Packing for Italy

In fifteen years of travelling to Italy, twice a year for the last ten years, I’ve learnt a lot about what works and what doesn’t work when choosing luggage and packing luggage. It was around this time last year that I wrote ‘Clever Packing’, so the start of a new year is a good time to revisit the art of travelling well.

I truly believe, no matter how well travelled you are, that these skills can always be fine-tuned. It is a ritual now on my flight home to list what I could have done better on my ‘notes to self’ page in my diary. For the first few years (maybe ten!) it was ‘pack less shoes, pack less clothes’.

When we were travelling in our twenties, packing didn’t require much thought, but to travel overseas for longer than two weeks requires careful thinking and planning, simply to make the journey worry free and easier.

Let’s talk luggage

No matter my recommendations, it is not necessary to buy new luggage if you are happy with what you currently have. This is only relevant if you feel it’s time to upgrade.

• There is so much cheap luggage available, but it’s false economy. Cobblestones are not user friendly for poor quality wheels and zips and handles that break are totally frustrating. Think of quality luggage as an investment, particularly if you plan on travelling for a lot more years.

• I would always choose two wheels over four spinning wheels. Four wheels are efficient for walking through the airport and on flat, smooth surfaces, but don’t perform as well over rough surfaces, cobblestones and steps.

• I have a preference for soft case over hard shell for several reasons. Modern, high-tech fabric often weighs less; the bag moulds into tight spaces more easily and fits in the overhead luggage rack on a train; the majority of soft sided luggage allows you to tighten the straps on departure and expand them when you need to fit your Italian shopping in. Keep in mind also that even though our private transfer vehicle will be a 16-18 seater for 12 people, luggage space in the rear is tight. Also, gang planks onto ferries are quite narrow.

• It is admirable if you can travel with carry on luggage only, but even for two weeks, it can be restrictive. Most airlines allow 7kg in Economy; Emirates Business Class allows 7kg plus 7kg briefcase or garment bag. However, one medium size check-in piece of luggage can be just as easily managed.

• A small backpack as carry on luggage can double up as a day bag for our adventure days.

• For days walking Rome, small towns and villages, beware of having a bag that is too big and becomes heavy. You really don’t need that much: money, phone, sunglasses, glasses, small packet of tissues (public toilets sometimes don’t have toilet paper), hand sanitizer, water and maybe your map that I have given you.

6 best packing tips

• Packing cubes are the best invention ever. Different sizes for different clothes - I have large, medium and small. Not only do they allow you to fit more in, but it alleviates having to unpack everything when we move to a new destination every three days.

• Give careful consideration to shoes, as they take up a lot of room. The most important thing is comfort and shoes that have been broken in. My favourite brand for runners is Cloud because they are super comfortable; incredibly light and pack flat. I also take a pair of flat walking sandals and a dressier pair of sandals for going out at night. I’m convinced that only Italian women can wear high heeled shoes on cobblestones because they’ve been doing it their whole lives. Best not to attempt this.

• Toiletry bags can also be very bulky. Avoid normal sized shampoo, conditioner and sunscreen and transfer into smaller, travel bottles.

• Baby wipes have proved to be great for cleaning shoes, even white runners.

• Plan in accordance with the activities, ie pants for on the back of a vespa; swimmers for our private boat tour around Capri and kayaking on Lake Como; hat for walking the Cinque Terre, Path of the Gods and Tuscany. Smart casual clothes for the evening. You can never look too dressed up in Italy.

• If you think you might need it, you won’t. It’s very empowering to travel with one manageable piece of luggage.

6 best ‘just in case’ tips

• If you have prescription medication, have a letter from your doctor explaining what the medication is for. Have a copy of the prescription (in case you run out) and a copy of the letter from your doctor on your phone in case of lost luggage.

• Have a copy of your passport/travel insurance in your luggage AND on your phone. It is a requirement of tours such as the Colosseum and Sistine Chapel that you have photo ID.

• Always leave your passport in the hotel where it is perfectly safe, rather than risk losing it. To shop tax free in Italy, you can claim a VAT refund on purchases over 70 euro, but you need to have your passport details, so another reason to have a photo of your passport on your phone.

• Take a photo of your clothes laid out on the bed and other items before packing, should luggage be lost and you need to submit a claim.

• Leave any credit/debit cards you won’t be using at home.

• Have a travel card loaded with euro prior to departure and avoid leaving with excessive cash. The exchange rate will be better on your travel card than exchange rates in Australia from the airport/post office/currency exchange places. In every place we stay, I will show you the closest ATM.

6 essential items to pack

• European adaptor - I suggest two if there are two of you in a room. One can be charging a phone and the other can be used for shaving/hair dryer/hair straightener/anything else. Every hotel has a hair dryer, but I take mine because it’s quicker.

• Mobile charger - yes, people have forgotten.

• If you don’t like wearing creased clothes, a travel iron or travel steamer is a good idea because most hotels in Italy don’t have irons.

• A small pouch bag for shopping at markets and to use for dirty laundry when we have access to a laundromat.

• A scarfe to cover shoulders for entering churches plus it’s a great accessory.

• A travel clothes line is invaluable, as often there’s not a lot of room to hang clothes to dry.

What will the weather be like?

It is the most commonly asked question. In recent years it has been unseasonably cold and unseasonably hot! Whether you are travelling with me in the spring or the autumn, in the south or the north, expect temperatures in the low twenties to the mid thirties.

Even in the Dolomites last June we were spending the days in t-shirts and pants, but for this trip I would pack a puffer jacket, just in case.

For everywhere else, it would be unusual to need heavy jackets or jumpers. Layering when travelling is always best with items of clothing that can easily be removed.

Taking an umbrella is a personal choice. If we are in a city or town, within 37 seconds a person has materialised selling umbrellas, obviously not the case if we are walking the countryside.

Avoiding jet lag

Jet Ease homeopathic jet lag tablets (available from some chemists, but not all, or online) are a safe, effective way to help counter the effects of jet lag. The effectiveness has been proven in a a scientific trial with around the world passengers and long haul flight attendants and pilots in tests conducted over a long period of time. Being a homeopathic preparation using extremely low dosages there are no side effects; it is completely compatible with other medications; it is completely natural and it does not make you feel drowsy.

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana.

Deb