Traveling Italy the Happy Hoteling Way
All my secrets for Italian travel success.
Every trip to Italy, I realize new things that likely positively contribute to how I go about Italy, and how it treats me in return.
Like any relationship, this is a two-way street.
Like any instance, I’m big on decorum.
Like any overnight stay, I’m overly aware that I’m a guest in other people’s home and culture.
But no – this is not going to be a rant, nor a reprimand, but I want to set the table stakes – sometimes I forget that I don’t actually know all of you in person.
This is going to be me sharing insight that I’ve gleamed from living and observation. Really, it’s mostly possible because of the sheer amount of times I have been to Italy. It’s much easier to distinguish difference when you’re pulling from a large playing field. For me, that’s memories that span across each year of my life, with my family, with my friends, and with myself, in (nearly) every region of the country.
But this trip, in particular, has brought things into clearer focus because it’s a lot easier to remove the usual potential factors for potential preferential treatment. First off, it’s not Summer. That means a whole lot less tourists, a whole lot less Americans. Also, seasonal workers aren’t burnt out from the sun and people are less demanding. Also, I didn’t go anywhere this trip where I have personal friends. Because, naturally, that will always give anyone an upper hand. And, my Italian bff, Stefanie, has been in America, so I haven’t had her around the clock to ask translation or procedural questions.
I’ve been a true team of one, and my experience has been exactly as it has been during all my other trips.
Why am I sharing? To be blunt, I’ve found myself, over and over again, in situations where I am being treated better than those around me. Or, I’m just treated really well. And, the trip has been effortless for me, despite any hiccups.
I’m immensely grateful, for all of this, and I want to share any insight I can with you.
Because I do think there are things that I do, either taught by my parents or just by instinct, that make this my Italian travel reality. Of course, I am only writing from my own extensive experience and perspective (aka, there is no right or wrong, I’m just opinionated and have insight).
This covers, in detail:
The language – tips for general Italian speaking, and also phonetic pronunciation for 49 phrases and words, common and less so, to make you appear as a seasoned Italian traveler.
Hotels – everything I do at an Italian hotel. Before the stay and during. Plus, I’ve provided a sample email to send a hotel to give yourself a leg up on great treatment.
Transportation – everything you need to know to set you up for transportation success, with a whole lot of specifics.
Tipping – the truths and tricks.
General – everything else, that I could possibly think of. My honest suggestions, that work for me really well.
It’s long (over 5,900 words)! The goal is for this to be a resource for anyone who hasn’t extensively traveled to Italy – forever housed in the archive.
This coming week, I’ll be sharing a whole lot more about my trip. The Dolomites, where I stayed, and my guide to the town and transportation there. Torino (Turin), where I stayed and my mini guide (including my final answer on my favorite cafe). Lake Brienz, Switzerland (allllll about the hotel). Plus, the full itinerary, which I must admit, I aced. I wouldn’t change a single hotel or a single place I went. I can’t wait to share!
Thank you so much for being here.
P.S. If you enjoy this, I would love it if you could tap the heart or leave a comment (both?) – this answers a lot of my FAQ, and I’d love to to reach as many eyes as possible. Mostly, I want as many people as possible to set themselves up for Italian vacation soaring success.
THE LANGUAGE
I feel it’s important to be clear that I am in no way fluent in Italian. I do, however, have a good accent, which serves me well.
If you can greet someone with a good enough accent, you’ll likely subliminally get better treatment from the get-go. There are a million reasons why this could be, but my instinct tells me it’s the fact that Italian is not a widely spoken language worldwide, and thus, it shows you have been to the country before.
But even if you haven’t, I want to help your Italian pronunciation. All of the below are phonetic suggestions, from an American perspective. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to write a word phonetically in British English. Also, I’m suggesting a mix of both “formal” and common parlance talk, based on how I think it’s most helpful.
In general, there are also a few cultural norms to know and basics sounds to help:
Always greet someone before you ask for anything. Salve (formal hello), buongiorno, buonasera. Italian culture is not as rushed as American, and thus it’s culturally unkind not to greet someone first.
Italian is a language with words that are feminine or masculine, and the ending of words often end in either an “a” or an “o”, for female and male, respectively. But, it’s totally ok if you get this wrong. Not a big deal, if you’re otherwise trying.
When a word has “io” in the middle of the word, like Giorgio Armani, it’s pronounced like joe, not gee-oh.
When there is a double “s” in a word, linger on it, and break it into two syllables. This is a great way for people to think you have a good accent!
When there is one “s” in the middle of a word, it acts like a “z” in American English. This does not apply to compound words. For example, “pesante” which means heavy, is pronounced peh-zahn-teh. But, buonasera, a compound word, is pronounced bwohn-ah-sair-ah.
The “gn” sound is hare for English speakers. The best way I can describe it is to say the word “onion” over and over again. There is no “y” in the word, but we pronounce it as if there is. The same with “gn” in Italian. For example, nyo-kee, for gnocci, the potato pasta.
Speak slowly, when you speak in English, and try not to use slang. In hospitality school in Italy, most learn British English. Also, think of yourself trying to understand someone speaking a mile a minute – it’s harder, even if it’s your native language. Add an extra pause in between words and sentences.
Watch some Italian content creators or celebrities and see how they speak English. It is not rude, in fact, it’s often helpful, if you say an English word more closely to how an Italian would pronounce it. Of course, this is if there’s trouble in understanding. Whatever you think of her, Chiara Ferragni is the best to do this. Alessio Pasini is another good one.
There are so many dialects of Italian – this is all to speak common Italian that is the national language.
Words and phrases to know, and how to pronounce them: