Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Planning trip to Italy

Narrowed my trip to Europe down and looking at flying into Italy and exploring that area. What countries are in close proximity worth visiting? Im lookong at Switzerland and Croatia. Any must see sites or things to avoid. Be a first trip for me there. Probably do 2 to 3 weeks there. Also considering Ireland and Scotland vs. Italy but, 70 percent set on Italy. Whats your recommendations.

Have you looked at doing a European cruise? The wife and I are going on one this year and it ended up being a lot cheaper than just going to Italy alone.

Pompei

You definitely want to do Rome and see the Coliseum and hang out at the Spanish steps for an afternoon, but:

a. Don't be carrying your passports around town with you
b. keep your money put away.....


Thank me later

There's too much to see in Italy alone. Stay there. That said, Croatia, the Dalmation coast at least and all the islands, is Medieval, quite beautiful. Jadrolinja ferries are cheap and the Adriatic is the cleanest ocean in the world, but fished out. A spectacular cruise. People sleep onboard with no hassles. We were there twice 15 years ago. At that time it was cheap. The wars were over. Food is better in Italy. Beautiful women in both countries. An innocent 1950's feel in Dalamatia. They were kinda lost without communism. The buses throw a drive shaft occasionally and plunge off a cliff. You can hear the U joints clunking before that happens though.

Enjoy your trip.

I have not. Open to suggestions

Pick one region. Take your time. Relax and enjoy.

I'd look at the Amalfi Coast.

Ymmv

Thanks Jcubed.

Good info TimZ, a little hesitant leaving pass port at AirBNB but understand the reason to not carry it.

Really want to see Switzerland also, so looking forward to that.

The Italian Lake District (Lake Como, Lake Garda, Lake Orta) is at the top of my bucket list. Incredible beauty.

West of Italy on the Mediterranean is the French Riviera. Stayed in Villefranche-sur-Mur: charming, relaxed beautiful. Visited the Rothschild property and gardens on the Saint Jean cap Ferrat peninsula just east of Villefranche. Nice has a couple of very good museums - Matisse and Chagall.

Check-out Rome. I'd suggest visiting:
The Colosseum
Vatican
Sistine Chapel
St. Peter's Basilica/St. Peter's Square
Pantheon
Roman Forum
Borghese Gallery/Museum

I'm no world traveler, but I have been to Rome.
One thing we thought was cool about Rome is that some of these sights like the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel are places I've heard about and seen pictures of since I was a young boy, especially the Colosseum. All the movies over the years in which the Colosseum played a part made it very cool to actually visit that sight and stroll around.

And definitely, absolutely buy tours for these sights. Purchase tickets through Trip Advisor. We did this for the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Vatican which included the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. We toured the Pantheon and the Borghese gallery on our own which worked out fine. The tour guides were very knowledgeable. I wondered if I'd get bored as these tours can be 2-5 hours long. Our Vatican tour was 5 hours, Colosseum/Roman Forum tour was 3 hours. Absolutely no hint of boredom. So much fascinating history that you'll never hear doing it on your own. I may never get back to Rome and feel the guided tours are money well spent. Our guide for the Vatican (Leonardo) spent the whole 5 hours talking about historical facts and stories about the people/painters like Michelangelo and Rafael. Do you know that the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo is a "fresco"? Fresco meaning it was painted by spreading wet concrete/stucco on the ceiling. Waiting long enough for it to set-up enough so he could draw his sketches on it and then paint it while it was still wet enough for the paint to settle into the damp stucco. He was commissioned by the Pope to do his painting. And (this is a BIG and) that was the 1st time he did a "fresco". A bit of a learning curve for him I'd expect. And imagine the pressure to get it right being requested by the Pope and all.

We stayed in Rome for 6 days and walked to all these sites. Really gave us a good insight into what daily life was like in downtown Rome. Rome is divided up into smaller "neighborhoods". Each neighborhood has it's own chapel. Step into some of those too. Just go in and sit for a little while. Beautiful small chapels in their own right.

Also, something else about Rome that we liked is that every year during Easter you will see TV coverage of what's going on at St. Peter's Basilica and Square. Yearly, that coverage reminds us of our fun trip to Rome and the sights we enjoyed there.

Hide it. Or carry it on your person somewhere it can't be accessed.

I never liked those "tourist" money straps everyone recommends. Most hotels will have a safe.

Rome. The Vatican, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, and a TON of other unreal stuff.

Florence (Firenze). The Uffizi, and a TON of other stuff

Venice. What a place.

Lake Como with a day in Lugano for shiggles.

The Amalfi coast. Spectacular.

Taormina. Beautiful. Watch Season 2 of “White Lotus” and you’ll see a ton of Taormina.

Verona. See the opera in the Verona Arena (bring a cushion) Carmen was spectacular.

Be careful around Bologna. Picked up a few traffic tickets there.

I like road trips. See the place. Flew into Palermo, and headed North, hop-scotching from place to place, ended up in Switzerland.

Toured the Beretta factory.

But if you want to fly in to one city ... unquestionably Rome. You can do Pompeii from there as well.

Obviously Rome is a must. Pisa is cool for the leaning tower. Venice for the canals.

Go to Venice so you can say you went there...but it's commercialized and boring to me. We have canals here.

Easily 3-4 day minimum in Rome[one day for Pompei].

Hide yer Wallet... No Mama'... No Papa'... So Hungry...

Keep the suggestions coming guys!

There is another site near there called Herculaneum. I highly recommend it if you visit that area.

What are your interests? Wife or gf, kids?

What time of year?

My best trip to Italy was the first half of January. Still plenty warm with a modest jacket, and there were WAY fewer tourists there than during more popular months. Much easier to see what you want or get a table where you want.

Rome almost is a must, but Florence likely is my favorite. Depending on your personality, for a two to three-week trip, I'd recommend picking only two cities and enjoying yourself rather than making a checklist of places you've seen and spending way too much time and money on trains and checking into and out of multiple hotels.

You could spend three weeks in either one of the two cities I mentioned above and never run out of new things to see.

Are you going with a wife or romantic interest? If not, the following is of lesser significance. If so, if you stay at nice hotels, tip the concierge A LOT--even if you just ask him or her where the bathroom is. Then, ask the concierge to make your dinner reservations for you. You will be treated like a king at the restaurants. The idea is that, if they make you super happy, and you report it back to the concierge, the concierge will keep sending business their way. Trust me, it works.

One example: My ex-wife and I stayed at the Intercon above the Spanish Steps in Rome. I tipped the concierge a lot, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the money you're going to spend on the trip anyway. The concierge made a reservation at a super-nice restaurant in Rome. Once we were seated at an awesome corner table, the restaurant manager came up to our table following two waitresses, and asked us about or time in Rome, etc. ... She then offered us two free appetizers and two free drinks and some porcelain kitchen items as gifts for my wife.

As a history buff... The Coliseum, Vatican City, Sistine Chapel, all the various churches in Rome. We went to Pompeii (great) and hiked up to Vesuvius (dead volcano my ass). Great place to go.
The only time we ran into what might have been an issue was on a train, some "gypsies" were walking down the aisle making a lot of commotion, and our 2 friends (both cops) said to watch your
wallets, the commotion is a distraction. Parking is difficult, and one guide told us that traffic laws (such as double parking) were more of a suggestion. Be prepared to see heavily armed police
and soldiers all over. Don't drink the tourist wine, find a local wine store and get what seems to be popular.
Last suggestion: When eating out do NOT order Bud, Coors, etc, they are IMPORTS and cost more than your meal !!!!

Have a wonderful time.

Spouse be with me.

MarineHawk, im planning on going April or May, hopefully non tourist season.

Good luck

We're going back in June,(wife's family is from there.) It's been a long time since I've been there.
We are doing Rome,Vatican,Sistine,probably Colisium,who knows what else.mostly for the kids to meet what's left of my wife's family.
Amalfi as well.
Might see if the kids want to see Pompeii
Watch out for the Zingaro,crafty little bastids

You'll enjoy it.

We did a European cruise, saw all the sights everyone has mentioned. It was good, no darkies on that cruise, food was good. I hate cruises, but that one was OK.

Which cruise line did you use?

daughter spent the summer there. Short trip to Greece was big. As was Pompei. She thought leaning tower was over-rated and long trip with little else to see.

Italy is the best of Europe. Good food and usually nice people. Don't be surprised if you hear women arguing with men.

Other Rome stuff not usually mentioned:
Museum of the Risorgimento (Reunification) in the attic of the Victor Emanuel monument - great collection of WWI battle art.
St. Clement's church (Santo Clemente?) - ground level regular church, one level down medieval church, two levels down, ruin of pagan church
Capitoline Hill ruins is a great walk on a nice day
Spanish Steps, go up turn left walk along ridge through nice residential area with great view of Rome, pass statue of guy waving pistol, forget his deal but he's pissed, arrive at park with views, drop down hill to Piazza del Popolo, where there's two identical churches side by side.

Other sites if you're going past:
Ferrari museum in Maranello
Leonardo stuff in Vinci (not a lot but a nice break if you're nearby)

Been to Naples, wish I’d had time to see Pompei, the cab drivers there showed me how Mario Andretti learned to win races because their reputation aren’t exaggerated. The food was good wherever I tried it and the people were nice.

Tag

My wife and I flew into Venice and road the train down to Sorrento stopping along the way. Italy kept us entertained for two weeks we could have stayed longer.

We've always hoped to visit my distant cousin who lives in the town my family came from.Covid and the stock market have delayed any travel plans for awhile.

Don't expect to get eggs for breakfast anywhere in Italy. They never heard of eggs for breakfast. They serve sweet roles and espresso for breakfast there, and maybe some Italian cold cuts.

I remember finding a little diner in Rome that advertised American style breakfast. I was so excited after a week of Italian style breakfast to get some eggs and bacon for breakfast. Nope. It was horrible. See that sign, don't believe it.

I love authentic Italian cuisine, but not for breakfast.

2 weeks is hardly enough in Italy.

Do lots of research first, don't come back to find you missed seeing something.

3 weeks in Rome and Florence would be ok.

Yep. Been both places. That would make a nice couple of weeks.

Our continental breakfast consisted of fruit[mostly orange qtrs] and OJ.
Every morning.

You could spend a week in Rome and not see everything.

All over Rome there are places to get water. Just have a water bottle and the water is cool, clean and great to keep hydrated. No need to buy water.

The Baths of Caracalla are cool to see.

The Colosseum is incredible. Pay for tour for sure. I have paid for several and went down under the main floor and up as high as they said they were allowed to take us.

The vatican is incredible, all of it. No way to see everything there, probably not even in a year.

don't know if this is his contact, a tour guide, jayinromegmail.com I believe is his email. He is beyond knowledgeable, a great tour guide and fun to hang out with.

A haunted tour is lots of fun with interesting history.

Castel St. Angelo is awesome.

There are basically no public restrooms. Go in and purchase something to use a public restroom, water, candy, beer, etc.

Don't eat the gelato, well if you do, be prepared to eat gallons of it. It is off the chart good.

Ancient Rome is awesome, I paid for 2 tours to go inside the humidity controlled 2,000 plus year old homes. Really interesting.

Pompeii is awesome, I went to the top of Vesuvius, it was smoking, I will not do that again, spend that time in Pompeii.

I also made a trip to Tivoli. Hadrian's villa is also awesome. Also toured the Ville d'este in Tivoli. If you do not believe one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, you may after visiting there.

The Trevi fountain is a can't miss and the pantheon is to.

I love Lasagna and it was great there.

There is a church I visited, I don't remember the name, but most everything inside is made of human bones, it is different to say the least.

St. Paul' church is an incredible place to visit.

At night there is lots of live music, some of it is great. My favorite is a band called Stageless.

For sure avoid crowds as much as possible and keep wallet, passport, phone, etc. in a secured pocket. Pickpockets are slick. I never had an issue, but the "jayinromegmail" and myself, I had an all day tour with just him and not sure how that came to be, but it was just me. We got on a subway or underground train and he is a small guy, I am 5'-9", 230 lbs or so, still deadlift 500 lbs and squat over 400, I am nothing great but a decent sized guy, but Jay grabbed my arm and when a group of people got on the subway. I asked him what are you doing? He pointed at them and said pickpockets. I was like dang you know them, he said he had never seen them. I watched the lady (with a baby in a front carrying setup) slipp the guys wallet out of his backpocket, he was getting off the car and he never had a clue. I could not believe it.

I would never live there but I loved visiting there.

I plan to go back and take my daughter.

And I forgot to add, the women there are beautiful. The majority are smokin hot! More hot, good looking, beautiful, sexy, etc. women than I have ever seen anywhere.

Headhunter130 *almost* makes me want to plan another trip there.
If only 'teleporting' was here.

Spent some time in Rome, Florence and Milan while in college, haven't had the urge to go back since but the lake region sounds tempting. My niece is in school in Bologna but have not had the opportunity to visit but maybe. Went to Ireland in 2020, was especially nice since Covid had everyone else home and St Pats day celebrations were cancelled, basically had the whole island to ourselves. Headed to Scotland in a month, hoping it will be like Ireland but better.

I spent four days in northern Italy and based out of Trento. While the trip was mostly tied to my FILs WWII experience, we had a good time. We visited Venice (did nothing for me) Padova, to see Giotto’s frescoes (daughters bucket list item- very interesting) Trento, Very nice town, a lot of history (Council of Trent) and we hiked at Seceda and hit a Prosecco winery. We didn’t allocate enough time. As others have said, breakfast sucked. Other meals were great.

Enjoy your trip.

Old70

We are doing a 10 day through Norwegian later this year. Leave out of Italy, hit Greece, Maldives (I think), France, and back to Italy. Croatia was cancelled due to port issues at our time we are to be there. I have been to parts of coastal Croatia and it was beautiful.

Italy has some great hunting I hear.

Wild boar hunting is big there.

There is a lot to see in Italy.
Travel is easy via trains.
Venice, Florence, Lake Garda, Rome and more.
Not far to Germany

If you’re going to be driving, there are a lot of streets named “senso unico”……….”one way” 😁

The catacombs under St. Peters require reservations in advance. One of the weirdest cultural practices and most spectacular exhibits imaginable.