Italy in August (Tips) - Closed shops, (very) high temperatures.
Hello steemits,
Our recent trip to mainland Italy (Rome, Naples) and Capri (an island near Naples) was full of surprises (not all good!). We were lured into making this trip by the cheap RyanAir tickets (34€ Nürnberg-Rome return). I am sharing the tips in the hope that other people can make better decisions after reading this post.
Tips for Rome:
- Always carry a bottle with you. All water is drinkable. Most of the public water taps have cold water coming out of them.
- There are free USB charging ports and a free sparkling water dispensing machine near the Colosseum Metro (just in front of the station gate, you can't miss it).
- At less expensive places, eat only Italian food after 10 pm. All other foods (Chinese, Thai, Italian) could be bad for the stomach because they wont be fresh.
- You can get weed at Termini station (main train station of Rome). Look for shady people and ask them indirectly. Better places are Via del Pigneto and Via della Scala where the party is going on all night.
- Check Google Street View before booking your hostel/hotel/Airbnb.
- Metro stations are closed after 11.30pm. But night buses run and are on time always.
- Buy beer from the small shops instead of having it at the restaurant. Price difference is more than 200%! (1.5-2€ at shops, 5-8€ at restaurants, 5€ at bars).
Tips for Naples:
- Ordinary tap water is not drinkable. Don't try it. You will get sick.
- Naples taxi drivers are crazy. Try to take buses/metro instead. But neither the bus nor the metro ever comes on time and mostly there are no signboards to tell you time of the next bus. So basically both the choices are worse.
- The beaches in Naples are private. Only one is public and it is very dirty. Go to the nearby islands or get an entrance ticket to a private beach. All beaches close at 5.00pm and you have to exit it by that time, so plan accordingly.
- Please check the locality on google (also Street View) before booking accomodation. There are many shady areas in Naples, and they are really really dirty and you will hate Naples if you see them first!
- Some of the best pizza places in Naples (e.g. Gino Sorbillo) have reservation and waiting time of around 1-1.5 hour.
Tips for Capri:
- If you rent a scooter, there is no parking at Marina Piccola and you will have to take the bus from City centre after you park your scooter there, so it's better if you first go to Marina Piccola on bus and then rent a scooter.
- The Grotta Azzurra cave entrance opens depending on the tides. It is closed when a high tide occurs. Plan accordingly!
- Plan a 2-day trip to Capri atleast. One-day trip from Naples does not give enough time to enjoy the beauty of this island.
- The food is a bit expensive but not so much.
If you have any questions, ask in the comments, I will try to reply as soon as possible.