What to Pack (Italy + Greece: Summer Edition)

Headed to Italy + Greece? Good news, you are about to be BLOWN away by history and breathtaking scenery. Italy and Greece are crowd pleasers for a reason. They are both unbelievably beautiful, historically rich, and incredibly inviting. BUT you may find yourself at a loss for what to pack. After all, air conditioning isn’t a standard, and there are specific dress codes for certain sites. Not to worry though, we’ve got your back. Here is your ultimate packing guide for this trip-of-a-lifetime!

The first key is to pack light! Since you’ll be carrying your luggage on and off the plane, the bus, hotels, and winding staircases (think Oia, Santorini), you should try to condense what you need into one small suitcase and a carry-on.

Packing essential items into a carry-on has other advantages too! You will basically eliminate the risk of your bag getting lost or delayed. Win! Just make sure your bag meets the dimensions required for the airline you're flying. 

If you're traveling with Land + See, you can check out Delta’s carry-on baggage weight and dimension requirements by clicking here. 

Here is a list of essential items you won’t want to forget to pack.

Travel Aids

·         Chewing gum

·         Meds for motion sickness and sleep

·         Travel Pillow

·         (The airplane will likely supply earplugs, headphones, and a sleep mask so you can leave those at home unless you are partial to your own).

Clothing and Accessories

·         Comfortable walking shoes

·         Shirts (Have a few with sleeves in order to meet Italian church dresscode: shoulders and knees covered)

·         Socks and underwear/bras

·         Watch

·         Jewelry

·         Pants/jeans/shorts (again, a few with covered knees)

·         Pajamas

·         Glasses/contacts

·         Sunglasses

·         Belts

·         Bathing suit (Be aware, in Santorini the water can stain your suit so plan accordingly)

·         Dressier outfit

·         Raincoat and/or umbrella 

·         Scarf or coverup (for Italian Churches)

·         Hat or other sun protection

·         Collapsible tote/duffel bag for dirty clothes, souvenirs (if only using a carry-on)

·         Luggage tags

·         Journal (if planning to document your trip)

·         Backpack or daybag

Toiletries

·         Toothbrush

·         Toothpaste

·         Floss

·         Mouthwash

·         Shampoo/conditioner

·         Soap

·         Deodorant

·         Hairbrush/comb

·         Hand sanitizer

·         Straightener/curling iron (If you have wattage converter)

·         Hair styling products

·         Hair accessories

·         Cleanser

·         Moisturizer/Sunscreen

·         Shaving Cream

·         Razor

·         Perfume/Cologne

·         Makeup

·         Makeup Remover

·         Feminine Hygiene Products (if applicable)

·         Nail clippers

·         Nail File

·         Hand wipes

·         Tweezers

·         Cotton swabs

·         Tissues

·         Lint Roller

·         First Aid Kit/Band Aids

·         Lip Balm

·         Washcloths (not standard in European hotels)

·         Any medications (in addition to a copy of any prescription)

·         Spare set of contact lenses/glasses (if applicable)

·         Saline Solution (if applicable)

Money

·         ATM card (Call your bank prior to departure to alert them of the trip; foreign purchases sometimes result in a hold on bank accounts.)

·         Personal credit card

·         At least $50 converted to the currency of the first country that you’re visiting

·         Pouch for storing money and passport under clothing

Electronics/Technology

·         An alarm clock (Many hotel rooms won't have one.)

·         An adaptor/converter (details for Italy + Greece plug types found here)

·         Camera with extra batteries or charger

·         Cell phone and charger

·         Portable charger (my personal favorite travel item)

Documents

·         Passport—(Remember to leave one copy of it at home and bring a couple more copies on tour, in case your passport gets lost.)

·         Emergency contact information

·         A copy of your medical insurance card (and trip insurance if you’ve purchased it)

·         A copy of the tour itinerary

·         A list of important phone numbers 

·         Addresses to send postcards home

·         Copy of any prescriptions (Customs officials may want to verify that a container's contents match its label, so all medication should be carried in its original container.)

·         List of medications/prescriptions

Carry-on bag

Here’s a short list of things travelers might need on the first day of the trip. These should be packed in your carry-on in case your checked luggage is delayed:

·         Passport

·         Money

·         Money Belt

·         Airline boarding pass

·         Toothbrush and toothpaste (Check tsa.gov for current security requirements.)

·         Hairbrush

·         Contact lens case/glasses (to sleep comfortably on the plane)

·         A change of clothes (in case luggage is delayed)

·         Medication

·         Any valuables

Hopefully this helps ease the burden of knowing exactly what to pack. You know yourself and what you need so if you see something on the list you know you just won't need, skip it!

Now that you're done packing, let's get back to our countdown! If you're like me, you've got this itinerary pinned already and you check it daily, but I'll throw it on here anyway so you can get back to daydreaming about the Aegean!

Let the countdown begin!

Italy + Greece Itinerary

And so it begins...

Like Martin Luther King Jr., I too have a dream. While the impact is different, and my reach far smaller, I believe our purposes align. 

There is a lot of hatred being spread nowadays. Parties are divided, bombs are being dropped, and more and more it's becoming socially acceptable to attack each other based on our differences--differences of opinion, differences in political alignment, worship practices (or lack thereof) and a multitude of other hot button items that we let divide us. Somewhere along the line we have forgotten that what makes us different from one another is beautiful and cause for celebration, not a reason for ridicule and division.

My dream is a simple one. It won't draw large crowds around our nation's capitol. It won't be written about in the papers or taught in the classroom, but it's driven by love. I believe that by simply exposing ourselves to the very things we know so little about, we will gain an insight and an understanding to the very differences that divide us, and maybe, just maybe, we will see that we aren't all that different after all. 

My dream is to show people the world--to connect them with cultures other than their own. Maybe they are fascinated by them, maybe they are frightened. Whatever the approach to diversity, I want to bridge the gap. My favorite fictional character, Atticus Finch, forever immortalized in Harper Lee's groundbreaking novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" urges his young daughter, Scout, to try to put herself in someone else's shoes. "First of all" he said, "If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view [...] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." 

Travel has allowed me to have the experience of walking in someone else's shoes--and somehow I find it impossible to leave unchanged. Experiencing life the way the locals do forces you to see the world through their eyes. I've left pieces of my heart in all corners of this world. 

In Romania, left with no alternative but to converse in what little French we each knew (I spoke no Romanian, she spoke no English, and we both studied French in school), Itsa and I bonded over her love of all things Leonardo DiCaprio, or was it a passion for pistachios? I probably should've paid a little more attention in Madam Macias's French class. The family shared a one bedroom apartment, raised their own chickens and fed us goat cheese from the family goat and strawberries fresh from the garden. Men went to town in horse-and-buggy carts, and gypsy women in brightly colored silk scarves begged on the street corners. It was a way of life completely opposite of my own, and yet, it felt like home.

Spending a year in Micronesia had me eager to immerse myself in the local culture. I would ask the island children to teach me Pohnpeian slang. "How do you say goodnight?" I would naively ask nine-year-old Abuk. I later learned that the "Pwisen en Malek" I had been greeting everyone with had quite a different meaning. Instead of 'Good Evening' I had essentially been calling people "Chicken Sh*t". Abuk would laugh at me for weeks. I learned that the Micronesian people believed themselves to be descended from sacred Eels. I climbed Sokehs Rock and scoured the mysterious ruins of Nan Madol. I watched as tribal leaders made Sakau from the root of the kava plant and looked on as Nole tediously carved fish hooks out of ivory nut. Mr. Benjamin taught me how to tie a piece of coral to a water bottle with fishing line and I caught my first fish with no rod. I decided to forego the traditional eating-of-the-fish-heart that locals said would cure seasickness forever.

 Yannis taught me how to twirl konboloi, Greek worry beads, when I'm anxious. Biagio introduced me to fried cheese and I've never been the same.  Mario taught me that French men find beauty in a woman's ankles and that not repeating "Bonjour" back to someone is considered incredibly rude. Jose explained to me that the reason Spaniards hang pork legs upside down in their shop windows is to pay homage to their past--a time in history when Jews and Muslims did this to prove they'd converted to Catholicism. From Bianca I learned that no one in Austria has actually seen the film "The Sound of Music"--it is a completely American phenomenon. Sabrina told me that given the history of Nazi Germany, many German's struggle with patriotism. Sailing across the Nile, Taha taught me that the according to the quran, Moses had to have his brother Aaron speak for him because he burnt his tongue on hot coals as a young child in a test given by the Pharoah.

Travel made these connections possible. Sure, I could've purchased a Groupon, strapped a camera to my neck and taken a selfie in front of the Statue of David, but instead I chose immersion. It's so easy to feel like we are connected to the world because we have access to the travel channel or we've stepped foot on a cruise ship. The truth is, you have to get out and see it for yourself. It isn't until you meet the locals and experience what life is like for them that you start to understand the similarities we all share. Sure, their terrain might be different than yours, they might speak a different language, or even practice a different religion, but at the heart of it all we are all human beings with the same struggles, the same goals and the same common denominator--this world we live in.

First of all I encourage you to get out there and see this world as often as you can. It has so much beauty waiting to be discovered--so many meaningful connections are at your fingertips. Don't just listen to other people talk about travel. See it for yourself. Once you've taken that leap, and it is a leap my friends, look for enriching travel experiences. Find ways to interact with the culture and people. It's easy (and tempting) to hop on a Royal Caribbean cruise or hit an all-inclusive resort, but are you really experiencing the true culture? NO! 

If we are ever going to bridge this wide gap that's forming between so many of us, we have got to take steps toward understanding one another. Travel is that step my friends. I know it can be scary. I know there are a lot of what ifs. But what if, instead of letting fear consume us, we seek out the things we don't understand in an effort to find clarity? We may just find ourselves out there too!