really only have 12-days and will be jet-lagged for the first day or two. You'll arrive the day AFTER you depart. As you've already booked return flights to Milan, focusing on northern Italy would be the best idea on this occasion. I wouldn't spend a lot of time in Milan, as there are more interesting locations to spend your short time. Depending on your interests, you could look at Lago di Como (Varenna), Stresa (with a day trip to Locarno, Switzerland on the scenic Cento Valli Railway), Verona, Venice, Florence, Siena and further south Rome and Orvieto. There are SO MANY possibilities and SO LITTLE time! When planning which places to visit, be sure not to try and fit too many in, and allow adequate travel time between them. Each change of location will require at least half a day. One point to note is that "late July/early August" is PEAK travel season in Italy, so it's going to be hot and crowded. It would be a REALLY GOOD IDEA to start pre-booking accommodations ASAP! There are lots of good listings in the Italy Guidebook. If you need info on getting from MXP into Milan, post another note. Happy travels!

Rebecca, One more point to mention.... The Cinque Terre is a very popular place with many tourists, however I didn't suggest it, as at that time of year it will likely be dreadfully crowded. It also may be difficult to get accommodations there given the short time until July. I'll be in the Cinque Terre in September, and started booking about March. Even starting that early, it took me several days to get something arranged, and that required a slight change in my travel schedule. Good luck!

How wonderful! Your life will never be the same. No need to be scared...once you arrive and begin to travel and see the places you have always wanted to visit, the fear will be replaced by happiness and joy. Get prepared for the heat and the tourists. You are going at the busy time of year. I have always traveling in March or April to Italy. I agree with Julie in an earlier post. I take one small carryon and a purse. The less luggage you take, the better your trip will be. I bought a wonderful leather weekender in Siena (our last town before coming home) to bring our souviners back.
I can give you good hotels in Siena, Lucca, Bologna, Verona, Stresa and Cannobio. Let me know if you are going to any of those places and I will send you my list. You need to book right away because it is the busy season.

That's awesome, Rebecca! I went to Europe for the first time in 2002 - and have been returning almost every year since then. You've gotten very good advice here, and you learn as you travel. I laugh at myself when I remember taking too much luggage the first time. I learned that lesson pretty quickly. Someone has mentioned Rick's shows and I think watching some of them will give you great tips. I'd also suggest watching the 3-part "Travel Skills" videos. Rick has made all his shows available through http://www.hulu.com - for Free!! Hope you have a wonderful time! G.

Rick put a lot of his episodes onto Hulu so you can brouse through the Italy episodes to find places you might like; then drill down into his books for a lot more detail. The best advice that I can think of is that you should assume that this is your first trip to Italy, not your last. Get to know a place, or a site, or a neighborhood before sprinting to complete a laundry list. Also, take lots of photos. When sorting through photos after returning home I sometimes have no idea where some photos were taken, other than for example "Venice somewhere in Castello maybe". So I always shoot the corner street signs and I make sure that I set the camera date/time stamp to Italy time. Also FYI street signs sometimes are cut into the cornerstones of top of the first story so you must look up. For me gelato is a must and I really enjoy the gelato made from ingrediants that I never imagined could be used for gelato. I carry an It-Eng list of flavors so that I can just point to what I want.

Also, how old are you because that will make a difference how you meet people. I had a friend who traveled by himself - nervous - but ended up going out to a bar played music and ended up meeting locals who loved he was American and he had a great time. He wrote a book on his travels - if you search it Tyler Gilbert you could read about his travels. If you are not in your 20's my wife brought up a great point. Just look for fellow travelers with the rick steves book - it is a great opening statement with something in common to strike up a conversation. As far as theft. I carry $100 and a credit card and my drivers lisence in my FRONT pocket. It is all replaceable. Also carry a second credit card away form the other just in case one is lost or stolen. But we have been 4 times with NO problems Love to help