Italy is a beautiful destination and one of our favorite countries to visit. We recently spent 10 days here exploring the Dolomites, Cinque Terre, Florence, and Rome. If you’re planning your trip, here are 7 mistakes to avoid when traveling in Italy.
When we say mistakes to avoid when traveling in Italy, we’re not talking about things like don’t eat at tourist trap restaurants, don’t order a cappuccino after 11 am, etc. We’re talking about mistakes that can be costly or can negatively impact your trip. Knowing these mistakes to avoid will help you have the best time exploring Italy.
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7 Mistakes to Avoid When Traveling in Italy
Not Renting a Car
Not renting a car for part of your Italy trip is a big mistake, because Italy is so much more than its cities. While Florence and Rome are cities you have to visit at least once in your life, so are places like the Dolomites and Tuscany. Public transportation is great in Italy and easy to navigate, but when you’re traveling further away from the cities, it can get expensive. It’s also nice to have a rental car and travel at your own pace. You won’t be bound to train and bus schedules.
If your itinerary only includes cities, we highly recommend skipping the rental car and only using public transportation.
Read More: 3 Perfect Days in the Italian Dolomites
Driving Through ZTLs
A ZTL is a limited traffic zone, and as a tourist in a rental car, you cannot drive in these areas. If you enter one of these zones, you will be fined anywhere from 80 € to 300 €. That fine does not include administration fees from the rental company.
As we were not driving in any major cities, we weren’t really worried about this. However, while we were in the Dolomites, we drove to a small town to get lunch one day and encountered a ZTL. We noticed the sign and abruptly stopped and turned around before entering. Don’t rely on your GPS to avoid these zones. Make sure you know what the signs look like (white with a red circle in the middle) and avoid driving in major cities where ZTLs are more prevalent.
Not Paying Attention to the Color of a Parking Space
Italy has color-coded parking spaces. Each color indicates the rules for parking there.
White
White lined parking spaces are usually free parking. However, sometimes these spaces are only free for residents. Make sure you read the signs (take a photo and use the translate option on your iPhone) to know whether or not you can park there.
Blue
Blue lined spaces are paid parking. Look for a pay meter nearby, pay for parking, and display the receipt on your dash (or pay online using a parking app).
Yellow
Yellow lined spaces are for residents and sometimes handicapped drivers or passengers (indicated by the blue symbol in the space).
Green
Green parking spaces (referring to the green EV or charging symbol) are for electric vehicles and are situated near a charging station. If you’re not actively charging your electric vehicle, you shouldn’t park here.
Pink
Pink lined spaces are for expectant mothers or mothers traveling with an infant.
*Tip
If you know you’ll be renting a car, download the common parking apps used in Italy before you travel. After downloading these apps, set up your account, as they often ask for verification codes sent via text.
Not Validating Train Tickets
This is one you’ve probably heard before, but did you know that not all train tickets have to be validated?
Any train ticket you purchase from a ticket window or machine must be validated before boarding the train to avoid fines. Any train ticket purchased online does NOT have to be validated. This includes train tickets from Italo, Trenitalia, Omio, and Trainline.
Our recommendation? Purchase all of your tickets online in advance, so you don’t have to worry about validating.
Traveling During a Strike
Strikes in Italy are common. Strikes are announced in advance, so if you know a strike is scheduled to occur and will affect your travel, change your travel plans. If you must travel within the hours of a strike, be prepared for severe delays and cancellations.
We dealt with a rail strike towards the end of our trip when traveling to Rome. Our tickets were booked through Trenitalia, so when our original train journey was repeatedly delayed and then cancelled, we found an InterCity train that stopped at the Roma Termini Station. Because our original tickets were booked through Trenitalia, they were accepted on this train due to the strike. We sat on the floor for hours, and it was quite the adventure.
Not Packing a Voltage Converter
Italy operates on a higher voltage of electricity than the US. While some of your electronics can handle this voltage with just an adapter, many need a voltage converter. Things like hair dryers, curling irons, camera battery chargers, steamers, etc. are not usually dual voltage and will need to be plugged into a converter (or they will not work anymore). We’ve taken this voltage converter on every international trip and love it. It even comes with Type C, G, L, and I plugs, so you won’t need to pack an adapter too.
Read More: 10-Day Italy Itinerary: The Dolomites, Cinque Terre, Florence, and Rome
Not Having Cash
While you won’t need a lot of cash, it is helpful to have on hand. If you’re staying in an Airbnb, tourist tax might not be included in the booking. When we stayed in Cinque Terre, we were asked to pay the tourist tax in cash before check out.
Make sure you also have some coins, as many public restrooms are pay to use.
If you’re traveling to Italy soon, have a wonderful time! We hope this list of mistakes to avoid when traveling in Italy was helpful. If you’re looking for more Italy trip planning resources, check out our earlier posts here.
