I spent nearly a month traveling through Italy. Here are 8 things I'll do differently when I go back.

23.10.2023 - 17:51 / insider.com / Lake Como

Across our 25 days, we stayed in seven different places, which let us see the best of Venice, the Dolomites, Lake Como, Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast.

But every four days or so, we had to pack up, board a train (or brave a rental car), and travel to our next location.

For a first-time trip, I stand by this choice. But now that we've been and hit all the bucket-list items, I look forward to a return trip where we stay in two, maybe three, spots and really soak in the local culture.

If I had to choose, I'd definitely spend more time in Cinque Terre or the Amalfi Coast, and I could spend months in some of the small towns we visited between Rome and Florence and be thrilled. 

Some of our best memories were our days in Orvieto, Bracciano, and Civita di Bagnoregio, all charming towns between Rome and Florence. Wandering the streets, sampling the food, exploring a castle, and just observing the culture was so relaxing.

We visited a few other small towns in Tuscany during day trips from Florence, but most of our days were spent in the larger, sprawling cities you've more likely heard of.

Although those cities were full of adventure, great food, beautiful architecture, and even nightlife, I found myself drawn to those smaller towns — and I can't wait to go back and explore more.

We took two guided bus tours — one to Tuscan towns and one to wine tastings — but we felt the experiences were rushed, overpriced, and spent mostly on the bus.

For instance, when we visited Siena on a tour bus, we only had an hour to see the city. But we had a half day of exploring when we drove to Orvieto and a full day of exploring when we took the train to Bracciano.

Going on your own can be scary and stressful, but there's lots more adventure that way, too. 

We mostly stayed in hotels and agriturismos (farmhouse stays) during our trip, with just one Airbnb, but that wasn't the original plan. When we booked the trip earlier this year, our itinerary featured mostly Airbnbs.

However, hosts kept canceling our bookings with little explanation. One said he needed to cancel our reservation and ask us to book again at a higher price.

After multiple cancellations — and plenty of frustration — we decided it would be easier to just stick with hotels, for the most part. (We held onto one Airbnb because we loved the location and wanted access to its washing machine.)

Going forward, we plan to stick to formal lodging when traveling internationally. Back home in the US, we'll still rely on a mix of hotels and Airbnbs.

Our trip started in Venice, and then we went a little north. Eventually, we made our way down to Florence and Rome, then the Amalfi Coast. But then we went back up to the Roman airport and headed home.

Italy's a