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First Time Trip To Italy
Hey everyone! My history teacher has put together a trip for some students to go to Italy over spring break. We are traveling with an organization called EF Tours, and they have our schedule planned out for our stay in Italy. It's a nine day trip and consists of both Italy and Greece and there will be a tour guide with us the entire time. I can't remember every place we are visiting in Italy but I know Rome is definitely one and Pompeii may be as well. I've read a few posts on msn forum and I'm really worried about pickpockets and the gypsy kids. I'm only 16 years old so I'm a kid myself, but I'm not sure what to say/do if someone were to approach me, especially a young kid. I guess overall I'm just worried about the trip period.
I've never traveled outside of the United States and I don't know what to expect. Another concern I have is my camera. Obviously I want to take pictures of the experience but I don't know what I would do should my camera be stolen. It's a top of the line camera and I don't want to leave it home because that would just be a waste. The whole reason I bought it was for Italy. I don't think I would have bought such a fancy camera had I known about pickpocketers.
Can anyone who has been to Italy before or atleast been out of the country and dealt with these problems give me tips on how to avoid getting my things stolen and how to avoid looking like a tourist and what to expect. If no one can, could someone point me in the direction of a website that can or a forum or something! Please! Thanks in advance!
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Hi there. First of all, I would like to thank you profusely for your correct grammar/capitilization/punctuation. It's so hard to come by on this site, I swear. On to the advice:
Take this from someone who has been to Europe many times, including Rome:
The pickpockets aren't as bad as they're made out to be. You definitely want to be more careful than you'd be in most American neighborhoods, but don't spend your entire trip worrying about it. Now, I don't know about gypsy kids, but I've been to a lot of countries and haven't experienced anything like that, nor has anyone I've talked to, so perhaps it's not such a big problem.
To protect your camera, just try to keep it with you as much as possible, especially in crowded areas (then you should try and keep one eye on it every second). When you're site-seeing, if you have to put it in your backpack, don't put it in the front pocket; try to make it as hard to access for theives as possible. It's best to get a case with a wrist or neck strap, though. This is not to say if you don't take these precautions, your camera will get stolen; it probably won't anyway. But this can help you worry less. If you're still tripped up about it, you can get disposable cameras at drug stores for pretty cheap...
But all in all, you should try not to worry too much. I am a major worrier myself, and it can really put a damper on a trip, trust me. Just relax and have fun.
Good luck, and I hope I helped! Have an AMAZING trip, you'll love it :)
EDIT: I just read what the person before me wrote, and the money belt thing is a REALLY good idea. I'm pretty sure you can also put things like passports in them too, which should be helpful.
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I backpacked through Europe and there are a few ways you can protect yourself:
- When in Rome, dress like the Romans... and anywhere else you are. Don't go around wearing a Burberry Skirt and ankle boots if everyone else is wearing Levis and sneakers.
- Use a money bra or a money belt that you can wear under your clothes to store cash, cards, your passport and other important items in. Make sure this belt/bra is discreet under your clothing and not lumpy. Don't take money out of it in public. Go to a washroom stall or private location to take it out.
- Always make sure you know where you camera is at. Keep it in your hand in public places and loop the strap around you arm.
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