What to pack for your trip to Italy ?

What to pack for your trip to Italy

Depending on when you are going, your clothing options may be a bit lighter or heavier, however the basics are below.  Note: Do check the weather a couple of days before your trip so you can update your wardrobe if needed.

 

1. An outlet converter to charge your camera, cell phone, etc.. (you can get at Marshalls, TJMaxx, RadioShack, Amazon.com - for as little .99 - $5.00 - it is about $20 or more at the airport)
2. Spring Jacket (for March - May) and heavier coat for (Oct - Feb)
3. Rain Jacket (for rainy days - March - May)
4. A scarf - as it does get colder in the evening, having a scarf helps with the wind.
5. Hat - baseball cap for warmer weather to help keep cool in the hot sun and something warmer for colder weather to keep warm (helps with rain also). 
6. Comfortable walking shoes, boots for raining days & thick absorbent socks (seriously invest in something very comfortable that you can walk around for 10-15 hours, I went in early March, so I brought my ugg boots, they were perfect for raining days and I made a mistake of bringing shoes that I thought were comfortable like my sketchers sneakers and my Puma that I typically work out in for 1-2 hours, not 10-15 hours..so invest in a good pair of walking shoes or get good insoles or learn about your feet type, which I learned after my trip, I learned that I have flat feet.  If you have flat feet and you walk around in neutral shoes for 10-15 hours, the top of your feet will swell up, very painful.  So learn whether you have neutral, flat or high arch feet and get a good some good insoles or some new shoes. (I suggest Naturalizer, Ecco - these are good for all foot types).  Reference this article at Runner's World for a simple test to learn your foot type. 
7. Two wallets - one for primary use and one for safe keeping (ankle wallet or money belt) see my Travel to Europe - Italy Checklist!
8. A couple pair of jeans and a pair of water resistant pants for raining days (i.e., light ski pants, you can these for cheap at Marshalls or TJMaxx).
9. One nice dress or a pair of khaki (if you are planning on going to a high end restaurant, jeans will not be allowed). 
10. A giant ziploc bag (10x12 or bigger) to put your map in if it were to rain (which we used while in Venice - it was raining the first day and there are no awnings anywhere). So having a ziploc bag to put our map in was perfect.
11. Backpack or cross sling pack (its $14.99 on Amazon if you don't have, I recommend getting a sling pack so you can have it cross over the front of your body - not having to worry about pick pockets).  Read my blog about How to Avoid Pickpockets.

 

If you are planning to purchase what you need before your trip, you can save through Online Shopping and get a percentage back through Ebates

 

How does it work?

 

You register through Ebates and select the shop you want to purchase from Orbitz (10.5%) to Amazon (%5 back) to Macys(5% back) to Nordstrom(5% back) to Sephora (8% back)and much more, this could be higher or lower, depending on the month.