7 Things to know before traveling to Italy

Traveling to Italy is on most couples’ bucket list. The pasta, great fashion, and amazing espresso is just the beginning.

I’ll spend weeks in advance reading blog posts on Pinterest, looking at binge-worthy photos of food on Yelp, and researching the best tour companies on Facebook.

My husband is happy to show up and be ‘surprised.’ What he doesn’t realize is the best gelato he’s experiencing for the first time is a culmination of lots of research before we even reach our destination.

These tips will help you while traveling to Italy and hopefully save you time and headaches.

(1) Al banco vs. Al tavolo

This translates to ‘at the bar’ and ‘at the table.’ You’ll see two different price structures for coffee in Italy. ‘Al banco’ is meant to be drunk quickly standing at the bar and shouldn’t cost more than 1.20 euros for an espresso. However, ‘al tavolo’ will typically be about double the al banco price. This allows you to sit leisurely at a table and enjoy your coffee. A server will come to take your order.

(2) Don’t expect great WiFi anywhere traveling Italy

While we are on the topic of coffee houses, there aren’t any American style coffee houses in Italy where you can sit and enjoy free WiFi. (I saw one Starbucks in Rome near the Pantheon).

Most places that do offer WiFi have a weak connection, even on the trains, they were practically non-existent.

I highly recommend purchasing an international data plan through your cell phone carrier or if you travel internationally frequently, I recommend investing in a skyroam which is a mobile hotspot that will connect up to 5 of your devices at 4G LTE speed in over 130 countries. (It is amazing, super-fast, and no longer do I need to pick up a new SIM card for each new country).

(3) Toilets

For the love of gelato, Italy gets this so wrong. I have no idea why public bathrooms do not have toilet seats. Mentally prepare for this and the fact that most bathrooms will not have toilet paper. If you’re out for a day of sightseeing, I recommend one of two options:

One, if your addiction to espresso has dramatically increased since acclimating to Italy, look for a modern, clean cafe. For a euro and change, you’ll have a quick, delicious, creamy espresso al banco and access to a clean bathroom.

Alternatively, beeline to the closest luxury hotel and pass as a guest. Stride in with confidence, bathrooms are typically located on the first floor near the lobby bar.

(4) The elevators are small…like really small

If you’re taking a long trip or are a heavy packer be prepared to take a couple of trips on the elevator to get all your luggage to your Airbnb.

My husband and I with our two luggage rollers barely fit in the elevators. Also, if you’re scared of small or enclosed spaces think about looking for hotel rooms or Airbnbs on a lower floor.

(5) Get ready to get off the train at your destination

Train travel is the most cost-effective and easiest way to move throughout the different cities in Italy. However, be conscious of when your stop arrives. Once the train stops, you have two minutes to exit the train. You’ll see many Italians start to get up and make their way to the door prior to the train coming to a complete stop.

My family experienced this the hard way when I turned around at the Tiburtina stop in Rome to see my parents trapped on the train. We had luggage for four with us on the train (we were headed to the airport) and my parents were caught behind other passengers entering the train. Each carriage on the train has two doors; however, both are used for entering and exiting which makes it difficult.

(6) BYOA

Bring Your Own Adapter. I expected there to be more HDMI connections in the hotels we stayed but I think it goes back to the weak WiFi in Italy and not having typical American coffee shops.

Make sure you have a good travel adapter so you can connect your phone, laptop, etc. I recommend this international adapter.

(7) You can try amazing wine for two-buck Chuck prices

Grocery stores carry extraordinary wine for as little as 2 euros. Go ahead a grab a couple of bottles to see what types of wine you enjoy.

Also, restaurants have very affordable wine. Ask for the house wine (most trattorias make their own) and it is typically served in a carafe (enough for two people to share) for 7-10 euros.

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