Only A Bag - An Italy Travel Podcast

Should you really book a flight 6 months out? And when's the best time to book a hotel room? In this rambling episode, we talk about the best practices for booking a flights and hotels while also taking you on a number of [hopefully] engaging tangents. *Links with an asterisk are affiliate links. By using our affiliate link to book hotels you help our podcast! We get a kickback from the compan...

In this episode, we address some of the issues that Italians (and everyone who lives in a tourist-friendly town) have with AirBnb and why they've become the poster child for negative tourism. However, hope is not lost! We also discuss a list of alternative types of stays in Italy that might not be available in other countries, such as convents, or farmstays. If you're thinking about bookin...

Welcome back to a Special Episode where we revisit the Venice tourist tax (a 5 euro tax for almost anyone entering Venice) that we first covered in a previous episode titled "Italy isn't breaking up with you, she's just setting boundaries". While the fee may have ended for 2024, this episode covers what Venice learned from the experiment, how it affected tourism, and what they&#3...

Almost every hotel in Italy has some amount of stars, 1-5. On first glance, this can look straightforward, however, dig a little deeper, and you might find that the hotel you want isn't necessarily the one with the most stars. More than that, we also dig a little deeper into what to expect from a hotel in Italy, whether it's the elevator, the quality of the room, or even the breakfast spre...

Horse racing, kidnapping, and trips to the sea; this is the history of Ferragosto. Since 18 BCE Italians have celebrated this holiday whose origins are dubious at best.

Since ancient Roman times people have celebrated a holiday called Ferragosto. What does that mean for modern Italians and tourists? Empty cities, closed shops, and crowded beaches. We'll tell you all you need to know for your August vacation in Italy. As always, thank you for listening! If you have any questions, send us a message on Instagram ( @only_a_bag ), or contact us through our website...

In this episode Darcy guides us (mainly Nathaniel) on the brief history of some of Italy's more famous cocktails like the Aperol spritz, the Campari and soda, and the Negroni. We also discuss the lack of beer culture, and the blooming cocktail culture that expands beyond the use of Campari and Aperol. As always, thank you for listening! If you have any questions, please leave a comment (on Spo...

Do you sit at a table and then order, or order first and then sit at a table? What about that age-old rule of no cappuccinos after 11am? And have you ever been curious as to why Italians eat their meals in a specific order, or why they often use the excuse of "I just took a coffee" to decline eating anything else? This episode has you covered! We cover digestion, café/bar culture, and ev...

Do you want to know how to "act Italian" at restaurants? What to avoid (such as eating and walking around)? How about the dos and don'ts of pizza? Well, this episode has you covered with all of that and so much more! If you enjoyed the episode, we'd love it if you were to rate us, follow, subscribe, comment, etc. It means the world to us and keeps us going! If there's anythin...

Do you need to order a primi and secondi? Why can't you order pizza for lunch? What's the coperta? Navigating the way an Italian menu is set up can complicated—we're here to help! Thank you all so much for listening, we really appreciate it! If there's anything you'd like us to cover, please reach out on www.onlyabag.com . And if you'd like to compliment Darcy on our brand-...

Thanks for listening to this mini-sode! A full-length episode will be out on Friday, and next week we will return to our normally-scheduled Wednesday episodes. We had intended to be back in full-force today, but we returned from the States an unintentional day late due to canceled flights, so the jet lag is still hitting hard. This month will focus on restaurant etiquette, how to order, what's...

Headed to the Amalfi Coast? How do you even get there? What is the Amalfi Coast? How many towns are there, and what is the difference between the Sorrentinian Coast and the Amalfi Coast? This, and so much more is covered in today's episode! As always, thank you all so much for listening! If you liked the episode, we would love it if you followed us wherever you listen to podcasts! If you have...

While visiting Naples could easily take a week by itself, there's so much more to the area than the city. Just off the coast you can find the resort island of Capri, the thermal springs island of Ischia, and the "blue collar" island of Procida. How to get there? What to see? And when did these islands first host people? These questions and more are answered in today's episode! As...

Does Italy have nude beaches? Can you spend the night on the beach? What's the deal with all of those umbrellas that look the same? We answer all of those questions and so much more in this episode! As always, thank you so much for listening!

Palazzi under the sea, a cursed island, and the queen's bath, you can swim there and we'll tell you how. While the Roman Empire once spanned countries and coastlines, very few ruins are near the shoreline in Italy. In this episode, we delve into three locations where you can actually swim among Roman ruins (or places to have a chill beach day), while also offering a hefty dose of history....

Does Italy really hate tourists? Does the new €5 fee at Venice affect you? Why are people protesting against it? What about all these new rules like no flip-flops in Cinque Terre, or no swimsuit in Sorrento? In this special episode, we dive into all the things that people are saying (and writing) about Italy, in order to help put those fears at ease! As always, thank you for listening!

While many people go to Pompeii while visiting Naples (and for good reason) there's so much more! In this episode we briefly look at Pompeii, Herculaneum, Pozzuoli (the Campi Flegrei), and lead into our next episode where we will talk about the islands around Naples and where to swim among Roman ruins. Thank you all so much for listening! If you have any comments or feedback, you can find us a...

Welcome back for Part 3 of 3! I hope we don't sound too tired—what began as a quick 45-minute episode ended up as a two-hour megalith! In this episode, we discuss the culture of Naples, what those hand gestures might mean, and why Italians often say "I can't understand anyone from Naples." If you have any questions, or anything you'd like us to make an episode on, please let...

Welcome back to Part 2 of 3! In this episode, we take a look at some classic Napolitano dishes—some of them might sound very familiar to you, such as pizza! Or, the ever popular, spaghetti with olive oil and garlic. If there's anything you'd like us to cover, or any other questions you might have, please let us know! You can find us at onlyabag.com .

Welcome back! We're sorry we were gone for so long. Life jumped out at us in so many ways, and while we were in the States visiting, we just couldn't seem to find the [quiet] time to sit down and record a few episodes. However, now that we're back, we're planning on releasing a new episode every week on Wednesday. In this episode, Part 1 of 3, we start talking about Naples. Specifi...

If you asked a friend, "In one hour, tell me everything that's important about visiting Rome," this would be pretty close to their response. If you'd like to support the podcast, one great way to do so is to sign up for Trusted Housesitters through our affiliate link  ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ . Not sure what house sitting is? Well, we'd love to be the ones to introduce you to the best way to...

In this episode we delve into the people using broad generalizations, what kind of transportation to expect (or not expect), why the south feels so chaotic, what's with all the 1980s apartment buildings, and did we say "witchcraft"? Why yes, we did. If you'd like to support the podcast, one great way to do so is to sign up for Trusted Housesitters through our affiliate link  ⁠her...

In this second episode we cover the differences in coffee (shorter and punchier), food (dry pasta is southern), and the Mediterranean Diet. As well as a whole slew of other sidetracks. If you'd like to support the podcast, one great way to do so is to sign up for Trusted Housesitters through our affiliate link  ⁠here⁠ . Not sure what house sitting is? Well, we'd love to be the ones to intr...

This is going to be a two-part episode, with this as part one: a rambling history and some general ideas of what to expect. The next episode will [hopefully] focus more on concrete expectations! To support Only A Bag, you can sign up for one of the travel-oriented credit cards below. None of them have a yearly fee, which is one of the reasons we like them so much. (To learn more about the cards, y...

Checking accounts, debit cards, and how to access your money abroad without paying extraordinary fees. We finally purchased a second microphone, so this special episode mini-series might sound a little uneven while we work ou the kinks. If it sounds especially atrocious on your headphones/phone/speakers, please let us know! To support Only A Bag, you can sign up for one of the travel-oriented cred...