Gear: Make sure you enjoy your trip!
On our Airbnb journey across Italy, we knew that we were going to have to abide by a few principles (that we decided while planning):
- Carry-on luggage only (no checked bags)
- Pack clothing in layers (including jackets)
- Give yourself small luxuries
- Day trips are king
- Skimp not on your photography gear (Brett 🙂 )
Below are some of the key gear items we chose
Most items were new, but a few (like our luggage) we acquired from Craigslist. For the most part – we nailed the objectives “travel light, mobile, and flexible”. However, we learned about some realities of Italy:
- You will be walking a LOT (we averaged between 7 – 10 miles a day). great shoes are perhaps the smartest investment we made. Your shoes must account for hills and cobblestones throughout your journey.
- Great rollable carry luggage. See below for our highly-researched choice of luggage (Eagle Creek) – this was our second smartest investment.
- Day packs created a consistency that was ideal for us – everything essential for that day was in the day pack.
- The right camera and lenses made capturing these once-in-a-lifetime moments happen. We intentionally worked on “being present” but I also knew that the photos we came home with were going to be long-lasting.
- Practical accessories to simplify life while we were there.
Eagle Creek 22″ Load Warrior (Carry on for Planes)
Brooks Addiction Walking Shoes (Practical & Built for Distance)
Travel Charger (with 2 USB Ports)
Travel Cubes for Packing (where have these been all of our lives?)
Lightweight Day Pack (these were a lifesaver – extremely packable)
Prepaid Giff Gaff SIM cards ($30ish for all the internet data you need! NOTE: It is super important to read the instructions and plan before you land in Italy)
Sony a6500 Camera with 10-18mm Wide Angle Lens (the majority of photos taken on this site are with this setup – this is the ultimate travel camera: lightweight, tremendous responsiveness and color details, great low light, and easy to walk/hike/stroll with)
(Note – my camera was actually the earlier version, the a6300,