I’ve been to Italy several times and my sister lived in Rome for three years courtesy of the Navy. The food is as good or better than expected, incredible views, all the things. But the petty crime from about Rome south is no joke. I can count on one hand the number of people I know who weren’t robbed of some sort while there. Take little to no jewelry, hide purses/wallets/passports under clothing, never leave anything visible in a car while parked, and be super alert. I’d go back in a heartbeat and you’ll have a blast, just be very aware it can happen in a blink. My sister had a gold necklace yanked off her neck while waiting to cross the steet by a guy on a motorbike. He never even stopped.
I travel a bunch all over the world.
When traveling my passport and wallet go in my hotel room safe. I also put something in there as a reminder such as one shoe that I wear on the airplane. “Wait… where’s my other shoe?” I use to wear a rubber sports ring instead of my wedding band, but now wear an Oura ring and my Apple Watch. No other jewelry.
I leave the “Do not disturb” sign up when I go out.
I take my room key, but nothing identifying the room number or hotel. I put my room number in the calculator of my phone. Yeah… I forget which room I’m in.
I carry some cash, my credit card sized passport as an ID, and two credit cards (visa and Amex). No wallet. Don’t take more cash than you think you will really need and are comfortable losing.
Assume anything in a bag will be stolen. If I use a bag it’s for my rain jacket, umbrella, and water. If I have something more valuable such as something I purchased then I don’t put it on my back, but on my front. I try to avoid such purchase until I’m heading back to the hotel.
If you use your phone, guard it. Don’t stand next to a street. Thieves on motor bikes are common- they will grab it out of your hand and speed away. Do NOT use your phone on a train or bus as you approach a stop. I’ve seen people have their phones snatched out of their hands at a train stop and the thief sprints out the doors. Also be careful about putting your phone on a bar. They will put something on top of it and take it.
Also, be
VERY careful when putting a password into a phone. The goal of thieves is to either get an unlocked phone or the ability to unlock it so they will try to see you enter a number, If they do get an unlocked phone you are really hosed. An unlocked smart phone is the jackpot for thieves. If this happens you need to find a way to block that phone as quickly as you can, even if it means begging someone to let you use their phone. Once a thief gets into an unlocked phone and changes the passwords you are in deep doo doo.
Don’t be the friendly, helpful American. You’ll get rolled. If someone comes up to me with an offer or such I put one hand up and the other by my pocket. A common set up in Istanbul is for a shoe shine to walk in front of an American looking tourists and drop a shoe brush. As you pick it up and tell them their buddies try to roll you. Again, if people are coming up to you or there is any kind of disturbance make sure you guard your phone and it’s locked.
Try to blend in with your clothing. As you go from the airport to the hotel look at what elope are wearing. I usually wear a plain t-shirt, and either hiking khaki pants or jeans, and hiking shoes. Of course that backfired on me once when I found myself on a subway in Honk Kong with a bunch of people dressed just like me, black t-shirts and jeans. “Man, I’m a trend setter.” At my stop we were met by riot police. It was a bunch of demonstrators.
Shorts have become more common for adult males in some places, but not in the parts of Italy I have visited so I would avoid wearing them.
Finally, be careful of animals. We recently had an employee attacked by a cat in Tel Aviv. The employee had to endure the rabies vaccine protocol.
). You could go to different areas of each on different occasions and have very different trips. If I had to pick between the two, I would probably pick Italy every time, just on my preference for what makes a great traveling experience—people, vibe, food, scenery, arts/culture. I’m not sure about traveling expenses at the moment, but I believe Italy’s cost of living is significantly lower than Hawaii.
