Top 10 Travel Tips For Northern Italy

Here are the things you need to know before your trip to Northern Italy.

1. A LOT of Places Do Not Have AC

It’s very hot and a lot of places including hotels don’t have air conditioning. You can usually see when booking a hotel. Be mindful if you have POTS or some other problem that make you susceptible to heat. When you are out during the day if you are really hot and want to cool off go into a designer store they are all air conditioned. But those are some of the only stores with air conditioning.

2. Get Cash Before You Arrive

.My friend had said that using a local ATM was the best way to get cash while in Italy but, it was WAY more expensive. We went to an ATM when we arrived and was charged a 13% fee. Next time we are ordering Euros in advance. We really just needed cash to tip our tour guides.

3. Save A Google Map To Your Phone

I recommend saving a google map of the areas you’re touring to your phone before you leave. You can save points of interests like museums or your hotels. That way you do not need to use data or find cafes with wifi when you are touring during the day. You can find instructions on how to download and use google maps offline here.

4. Highway Toll Booths

All of the highway toll Booths have either a cashier or a self check out where you can either pay with cash or card. You don’t need to have a telepass.

5. Shopping Tax Free

A great thing about shopping in Europe is that you can get the taxes you paid on items back. You need to have your passport with you while you’re shopping. Most of the stores were able to do it if you asked. To get your money back when you arrive at the airport to leave the country you go to a kiosk either before or after security. You show them the special tax free receipt and they’ll give you your money back.

6. Bathroom Sinks

If you don’t see a handle to turn on the sink then there is probably a peddle on the floor that you need to step on. I spent an embarrassingly long time trying to figure this out.

7. Food Allergens

Italy has come a long way in the past 10 years. There was a lot of awareness around allergies with many common allergens being listed on most menus. Thankfully the preservative I’m allergic to is banned in Italy so I didn’t worry about it.

8. Very Few Businesses Takes American Express

Our American Express credit cards weren’t accepted at a lot of places, including our rental car. Make sure you have a Visa or Mastercard with you.

9. Charging Your Electronics

Don’t forget to purchase an electrical inverter. If you’re from North America you will fry whatever electronic you plug in if you don’t have one. If you are using a USB charging cord there are many available that you can plug the USB cord directly into.

10. Milan Airport and Train Station.

These are more about the idiosyncrasies of the Milan train station and airport. If you are traveling from the Milan Cardona station to the airport and the ticket machine isn’t working or allowing you to purchase a particular ticket then try another machine. I tried 3 machines before I was able to get my ticket back to the airport.

At the airport, if you are having trouble finding the check-in counters for any American airline (American, United, Delta, and El Al) go to aisle 19 and then head towards the back windows. There’s a hallway there to check-in aisles 20-24. There is a security guard stationed at the entrance of the hall. Sometimes there’s a line to go to those aisles and the security guard only allows a certain number of people at a time. If it’s less busy just go up to the security guard and tell him the airline you’re flying and he’ll let you through. Before you go to your gate you have to go through customs. After customs there is not much food or shopping. Once you are through security, but before customs, there are shops and restaurants. So if you need any food before your flight make sure you grab it right after security. Then once you are ready for customs try to get into the self checkout lane, it’s faster.