Trip Details:
Type of Trip: Escorted Package 11-Day Tour with Globus Journeys
Month Visited and Temperature: April. Mid to upper 50s F (13-15 C)
Cities Visited: Rome, Montecatini, Florence, Venice, Pisa, Assisi, Pompeii, Naples, Capri, and Sorrento
What to Wear?
Fashion is important in Italian culture. Dress appropriately. For religious venues, cover up (cover bare shoulders, no short-shorts or mini-skirts). Leave the flip flops, ripped jeans, UGG boots, gaudy sandals, and anything with a slogan on it, at home. Skip the fanny packs (you can call them “belt bags” but they are still fanny pack, sorry).
Luggage: For this trip we each took one (1) 24” soft-side wheeled suitcase as our checked bag and one (1) smaller personal size bag that we carried on to the plane and motor coach. One of the benefits of a guided tour is that they manage the logistics of your luggage. You still are restricted by Globus and your airline(s) policy limits, but it was nice to not have to worry about it.
Personal carry-on bag contained: sweatpants, one (1) pair of undies, travel slippers/socks, blowup travel pillow, cashmere travel wrap, earplugs, earphones, reading material (pre-Kindle), snacks, glasses/contact, and toothbrush/paste. Highly recommend a change of clothes in your carry-on if you check a bag.
Toiletries: Even though we checked a bag, we streamlined our toiletry bags to essentials. There was no need to bring a hairdryer as the hotels had them, either in the room or via the front desk.
Note: Most of European hotels do not supply washcloths, so if you need them for your trip you will need to pack them. I have packed old washcloths and tossed them. You can also buy a pack of 6-8 inexpensive ($3-5) ones at Target or compressed towels (just add water) from Amazon.
Note: Do not forget to pack a European plug adapter(s) and a converter.
Packing List:
This was one of our first major trips as friends. A takeaway, as you can see from the pictures, when you wear a coat for most of your trip all your pictures look like you are wearing the same outfit. Note: scarves and hats take up little room and will help with the “same outfit” look. Below is a list of the items we packed:
3-4 Short sleeve t-shirts
1-2 Long sleeve t-shirts
2-3 Long sleeve lightweight sweaters
4 Pairs of pants (1 dressy pair, 2 jeans, 1 linen/khaki)
12 Undies
2-3 Bras
10 Pairs of socks
2 Pairs of PJs
1 Pair of sweatpants
2 Pairs of shoes (one (1) pair of ankle boots and one (1) dresser heeled shoe)
1 Lightweight trench coat
2 Lightweight scarves
1 Crossbody anti-thief handbag (Pacsafe in black)
This trip was before packing cubes became a thing. Also, we did not choose to do laundry during this trip.
Venice
Capri
Toiletry Kit:
Streamlined makeup
Travel shampoo & conditioner
Travel toothpaste
Toothbrush
Deodorant
Lotion
Moisturizer
Contact solution, case, and drops
Tweezer
Small sewing kit
Q-tips
Hair twisty and clip
Door stopper (for hotel security)
Razor
Glasses
Alarm clock
Small First Aid Kit:
This is jammed pack with a few of everything. Band aids/plastics, tummy medicine, allergy medicine, aspirin, antibiotic gel, flu medicine, etc. I leave this packed and in my toiletry kit.
Electronics Case:
Kindle
Camera
Phone power cords
Colosseum, Rome
Pompeii Archaeological Site