Travel tips for Italy

Famous for well, just about everything, from the legendary, mouth-watering menus, to the coffee – Italians are documented as drinking some 600 cups per person per year- the fashion, the luxury motorcycles and gleaming sports cars, the insane amount of UNESCO world heritage sites, the art, the scenery and the ravishing history, Italy remains one of the most popular travel destinations in the world.

But as with any foreign country, there is no substitute for having some handy travel tips, even if you are a regular traveler, and especially if you are a first time visitor to the country. Foreign cultures, rules, regulations and just general etiquette, will go a long way in helping you get the most of out of your visit while exploring the magnificent countryside.

One of the best pieces of travel advice when visiting Italy is to leave your diet at home, better still, banish it all together. The food, the wine, and the revelry are something terribly spectacular here and are not to be missed – it’s a cardinal sin to be on diet while in Italy.

The country is massively beautiful, with stark contrasts of some of Mother Nature’s finest creations all jostling for space amidst the rolling alpine mountain ranges, looking down over cobbled streets, mesmerizing azure waters lapping onto cashmere sandy beaches, medieval church turrets dominating the skyline, white puffy clouds floating along high above the breeze ruffled channels of Venice and the crisp blue skies sweeping around the leaning tower of Pisa –Italy has it all.

 As sensible as travelers are, there is a certain kind of intoxication that happens to mortals when setting foot on foreign soil. They seem to abscond many or all of their sensibilities, throw caution to the wind and let their wildest inhibitions run amok – feeling the invincibility and elation that one does when arriving at their long awaited destination. But this is where trouble in paradise happens to good people, when they forget themselves, and forget to mind their belongings and everything else.

Traveling in Italy is safe, but the normal precautions need to be taken here as you would anywhere else you may be visiting. Foreigners, whether they like it or not, stand out like a sore thumb and if you are flashing money around, drinking too much, taking drugs or behaving badly, you are going to attract loads of the wrong attention. Many a drunken traveler has been relieved of belongings such as cash and passports – the worst kind of hangover to wake up to.

So if you are traveling here, just be sensible, follow the normal rules of protocol when traveling, like making copies of documents and getting international medical and travel insurance. Here are a few travel tips that every traveler could use while exploring the extraordinary country of Italy.

Check the Weather – If you are arriving for a skiing holiday in the winter time, it is always an excellent idea to contact your resort to find out about their advice about the weather and local regulations. It is actually illegal to ski off piste without tracking equipment in certain areas – take the time to find out what the requirements are before heading out anywhere.

Identification – Visitors are always required to have some sort of identification with them while traveling. A photocopy may suffice, however if you are stopped while driving you will be required to produce your passport to police along the way. Carry certified copies of your identification with you at all times, you can always produce the original at a later time if it should be required.

Official Pass for Historic Areas – Rental cars and private vehicles are strictly forbidden to enter certain historic centers of Italy without an official pass. There are hefty fines which could really ruin your holiday if you have to fork out all of your pasta money for a silly fine. Look out for the black letters ZTL on yellow signs at the boundaries of these particular areas – cross over without a pass and the camera will catch up with you. You can easily purchase these passes as your rental company when you pick up your car.

Only use licensed taxis; you can see their identification on the roof of the taxi. And just take care to double check that the meter of the taxi is on zero before you head off – paying for the previous passengers fare as well as your own will really eat into your pizza money, and if you can’t have pizza or pasta, you will be very miserable in Italy.

Don’t attempt to do everything – Italy is such a magnificent place, you will be forgiven in trying to see and do everything when you go there. Imagine you tried to do that in your own home country? It’s completely impossible, you will be anxious, exhausted and insanely disappointed. Pick a few items and places that you really want to see, make sure you research the distance they are from each other – 6 hours’ drive between sites are going to also ruin your holiday. Rather miss out on a few sights than spend your entire trip packing, checking in, unpacking and trying to find transport.

About the author: 

John Kravz is a representative of Proessaywriting.com that provides professional help on your writing assignments, like essay, research papers or dissertations.