im planing a trip to italy sometime this year, maybe in september when the flights are inexpensive. the game plan is to fly into milan and drive down to naples via pisa and rome. staying in rome most of the trip and then driving back up to milan to catch my flight. never left the country before and i would love to get any safety precautions, preparations to take before leaving, great sites to see on my trip, cultural differences, and any other ideas you might have that i might have forgot.

So what time are we leaving again?




J/K, you couldn't get me on a plane if my life depended
on it. Good luck and have fun, sounds like a great experience.

eh, I have no helpful suggestions..only wanna say bring pictures back. I would LOVE to go to Italy..still have some of my fathers family there.

were leaving in september...remember?..duh...lol...ty

oh im def. bringing my camera..but im so afraid to bring it because some people tell me that they are easily stolen and this is my canon rebel...expensive camera...but it takes such great shots...i love it!...i guess ill just have to be really careful

Ok, so I have short term memory issues...deal.

what were we talking about!...lol

Be careful anyway, you never know what to expect in other countries
anymore.

Umm, turtles?

yeah thats why i wanted advice...i really want to be prepared!

OK, you might have guessed I've MUCH advice on Italy!!!

Not only have I toured it extensively, but had an Italian boyfriend for 5 years in London ...

We were in a big music circle and our house was rehearsal/party headquarters, w/ every single Italian city represented there ... it often seemed, at least!

So, I'll combine this to offer a few perspectives ...

FOR ME ... The best part of Italy? ... Was actually Switzerland!!!

There is a part of Switzeland at Italy's border ... Called "Swiss Italy" ...

My Gawd!!! ... Italian settled, divided as Switzerland after WW2 ....

... BEST of both cultures blended and in the breathtaking Alps, no less!

Also, I kinda disagree w/ your itinerary ... Kinda hate Rome and downwards ...

To say it nicely ... Kinda sleazy!

Florence, Milano, Venice and Northern Italy is where it is really at!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, see Rome (very crowded and dirty!) ...

... See the Med!!!

BUT ... it is more Mafia~oso~like, etc. the more ya go south.

Sicily and Sardinia are BEAUTIFUL, but the southern culture truly lacks refinement ...

ONLY go to dumps like Brindisi and Bari to catch a boat to Greece!

Also ... Italian transpo goes on strike at the drop of a hat, CONSTANTLY!

Everything just stops and ya can't get out!

NO trains, buses, taxis, etc.

My Eurorail tips fail ya here ...

I got stranded there twice!

Once for 2 entire weeks in the armpit of the Universe, "Bari" ... Where a Mafioso Kingpin fixated on ME!!!

... It was beyound horrible, right out of a thriller!

Wherever I was, he'd be tipped off and walk in the back door!

... He always flashed his money roll at me. Thanx Gawd, I was traveling in a pack!

... SO scary ...

I was just reading a review that says it is still a transpo strike nightmare!

And? Driving there is frightfully crowded and aggressive! BUT, prolly what I'd opt for!

Still, the Italians are my fav Euro peeps ... and the land is BREATHTAKING!!!

... Just tellin' ya the good and bad! GL and have a BLAST! ...

See the Original film "Swept Away" ...

And Guy Ritchie's remake too!

... So much speaks of Italy ... And the 'divide' that I mention ya can feel ...

Kinda the diff between, say, Mexico and Argentina ... Yeah?

If ya fall into Italian film?

One Word: Fellini!!!

thanks!...very informative :)

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh the most beautiful part of italy is swiss-italy??
...i live there and yes alps are very nice ,all is quite clean and Como lake is always visited.....but......baby...things in swisse are quite different...Italy is Rome!!!Rome caput mundi....and i dont think is dirtier than Milano......every city got its history..(Venice,Florence,Pisa..).its culture ,its funny language and as in every country there are safer citier and less....but south Italy is Italy cause there ppl are always welcoming and the landscape takes yr breath off..it is not the ocean but the warm sea with its beautiful colours....what about strikes in italy?yeah..there were many with the last government but never wild and some public transport are always assured.....anything else?.....oh yes mafia...dont live in movies pls!yeah we got it in some regions of the south and I hate it cause there ppl got a differnt mentality and style of life(they dont like working!!)...but nowadays criminality in Italy is because of foreigners came here stealing,pushing...so things in the north are getting worse and less safe expecially in Milan...we should block our border lines!lol....USA are huge but culture in italy is more...a small country with a lot of things to see and feel.....

funny u look for info about italy from american ppl instead of a pure italian like me...

i needed advice from every angle...and yes i did ask you...you were the first i asked

There is a lot of petty crime, like pickpocketing, but not much major crime that I could tell. Keep a wide assortment of bill sizes on hand because if you give too big of a bill, instead of making change, they will just run away.

You have a good itinerary. Most of the things to see are in Rome. Don't miss the coliseum and Vatican. I thought the catacombs were lame.

The biggest surprise was Pisa. The rectory adjacent to the leaning tower has harmonic acoustics. One guard, (the fat one) could sing in harmony with the building acoustics and made his voice sound like twenty men. It was an experience of a lifetime.

Naples has Pompeii. Try to spend several hours there. You won't regret it. Try, as best as possible, to learn how much different things cost before you go.

It is one of the best places to visit in the world.

good advice...thanks!

I'm supposed to go to Italy next May... This is not making me excited about it...

A bunch of my friends have gone and had none of these experiences... Now I'm getting nervous..

No no no! You need to focus on the "one of the best places in the world to visit" comment.

I have been several times and I tend to go, "off the beaten path" in Europe and other countries so I see areas and people tourists usually don't get to see. Italy, especially Rome, is a truly wonderful place.