Having portrait painted in Venice

Hi, I'm planning on visiting Venice and Rome in September, assuming the Covid situation permits. Since I'll be solo travelling, I'll be using a lightweight tripod with my phone mounted on it to take pictures of myself. I don't have a fancy camera and I'm pretty happy with the picture quality of my phone (Google Pixel) so I always just use that combo.

I've heard that pickpockets are pretty common in Venice and Rome so I'm wondering if it's okay to put my phone on a tripod and stand about 3-4 meters away to take pictures of myself with it. How big is the risk of someone stealing my phone while it's on the tripod?

I am the organiser of our school ski trip and we are off skiing in Italy feb 2022.

We have a day to fill before our flights on the last day and there is the option of coming into Venice for 3-4 hours.

I was wondering how easy it is to get street food in Italy (not time to sit and eat) and how much would it approximately cost to get a drink and some pizza?

Hi,

My partner, our 14 month old and myself are trying to decide whether to take a trip to Italy next month - one that has already been delayed twice due to covid. We would love advice from anyone living in Italy or who has recently travelled there. We’re interested on how keen people living in Italy are to have tourists at the moment, what the atmosphere is like day to day in terms of covid restrictions and any tips on keeping a very very lively and curious 15 month old happy - one who loves to run about, chat to people and be busy...

My partner and I are in our 30s and well travelled (and have done 8 trips in the Uk since the birth of our daughter). We have both been fully vaccinated and are comfortable using masks outdoors and indoors. We are prepared to have and pay for the 5 covid tests necessary and the Uk quarantine anc our trip is already booked but is fully refundable so the stakes are fairly low. All our accommodation hosts are still enthusiastic for us to come.

We’re starting in Venice then had planned to take a train to Florence before hiring a car anc spending some time in a farm stay just north of San Gimoniano. We fly back from Pisa.

We live in London.

Thanks in advance!

After cancelling our 2020 Italy trip, I've just booked a trip for spring 2022. We fly into Venice in late April and will be in the country for 21 nights before leaving from Rome. I've booked accommodations online but everything is cancellable so I'd love to know you suggest any changes to my itinerary. And I have a few questions. Any input would be much appreciated as I've never been to Italy!

Here's what I've booked:

3 nights Venice - Wander, see Doge's palace & St. Mark's Square

3 nights in Sirmione, Lake Garda - explore Roman ruins, drive around lake, maybe boat trip to Isola del Garde

3 Nights in Florence - Museums & sights. Rent car when leaving & drive to Montepulciano via Chianti.

3 Nights in Montepulciano - Wine tasting, explore hill towns in Tuscany (& maybe hot springs?)

4 Nights in Sorrento (day trips to Capri & Amalfi Coast & maybe Pompeii, but that would be all the days and I want to just relax & wander in Sorrento too)

4 Nights in Rome - Colosseum, Vatican, and maybe day trip to Tivoli or Ninfa Gardens (though my husband won't be that excited about the latter so may skip it)

Does this look like a good number of days / nights in each place?

Also, I have a few other questions... From Venice to Sirmione - Would I be better off to simply take the train from Venice to Desenzano and rent a car there, meaning I could drop it at the end of my Sirmione stay and not pay one-way charge? Or rent a car in Venice and drive to Desenzano? And when we leave Montepulciano to go to Sorrento, am I better off dropping the car in Chiusi and taking train from there to Sorrento, or driving back to Florence & dropping it there, taking the high-speed traing?

Or should I re-order the whole trip, driving from Venice to Sirmione and then to Montepulciano, then take the car back to Florence, spend 3 nights there and then train to Sorrento?

I've noticed that a lot of accommodations are booking up already for next spring so if my itinerary isn't logical, I want to switch it around now while there's lots of options. I know there's plenty of time for booking cars & trains, but does the order make sense? Thanks in advance for any input!!

I know this is a bit of a specific question but my husband and I will be in Pienza in early October for a week, and we love the idea of taking one afternoon for a picnic. We will be staying at an Airbnb a few mins outside of the main town of Pienza but will have a car and plan to drive around, visiting all the beautiful little towns, including Corona. I’m wondering if anyone has any favorite picnic locations that you especially love, since options seem to be endless for beautiful spots to pick from. And also, if you have a favorite market we could go to to pick up our snacks and drinks (breads, cheeses, fruits, maybe some dessert - no meat though since we are vegetarians), I would love to hear suggestions!

Hi,

We are scheduled to fly from the US to Rome, travel within Italy to Venice and Sorrento. We are fully vaccinated. Aside from safety our question is: are the museums, restaurants, tours expected to be open or has diminished tourism forced a reduction in available attractions? Has anyone recently returned from Italy and how was the testing/re-entry process? We are scouring the online resources but find fellow travelers' information to be the most helpful. Thank you!

First off- thanks in advance for any advice! (first time posting)

We are planning a ~2.5-3 week trip to Italy for May 2022 with our 2 kids (6 and 8).

My idea of a dream Italy vacay is cozy farms, beautiful scenery, amazing food, space for the kids to run and explore, bike rides, horse rides, and an authentic feel.

We also like to take our time in places vs trying to rush and see it all. I feel we have to see Rome and Venice but also know our kids will easily get overwhelmed and tired by the big cities.

Based on that, I have loosely come up with the following itinerary:

Fly into Rome (found a great points flight from our city); 3 nights here

5 nights in Umbria (agriturismo)

5 nights in Tuscany (agriturismo)

? 1-2 nights in Bergamo (my hubby has been and loves Citta Alta neighbourhood)

3 nights in Venice - fly home

Any thoughts on this? I love the idea of Cinque Terre but perhaps best to save it for another time (without the kids!).

Thank you!! Cait

Long story short, I had two other trips in planning that my teen daughter eventually vetoed :)

She has requested a culture/sightseeing/city trip over the 'nature' and 'beach' options. She's had a really tough year and with all the anxiety about heading into high school, I would love to make this happen for her. I have about a month to plan this trip, so here's my first attempt at an itinerary. We will be flying in and out of Rome (only option for a direct flight), which we'll be skipping as we have previously visited:

Day 0: overnight flight into Rome, arrive 7:30 am

Day 1: Rome to Naples via high speed train, Napoli, Overnight in Napoli

Day 2: Pompeii tour, Overnight in Napoli

Day 3: Amalfi coast tour (bus tour or private driver), Overnight in Napoli

Day 4: Napoli in the morning, leave for Florence via high speed train, Overnight in Florence

Day 5: Florence, Overnight in Florence

Day 6: Tuscany day trip (bus tour or private driver), Overnight in Florence

Day 7: Train to Cinque Terre w/ stopover in Pisa, Overnight in CT

Day 8: Cinque Terre, Overnight in Cinque Terre

Day 9: Train to Milan, Overnight in Milan

Day 10: Milan in the morning, train to Venice, Overnight in Venice

Day 11: Venice, Overnight in Venice

Day 12: Venice in the morning, Venice to Rome via high speed train or flight, Overnight Rome near airport

Day 13: fly home

Would love to hear your thoughts:

- We like fast paced, but is it too fast paced? Any suggestions?

- I feel like Milan is a bit of a 'detour' and I wonder if it's worth just for one day?

- Should we get TrainItalia passes? Which one?

- I would love to have some flexibility and not prebook hotels in case we want to linger in one area more - is this too much of a risk? (I wouldn't have considered it but i feel like we could 'wing it' this year?)

- Is there anything else I need to pre-book? (ie. tours, transportation, admission tickets, etc).

Thanks all in advance!

First, i should mention that i'm somewhat ADHD when on vacation so i don't like to stay in one place too long but would rather look, absorb, take some pics and keep moving along. With that said i'm very active and walking is certainly ok with me. I would be taking trains mostly . I have the following thus far:

1) Arrive Venice

2)Venice

3)Venice

4)Venice to Bologna

5)Bologna to Florence

6)Florence

7)Florence to Rome ( I've already been to Rome previously but will pick up my fiancé here)

8)Rome to Naples then Ferry to Ischia

9)Ischia

10)Ferry to Capri

11)Capri

12)Ferry to Positano

13)Positano

14)Positano

15)Positano

16)Sorrento

17)Sorrento to Naples Depart home

Thanks for any suggestions and advice. Was wanting to hike around Cinque Terre for the day at some point but was unsure if it was worth the effort since the train takes a long time to get there. Thanks

Hello, can anyone please comment on the status / busyness of Venice this summer? Realizing that Italy recently opened up travel to certain countries. Looking to add a city on to our cinque terre trip, unsure where. Would love any suggestions / tips.

Thanks!