Travel tips from our Italian Honeymoon

All in all we had a fantastic honeymoon in Italy! The vistas, the food, the history, and most of the locals we encountered were amazing. There is so much diversity to the landscapes and sights throughout the country: the Cinque Terre had the small town charm and ocean-side hiking… Tuscany had the wine, rolling hills, and culture… Sorrento and Capri had the vacation vibe and ridiculously blue water… and Rome had the incredible ancient history/modern city duality going on. We’re glad we were able to cover so much ground, we definitely have a great idea of what we will plan to do when we go back in a few years. That plan probably involves more of Siena and Sorrento as they were our favorites — both had a relaxed small town vibe without being too small, and both had fantastic views and were good bases for small day trips to the surrounding sites. Here is a list of some of our reminders for the next trip:

Airbnb seemed to be cheaper than hotels, plus comes with the benefit of an English speaking, local host to provide recommendations for each particular area
We used the Hopper app to find the best time to book our air travel and ended up paying ~$900 per person round trip from Houston to Rome (which we felt was a pretty good deal); perhaps a more direct route flying into Florence and out of Rome would be better though to lessen the travel time on the way in since we required a 4+ hour train from Rome to Cinque Terre upon arrival
Purchase some kind of international data plan in order to access maps, email and WhatsApp on the go – there are plenty of establishments with WiFi, but it’s surprising how many opportunities arise where you just need to quickly check the map or ask your Airbnb host for a recommendation without purchasing something in a cafe to get internet access
Consider carrying toilet paper or at least a thing of tissues as many public toilets didn’t have proper access to toilet paper, also hand-sanitizer
Smaller luggage and less stuff – we used 24” Samsonite spinners that we got as a wedding gift and they were AWESOME, they rolled very smoothly and held a large capacity; in the end though we decided we both packed much more than we needed and a smaller bag would’ve been easier with all the stairs and crowded public transport. We will try for carry-on sized spinner suitcase plus a back pack next time
Highly recommend the melatonin + Benadryl (diphenhydramine) – try to take the combination at “bedtime” in your destination during the flight over to help sleep on the plane and ease into the time adjustment
Bring plenty of modest clothing – pants for men and pants/long skirt or dress for women, also clothing tops covering the shoulders as many churches and The Vatican have a dress code
It’s cool in the evenings, even in summertime, and the days can also be quite cool in May, so check the weather and throw in a sweater and rain jacket just in case
Highly recommend Rick Steves’ guidebook (this was gifted to us as soon as we determined we were heading to Italy – thanks Morgan and Jacob!); great for the planning stage on which cities to hit and how long to stay, also great maps and guided walks for while traveling to help acclimate to and navigate the different towns
Learn more Italian – not a necessity as plenty of English speakers around the country, but it is a nice gesture upon touring their country to try to speak the language
As with any trip, don’t forget to set travel notices on bank cards/credit cards so that they don’t get declined when you need them (oops!)