Italy Packing List Tips by Trekki Top 5 Page for this destination

Pack decent, this is Italy :-)

Luggage and bags: By all means, bring luggage with robust wheels or even a big backpack and maximum one piece of main luggage. No matter if travelling by car or with public transport, the distances between car park and bus and train station to the accommodation can be long. Especially in smaller towns the hotels in the historical centres won’t have a car park.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Leave shorts and baseball caps at home or consider wearing them only at the beach. They shout out loud “tourist” and especially in the mass magnets of Roma, Firenze, Napoli and Amalfi Coast will most probably draw the attention of possible thieves immediately. Dress decent. Look at how locals dress. Italians dress nicely, they have a worldwide reputation for that. Bring comfortable shoes; you will walk a lot. Bring a raincoat or an umbrella. It might rain. Girls: bring a light sweater, jacket or shawl in case you want to visit churches. Bare shoulders and too short skirts are a strict no-no for any churches.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: There is no need to bring a full bag of toiletries since everything is available at the pharmacies or at perfumeries, even in the smaller towns. But bring all medical supplies and a translation of prescriptions into Italian or at least the generic name of medications. Pharmacy staff is usually excellently educated (better than in an average German pharmacy, that’s what I can judge).

Photo Equipment: Cards, cards, cards… rolls, rolls, rolls. This should go without saying. Anywhere in Italy photo opportunities are around each corner. Bring a tele lens for architectural details or atmospheric shots. Bring a tripod for festival and night photos. Bring a flash for evening and night photos. And bring something to store your photos, since you won’t want someone to mess with your valuable photos, will you?

Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: italy’s hiking centres in the northern part of the country have an excellent infrastructure where almost anything can be rented. Not so in middle Italy (Appeninne mountains as hiking region). Here you should bring your own gear. For the beach: everything you would bring for a beach holiday of course. Although the majority of Italy’s coastline is lined up with “bagni” (lido – lidos?) where deck chairs and sunshades can be rented for a fee.

Miscellaneous: A dictionary or a small “how to say in Italian” book is always a good idea especially for anyone who wants to travel outside of the mass magnet pattern of Roma, Firenze, Napoli and Amalfi Coast. In this context I highly recommend to make notes in Italian about names of dishes or ingredients you don’t eat to present these to the waiter at restaurants.
Binoculars are useful for any birdwatcher or wildlife watcher.
Earplugs are a must for anyone who has a light sleep or problems with bells. Italy is a very catholic country and services are being held not only during weekends. The majority of town or church officials won’t stop ringing the church bells just because of some tourist rants like it happened in the town of Mezzema

While you are sightseeing

Luggage and bags: Bring a bag which can be put across the shoulder and which has inner compartments big enough to deposit camera and other valuables you (feel you) must have during sightseeing. This puts you on the safer side in the mass magnet cities in case someone on a motorbike wants to grab your bag or someone wants to slice the bottom of your bag. Fanny packs/belly bags are a very bad idea, especially in said mass magnet cities. They also scream “tourist” from afar. If you feel they are a must, cover them with a shirt.