Packing light for 2 weeks in Italy?

Take less, buy something you need on the trip, it's a good excuse to go shopping. Your plan to do laundry halfway through is a good one. You'll be amazed at what you can do without and it will improve your life after the trip. This will all be very clear when you get back home. Have a great trip.

Lisa, sounds very reasonable. I went to Italy last summer for 10 weeks and took a carry-on rolling bag and a daypack. One thing you might want to do is take some pieces that you are willing to leave behind to make room in your bag for souvenirs/gifts (I literally returned with just the clothes on my back, but that was my plan all along). Or, take a foldup bag for souvenirs/gifts that will also hold your daypack on your return trip, so you will still have one carry-on and one personal item.

We leave Saturday for three weeks and are trying to pack the same as you! To me the hard thing is choosing clothes for the weather. We will be in Bologna, Siena and CT. Bologna is averaging 80 during the day and upper 50's at night. I think that is ten degrees warmer than normal. I can't quite figure out if I should be taking short-sleeved shirts or long (or what combination of both).

we are leaving tomorrow for a 3 wk stay! will have a bit more luggage than you, though. Based on advice in these posts, I bought a light nylon windbreaker w hood that is water resistant. not too fashionable, but super practical as an extra layer and takes very little room.
Am also taking many "tank" tops...very thin and light so they pack down and are quick dry. w/a fleece and a couple of gauze long sleeved shirts as toppers, I figure I won't have to do too much laundry. We will be hiking in Cinque Terre, so that affected our choices. All my clothes are black, white, grey or tan. Boring, I know, but it means it all goes w everything.

Think mix and match. If you bring four outfits for 14 days, you will wear each at least three times. If you mix/match five tops and three bottoms, however, you have 15 possible outfits and don't have to wear the same thing twice. I usually plan a full laundry every couple of weeks and augment that with a nightly underwear, socks and occasional shirt washing in my sink. Quick drying fabrics really help, as do fabrics that are non-iron and don't lose their shape with wear.

We just got back from 15 nights in Italy, and travelled via carry one. We brought two foldable totes for souvenirs, and carry on backpacks from Osprey. We were in northern Canada, then Venice, CT, Lucca, Florence, Rome and Naples during our stay. I brought- 2 light sweaters, one light raincoat, 2 tank tops, 2 t-shirts, one pair of shorts, one pair of capris, and 2 dresses. Everything was merino wool or quick dry, so we handwashed in the sink mostly. At the halfway point of our trip we went to a laundromat and gave everything a thorough washing. Italy seems unseasonably warm, at least while we were there. Enjoy your trip!

Your plan sounds great. As for leaving stuff in the car, remember that thieves will sometimes break windows to get at things they can see inside. So whether you care about losing them or not, to avoid dealing with the hassle of a broken window, do keep them in the trunk. Have a great time!

You don't focus on the length of the trip because it is the same whether it is two weeks or two months. Basically we pack two changes plus what we are wearing with a couple extra changes of underwear. With mix and match we can get several different looks. We do underwear/socks/shirt every night and everything about every week to ten days depending on weather. We avoid all cotton because it takes too long to dry. A small cotton blend with synthetic works well. Mostly packing light is an acquired behavior. Personally think the key is to pack on paper first by making a list, cross checking, thinking about and then when you pack you still to the list. On the way you review and refine the list so that it is ready for the next trip.

We are also leaving Weds for 3 weeks in Italy. It does seem warmer than I had expected it to be. I am packing 3 short sleeve shirts (REI quick drying), 1 capri, 2 pants that roll up to capris. Also a couple of long sleeve shirts that I plan on layering each day. A light rain jacket, and light wool cardigan. Hope it works. The difficult issue for me is shoes. It is tough to narrow it down to 2 pair! Good luck and have a wonderful time. You can always buy clothing in a pinch.

It's totally resonable and doable. We just returned from 3+ weeks in Italy and only needed 2 carry ons (Rick Steves roll aboard suitcase). We got married in Siena so we even managed to pack the wedding dress, veil, my tuxedo, wedding/tux shoes, etc, etc. Had it not been for the wedding, we could've easily packed all our stuff in one, carry-on sized bag. Even with all our focus on packing light, there was still a few items I could've easly done without. Travel underwear (the kind that dries overnight) will be your best friend. Make sure your clothing is all in the same color group so you can mix and match everything you take. We also found the shrinking, vacum-sealing bags to be very valuable in saving space. Honestly, we laughed at all the tourist we saw lugging around all those monster sized suitcases, struggling to pull them through the streets of whatever town we were in or trying to get them on/off the trains. They looked miserable. I disagree with a few things Rick Steves preaches about, but I do wholeheartedly agree with his emphasis on packing light. It's the only way to go.

Very reasonable- good luck! My most recent trip was 17 days this summer with a 40L backpack and I came home thinking I brought too much. Books, blogs and posts abound on this topic but from the "guy" perspective I'd say: Get the shoes right but two pairs max (one waterproof). Ex Officio give-n-go underwear (worst name ever, best idea ever) 2-4 pair No shorts Lightweight quick dry pants with at least 1 zip pocket (2 pair) 2-3 Tshirts that resist stink (underarmour charged cotton, eddie bauer travel, smartwool) 1 lightweight longsleeve with at least 1 zip pocket Longsleeve layer (heaviness depends on you and time of year but I like lightweight black running or hiking shirt) Swiftwick socks 2-3 pair Superlight, superpackable rain jacket (like Marmot super mica).
Hat Woolite or something to wash with. Wear on the plane the bulkiest of these and pack the rest. Don't pack anything because of "I might need..." and you will be fine. Not everyone wants to travel like this- so they shouldn't and will be fine- but if you are even thinking about it, I promise you won't regret it. If you want to take it to another level, consider this: Every 4 choices I make to reduce by 4 ounces, is a pound less to carry. Suddenly, you think about the size of toothpaste tube, weight of hairbrush, type of cosmetic bag, whether to bring shampoo, weight of shoes and find you can leave another 4 pounds at home. Most people aren't that extreme but it can be liberating if you are inclined to give it a go.

Thank you, everyone, for your replies...you give me hope that we can do it!

Just returned from Italy on Monday. Yes, travel light. It was hot and even though we traveled with a larger bag and a varied assortment of clothing, we did laundry each night to insure we had cooler clothing to wear. T-shirts were not a good choice as they seem to cling. I would take clothing with a short sleeve, capris, skirts, etc. Saw men wearing shorts and ladies wearing longer shorts. Dress for comfort. You
won't need a fashionable scarf as it is currently too hot.

I'll be in Italy for a month leaving on Sunday. Been looking at the long range weather as to what to pack and it seems like it will be getting cool. I don't do cold weather so packed with light long sleeve sweaters and long slacks, jacket and hooded sweater. After reading all the comments I am now wondering if I should rethink this and pack lighter clothes? I just hate being cold. I'll be going on a Rick Steves tour that starts near Lake Como and ending my visit in Foggia the end of Oct. Here is AZ anything below 80 is cold to me:):)

Yes, I suppose it definitely depends on what you are used to! I hate to be too hot and generally don't wear a coat until it hits the 30's or 40's (unless I'll be outside for a long time). Tentatively I've packed 4 s/s shirts, 1 l/s shirt, light jacket, 2 capris and 1 long-ish skirt. Along with sandals, tennies & underthings I hope I'm set! We were in Brugge last weekend and it was pleasantly warm during the day but we could really feel the drop at night. We are currently staying in Cologne where it is generally cool, though we've had a warm spell this week. Hard to know for sure! I know I'll be back in the snow in Idaho before too long so I'll take what I can get!

Packing light has more to do with the number of items you bring than the type of item (i.e. long sleeve shirt, sweaters, etc.). Certainly a sweater will take up more room than a t-shirt, but you also have to ask yourself how many sweaters/slacks/jackets you really need. If you're serious about traveling light, you'll find you can get by just fine with only one or two of each. Sure it gets a little boring wearing the same clothes every day, even if they are in different combinations, but so what? The joy of not being weighted down by luggage is well worth it. (Besides, you'll find you'll enjoy your other outfits even more when you get home. ;-) I also HIGHLY recommend using the vaccum bags when packing (I know Rick Steves store sells them). They really do save a ton of room - especially with the more bulky items like sweaters and such).

The idea of trekking over the bridges in Venice will make packing light seem like an excellent idea. Take a couple of older clothing items you can wear and toss. Carrying your bag over the Rialto Bridge will make a believer out of you! If you are on a tour it is possible your coach will not be able to drive up to the door of your hotel. You may have
to walk 3 or 4 blocks.

Just got back from Italy for 2 weeks. Linen was my friend. It was easy to wash by hand, shake out and was dry in a couple of hours. I had a khaki linen skirt which I wore almost every day and 3 linen tops (all sleeveless) which were so comfortable. Two lightweight pair of convertible pants were very useful plus a cotton skirt. Had a few other things but everthing fit in my rolling carry on. I packed a small backpack which was my other other carry on.

Great idea, that's what we always do, and it makes it so much easier traveling on planes, trains, buses, and boats. Rick Steves lists many laundry facilities in his books, but I've been successful with web searches for places where he doesn't list any. We just got back from 2 weeks on the Amalfi coast, and the listed laundry facilities worked great: drop off in the morning & pick up clean/folded/pressed clothes in the evening! We usually pack about 2 outfits other than the ones we initially wear over, and about a week's worth of socks & underwear. It's usually not a big deal wearing outfits more than once, and you can always buy clothes locally so you don't stand out as a big tourist target. I've found that travelsmith.com has nice travel clothes with hidden security pockets, wrinkle-resistant, and fast drying clothes. They also sell pants that convert to shorts, but order early as sometimes their sizes can be off to give yourself time to return them.