Our experience in Italy - admittedly, we went a few days before a cruise and did only a brief jaunt around Rome. I recommend hopping on the city tour buses for a brief orientation, then everything else by foot or cab. (The driving looks INSANE but they will stop for you. Mom and I learned to cross the street right behind old women, who seemed to automatically get the right-of-way from all sides.) In Rome, at least, we found that the bulk of the 'big' sites were more-or-less walking distance, and the hotel we stayed at had a shuttle service to and from the center of town, about a mile from the Coliseum. INVEST in really good walking shoes. Cannot stress that enough - shoes you can wear ALL day in all temperatures, and at least a few spare pair of padded socks. Your feet will thank you.
English is pretty common - tourism is a major enough industry you'll find most places manage at least one other language.
Pickpocketing - Mom and I didn't have a problem, BUT we did invest in the Magellan travel purses, which are designed to deter theft (wires in the purse straps, mesh in the bottom and sides, zippers that clip and tuck under other flaps, etc). Durable as heck, full of handy pockets and niches, and about $60-100. Room for water bottles and a small umbrella, even! I really do recommend them. We also locked our passports in the hotel safe and carried laminated, 2/3-scale color copies in our wallets. (On the ship, they confiscate your passports once you're on board. A little nerve-wracking, to hand over your only way home, but it's a well-oiled machine.) We also locked photocopies of our cards and IDs in the safe with the passport - backup plan, in case something was stolen and we had to call, we had the numbers handy. ATMs are everywhere. Check with your bank about fees and exchange rates; some places also offer international debit cards that you can pre-load with a certain amount, if you're wary of linking to your home banking information. We used those in Spain and Portugal with no difficulties. One trick we did hear about when it came to pickpockets was a woman with a baby and other children - she'll try to hand you the baby - don't accept!!! - while the kids rifle through your bags/pockets during the distraction. We were told to keep our purses in front, our arm across them firmly, and to never feel guilty for telling these folks no with as much conviction as we could muster. (I'm not exactly tender-hearted, so this wasn't a problem for me. I guess I don't look cuddly, either - no one approached us. ;P ) Leave copies of important documents and your itinerary with someone at home (we had a folder by the phone for the house/dog sitter) and be sure all of your banks know you will be traveling. Also handy - type up your hotels and the dates you will be there and tuck it into the luggage tag of your suitcase. If your luggage is delayed, whoever is forwarding it will know where to send it. (Also add an emergency number to the bottom of that list so someone back home can help direct your orphaned suitcase to it's necessary destination.) Magellan makes bright yellow luggage tags labeled in several languages that indicate there's an itinerary inside for lost luggage. (Handy site, they are! Lots of ideas, gadgets, etc.)
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timeasmymeasure
My $0.02
Date: 2012-04-01 11:59 pm (UTC)English is pretty common - tourism is a major enough industry you'll find most places manage at least one other language.
Pickpocketing - Mom and I didn't have a problem, BUT we did invest in the Magellan travel purses, which are designed to deter theft (wires in the purse straps, mesh in the bottom and sides, zippers that clip and tuck under other flaps, etc). Durable as heck, full of handy pockets and niches, and about $60-100. Room for water bottles and a small umbrella, even! I really do recommend them. We also locked our passports in the hotel safe and carried laminated, 2/3-scale color copies in our wallets. (On the ship, they confiscate your passports once you're on board. A little nerve-wracking, to hand over your only way home, but it's a well-oiled machine.) We also locked photocopies of our cards and IDs in the safe with the passport - backup plan, in case something was stolen and we had to call, we had the numbers handy. ATMs are everywhere. Check with your bank about fees and exchange rates; some places also offer international debit cards that you can pre-load with a certain amount, if you're wary of linking to your home banking information. We used those in Spain and Portugal with no difficulties.
One trick we did hear about when it came to pickpockets was a woman with a baby and other children - she'll try to hand you the baby - don't accept!!! - while the kids rifle through your bags/pockets during the distraction. We were told to keep our purses in front, our arm across them firmly, and to never feel guilty for telling these folks no with as much conviction as we could muster. (I'm not exactly tender-hearted, so this wasn't a problem for me. I guess I don't look cuddly, either - no one approached us. ;P )
Leave copies of important documents and your itinerary with someone at home (we had a folder by the phone for the house/dog sitter) and be sure all of your banks know you will be traveling. Also handy - type up your hotels and the dates you will be there and tuck it into the luggage tag of your suitcase. If your luggage is delayed, whoever is forwarding it will know where to send it. (Also add an emergency number to the bottom of that list so someone back home can help direct your orphaned suitcase to it's necessary destination.) Magellan makes bright yellow luggage tags labeled in several languages that indicate there's an itinerary inside for lost luggage. (Handy site, they are! Lots of ideas, gadgets, etc.)