Take laptop to Italy?

I think the consensus on this board is that a "laptop" is cumbersome and difficult to drag on a trip to Europe, but a "netbook" is a definite asset. As for its being safe, it's probably as safe in Europe as it is in the US. If your hotel room has a safe you can leave it there during your daytime hours, or (this is my guess) it is not that big a deal to pack it along with you in your day bag. That's what I plan to do when I travel to Italy next month. Cheers!

Have taken your netbook to Italy before?

Has anyone taken an Ipad to Italy? I am planning to do so in November as all my hotels indicate they have free wi-fi. Still, I do not think it picks up a signal as well as a laptop. I would appreciate very much hearing anyone's experience with an Ipad in Italy.

Mike, I've never been to Italy before- it's my first trip. But I've toted my netbook with me every day at home and am used to having it with me. Other contributors to this board "have" traveled in Europe with a netbook and maybe they will speak up here.

Mike, when I said I've never been to Italy, this does not mean I have not done a lot of travel in other European countries. I've made numerous trips and I'm not worried about taking my netbook to Italy. I wouldn't go without it this year.

Mike, I'd definitely recommend taking a Netbook to Italy (but NOT a Laptop)! I travelled with a Netbook this year for the first time, and it was one of my most useful travel accessories. Most of the Hotels I used offered Wi-Fi (free except for the Hotel in Athens which charged for Wi-Fi). I had no worries about the Netbook being "safe", and had no problems in Italy, Greece, Switzerland, France or Germany. I left the Netbook locked inside my luggage when I was out day touring. I also have a MacBook Pro (15.4") but that's too large, too heavy and too expensive to travel with. Be sure to check the Charger to ensure that it's designed for "world" operation. You will need a Plug Adapter though. Happy travels!

As I've said before on this forum (boring everyone again), I took my Acer to Turkey and Greece last fall and it was a terrific asset. At 2 pounds it fits into my daypack or my carry-on even with a mouse/adapters. I'll certainly be taking it to Italy and France in April.

We are planning to take our netbook. I'm looking at grounded adapter plugs and can't figure out which one I need. I've seen 2 different ones. One called a "D pattern" that has 2 prongs to plug into the socket and other that has 3 prongs in a row. Thoughts? Experience with this?

JOY, the Grounded Plug Adapters for Italy have three "in-line" pins. I'm assuming your Netbook has a grounded Power Supply (ie: three pins on the Charger)?

Yes, the one we have is grounded. Thanks for the info. Now I know which one to order.

I think it a netbook or iPad would be a useful asset, but I think in iPhone/iPod touch would be much more useful. I doubt you'll be lugging either one in a daybag, or whipping them out in a cafe / street corner, so the would be more for in-room use. The last few trips (France/Belgium and Morocco) my wife and I have had our iPhones w/ roaming tuned off, there is tons of free wifi out there and having access can be very nice for quick access. I look at these devices as a "nice to have", you never know were the wifi will be available and working properly ... and frankly welcome a week or two a year computer free. That said, I can certainty see they would be totally worth it for some.

When travelling, I usually take my smartphone along, with embedded GPS capabilities and OFFLINE maps apps (so it spares me having to take a GPS with me) for using on my errands, and a powerful notebook to use at night, when I'm back to the hotel. I can't stay a day without connecting Outlook and fetching all my email accounts and so - too addicted to technology, but that is the way to go :)

For those of you who love to travel with your netbook, what do you use it for? Thanks,

We usually take a laptop or netbook with us. Sometimes we have to do some work while we are away, just a fact of life. We also use them to download pictures off of our cameras and to keep our travel journal, check email, keep in touch with family at home. We're looking forward to the next iPad version, that one may be our next take along tool. We purposely choose places with free internet to stay in because of our needing to stay connected and have never had any problems. When we are out and about we just lock the laptop/netbook into a pocket of our luggage and then hide the locks so they aren't obvious, never a problem.

Andrew: I took a small Sony Vaio for several years and last year took a netbook.. I use both for the same purposes. Storing my itinerary and copies of hotel confirmations, etc. To download my wife's many photos and back them up to flashdrives. Write our travel log and upload it to our website along with a few photos every few days. Keep track of expenses. Write & send emails. I would be lost without it!

I took my very small laptop to France last year. This year I just took my unlocked and jailbroken I Phone to Italy and Sardinia. I stuffed an EU SIM chip in my IPhone, so I used it as a phone, and used the free wi-fi capabilities. I shut off the 3G/data functions, since I only bought a pre-paid EU "phone" chip. I really think that a net book would be the best option, though it was neat whipping out my Iphone and checking EMail when we sat down for coffee/drinks, etc. Don't worry about theft. Buy a cheap travel insurance policy before you go.

Andrew: We used the notebook to make/change/check on rez. To Skype - esp. to see our new grandbaby. To email (d'un) and to download photos.