Traveling in Italy

I am in Vernazza now. There is only 1 laundromat.. and it is self serve. It is pretty fast, 24 minutes for the wash and 37 minutes for the dry. No soap needed as it is automatic. You will not find anyone to do it for you in Vernazza. In Rome, near the Piazza Navona you can find a service who will do it for you if you are going to Rome.

In Rome at least laundry service is frequently. One we have used several times is just across the street from Hotel Contilla, one block south of Termini out the side door. It is either self service or they will do it for you. Regardless of where you are, your hotel can point you to the closest one.

If you search Google Maps for "Lavanderia" you will see one in Pomerance and one just outside of Vernazza. You'd have to contact them to inquire about delivery. I plan on stopping every week or so in larger cities to do wash at a laundramat or as they say a"Lavanderia".

Two hours sitting in a laundramat is as non-touristy "living like a local" thing I can think of. I don't know why Rick doesn't include it in his books and keeps insisting on washing his underwear in the sink where he brushes his teeth.

Traci,

When we were in Monterosso a few years ago, there was a laundry service in the new part of town not far from the train station on Via Molinelli right across from a grocery store.

It was not cheap but convenient. They charge a flat rate per load.

Ken( from Vernon) visits CT frequently so he may have more information for you.

Edit: There is also a self-service laundromat in La Spezia but it was not cheap either.

I don't know why Rick doesn't include it in his books and keeps
insisting on washing his underwear in the sink where he brushes his
teeth.

Richard,
This could be part of Rick's pack light philosophy: On a European trip, you can brush your teeth or wash your underwear in the hotel sink, but you can't do both on the same trip.
It's packing light because you save either the weight of the toothbrush or the weight of the extra underwear.

Email your hotels, the one we are staying at in Monterosso says it has a laundry service. And several years ago in Florence our hotel had a laundry service and it worked out beautifully. I have found over the years that the hotels you are booked at are very very helpful with those kinds of things.

traci,

I usually stay in Monterosso, so don't have any information on laundry facilities in Vernazza. The information that Sunny provided in the first reply provides one option. Vernazza is fairly small, so I doubt they have a service wash facility.

The hotel that I normally use in Monterosso provides laundry service, so I've never had to look any farther. The service is not cheap, but it's nice to come back to the room after a long day touring and find my laundry neatly folded on the bed.

Next time I'm there, I'll have a look to see what's available.

Rick's guidebook does provide launderette details for each town of the Cinque Terre except Corniglia. Those listings are always at the intro to the town section, under "Helpful Hints." Some places that do it for you charge only €13 per small load, or it usually costs about €8-10 across Europe to do it yourself.

We used the laundromat in Vernazza when we were there two nights last October. It was super convenient because it was just across the road from where we stayed and next door to Il Pirate, where you can hang out and enjoy a drink while your wash is going. As someone mentioned, you don't need your own detergent at that particular place because it's automatically dispensed during the wash cycle. Beware the dryer settings though: the highest setting is nuclear hot. All our clothes came out okay but were so hot I almost dropped them on the floor unloading them.

We actually enjoyed our two visits to laundromats during our 17-day Italy trip. (We did a load in Siena too, at a place just off Il Campo, the main plaza.) I guess it was the normalcy of it that stood out for us, and the chance to unwind a bit. Also, I preferred doing a whole load of laundry at once (including the clothes we wore on our hike from Monterroso) rather than trying to do bits at a time in a sink and hoping it would air dry by the time I had to pack.

Nice word picture, Kent. Don't mean to sound so "American" but my wife and I buy cheap underwear for our trips to Europe. We just toss it. The idea of carrying around soiled underwear for a week or two through Europe has never been appealing to us.

Actually, since most Americans traveling to Italy complain about the lack of washcloths in hotels, dirty underwear come very handy, as they can be used as wash cloths.

Thanks to all for your replies. This will help with the packing as I can wash halfway and not bring as much! Already thinking and rethinking what to bring. Also, not big on heights, so thinking to do the train in between the towns, if not, are fit flops ok between Vernazza and Monterrosa? I don't want to take tennis shoes just for that one stop if I can help it. I wouldn't wear them anywhere else. Still trying to figure out where to park the car, so any help on that would be great. And yes, we have the car for the duration of the trip, so turning it in is not an option. I assume that we need to take all of our luggage with us and not leave any in the trunk? Safety?
Thanks!!!!

We did laundry in Vernazza a few years ago. There was one down a small ally behind the main street. It took a long time to do 2 loads, and nothing really dried very well, and it was pretty expensive. However, all of our laundry experiences are interesting! Whether it is trying to figure out the machine, trying to communicate with non English speaking locals, or reading the magazines with the nude photos laying around, all make for great memories! Seems we always find one that is filled with locals and we enjoy our interactions with them for a couple hours we are there.

I'd say carve out time (maybe in the evening) to go and do it yourself. It might be fun!

"The idea of carrying around soiled underwear for a week or two through Europe has never been appealing to us."

And that's why you wash it in the sink. I don't have room for 35 'disposable' bras and panties.

traci, I hope you received the answer(s) you were looking for...although I have to say a big NO to the Fit Flops on that hiking trail. Elsewhere, they're OK.

I never carry spoiled underwear anywhere because we always raise it out each night. And then every week to ten days we hit a self service. I am guy in the nylon hiking shorts and t-shirt, no socks. And nothing else. Reminds me of an old cartoon in Playboy where four guys and gals are standing around nude in a laundry and one says, "I do everything every two weeks." Someone earlier complain about wasting time in a laundry but we don't find it a waste of time since we are using it to catch up on mail, maybe some addition trip planning, checking internet since most of the laundries we have used had internet.

Oh dear, here we go again on the travel light/wash clothes in sink tangent. Lest any newbies think that everyone who frequents this is site some kind of fanatic adherent to everything Rick Steves says, or said in his younger days, I'd like to present a different view. While I'd utilize the sink for laundry in an emergency, that's not part of my plan. We take enough underwear to last a week; then do laundry (or have it done). I don't know how much anyone else's underwear weighs, but our is pretty light. We are also able to include toothbrushes. I find the notion that a week's worth adds substantially to the weight of our baggage silly. As to carrying "soiled" items, that's one thing plastic bags were invented for. Our suitcases also have various compartments, one of which can be dedicated as a laundry bag. Get a grip, folks. The poster innocently asked about laundry service locations, not sermonizing on the virtues of the travel light gospel according to Saint Rick.

Uh, Kent, you can brush your teeth and wash your clothes on the same trip, just don't use the same water and you'll be fine.