It is full of misinformation. Head's up, as in any big city or tourism venue, but the whole country is not out to get you. Any European counts his change. Errors, in my experience, happen as often in my favor as theirs. I point out errors in both directions. I'm not going to go point by point through that article, but if it were as bad as she says, no one would come here. *every bar has a list of prices posted somewhere. Read it.
I agree with Judith. I have had my share of mistakes with change, also in both directions. Sure, in highly touristed areas, one must be careful. On Times Square one must be careful. On Melrose Avenue, Picadilly Circle, Pont Neuf, and yes, on the Spanish Steps, one must be careful. This is nothing new. To say that there is something in particular about Italy which makes it shiftier than other countries is just wrong. More times than not, the kindness of strangers has saved me in this country, and I suppose that I am not so unusual in this regard.
There's a reason this woman is a "travel writer" in Seattle, Washington. If she were any good, she'd be writing for a bigger paper. This was an article written to sensationalize ... and it sure seems a bit hyperbolic. The comment on Naples being less prone to tourist rip-offs is certainly an intersting comment.
Overall, the article just claimed how little she knows about Italy. For isntance, the faaaact that she states that, unless you specify the size, you will always be served the biggest size drink... Well, here some drinks are sold by the glass, and a glass is a glass is a glass. Some other drinks are sold in cans of bottles: bars that have cans do not have bottles or the opposite; ask for a soft drink (fill in with your favorite brand) and some palces will serve you a 250 cl bottle, some others will serve you a 330 cl can for the one and only reason that it's what they have! An espresso, as well, is an espresso: the price can change if you ask for a macchiato, due to the fact that there is milk that must be heated. Whether the espresso is regular, short or long does not mean a thing, unless you ask for doppio, which is actually two espresso in a single cup.
Finally, she was positigvely being ripped off with her pizza, but she didn't even undesrtand why, If the price stated had been per kilo, than she would have paid far less than 2 euro for her slice, which is usually about 200 grams, certainly not 7 euro! Probably she does not have any idea tabout the fact that a kilo is over two pounds! If, on the other hand, the price had been specified per etto, than the vendor was doing somethin illegal, since by law all prices must be specified per kilo. Yet, again, bakeries anywhere in italy sell pizza by the weight anywhere in Italy, only pizzerie making pizza al trancio (or al taglio as it's said in central Italy) sell it by the slice.
Originally posted by Karrie: Thanks! I return to Italy next year after 30 years, first trip for my husband so this kind of info will be helpful to us.
Carrie
Please don't be taken in by the mis-information in this article. This writer is so ignorant that I wonder if she went to Rome, Georgia.
Lets start with her assertion that Hidden costs" creep in for everything from sitting down at a table to drink a coffee or a beer to increasingly higher "bread and table cloth" cover charges in restaurants. What I would go around doing is PAYING ATTENTION.
In every single restaurant/bar/rosticerria/trattoria etc that I went to in Rome all costs were clearly posted. The coperto "bread and table cloth cover charges" are required BY LAW to be clearly posted on the menus. There is nothing "hidden" and any tourist with the IQ of a melanzane should know about coperto and the price at the bar versus a table. These "hidden" charges have existed in Italy since the 80's and possibly longer.
She mentions the Traghetto in Venice versus a Gondola. Yes, you can take the Traghetto for a 2 minute ride across the canal. Or you can have a gondola ride of 30 minutes for xyz. She did do a service to the traveler by mentioning a "student" discount price of 75 euro.
She also mentions the Japanese tourist who got charged $1100 for a couple of beers on the veneto. What she didn't know (or at least mention) was that the gentleman was accompanied by 2 "ladies" he had met who convinced him to buy them a beer. Shall we say that the tourist got charged for "expectations" and leave it at that?
Do scams and con artists exist? Sure-one of our own slow travelers nearly got taken by one on the Veneto in those glassed in houses.
But I wouldn't go around looking to be short changed, robbed or over charged. If everything is a confrontation to you then you are going to generate confrontational responses in people. If you treat people with respect and courtesy, with a buon giorno, a per favor, and a grazie chances are 99.9 times out of a hundred you'll have a fair transaction and a nice exchange. The other 1% I put down to PMS.
Your best defense is know what to expect and what you should expect to pay. Negotiate price before hand on unique services like carriage rides, pictures with ancient Roman soldiers, etc..
You obviously have been reading this message board. Pauline's guides to travel in Rome are level headed, jam packed full of information and just about all you need to know to travel successfully to Italy.
One of my favorite websites is www.romebuddy.com - he has a "latest tourist ripoffs" section. Know the scams and you won't be a victim.
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