Debunking The Myths Of Traveling to Italy: Our Italian Roadtrip

As long as I could remember it was our dream to one day travel Italy as a couple. An idea we thought for many years would be extremely expensive, and we’d have to wait till our children were all grown up and moved out to accomplish. Today I want to debunk my myths of traveling to Italy.

Myth – Flying to Italy is Expensive.

Last year when we were daydreaming about a week away without the kids to celebrate being together for 20 years we were surprised to find it cost more to fly within our own country of Canada than it did to travel overseas to Italy. We secured two round trip flights to Italy direct from Toronto for around $800 CAD each with Air Transat.

Our dream quickly became a reality and now a memory I replay each and every day. We fell head over heels for Italy and so happy we took a leap out of our comfort zone and followed our hearts to Italy.

Myth – You need to use a travel company when planning a dream trip to Italy.

We designed each part of our journey together from the comfort of our home in Canada. We knew we wanted a to fly into Rome; we knew we wanted to discover the heel of Italy. We mapped the locations we wanted to hit in between those two points, and we planned our Italian road trip.

Myth – I don’t speak Italian, and no one will understand me.

Before our trip, we did try our best to learn as much Italian as we could. We used apps such as Duolingo each day. We bought an Italian Language Book and watched a few videos to learn the basic tongue. All these steps were very useful. However, they are not required.

As long as you have a great app like Google Translator on your phone and an Italian Language Book on hand, you’ll be okay. Pretty much everyone in Rome speaks English. And well traveling to the heel of Italy very few people speak English as long as we tried our best-using bits and pieces of the tongue we did learn we managed to get by. Most restaurants, hotels did have one or two people who spoke English or knew enough that we did get by.

Myth- Pickpockets are everywhere.

As I mentioned, we didn’t travel to Italy during the tourist season. However, in October we didn’t seem to think there was a pickpocketing problem. Yes, I am sure Italy has them. But I am certain most major cities have pickpocketers trying to make quick money. We did all the touristy things tourist do to keep their money and passports safe. Although we didn’t run into the problem, we did take precautions. The same precautions we take in Canada in Toronto or traveling throughout the USA.

Myth – Dairy doesn’t agree with me, will I even be able to eat anything in Italy?

Well, most dishes do have some dairy in them, you’ll find alternatives on the menu. However, I was surprised the Buffalo Mozzarella which is widely used in Italy didn’t disagree with me at all. By the end of our Italian road trip, I was eating Buffalo Mozzarella without hesitation without my common dairy side effects.

I also ate dairy-free Gelato every single day I was in Italy. Not all Gelato places have dairy-free options, but most do.

Myths Of Traveling to Italy – It’s SO BUSY!

There is no denying it, the tourist parts of Italy are naturally active. We choose to enjoy Italy in the off-season to avoid the millions of tourist that travel there in the summer. To our surprise we were not alone, Rome, Amalfi Coast were still busy but not shoulder to shoulder.

The fall was a beautiful time to travel. It was warm, less crowded and when we used tour companies we got to skip the line to all of the tourist attractions. Here are a few tours we enjoyed when we were in Italy -> Welcome to Rome Tour: Twilight City Stroll & Gelato-Tasting With Walks of Italy

Tour Vatican City With Through Eternity Tours Italy

Indulging Through Lecce Italy by Night: Espressino Travel Puglia Tours

I cannot speak about traveling into Rome during the summertime, but traveling in the fall is when I would highly suggest you do.

Myth – An Italian Road Trip is expensive?

If you’re comparing an all-inclusive getaway to Cuba with Italy. Yes, it will cost you more to road trip through Italy. But if you’re thinking it’s anywhere close to costing $20,000 you’re not even close.

We didn’t stay in Hostels, although you could. We ate like Kings and Queens, although that’s not mandatory. We drank wine with every meal, but water could be the route you go. We rented a Mercedes Benz Convertible, although you could rent a two door Frit or scooter.

We indulged through Italy. Some days we spent more, and some days we spent less. We took our budget and divided it into each day. Knowing a beach day in Leuca would cost us less than a day in Rome.

The total for each person including our flights, accommodations, food, travel, car rental, gas, some entertainment, souvenirs including my beautiful Italian leather coat breaks down to $3,200 CAD each.

Myth – Everything in Italy is overpriced.

Before we even left for Italy, we were nervous about the cost of wine, the cost of food. So many people told us they knew someone, who said, twenty years ago it cost a fortune. Maybe that was the case in their experience, but ours was far different.

Even with the exchange rate of the Euro vs. CAD dollar we felt Italy was far from overpriced, it was affordable, and at times we felt like it was a deal compared to prices in Canada.

€ 4.5 got us pizza lunch in Rome.

€ 5 got us two soy cappuccino, and pastry treats each.

€ 14 allowed us to ride the train in Rome for two days.

Yes, if you’re going to enjoy fine dining in which we did at times, you naturally are going to pay more just as you would in Canada. However, you could easily eat fantastic food at a very affordable cost.

Myth – Fabio’s are harassing women everywhere.

Italian men love women; there is no denying that. You can clearly see that Italian women are confident in their own bodies and that could be due to the love in the air.

But not once did I feel threatened in Italy while traveling with my husband. I wasn’t whistled at, or touched. I cannot speak for solo women or groups of women going to Italy, but my experience of traveling arm and arm with my husband was positive.

I hope you enjoyed reading my Myths Of Traveling to Italy. We loved our time in Italy, and we’re currently planning another Italian adventure again soon. Next time we plan on taking our four children and renting a house. Italy was one of those adventures you just cannot get out of your head. I hope you too get to take that dream vacation you’ve been dreaming of. If you have I’d love to hear about it.

Tell me, where have you been that I should add to my bucket list? or

Tell me, where do you dream of traveling too?

Thank you for reading In R Dream!

Please note, this is our experience, our story and our myths we’ve debunked.