Report on my first solo trip ever! 3 weeks in Italy

Hey all, this was my first solo trip ever, and the longest I’ve ever been outside of the United States, and I used this subreddit A LOT when planning and preparing for my trip, so I figured I’d post my experience and hope that some first time travelers will get some use out of it! Please take into account that I’m a 26 year old male from the United States that, when tan, looks vaguely Italian, so any comments I make on safety or social interactions may not exactly hold true for you, but this was just my experience.

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*****

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Time: 3 weeks

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Cost: ~$3000 

Including flights, but not including pre-trip gear (of which I had basically none), nor the additional $800 for missing my flight out of Rome (although I don’t really regret that night, because I ended up in an Italian night club for the first time and it felt like I was in a movie)

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Location: Italy - Venice, Riva del Garda, Verona, Bologna, Florence, Sorrento, Rome

Organized so that I never had to really backtrack, and travel between each city was no more than 4 hours.

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Accommodations: 70:30 AirBnB/Booking.com:Hostels - average ~$50/night

Although fairly social, I like my privacy and prefer to have a room to myself, so that’s why I leaned towards more single rooms on this trip. Although on future trips I’ll probably split it more along the lines of 50:50, because I did meet some great people when I stayed in hostels. Surprisingly, cost wasn’t really a factor, since everywhere I could find the price would have come out to about the same whether I did all hostels or all AirBnBs.

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PREPARATION 

In the past I’ve been a chronic overpacker, and always brought too much shit with me that I didn’t even need. A few things really helped me pare down what I brought with me. First, I made sure to get a bag that was small enough so that I’d never have to check it and it could always be with me. For my big pack, I got the 40 L Hynes Eagle Pack and it was absolutely AMAZING. The ability to stow away the backpack straps made storing it on planes, trains, and buses a breeze. It looks great, and it’s pocket layout was completely logical and clearly designed by someone who has traveled quite a bit in the past. For a daypack, the New Outlander Foldable Pack was fantastic. Super light, stylish, and folds up to a little bigger than the size of my fist.

 

Packing Method: What I did to really cut down on stuff, was I packed up everything I thought I needed, then proceed to get rid of at least 30% of it. Anything that I thought to pack “just in case” got the boot. I did that process three times, and cut my initial amount down soooo much, and I could have gone even further.

Here’s some examples of what I got rid of:

• Physical books
  • way too bulky, even thin paperbacks, I put everything I wanted to read on my Kindle app on my phone, and ended up falling in love with that app over the course of the trip
• Rain jacket
  • figured I could just get a poncho or umbrella if needed
• Crewneck & Sweatpants
  • too bulky, took hot, brought super thin dri-fit shorts and one pair of long socks as PJs instead (and that was a great decision)

The philosophy was to use colors that I could mix and match together in any combo, and would allow me to feel comfy while still looking good (and not like I’m living out of a backpack).  

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Packing List

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Clothes - September in Italy, where it was on average 80F (27C)

• Jeans x 1
• Shorts x 3 (jean, linen, dri-fit)
• T-shirts x 3 (black, green, white)
• Collared shirt x 2 (short sleeve & chambray button down)
• Socks x 7 (6 ankle, 1 long)
• Jacket x 1 (bomber)
• Belt x 1
• Watch x 1
• Shoes x 2 pairs (vans, dressier pair)
• Underwear x 4
• Swimsuit x 1

Gear

• 40L backpack
• Daypack
• Money belt
• Micro-fiber towel
• Small journal
• Pens
• Phone
• iPad
• Camera (RX100)
• Camera case
• Camera tripod
  • ​This was hands down the smallest professional grade tripod I could find, and it worked perfectly. Folds down to less than a foot long and takes up so little space in your bag. And the segmented screw legs made it really flexible to use on uneven terrain)
• Camera charging cable
• Phone charging cable (get a long one so you can plug in anywhere! Mine was 10ft.)
• Outlet adapter (only need one)
• Mini carabiners
  • Used these to clip my zippers together on my bag to prevent anyone trying to slyly unzip it. Don't know if they actually prevented anything, but I felt more secure with them attached
• Headphones
• Sunglasses
• Portable charger (the most important item on this entire list)

Documents (these were all backed up with both digital copies on my phone and a paper copy each in my bag)

• Passport
• US Driver License
• International Driving Permit
• 2 debit cards
• 2 credit cards
• Health Insurance Card
• AAA card
• Emergency card with basic info

Health: assuming that you know what toiletries you need, I’d also specifically recommend a lighter (buy when you arrive), tweezers, nail clippers, athletic tape, band aids, and isopropyl alcohol or a similar disinfectant. I had to pop so many blisters in the first week (my feet were calloused as hell by the end of the trip) and all those items were vital to performing some basic surgery on myself without risking infection or having one of those pop in a dank, sweaty sock halfway up a mountain trail.

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Here is stuff that I did not need to pack, and could have left behind:

• Money belt – never used, although apparently I looked like a local until I opened my mouth, so maybe that made a difference. I had my wallet in my back right pocket and phone in my front left pocket like I do at home. The only time I felt like I had the potential to be swiped was when an African dude selling jewelry gave me a handshake and slyly slipped a bracelet and necklace in my hand (which I ended up giving him $20 for, eh). Pay attention and act like you would in any big city, and you’ll be fine.
• Extra pair of “nicer” shoes – I wore them once and felt weird. My vans worked fine and fit with every outfit combo I had.
• iPad – thought I would want it for reading or making music, ended up using my phone the whole time instead Vitamins – if they’re not vital to your survival, trying to pack 21 days worth of pills that you will just forget to take isn’t worth the space

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Useful apps (in rough order of frequency of use)

• Kindle: ditch the physical books, they take up too much space
  • Check out the books If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler and The Solitude of Prime Numbers
• Maps.me: offline apps were great for spotting where I wanted to go and tracking where I had been. There’s no restaurants on the offline version
• Google Maps: great when you have data or wifi, but I found the offline maps to be a bit buggy (I had downloaded them beforehand)
• Google Translate: you can save phrases, so I now have an account of nearly all the words and phrases worth remembering I used on the trip \
• 1password: password management app in which you can securely store all vital info, numbers, and documents
• Couchsurfing: the hangout function is great! You’re definitely not guaranteed to meet up with anybody on a certain night, but the times I did hang out with people through it was really fun
• Amazon prime video: download movies onto phone, good for planes and trains
  • Check out Suburra and La Grande Belleza
• AirBnB
• Booking.com
• Specific Airline apps: for mobile boarding passes and flight status
• All my bank account apps: so that I could easily check the status before withdrawing

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Here’s a general rundown of the stuff I’d recommend to do before you leave to make sure that you can have some peace of mind on your trip:

• Get your phone plan straightened away, data is critical to moving around, as the wifi can be hit or miss in places
• If you’re a US Citizen, register in the STEP Program https://step.state.gov/step/ with the embassy in case you get kidnapped or a revolution occurs
• Tell people your general path, and have at least one or two people know the exact places you’re staying if you already have them booked
• Make both physical and digital backups of all your important docs that you can access offline
• Take screenshots of everything (make this a habit on your trip as well), you don’t want to have to use data or shoddy wifi to try to access a vital webpage twice)

CITIES

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Venice

One of my favorite cities on the trip. First night I stayed in Mestre, which is on the mainland about a 30 minute bus ride away, and then the other nights were on the island. I would highly recommend staying on the island, as the streets are an absolute maze, and everything you do will take longer simply because you are bound to get lost. I’m not a fan of large crowds, I was in St. Mark’s Square and around the Doge Palace for about 30 minutes, but that’s all I could stand. The real charm comes in just taking the streets at random, and wandering wherever your fancy leads you. I stumbled upon one dead end that lead to a dock right on this super busy section of the Grand Canal, so I got to chill and drink there for a while and really felt like I had the city all to myself. I really had to pee and this random fossil museum I came across said I could go there as long as I bought a ticket and checked out the museum. Honestly I think Venice is extremely well-suited to solo travel, especially if you’re on the more introverted side, as you take two turns and are off the beaten path completely, and there are so many tiny hole in the wall restaurants, cafes, museums and small piazzas that you have an endless amount of (non-awkward) places to eat.

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Lago di Garda (Riva del Garda, Lago di Ledro, Saló)

A very touristy resort town, but the real magic here lies in the hiking and biking trails around the lake. I rented a mountain bike from Happy Bike in Riva del Garda and did the Sentiero del Ponale trail, followed by the Pieve di Ledro trail and a loop around Lago di Ledro (~50km total but uphill the whole goddamn way). At the end of the Sentiero del Ponale trail there is a restaurant with a great bar overlooking the lake. Keep going up the trail and then go to the right at the fork if you want to continue on the trail to Lago di Ledro. The one to the left seems to go on but just leads up to a viewpoint about a kilometer up. There’s so many more trails to cover, so if you wanna see as much as you can, I’d definitely choose a bike over hiking. The town of Riva del Garda itself felt very plastic and touristy to me, but the surrounding neighborhoods and much calmer and beautiful. It reminded me a lot of Maui. I rented a car to get out there, so if you’ve got the time, take the scenic route and drive around the perimeter of Lake Garda. The views are absolutely stunning, and if you stop off at the town of Saló on the western side of the lake, you can see where Mussolini moved the Fascist Party’s capitol to in the last days of WWII. Grab a gelato and walk through a town that is straight out of a fairy tale.

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Verona – Bologna

Combining these as I only stayed a night in each. I definitely recommend to at minimum stay two nights in a town, as you move too quickly with one night stands. Verona and Bologna were both a little grittier than the other, more historic cities. These are modern cities through and through, and a little more industrial, but I never felt unsafe or threatened. Plus I got offered hash from various guys on bikes with backpacks, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you know who to look for. In Bologna it was 85F (29C) and absolutely pouring. I was so tired, exhausted, and miserable after getting soaked that I ended up getting to my room and sleeping for about 14 hours. The best meal I had in all of Italy was steak tartare (the Ozzy) at the Jukebox Café.

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Florence

My favorite city by far. I absolutely adore this town. There is so much history packed into a single block of this place, plus the kebab is killer. I met up with a local one of the first nights and he took me to some really cool and low-key bars and cafes on the southern side of the Arno, in the Oltrarno(?) neighborhood. La Cité was my favorite café in all of Italy, and I went there at least once every day I was in Florence. I’d recommend getting the Firenze Card, if not for the ease of use alone. For the especially popular museums (Uffizi and Accademmia specifically) I’d go either first thing in the morning 15 minutes before it opens, or at night about 30 minutes before they close the doors. I went to see the David at 11am and I would have been in that line for hours. Went back at 6pm the same day and I walked right in. I recommend taking a pasta making class. The Palazzo Pitti and surrounding Giardino di Baboli was my favorite site. The Piazzale Michelangelo is packed around sunset, but the view is absolutely worth it, and I shared some beer and had a great conversation with an English couple standing next to me.

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Sorrento

A beautiful town, and had a great experience hitting the bars with a guy from Zürich through Couchsurfing hangouts. The Corso Italia is the main street, and you’ll have to get used to cars and scooters cruising by within inches of you if you’re walking. Same thing in Rome. Just remember to walk confidently and predictably. If you’re beginning to cross the street, look the oncoming driver in the eye, do not hesitate, and do not stop. Cars and scooters will move around you as long as they can predict where you’re going. I did laundry here and met a couple who lived a few blocks away from me back home (it’s a small world). Kontatto was my favorite restaurant here, as it was outdoors and felt the most like an American sports bar (that taste of home provided some familiarity and really helped me to relax). Also, don’t let you’re phone die, without a backup map on you. Please don’t. I learned that the hard way…

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Rome

What can I say that hasn’t already been said. The Colosseum is awesome, the Vatican is a fucking zoo (and there was just something that rubbed me the wrong way about it). I definitely recommend a tour for the Colosseum, but maybe not the Vatican, as I found the most interesting part of the museum to be the modern art section, yet our tour group zipped through there in order to get the more famous pieces. Rome is another city like Venice where just wandering will do you tons of good, as I felt very safe the whole time, even walking around at 4am. I stumbled upon both the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain (most underwhelming site in all of Italy) this way. I highly recommend the Etruscan Museum, as it’s a really interesting look into western Italy before the Romans conquered it all. Then you can stroll the huge Villa Borghese Park. Ostia Antica was a nice day trip. Stumbled upon a bar/club called the Nag’s Head on my last night, which led to me missing my flight the next morning! I stayed at the RomeHello hostel. The staff is fantastic and I met a few really cool people, but on the whole I found most of the other guests to be standoffish and not as approachable as I’ve experienced in other places. Oh and definitely get a Metro pass, as it’s cheap ($7 for 24 hours) and efficient, so you don’t have to do as much walking as you’d think.

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Transportation

I rented a car through Hertz for the Lake region, as public transportation there is way too much of a hassle, and the views on the highways are incredible. Driving the Autostrada is maybe the best highway driving I’ve ever experienced. So smooth, efficient, clean and Italian drivers know how to act on the highway.

Trenitalia is the shit. I had heard so many stories of how inefficient the transit system is in Italy. I never had to pre-book, I just walked into the station and ordered from one of the kiosks (be aware that many of them only accept card). Usually never had to wait more than an hour for the next train. And most of them are only half full, so you’ve got space to stretch out. If I was checking out of my room but still wanted to explore a city, I would drop my bag off at the Ki Point Left Luggage inside the train station I was departing, buy tickets for a train departing 5-6 hours later, then be free to explore the city. That $7 to leave my bag was so worth it. Be aware that if there’s a long line when you return, that’s usually just for people depositing bags. If you have a ticket, you can cut to the front and grab your bag immediately. Remember to snap a photo of your ticket in case you lose it!!

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Language

I had a fair grasp of the basics using Coffee Break Italian and the Rick Steves Phrase Book before I came here. I attempted to use Italian as often as I possibly could. It received mixed reactions, which were usually one of the following: 1. They responded in English and acted like they could give less of a fuck about me 2. They responded as if I was fluent, but then seemed disappointed and switched to English when they learned I wasn’t 3. They were genuinely happy I was trying and were patient with me and would help with my phrasing and pronunciation. As the trip progressed, interactions started to move from #1 more towards #3, which was pretty encouraging.

In terms of vocabulary, the most important to functioning I found were – basic greetings and recurring phrases (bene, cosí, scusi, buongiorno, prego, allora, etc – if you don’t know what to say just say prego or allora), money and food (banconote, monete, posso, vorrei, etc), directions and prepositions (dov’é, c’é, sul, in, verso, per, tra, etc), adverbs (dopo, adesso, qua, lá, per di qua, qua vicino, etc.), common verbs and their past participles. Keep it simple, and learn the vocabulary most applicable to your situation. You’re gonna be having many of the same conversations over and over again, so note words and phrases that you hear most often. If someone responds to you, pick out the key words that you recognize that might give you the gist of their question. Use Google Translate and save all the phrases that you hear, and review them throughout your time.

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​ Things I learned

• Don’t take things personally. It was hard for me to let go of the need for acceptance, but I think I made big strides. Chalk up a rude interaction to cultural differences. Have a sense of humor.
• No one is watching over you and judging your trip. Whatever you want to do, it’s only you who get to say whether you should do it, that’s one great perk of traveling alone isn’t it? Push yourself out of your comfort zone, but don’t choose to do or not do something simply because that’s what you’ve been told.
• Dress well, but dress however you want. Why the hell did I read so many posts saying “Italians don’t wear shorts” before I left? It’s hot as balls. Unless you wanna be uncomfortable all day with swamp ass and dripping in sweat, wear shorts. Don’t worry about looking like a tourist. You are a tourist. So what. As long as you’re not an asshole no one cares, and if they do that’s their problem.
• Get used to having a layer of sweat on you at all times
• Change into a new pair of socks halfway through the day. You’re feet are gonna sweat and this helps prevent all that slipping that can cause blisters
• If you’re feeling depressed and lonely, check your physical health first. I felt like absolute shit in Bologna. I didn’t want to see the city, didn’t want to talk to anyone. I was seaty, soaked and grumpy, and ended up sleeping for 14 hours. In retrospect, I had slept in 3 different towns in three different nights, had walked almost 50 miles in the last 3 days, and had averaged 4-6 hours of sleep on those nights (not counting the alcohol and cigarettes on top of that), not to mention I had been doing my best to constantly speak and think in a new language. No wonder I was exhausted! Emotional regulation uses up a lot of calories, so if you find yourself angry, lonely or sad, you might just be tired, thirsty, and hungry.
• Don’t stress about shit that’s gonna happen anyway. I found I wasn’t as stressed about getting things done over there, because there was a certain inevitability to everything. Like if I was lost and my phone was dead and I didn’t have a map, I couldn’t stop until I found my way back to my room. What other choice did I have? Instead of milling over what I should or could do, I just did it. Same with working through my fear of eating alone (though that still needs a lot of work)
• Keep a written journal. It’s good to get stuff off your chest, work through what your feeling, record what you did, etc. It’s a nice extension of your brain, and a way to offload and release the over-stimulation that you’re gonna be feeling
• If you want to feel like you have the city to yourself, wake up just before sunrise and go to any of the major sites you want to visit. Seeing the orange light of the sunrise hit the Duomo in Florence in a completely empty piazza while only the occassional food delivery truck passing by was surreal.
• Learn as much of the language as you can before you go. Seriously. I found it helped improve my experience and made me feel less alienated as I progressed. It’s like slowly removing a veil as you learn more, and the strange starts to become familiar, and what was a gibberish glob before you can now understand is made of individual parts. You hear conversations in passing and can pick out a few words. And it’s just a respectful thing to do as a guest.

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Anyway, that post was super long, and reads more like a diary now that I look at it, but as someone who didn’t know jack shit when I booked this trip, I tried to include all the things that I wanted and needed to know consolidated into one post. I hope it helps someone!

Submitted October 01, 2018 at 08:27AM by BassCulture https://ift.tt/2NTOjNd