Traveling Italy Mini Guide

Are you about to spend your summer frolicking through the hills of Tuscany? Soak up the sun in Calabria? Or just have a fantasy of eating your way through Italy, then come check out this mini guide to get inspired!

Did you know Italy is still fairly a new country? Maybe you are thinking: “Wait, what do you mean? What is she talking about? helloooo look at Rome, its been around for 28 centuries!?”

Okay actually Italy wasn’t even sort of Italy until the unification of 1861. Before that it was just made up of city-states, kingdoms, and duchies. (Duchies are areas of land owned by a duke/duchess). Maybe that’s why my Italian friends from the south side eye the northern Italians.

The kingdom Italy existed from 1861 until 1946. After that it has been known as the Italian Republic

Info	Italia
Language:	Italian
Currency:	Euros
Wifi:	Great
Hello in Italian:	Ciao!
Thank you in Italian:	Grazie

Table of Contents

Italy is a fantasy vacation and solo traveling through here I had no problem meeting people, making friends, and easily getting around by train and bike.

I started in the region of Sicily and worked my way up through Naples, Umbria, Tuscany and then Rome.

My friend from Rome said, “Don’t get stuck in Florence…”I had no idea what she meant until I got to Florence or as the locals call it Firenze, and decided to extend my stay from 2 weeks to one month.

Here’s the destinations I recommend based on the limited time I had.

Where to go	How long to stay
Pisa	Day trip or 3 nights
Naples area (almafi coast)	2-3 weeks
Sicily	One month or your whole summer
Perugia/Umbria	1 week or more
Roma	1 week or more
Florence	3 weeks or forever.
Bologna	1 week

Pisa is a great day trip from Florence, the town is small and cute to walk around. You can take one of those cliché cheesy, but super cute Leaning Tower of Pisa pictures. I have a feeling there is more to Pisa than just cliche tourist pictures, and I am excited to explore my next time there.

Naples is a gem. I stayed in the Chiaia region and walked around every and anywhere. Head up to ‘Christmas alley’ to get some cool knick knacks to take back home to your family.

Sicily you should get a car to explore this island. From exploring downtown Palermo to the beautiful outskirts to swim in Mondello (small borough in Palermo) Drive on up through Catania, and enjoy the beauty. Go swim in Taormina, its quite beautiful and famous over there. I highly recommend heading over to Messina and taking a swim-very low key. There’s actually so much I did in Sicily that it deserves a separate post.

Perugia/Umbria, you come here for the greenery because that’s what it is. Perugia is also known for its jazz festival and chocolate, but for my cyclists, Umbria is an under the radar gem for cycling.

Rome: I did not see much monuments when I was in Rome, I actually hung out with my local friends and just enjoyed the vibe. Rome actually reminded me of New York City, a lot. Rome has a good vibe.

Florence, I could stay forever. This town and these vibes were perfect, its easily walkable, but has some great bike lanes. It had a flavor that reminded me of San Francisco, yet I can’t figure out why.

What to do in each area!

My Budget

So for Italy, I stayed with a family for about a month in Sicily. It helped me interact with locals and get to know areas outside of tourist traps. So maybe I spent about 200 dollars in total for that month? I did take myself out shopping, however in terms of daily expense, I didn’t really touch much.

Making my way up to Naples, and over for my one month stay in Florence-perhaps I spent about 3,000 in total. I found Italy not as expensive as I had thought in my mind. I did book an apartment in Florence, which I mainly cooked a lot. However when I did eat out, compared to restaurant prices in the US, Italy was quite inexpensive on eating out. I remember paying about 7 euros for some yummy pasta in Naples!

Where I stayed?

Accomdation	Location	Estimate price
Felipe’s place	Palermo	free
Exe Majestic Hotel	Naples	$100
Hotel Gio Wine e Jazz Area	Perugia	$98
Sella VIP Casa Galente Apartments in Florence	Florence	$80
Masha Apartment	Rome	$46
Leonardo Boutique Hotel Rome Termini	Rome	$75

Felipe’s place you can find on Workaway. He is a great person and very well traveled. We stayed mainly with his family at their seaside place, countryside place, and back in the city of Palermo! The seaside place wasn’t the greatest for my allergies, however I adored his families countryside house.

Exe Majestic Hotel is in the Chiaia district and right around the corner from everything you could possibly need at your fingertips. It’s considered a more ‘upscale’ area, but easy access to everything. I found the staff friendly and accommodating.

Hotel Gio Wine e Jazz Area, oh my gosh don’t even bother eating out just get the dinner they offer in their outdoor dining area each night, because it is delicious and so romantic. I loved this hotel and could see myself there on a winter day enjoying the jazz music.

Sella VIP Casa Galente Apartments: My oh my this was my dream apartment. It’s 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, complete with a washer on the balcony to clean up your dirty clothes. The kitchen is beautiful. And the area is right outside the historic district of Florence, totally local friendly and about a 10 minute walk from the Arno River. Did I mention one of the bathrooms is a jacuzzi tub?

Masha Apartment: So I actually didn’t end up staying here only because when I checked in I realized I was a bit further from the terminal than needed. I had an early flight and wanted to be as close as possible…this place is still pretty close though. Masha apartment is big and cozy, great for groups of friends.

Leonardo Boutique Hotel Rome Termini: Small and Cozy boutique hotel near delicious food and the terminal to get around easier. They have a hot tub on the rooftop and due to Covid only one person at a time, so I was able to get it all to myself one morning overlooking Rome.

Places I want to go:

Words to know in Italy for a failure free experience:

Word	“Your meaning”	Italian Meaning	What you really want
Latte	A yummy coffee with milk	A glass of milk	Caffe Latte
Bar	A place to drink alcohol	a Cafe open from early in the morning until evening. Selling pastries, coffee, and drinks (alcoholic/non-alcoholic)	It’s the same thing…just Italy does more
		more will be added to this list lol

More about Italy

Italy is a dream country for many folks. From the romantic atmosphere to the food, and historic ruins. Yet for many folks, sometimes it seems as though Italy can be out of peoples price range-when it need not be that way. Italia is doable on a budget and you can still eat very well without breaking your wallet. The best food I had in Italy cost me around 7 euros for a plate and full course meal maybe I spent up to 20-30 euros.

Traverse through the grocery stores for fresh food, cheap yet tasteful wine, and all the prosciutto you want. I ate so much prosciutto on my trip- just because I could.

Italians are lively souls and are very beautiful people. I felt nothing, but welcomed during my stay in Italy. If I could describe in one word: Homely. That’s how I felt, very at home.

Getting around Italy to major cities is super easy with the Italian train system. However if you want to drive to certain areas, I suggest feeling like an expert in driving because some of those roads scare me when going up to those villages perched on the mountain. Good luck with that.

Extra Info

Because Italy is on the Mediterranean Sea, it receives the majority of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants coming in (along with Greece). Most refugees, especially women are at risk of being trafficked into sex and becoming prostitutes. Don’t forget to be kind to those who risked their lives to live in a safe country.

Resources/Links for Italy:

https://casegalante.it/ (amazing apartments in Florence at an affordable price)

https://www.workaway.info/ (volunteer around the world)

Other Articles on Italy:

When you want to do nothing in Perugia Italy, but hang out