My husband and I recently celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Italy, and while things are still fresh in my mind I thought I would put together a little guide for all of the things we found useful while there, as well as include the things we didn’t really need!
To give you a little background, we went to Venice, Rome, and Positano (which is a little cliffside town on the Amalfi coast.) We were gone a total of 9 days and this was both of our first times in Europe.
So, with all of that said, here we go!
Travel Agent– Since neither of us had traveled to Europe before, the thought of planning this kind of trip was just daunting. Getting between each city, booking the tours, researching hotels; there is SO much time connected to planning a trip like this, and as the date got closer and closer, I found myself starting to panic. That is when I decided to hire out the planning portion of this trip to take the stress off, and went with Cheyenne from All Travel Matters.
Cheyenne and I talked about what my husband and I were looking for in our trip, and she took the reins from there. She made sure to stay within our budget, sent me links to various tours she thought we would be interested in, and made sure to take care of all the details right down to which kind of seats we prefer on the airplane (window or aisle) which saved us from having to sit in the middle rows during the long flights! She also took care of every transfer, meaning as soon as we landed at the airport in Venice, we knew which boat to take from the airport to our hotel. And when it was time to go to Rome, someone was waiting in the lobby for us to take us to the train station. And then once off the train, someone was waiting for us to take us to our hotel; and this pattern happened in every city. Someone was always right there to take us to the next spot and it was SO nice not to worry about trying to find a cab or wondering where we needed to be.
In summary, I couldn’t have made a better decision in hiring Cheyenne! Plus, hiring her didn’t affect our budget and we were still able to do everything we wanted, and then some!
Next came deciding on what to bring on such a trip, and I definitely have some recommendations now that we have gone and experienced it all!
Suitcase– We decided to each bring a carryon suitcase and a backpack. The number one piece of advice I was given was to pack light, so we did. The streets in Italy are made of cobblestone and can be hard to roll a suitcase over, but I think it can be done if you really want a bigger one. We also did a ton of research and learned that in some airports, they will make you check your luggage if it does not fit in that tiny little suitcase measuring cube, which we learned is 20 inches. AND, in Paris (the city we flew into) they actually tried to deny our suitcases for being too big, until I had the man measure them, and because they JUST fit, we were able to take them on our next flight. The last thing I wanted was to HOPE our luggage made it after traveling that far. Our suitcases were easy to maneuver, durable, and we just had no complaints.
Packing Cubes– These came recommended by so many people, and I have got to say; I love them! They kept my clothes from falling all over the place and also gave me places to put dirty clothes to keep them separate from the clean.
Neck Pillow– You are going to WANT a neck pillow of some sort for the long flight. My husband accidentally left his pillow on the flight from Spokane to Seattle, so we were down to one. Since I was the one sitting by the window and could lean against that, I gave mine to him so that we could both be somewhat comfortable. We used THESE ones lent to us by my mother-in-law, and I liked how they laid nice and flat in our backpacks, but whatever kind you like I’m sure would be fine.
Furse– I know what you are thinking; “WHAT is a furse?!” It is the term I have coined a fanny pack purse, and this was hands-down one of the best things I brought. I was a little worried about pick-pocketers, and this allowed me to travel worry-free while also not having to worry about where my purse was, because it was attached to me at all times. My favorite is THIS one from Humble Hilo and is the one I took on the trip.
Walking shoes– We walked miles every single day, and we would do it that exact same way if we did it again! We felt like we really saw each city by walking it, but with that comes the need for good walking shoes. I researched good, but affordable, walking shoes that I could also dress up or down, and decided on these. I had heard white shoes were worn a lot in Italy, and I would say that is true! (Seen above.)
Socks– I think good socks help a ton! I bought no-show socks with a non-slip back and loved these. They are slightly thicker than my normal socks and helped keep things cushy.
Stain stick– I was worried about my shoes getting dirty, so I brought my favorite stain stick and was blown away when they washed up super clean after a week in Italy. Brand new once again! I also used it on some clothing when we got little stains, and they came right out!
Snorkels– if you plan on being anywhere near water and like to snorkel, I would recommend these. We ended our trip in Positano, which is right on the Amalfi coast, and planned a boating trip one day where we would be making snorkeling stops, and the ones provided on the boats just do not compare. These things are anti-fog and make breathing really easy.
Cooling towel– This SAVED my husband! You just get this thing wet and it keeps you cool throughout the day. You will need to re-wet it every now and again, but we were both actually glad we had these because it can get very hot during the summer in Italy. I also used mine as a shawl to cover my shoulders when entering churches! (Women’s’ shoulders cannot be bare in certain churches in Europe.)
Umbrella– If you plan to be out in the sun a lot, then bring a small umbrella might be a good idea to keep you shaded. During one of our stops, we were waiting on a boat for over an hour in the sun, and I was SO thankful I had my umbrella to keep me shaded. I got ours from the dollar store and they did the job!
Portable chargers– Nothing worse than being in a new, incredible city only to have your phone/camera die! We brought two portable chargers and charged them each night, and we both used them almost daily! You not only end up using your phone for photos but also as your main navigation source.
Adapters– Your phone chargers and electronics will not work over there unless you have European adapters; and note, not all adapters work in each city. The ones we used for Italy were the ones linked here.
Water bottles– We drank SO much water while in Italy and were so glad we had these refillable water bottles to fill up in the many clean-water fountains we found all across Rome. Water is NOT free at restaurants (around $4 a big bottle) so when we could come with our own it helped to save a little.
Sleep Aid– With a 9-hour time difference, falling asleep when you want to isn’t going to come naturally. I took Benadryl with us, as well as melatonin, and used them both to help us fall asleep at various times. I took the Benadryl on the long flights and that helped me to sleep for the majority of the flights, and then I took 5 mg of Melatonin each night because even though we did SO much and walked our buns off everywhere, I still could not fall asleep.
Hair– I know this is going to sound a little weird, but I got a blow-out the day before we left on our trip and it was one of the best things I did. I don’t know what they put in my hair or how they curl it so well, but I didn’t have to do my hair for a solid WEEK while in Italy, which was my goal. My hair is naturally frizzy, and with the humidity there I knew if I tried to do it myself it would just blow up like Monica’s from Friends, so getting the blow-up allowed me to get ready quickly in the mornings while still looking decent, and I got mine at Luxe Salon and Spa in Spokane.
Clothing– We went in August, which is a hot time of year to travel, so packing light, breathable clothing helped a ton. I also tried to pack items that could be interchangeable, which meant packing solid colors. (Check my stories titled “travel recs” to see exactly what I packed.)
What I DIDN’T need
Ipad- I didn’t use my Ipad once! Delta is the airline we flew and each headrest had a built-in movie player with enough movies to keep me entertained. I will say we did watch one movie on a train from my husband’s mini laptop, and that was nice.
Blanket-I packed a mini fold-up blanket, but I never ended up using it. Actually, though, I wish I would have brought it down to the beach when we were in Positano, instead of just having our little towels. But, if not going to a beachy destination, not needed. Delta also gave us a small pillow, blanket, eye mask and earplugs for the long flights, so again, an extra blanket wasn’t needed.
Wrinkle release spray- I never needed it!
If I think of anything else as time goes on, I will be sure to add it, but I THINK that just about covers it. We packed really lightly and used just about everything we brought, so we felt good about that and I hope this helps if you, too, are planning a similar trip!
As always, thanks for stopping by!
<3 Shannon
