Packing List for Italy
If you're planning a trip to Italy, there are many things that will help to make your trip successful. Here are several things to pack, in order of importance:
* passport - be sure that it doesn't expire within six months of your return home. I also bought a passport card, although it is only useful when traveling between European countries and not flying into Europe from the US. But it is handy to use as ID when checking into hotels or renting a car.
* Check ETIAS to see if you need to apply for authorization to visit certain places in Europe, including Italy. As of now, it will be required beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026:
(Incidentally, England is already requiring US citizens to apply for an ETA to enter England - It only took a few minutes to fill it out and it was approved immediately. The UK website for ETA is here: UK.gov ETA for travel to England)
* euros - I recommend ordering euros from your local bank before going on your trip. I have gone to banks in Italy to get euros out of the machine, but my debit card did not always work in Italy -- in fact, most of the time my debit card did not work in Europe, even though I had called the bank ahead of time to let them know where I would be. My bank is very conservative and cautious, so almost every time I tried to use my debit card in Europe it was declined. I only used cash euros when I absolutely needed to (sometimes a souvenir shop or a gelateria or taxi driver wouldn't take credit cards, so it was good to have cash ready). I've read that a good guideline of how many euros to bring is about 100 euros per day. I haven't needed this many, though, because most places that I went to eat, visit, or purchase from did take credit cards. From my experience, a good guideline is to have about 200 euros per week of your visit to Europe. Keep in mind that if you also visit England, you will need pounds instead of euros. Be sure you end up with at least one coin during your time in Italy -- you need to throw it into the Trevi fountain!
* more than one credit card, preferably one that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee on your purchases in other countries. I've found that most places do not accept Discover, so Visa and Mastercard are probably the safest cards to bring. Bring more than one in case you have trouble with one of them. On my most recent trip to Europe, the metro and train ticket machines wanted a pin number for my credit cards, and I hadn't requested a pin for my credit cards before leaving on my trip. Luckily I had cash to use in the machine to buy the metro tickets. My Capital One card does not charge a foreign transaction fee when I make purchases out of the country, but my other credit cards do. Call your credit card companies before your trip to let them know where you'll be, so that hopefully your card doesn't get declined in Italy. But also be sure that these companies have your correct cell phone number so that you can receive a fraud alert text on your phone and approve the purchase and prevent your card from being locked. Even though I always called my credit card companies, there were usually times that I had to try a different card. The most common places I had trouble were - ticket machines such as at metros or train stations, and at gas stations. Occasionally I had trouble with a credit card at a souvenir shop, which makes it very handy to have euros handy. Keep in mind that you will be several hours ahead of the states, so you will probably not be able to call your credit card company if you have a problem with it. Do your calling ahead of your trip, so that your trip can be worry-free!
* cell phone with international calling, texting, and data. I've heard of people who tried to tour Europe without using their cell phone. This is unwise and unnecessary. Your cell phone will make your trip run so much more smoothly! I use my cell phone for google maps or apple maps when walking or driving anywhere. I use apps on my phone such as my Uber app, my FreeNow taxi app, my Trainline app to buy train tickets at the last minute, etc. I use my phone to look up details in my gmail that I may have forgotten. I use google while I'm visiting places to learn more about the history of the location and to see if there are other destinations close by that I don't want to miss. I use both texting and calling. I used my phone to take photos and to keep track of all of our appointments in my calendar. I used apple pay quite often as well. Before you leave, call your cell phone company and make sure you have international call, text, and data for the time during your trip. My cell plan through Verizon automatically includes international calls, texts, and data. But my daughter's plan, also through Verizon, does not. So when she went to Europe for a month, I called Verizon and paid $100 for her to have international calling, texting, and data for a month. Other times I have paid $10 per day to have Travel Pass on my phone. You definitely don't want to be paying per text or per amount of data that you use -- it would be far more cost effective to pay the daily fee. Don't keep your cell phone in your back pocket where a thief can grab it and run. Keep it where it is accessible to you but not accessible to others. Having a working cell phone with you will be like having a personal secretary along for the trip! I promise you will be so grateful that you can use your cell phone in Italy!
* cross-body bag -- I'd recommend not bringing a purse. Italy is very safe as far as violent crime goes, but pick-pockets are everywhere. If you do bring a purse, keep it over your neck and arm so that a thief can't just grab it and pull it off your shoulder and run. In addition to having a cross-body bag, I'd suggest putting a zip tie through the buckle so that a thief can't just unbuckle the strap on the bag and run with it. I also safety pin the zipper of my bag to the bag itself so that a thief can't unzip it. I was in a crowded metro when I was almost robbed, even though I was being very cautious. I looked down and noticed that a man had completely unzipped my cross-body bag while it was strapped across my chest. This has happened completely unnoticed by me! He was about to reach inside my bag when I caught him and loudly said, "what are you doing?!" He moved away very quickly and got off at the next stop. I was very lucky to have caught him before he pulled anything out of my bag. This is the bag I bought: Cross-body Bag My mom bought a similar no-name bag on Amazon and it worked just as well. My daughter also had a cross-body bag like mine that she kept her cell phone and water bottle in. Alternately, you can also get a wallet that you wear under your shirt, like this one: Money Belt I used the hidden money belt on my first trip to Italy, and it was a bit of a pain every time I needed to buy something and had to lift up my shirt to get it out. But it is very effective at keeping thieves away from your credit card and/or passport. I've also used a bag like this: Drawstring Bag that I would keep paper tickets or my jacket inside. Lots of places won't allow backpacks inside, but they didn't mind these small drawstring bags. They also would be hard for a thief to steal items out of because opening them would be very difficult while it's on your back. I usually didn't keep anything valuable inside it, though. I also really love thread wallets with a lanyard around my neck, like this one: Thread Wallet so I can keep my credit cards hidden under my shirt and just pull it out quickly to pay for dinner and put it back. I actually used my cross-body bag in combination with the thread wallet on my latest trip to Italy and kept my credit card in the thread wallet to pull out quickly, and things like my passport and cell phone in the cross-body bag. I kept my passport with me all the time for a couple reasons: 1) I didn't trust it in the hotel while I was out, and 2) you actually need your passport to get into a lot of places, even with your purchased tickets. For instance, the Vatican requires your passport & your ticket for admittance. Whatever you choose to hold your valuables, be vigilant about keeping your money and/or passport safe from thieves. They are very skilled at what they do, and they could be anyone -- even the woman dressed like a nun on the metro. Being robbed in Italy would really ruin your trip!
* power adapters - type C is commonly used in Italy, although you might also want to get an L adapter, which has a grounding pin in the middle. Type C has two pins, type L has three pins. I brought more than one power adapter, because I often wanted to plug things in in both the bathroom and bedroom of our hotel. If you're going to be traveling to multiple countries you could purchase the kind of adapter that has multiple different inputs. I bought these adapters because they have lots of inputs for multiple things to charge at the same time: Italy Power Adapter
* portable cell phone charger -- I have a new iphone 16 pro, which stays charged just fine all day when I'm in the states, but being in Europe and using maps, google, and my camera on my phone constantly throughout the day eats up my battery very quickly. I brought 2 portable chargers with me and I used both of them almost every day of my trip. I bought two of these kind of chargers:
* cell phone charge cords with both kinds of input - USB and USB-C, because I've been in airports and hotels that used one or the other, but not both. Any chance you have to charge your phone, take advantage of it. Believe me, your phone will be losing power like it never does in the states!
* rain coat or umbrella - I prefer wearing a rain coat with a hood because it seems to keep me more dry than an umbrella. I usually visit Italy in the spring, and I usually get rained on. One time I brought an umbrella and just a regular jacket. I got so drenched that I just wanted to come home -- and that is really sad to be in Italy and want to go home. :( I wasn't ever really cold in Italy, but I did quite often get rained on in Italy.
* small water bottle. Italy is different than the states in many ways, and one of those key differences is that you don't go to a restaurant and ask for water expecting it to be free. In fact, restaurant owners would be quite offended if you asked for tap water. Restaurants all serve water, but they serve either still (natural) or sparkling water in a bottle, and they charge you for it. I got used to just ordering still water with my meal every time. When you're walking around visiting the sites, you might want to have water because there aren't drinking fountains like you find in the states. There are, however, fountains that you'll find occasionally and can fill your water bottle. Or, at breakfast in the morning at your hotel you could fill your water bottle before you leave for the day. I found a water bottle that fit perfectly in my cross-body bag. This is the one I ordered, and my husband and mom ordered a similar one of the same shape and size: Water Bottle
* carry-on suitcase with wheels that can easily turn in every direction, an extendable handle, and expandable zipper. I recommend only bringing a carry-on. If you're used to traveling heavy with a giant suitcase and a million different outfits and pairs of shoes, you might want to reconsider this when traveling around Italy. It's fine if you're going to be staying in one spot your whole trip, but when you're traveling around to multiple locations like I do, dragging a giant suitcase everywhere you go is a HUGE pain! I have only done this once and I will never do it again. I have lived out of a carry-on suitcase for a 3 week trip to Europe before and I was fine! I was just very careful about how I packed, and I wore my outfits on more than one day. I also totally filled my backpack as tight as I could as my personal carry-on item. When checking in at the airport, I checked the size of my carry-on and it didn't fit in their bin, so the airline attendant checked my carry-on bag for free. I had unzipped the zipper that allowed the suitcase to expand to its largest size, so my carry-on ended up being pretty big. By checking the bag I didn't have to worry about it in the airport or worry about lifting it into the overhead bin on my own. Be sure your suitcase locks, or add a lock like this: Luggage Lock Having wheels that easily swivel in every direction will make it so easy to pull your carry-on everywhere you need to go in Italy. Keep in mind that if you are arriving in a city before you can check into your hotel, every hotel I've ever been to will allow you to leave your bags at the front desk until you arrive back for the night. You can also leave your suitcase with them in the morning of your check-out and then come pick it up when you're ready to depart the city.
* air tag in your suitcase in case the airline loses it. This is what I bought: Air Tag
* international drivers license if you plan to rent a car. Bring your regular drivers license as well. We got an international drivers license for my husband when we rented cars in Italy, and they didn't ever ask to see it when we picked up the cars. But then when I went without him and rented a car, I didn't bother to get an international drivers license because I didn't think I really needed it. But then they did ask for it at one of the places I rented a car from. They said that if I got pulled over for some reason, I might receive a hefty fine for not having the international drivers license. You can get your international license from AAA for only $20, and you'll need two passport photos with the application. The AAA website is here: International Driving Permit
* clothing appropriate for Italy -- I packed enough underwear for every day, because I knew that it was unlikely that I'd be able to do laundry the whole time. Sometimes if you stay in an Airbnb they'll have a washer, but not often will they have a dryer (we never had a dryer in anywhere we stayed in Italy, and laundromats are uncommon). It works to air dry your clothes if you're going to be staying at the same place for multiple nights, but if you're moving from city to city like we often do, it doesn't work to wash your clothes in the sink or washer and expect them to be dry by morning. I wore the same outfits more than one day. I like to wear skirts in Italy because they are breezy and comfortable, and appropriate for the many churches that we visited or concerts that we attended while we were there. Keep in mind that many places you will visit in Italy do not allow you to have your shoulders or knees uncovered, so don't even bother to pack shorts or tank tops. I packed almost enough socks for every day, but I like to buy socks as souvenirs so I purposely didn't bring enough for every day. I also like to buy shirts as souvenirs, so I didn't pack as many shirts as I normally would have. Keep enough room in your suitcase for souvenirs to fit on the way home.
* really good walking shoes!!! You will do a lot of walking in Italy. Be sure you have comfortable shoes. I brought only one pair of shoes, usually keens, and I did not pack an extra pair in my suitcase. Shoes take up a lot of space. Keens are great to walk around in and worked even when going to churches. On my most recent trip to Italy, the straps on one of my keens broke. I was really lucky it didn't happen at the beginning of my trip! Keens are also very easy to take on and off at the airport when going through security.
* I usually printed off all of our tickets at home before leaving on my trip, even when I also had the QR codes on my phone. If your phone dies when you're trying to enter a tourist destination, you'll be out of luck. I brought a folder full of my tickets for the entire trip, and I threw them away after I used them. This cleared up some space for souvenirs on the trip home.
* Sunglasses
* Toiletries - personal care items aren't the same in Italy as they are in the states, so if you're really attached to a particular product, bring it from home. You will unlikely be able to find the same product in Italy. Markets in Italy are very different from stores in the US and carry a lot fewer choices of products.
* Medications - I brought small travel containers with ibuprofen and Tylenol and that came in very handy! Bring your prescriptions and any other medications that you need a particular brand of from the states.
* Hair brush, barrettes, pony tails, etc. I actually brought my curling iron too, although the humidity and rain prevented my hair from holding curl very well.
* Snacks for the flight and as far into the trip as you have space for. You will probably not be able to find your favorite snacks in Europe. When I went to visit my son's family, who were living in Belgium, I brought an entire suitcase full of the snacks that they missed most from the US.
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