The Arno at golden hour, Florence
Italy Unpacked

Italy Unpacked

Most Italy mistakes happen before you leave


Tickets you didn't know you needed to book months ago. A tourist tax you weren't expecting. A train fare that doubled while you were still deciding. It's the Italy research you'd otherwise have to piece together yourself — already done and checked against Italian sources.

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37 things to do before your trip. Free, on one page.

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37 things to do before your Italy trip


One page, organized by when you actually need to do each thing: what to book first, what to handle a few weeks out, and what to do right before you leave.

Most of it isn't complicated. It's just the stuff people tend to find out too late: after the tickets sell out, after they're charged a fee, or when the rental desk turns them away. The checklist puts it all in the order you actually need it.

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Four of the thirty-seven

  • The Colosseum isn't sold out.Official tickets are released on a rolling schedule, so checking too early can make it look sold out. Know when tickets for your date go on sale.
  • Venice charges some day-trippers an access fee.The access fee applies to day-trippers on selected dates. Check the calendar against your dates before you book the day trip.
  • You may need cash for the tourist tax.Charged per person per night by the property, not included in what you paid the booking site. Budget for it and carry euros.
  • Your driver's license may not be enough.If you're driving with a non-EU license, you may also need an International Driving Permit or an official Italian translation. Don't wait until the rental desk to figure that out.

+ 33 more, in the order you'll need them

When you're actually planning

The Italy Trip Kit


The checklist tells you what to do. The Trip Kit shows you how to do it.

Everything the checklist points to, worked out, so you can plan your trip without 20 browser tabs and a document called italy final FINAL.

  • 12 files, organized in the order you'll actually use them
  • 120 pages, including a 32-page Italy guide
  • 11 spreadsheet tabs that do the trip math for you

$39 once · future updates included

START HERE — the Kit's opening file
The Printable Planner
The Italy Cheat Sheets

How this is researched

Checked against Italian sources


Most Italy travel advice online is a blog quoting a blog quoting a press release from 2019. That's how you end up at a ticket office that stopped selling tickets four years ago.

Primary sources

The official source

Opening hours, ticket windows and fees are checked against the official Italian source whenever possible, not copied from an old travel article.

Dated, not evergreen

You can see when

Anything that can change is dated, so you can see when it was last checked and know what to double-check before your trip.

Kept current

Updates are included

When something changes, I update the Kit. Buy it once and future updates are yours.

Every day

@italyunpacked

Italy planning mistakes, useful updates, and places actually worth the detour — most days of the week. It's also where I share things that don't need a whole guide.

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