04.12.2024

One woman’s gaffes that ruined her holiday in Rome

But, for Michigan-born Stephanie Edri, that’s a recipe for disaster – as she learned first-hand with a number of innocent, but costly, mistakes during a trip to Rome.

Some people leave their holiday experiences to fate.

There, in the Italian capital, she suffered everything from fashion disasters to an Airbnb horror.

Yet, determined to use the experience for good, she’s since detailed her gaffes in a riveting blog called Joy and Journey.

Tourist traps: Stephanie Edri made several innocent, but costly, mistakes during a trip to Rome

In it, she advises other travellers how to side-step the common pitfalls that can suck the pleasure from a well-deserved break. And here, she details the top four ways to improve the probability of a successful trip to Rome.

First up, she urges people not to exchange money with the first currency outlet you stumble across in the airport.

1) Money 

‘We were in a rush to catch the train into the city, and dog-tired after an intense 10+ hour plane ride from Rio and almost an hour waiting in the long line to get through immigration,’ she says.

‘Because of this exhaustion and rushed-ness, I made one of my worst money mistakes, EVER. I exchanged money at airport kiosk. The second one I saw. And didn’t compare rates.
Expensive error: One of her first gaffes was exchanging money without checking the rates

‘The seemingly sweet cashier told us that not only would she cut us a deal for changing more money (400USD) they have a great deal running, in which you can exchange any unused Euros back to US dollars at the same exact rate you changed for, within seven days.

‘What she didn’t say? That ‘great deal’ costs an extra five euro. And that she’d given us an awful rate (which I didn’t double check), and charged 30 euro on top for her commission.

‘Moral of the story: Always, always check your receipt before walking away!’

2) Accommodation 

The second bit of guidance focuses on accommodation.

Before arriving in Rome she hired a property via Airbnb, but – while it looked OK on the site – both the space and the landlord were unsatisfactory in reality.

‘Broken keys, extorted cash fees, late night harassment, misogynistic and violent “artwork” all over the apartment, threats to file false police reports, a defamatory and contradictory review…’ she wrote.

‘The list goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on.’
Day tripper: The Michigan-born traveller – pictured here at Rome’s Moro’s Fountain – spent as much time as possible away from her Airnbnb rental, which she said was ghastly

Advice: Steph encourages tourists to be forensic about the spaces they stay in – and to record photographic evidence to help in any disputes

‘As to why this was the absolute WORST choice in accommodation I have ever made… unfortunately, it was Easter week (everything was booked!), I had packed our schedule full of prebooked and prepaid tours, and we realized our problems 24 hours after check-in (after the Airbnb payment window has passed). Learn from my mistakes.’

To combat this she recommends being forensic about everything, including: immediately checking the property for problems upon arrival, looking closely for possible video equipment which may record you surreptitiously and ensuring the keys work.

‘On a visit to Campo di Fiori. Make sure you visit in the morning, any day but Sunday!’ she says

She also insists that guests do not pay any extra fees, which she did, and that all correspondence with the landlord takes place on the official Airbnb site.

She also says taking time-stamped photos of your arrival and departure time, while making a visual inventory of the place, will keep you on the front-foot.

Edri subsequently complained to Airbnb and said the company gave her a $100 voucher for a future stay with them.

She said, however, that the firm insisted that it is a ‘third-party company’ and that it is ‘your word against your host’s words’.

MailOnline has contacted Airbnb for a comment, but is yet to receive a response.

3) Timing 

Money matters aside, Stephanie also suggests budgeting more time for big attractions, such as the Vatican Museum, which can become seriously gridlocked with human traffic – even though tour operators sometimes don’t take this matter too seriously.

‘Our tour operators – ORP – recommended that we would only need two hours to see everything. So, we planned our Vatican tour for 1pm, and our next tour – St Peter’s Basilica – at 3pm,’ she wrote.

Express tour: Pictured outside the Vatican, Stephanie regrets listening to tour guides who advised her to only reserve two hours for the epic seat of the Catholic church

‘This, however, was INCLUSIVE of walking time (both tours had to start at the operator’s location) and did not account for the lateness of the operator (about 15 minutes), who had to escort us to the entrance, where there was mass confusion.

‘If I could do it again, I would give myself at least four hours (including walking time and only if purchasing a skip the line pass.. if not, I would include more time).’

She also suggests, on her 2015 blog, that a visit to Campo di Fiori should take place in the morning, but not on a Sunday.

4) Fashion 

Finally, she also advised on appropriate fashion for fellow female travellers.

‘I brought quite a few dresses, and felt uncomfortable. Why? No one (seriously – NO ONE) had their legs bared.

‘And the weather was nice! I even bought leggings while there, because I felt so obviously “tourist” with my naked skin.

Time is costly: Stephanie pictured at the Colosseum in Rome

‘Also, I had packed a lot of light colors (white, cream, pastels) but maybe I missed the memo on dark colors as well. Is there a rule in Rome like the whole “no white after Labor Day” that my mom mentioned once? I felt like I had planned my whole wardrobe wrong.

‘For Rome in the spring, I would recommend dark jeans or leggings, boots or other classy but comfortable shoes, and definitely a jacket. At night it got quite cool, and sometimes even during the day when the breeze picked up.’

‘My advice for Rome is LAYERS!!’

Добавить комментарий

Ваш адрес email не будет опубликован. Обязательные поля помечены *