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It has been my dream to go to Italy ever since I was a little girl. I don’t really remember where the fascination even started but finally my dreams were realized in an epic Italy vacation. Surprisingly, Italy did not end up being my favorite overall country nor is my favorite city from my 5 week Europe/Egypt trip in Italy. Considering how much I was looking forward to Italy this is shocking to me (I even minored in Italian in college literally just for fun. My major was in engineering). This has nothing to do with Italy not being likeable because we LOVED it here. I still have more trips in mind to go back just to hit more of the east coast and to maybe stop at some other places we had to skip over due to time and money.
Okay so, I knew Italy was on my list but how did I choose where to go and stay? It was not easy and honestly, no one can truly give you the best advice to choose because it depends on what you want from the vacation, time, and money. We were lucky enough to be able to hit quite a bit as you will see throughout my posts. In my QnA below I will link them as I make them if you want to read about the cities we visited and what we did to help you decide how to plan yours.
First stop, the southwestern coast. We stayed in Atrani which is a 5-10 minute walk from Amalfi but way less crowded and probably cheaper accommodations since Amalfi is the famous city. Atrani is also superior when it comes to the amount of steps you have to take to get anywhere. I didn’t hit every city but it is definitely one of the least steep with the least amount of stairs (it is also a lot smaller than some other cities). Sorrento seemed fine in this aspect in some areas as well though.
Our first day was just traveling from Napoli. We flew in from Greece to Napoli and then I had hired a car to take us to Atrani. There are MANY options to get to the coast but none of those are a train. For ease and time we did the hired car there and then our host booked us a taxi to take us to the train station in Napoli for our trip back. If you are relying on public transport such as a bus, just know you are now on island time even if this is not an island. Those buses run when they want to.
Our first full day here we traveled to Sorrento. We took the bus out of Amalfi though there is also a Ferry but it’s times are less frequent and not open as late. We were a little confused on purchasing fair for the bus even with googling. You can buy tickets at a tabaccherie but it does also look like they may have an app as well: https://www.unicocampania.it/app-unico-campania They did let us pay on board as well though a lot of things on the internet say some don’t. Not sure if that has changed with cards or just with how many tourists they get.
My mom HATED the bus ride. The roads are very windy and those buses are not slowing down much. Though buses may not run on time, it really didn’t take too long even with some stops.
The boat we were on for the tour to Capri was a smaller boat but it was so fun. Truly, I was born to be on the water. And the water here is GORGEOUS. We stopped at a swimming spot (so cold but I can’t NOT go swimming while in Italy and presented the opportunity), drove by some caves, and under a cool stone arch formation. In Capri we just ate and drank there near the docks. It was a lot of uphill walking and my mom has a bad knee. Time limit would have stressed us out too on being back on time. There were some cool things to do if you did walk up though. However, if you don’t or you also plan to eat just know that it is ridiculously expensive and not even very good. I think it was our worst meal in Italy. Granted, worst meal still wasn’t terrible but for the price it wasn’t great either.
The view is amazing and the boat ride is so fun though. I wouldn’t go to Capri again most likely but I would do another boat ride like that. If you are trying to decide what to do and what to cut-I don’t really recommend Capri as a whole. But if that’s your vibe then you may still want to hit it. We don’t regret the trip since we hadn’t been and had a fun time on the water and seeing the views but Capri did not impress us. https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187782-d17224349-Boat_Excursion_to_Capri_Island_Small_Group_from_Sorrento-Sorrento_Province_of_Napl.html
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Where should I go in Italy?
This is such a hard one and truly I don’t think a stranger can make this decision for you. However, I will put a link to each of my posts for what we did so you can get a feel for the area to help you choose. I’ll also try to give an overview of what I think that city/area is like.
–Atrani (or the Amalfi Coast): Definite yes if you are an ocean person. The beaches aren’t like American sandy ones though; a lot of them were actually kind of rocky. While there are plenty of excursions as well, I think this would be a perfect place to come relax and just enjoy the good food, drinks, and views. What we did: Day 1 (Capri boat tour-scroll up for that info), Day 2: cooking experience in Sorrento, Day 3: relaxed. Staying on the coast I would suggest looking up steepness. I think Sorrento would be a great stay and Atrani was good by amount of stair standards though it was harder to get to things from there. Things we didn’t do: Pompeii (that’s closer to Naples but similar area still).
–Rome: great for mythological and historical things. It was also a fairly enjoyable city. There are tons of museums and tours you can do here and while a lot of it is touristy…if you’re reading this you are probably a tourist so that’s kind of the point. It is a bit harder to find really good authentic and well priced food but even the tourist trap places are more authentic than a lot of American Italian stops so it was still good. This city was a LOT of walking though. Also, do NOT recommend the Vatican. There are not many places I travel to or things I do that I wouldn’t consider doing again but this is one of them.
–Florence: This was one of our favorite stops even though we were here more so to then go other places but we loved Florence itself as well. This is another good stop for beautiful architecture and history. This is also a great stop for wine with Tuscany being a major wine area. I found the area we were in much more relaxing than Rome.
–Pisa: We did not stay here and it’s pretty small but we felt like we had to go see it. I would definitely just make it a stop on the way TO something else since it really is just a leaning tower. There was a museum area and you can go in the tower but I really don’t think you need to stay here long.
–Cinque Terre: These are 5 cities on the north west coast of Italy. You’ve probably seen a photo from here since one of the really common pretty colored houses one is taken here somewhere. There is a bus that can take you between the towns and also a walking/hiking trail if you are a hiker (some parts I’ve heard are very steep and tiring). We were only here for about half a day and stayed in Monterosso only but it is still coastal/island type vibes just..north. I would definitely go back to see the other towns or even stay here.
–Venice: We just did a day trip here as well. This is a no car city and a little more difficult to navigate due to how close the buildings are to each other and they all have small walkways between them. So. Many. Bridges too. We loved Venice though. I would absolutely love to go back here for Carnival. I think you can be fine with a day trip but to truly know any place staying is the best option.
–Milan: this was really just a stop-off on our way to Germany to break up traveling. This is a city known more for fashion and at this point we needed some rest so we weren’t here long and we didn’t do much but it was another enjoyable stay.
Do I need a visa to visit Italy?
Any countries in the EU don’t need a visa to travel to/between them. US citizens also don’t need a Visa. We came in from Greece and didn’t even get a stamp :(. Here is more info though and it is always best to google again before going since requirements could change: https://www.italia.it/en/italy/practical-information/travel-document-italy
Do they speak English in Italy?
Most places you go will have people that speak a little, if not fluent English. But this should not be the expectation if you are somewhere where they don’t. Google translate is good enough to help you get around or ask for help if needed and it has a photo option too so you can translate menus or signs if needed. If you hit some smaller cities they definitely might not speak any English. Also, if you know Italian but learned in like school or from someone in the north then do NOT expect to understand everyone everywhere. I though my Italian skills were terrible since we started in the south (though I knew the dialects everywhere were different and expected it) but once we hit Rome I was picking up a lot more in conversations.
Is Italy accessible?
A lot of what we did did not seem super accessible but I’m sure there are also quite a bit of tours and things that are. The culture and experience itself is also amazing even if there are some things you won’t be able to do (though accessibility everywhere physically possible should be the norm). The coast is what I find the hardest time imagining any accessibility but there were some cities that were flatter than others. Here are some sites I found on Italy: https://disabledaccessibletravel.com/accessible-destinations/italy/
And reddit to the rescue as always: https://www.reddit.com/r/ItalyTravel/comments/16xxap5/is_it_possible_to_take_a_trip_to_italy_with/