Travel advice - Italy

[Hector1970]

Just back from Rome. It's a reasonably safe as any other European city.
There are lots of Police around. I had a 5D III around my neck for three days no hassles.
I'm sure there are plenty of pickpockets but not particulary bad in terms of security.
I saw no incidents, the police are on high alert.
My recommendation is to bring really good walking shoes.
There's alot of walking to do. It's really important your feet are a comfortable as possible or you won't want to take any pictures.
It's a lovely city to walk around. Early morning is really nice.
Read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons (not a great book really - but all the best locations are in it).
It was a while since I'd been there but it didn't disappoint.
The Vatican Museum is very impressive, loved the Pantheon. The Spanish Steps are under repair, that was always a great location. Piaza Navone and the Trevi Fountain are lovely early morning. The 64 tourist bus is like a sardine can!
Book on line, everything has some method of skipping queue's if you pay more or pay for a guide.
Italy is very hot in summer. Sometimes up in the 40's.
It was last summer.
If you can combine Siena with the Palio its a great (if very hot) experience.
Florence is a lovely city as is Venice.
Best early morning or evening when the bulk of the tourists are not around.
A great country, great food, very picturesque - too popular.

 

[Mikehit]

Thank you for taking the time to update us, Hector. I am pleased you enjoyed it.

A great country, great food, very picturesque - too popular.

Unfortunately the same for many places. It is easy to avoid tourist traps but they are tourist traps for a very good reason: it is where the best sights are! It is surprisingly easy to avoid tourists but it also means you miss the classic stuff as well.
Sometimes I choose the former and sometimes the latter. Mind you, when it comes to things like architecture and 'real life' you can see things equally representative away from the rat runs and it all comes down to keeping your eyes and ears open.

 

[Nick Gombinsky]

Italy (Rome) is the only country where I've been scammed by a "taxi" driver.
Italy (Venice) is the only country where I've been where I've seen a woman have her purse removed from her handbag in "minutes".
Italy (Florence) is the only country where I've been where I've seen "street life" using the card board tricks and kids to pick pocket people.

You should come to south America! You'll expand your horizons and learn new ways of pick pocketing and scamming... almost everywhere! ;D


Back on topic, I traveled around Rome a year ago and decided to ditch my DSLR. Bought a Sony NEX-5T with a kit pancake zoom, and attached a small pouch to my belt. Didn't carry anything heavy, walked around everywhere without feeling in danger, took lots of nice pics. Don't fear the mirrorless!

 

[Hector1970]

Italy (Rome) is the only country where I've been scammed by a "taxi" driver.
Italy (Venice) is the only country where I've been where I've seen a woman have her purse removed from her handbag in "minutes".
Italy (Florence) is the only country where I've been where I've seen "street life" using the card board tricks and kids to pick pocket people.

You should come to south America! You'll expand your horizons and learn new ways of pick pocketing and scamming... almost everywhere! ;D


Back on topic, I traveled around Rome a year ago and decided to ditch my DSLR. Bought a Sony NEX-5T with a kit pancake zoom, and attached a small pouch to my belt. Didn't carry anything heavy, walked around everywhere without feeling in danger, took lots of nice pics. Don't fear the mirrorless!

I agree he should broaden his horizons. You haven't been robbed till you've been robbed at gunpoint.
I work with a girl from Brazil and she can't believe how different and safe it is in Europe.
I also agree with the sentiment on mirrorless. The weight of a Full Frame DSLR is excessive when you are travelling. It's made me consider buying a lighter camera for travel.
Not sure what though.
Maybe a Sony RX100 IV or a Fuji X-T1 or X-T10. Olympus cameras are a nice size too with good glass.
Hopefully it will be the next EOS M - I'd like to want one of those. The existing models don't seem to quite cut it.

 

[ChristopherMarkPerez]

Well, I don't think your camera equipment being stolen would be as big a problem as the (many times Rom) pickpockets.

The best thing I could suggest (I live in Europe) is to put all your valuables in places that can't be picked. A nice "wallet" on a lanyard that you can slip around your neck and hold it inside your clothing/pants by the pressure of your belt would do the trick. Money, credit cards, and passports can safely live there for the duration of your trip. When you need money or a credit card, lift your shirt out of your pants, slip the "wallet" up just enough to get at what you need, finish your transaction, and reverse the process.

As for your camera gear, I'd suggest being bold and going with one body and a single lens (a zoom if you feel the need for flexibility). If you're intent on hauling a ton of gear, well, I can see where the picks might get you. It's easy to be distracted when you're changing lenses/filters/cameras.

In any event, don't lay your valuables down. They could be gone in a moment.

Years ago when in Florence a scruffy looking Italian brushed close by me on the sidewalk on his bike and very nearly grabbed an Italian woman's purse she had put in the basket of her own bike while she was kicking out the kick-stand. I saw it unfold and was starting to run after the would-be thief. Fortunately he misjudged the grab and everything was OK.

Once you have your items safely stowed and the camera hung over the shoulder, go have a GREAT time! There are fabulous places just waiting for you to show up and experience. Italy is one of our favorite places to visit. Oh, and don't get me started about the food. Oh man! And the wine. And the warm open-hearted people. And... And... And...

In short, put _nothing_ in your pockets. Period. And all will be well.

Hi fellow members,

We will be travelling to Italy this summer for a family vacation. We will be visiting Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Venice. Of course I will be taking my beloved DSLR and taking tons of photos. I have read some reports of theft of equipment in Italy and would like to hear from you the best way to carry my equipment safely in this trip. I have F-stop Loka but think it is too big and out of place in cities.

Let me know your suggestions. Thank you so much.

Eric

 

[ChristopherMarkPerez]

Use image stabilization for short-ish exposures. If you really want longer exposures, I've found a cheap/small table-top tripod can work well. Many times there are places at chest level you can put it and, while the position might not be optimum for composition, at least you could get a shot without the hinderance of a full-blown tripod.

For myself, I've taken to leaving any and all tripods at home. I simply use a rag to put the camera on and a cell phone to remote trigger the setup. It works a charm. If your camera is not WiFi enabled, then a 2 second delay timer can get the job done. But I like the cell phone trigger as I can frame the shot and up the "hit rate." ;D

... The sticky issue is my tripod. I really like to capture some image at both ends of the day. But I don't see myself going back to hotel to pick up/drop off my tripod. It will more likely hang with me for the whole day. Do you have any good idea on how to do this?

 

[LDS]

Italy (Rome) is the only country where I've been scammed by a "taxi" driver.

You traveled too little There are many countries you should be very careful about illegal taxi services - and pickpockets.

My advice is never trust "drivers" who offer their services at airports, stations and other locations. Go to the official taxi queue lines. Same in the city, call a reputable service for a car, or go to the "taxi stations", touristic places usually have one. Learn what are the legal taxi services. In Italy, you can't "stop" a taxi. Or use Uber, if you like.

That's true as well for fake "tourist guides" or people offering tickets for museums, and the like, often promising to bypass queues, etc. Don't feed them...

Italy (Venice) is the only country where I've been where I've seen a woman have her purse removed from her handbag in "minutes".

And you didn't warn her?

 

[mtam]

When I visited Italy. I carried my tripod everywhere I went. I brought with me a SIRUI carbon tripod. It weights only 1.5 lb. Don't forget to bring a wireless shutter releaser.

Additionally the robbery is very common in Italy, someone we knew got their wallet stolen in Florence train station. Bed super cautious!

Safe travel

 

[Hillsilly]

It's not the loss of gear that would concern me - its the loss of the photos. I'd encourage you to bring another device/laptop to backup photos each night and keep that in separate place to your camera gear. Just leave it in your hotel room.

Italy is possibly my most favourite place to travel. The locals are very friendly, helpful, co-operative and love tourists. It is a very enjoyable place to visit. (We've experienced a couple of problems there and I've never been better treated than by the guards at the Vatican - their kindness bought tears to my wife's and my eye - or by the nurses and doctors at the Meyer Hospital in Florence). But that doesn't fully negate the fact that over the last six years it has been a key entry point for illegal immigrants entering Europe and the associated social problems that entails. But you'll notice a heavy police presence in major tourist areas and the chances of running into any problems are exceptionally small.

Re gear I'd try to narrow it down to two or three lenses and a small bag. A wider zoom and a standard/slightly telephoto lens is all you'll likely need. A small, wide aperture prime (eg 50mm) is also useful when indoors. Skip the tripod - you can always improvise if you need more stability. As mentioned above, you'll be walking everywhere. You don't want to get weighed down with unnecessary things you'll never need. Enjoy your trip.