Favorite travel trips, Italy edition

While I consider myself to be a fairly accomplished traveler, I’m also a believer in the fact that there’s always something new to be learned. On my most recent trip, which already feels like it happened a million years ago, there were a few small things that I packed and/or did that really went a long way in terms of making my travels both easier and more fun. I’m happy to share these tips with you here. Feel free to share your own with a comment.

• If you’re heading to a destination that will involve time at the beach, save a little room in your luggage for a light cotton throw. Don’t tell me you don’t have space for it – you’re talking to a woman who packs carry on only for a month long vacation and if I can do it, so can you. The one I bring along can be used as a beach blanket, a towel and as an additional light layer of bedding, if necessary. I bought mine on Etsy for less than $15 and it dries quickly and doesn’t weigh much, even when wet. Get one and leave it in your luggage for your next adventure.
  
• Bring a clean large, sealable plastic bag. Feel free to pack a pair of sandals or something else in the bag for your flight to make use of it, but the real value comes from the many ways you can reuse it during your vacation. At various points in my trip, I used mine to carry small food items between cities, to hold my wet bathing suit after a day at the beach and to collect small items of dirty clothing. The potential uses are unlimited and it basically weighs nothing.
  
• I know I’ve shared this suggestion before but, in case you’re new around here, here are my recommendations for making purchases and obtaining cash while in Europe. The first thing you should do is make certain that you have a credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees, better yet, have two of those cards, if possible. I travel with a Capital One Visa, my American Express card and a bank debit/atm card. And cash, of course. In recent years, I’ve made it a habit to come home with at least a couple of hundred Euros as seed money for my next trip abroad. Last year when the $ and € were at parity, I brought home even more euros, a good move that earned me about 16% in terms of spending power this year.
  
  Note: do not carry all of your cards with you when out and about. I generally just have the Visa in my wallet, opting to leave the American Express behind wherever I’m staying and only bringing the ATM card with me when I’m going to get cash. As for obtaining local currency when in a foreign country, I’ve got two tips – only use ATMs attached to banks to minimize fees and try to make your withdrawals during banking hours in case there are issues with your card. Also, to curtail banking fees you’re best off making 2 or 3 large withdrawals instead of numerous smaller transactions during your vacation and always take your cash without conversion. 
  

• A lightweight (are you picking up on a theme here?) cotton shoulder bag was my accessory of choice in Italy, despite the presence of my adorable Kate Spade crossbody bag. The one I impulsively tossed into my carry on bag to contain my water bottle and snack quickly became indispensable as it was perfect to hold my wallet, water bottle and phone. I also used it for trips to the market and the beach. To prevent too much deep digging to locate smaller items in my shoulder bag, I repurposed my small zippered makeup bag to hold lipstick, keys, phone, etc. Stash that bag down deep to thwart pickpockets and other ne’er do well types who are looking for easy marks. Remember you’re easy going, not easy.
  
• Are you aware that many hotels and resorts with desirable amenities make their property available for day use? Case in point – N was having some lower back tweakiness likely brought on my lots of walking on hard surfaces and sleeping on unfamiliar mattresses. On our last day on Ischia, we made a change to our departure point from Folio to Ischia Port (no charge or formal change required, we just boarded using our same tickets) and were able to book a massage at the resort I had stayed at last year. I asked about using their facilities – there’s a spa with steam room, whirlpool bath, various showers and both in and outdoor pools, and was told we were welcome to avail ourselves of all they had to offer for a charge of €20 a person. Instead of trying to find a place to hang out for the hours between AirBnB checkout in the morning and our scheduled departure in the late afternoon, we were able to swim, lounge and shower at our leisure. Bonus that there was a restaurant for lunch poolside, natch. The moral here? Ask, you never know.
  
• Lastly, if you’re relying upon public transit to get yourself to and from the airport in your home country, do yourself a favor and purchase your return tickets when you’re departing. Case in point, I bought my LIRR and AirTrain return tickets on the way to JFK and stashed them in my backpack for when I landed back in NY. Not having to deal with taking my wallet out and waiting in line at an automated ticket machine after a long day of traveling, was a welcome home gift from me, to me.