Italy Travel Tips – Guidelines to Hot Up Your Trip

Here are some important Italy travel tips to hot up or at least ease up your trip:

First important Italy travel tips: Time. The local Italy time is GMT+1. It is GMT+2 if between the last Sunday of March and the last Saturday followed by a Sunday in September.

Italy travel tips on language are fairly easy even if you don’t know Italian. Just learn English! However, the traveler must remember that English may not be understood in some remote parts of Italy. In this case you might need to back-up with your German, French, or Slovene.

The most important information on climate included in these Italy travel tips is knowing the best time to travel to Italy. Generally, the hottest month in Italy is July, the coldest is January, the wettest is November, and the driest is also July. It is best to visit Italy during spring season (April-May) and autumn (September-October-November) when the scenery is beautiful and the temperature is pleasant. It is best to go on June to September only if you plan to go sea swimming of alps trekking. If you plan to go on a winter, the ski season generally lasts from December to late-March. If you want to avoid the sting of winter, you can go south where you can easily linger into November-December. The least number of rain and the highest number of hours of sunshine occur in the extreme south of the mainland and in the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, where sunshine averages from four-five hours a day in winter and up to ten-eleven hours in summer.

The international access code for Italy is +39. The outgoing code is 00 followed by the country code you want to call. All numbers must be preceded by 0, whether originating in Italy or not, unless you are calling a cell phone. The local cell phone operators use GSM networks and observe roaming agreements with most international operators. It is generally cheaper to use a calling card to be used on public telephone booths since there can be high surcharges on calls made from hotels. Internet cafes are also available whenever you want to call on a special (or helpful) someone.

Some Italy Travel Tips Useful Emergency Numbers:
12 Phone Directory Assistance
113 Emergency Police Help
115 Fire Department
116 ACI (Italian Automobile Club) road side assistance
118 Medical Emergencies
176 International Inquires


Electrical current in Italy is 230 volts, 50Hz. A variety of plugs are in use including the European-style two-pin plugs. 110-volt US-built hairdryers, electric shavers, or travel irons may also be used.

Italy Travel Tips on Money and Tipping: The Euro (€) is the official currency, which is divided into 100 cents. Those arriving in Italy with foreign currency can obtain Euros through any bank, ATM or bureaux de change. Traveler’s cheques can be exchanged with ease in the large cities, not so in the smaller towns. Credit cards are accepted in up market establishments and shops around the cities. Banks are closed on weekends. Tipping is customary in Italy and 10% of the bill is acceptable in restaurants, check though if a service charge has already been included. Be careful being generous. Hotels add a service charge of 15-18%, but it is customary to tip your service staffs extra. Italians rarely tip taxi drivers, but 5-10% is usual. You might want to check on extra information about traveler’s checks, ATMs and debit cards, banking hours, the Euro, or currency conversions.

Additional Italy Travel Tips on Health, Regulation, and Safety
There is no specific health risks associated with travel to Italy. European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) could be acquired. You have to get necessary information though on: vaccination certificate, healthcare and medical assistance, pharmacies, health services and insurance policy, customs regulations, exports from Italy, Canadian and U.S. regulations on purchases abroad, passport regulations, pets, registration for tourists, or safety risks such as international terrorist attacks. Tourists should always be vigilant in public places and tourist sites. Tourists are vulnerable to pick-pocketing and muggings in the bigger cities, particularly on public transport, in crowded areas and around tourist sites, and should exercise caution when carrying large amounts of cash and valuables.