Gear
What to pack for two weeks on Italian trains
Rail travel punishes overpacking in a way flying doesn't: you carry everything up station stairs, along platforms, and over cobbles. This list is short on purpose.
The bag
40-litre carry-on backpack
Fits the overhead rack, survives cobbles, and you can run for a connection with it.
See optionsSoft-sided spinner, 55cm
If you must have wheels. Anything larger will not go on the rack and you will spend the journey guarding it by the door.
See optionsPacking cubes
Italian hotel rooms are small and you'll be living out of the bag for two weeks.
See optionsOn the train
Type-C to Type-F travel adapter
Italy uses both. A cheap adapter that only does one will strand you.
See optionsCrossbody anti-theft bag
Termini and the Circumvesuviana are the two places worth the precaution.
See optionsOn foot
Broken-in walking shoes
Sampietrini cobbles are murder on thin soles. Twenty thousand steps a day is normal.
See optionsWhat to leave behind
Hard-shell hold luggage, a hairdryer, more than three days of clothes, and a printer. Every hotel has a dryer, laundromats are everywhere, and your pass lives on your phone.
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