Land Tour attire in Med

[scorpio47]

Cruisers,

We'll be on a port intensive cruise in the Med from Rome to Venice this July.  Trying to plan appropriate clothing to wear during our land tours.  For those who have been on a similar itinerary recently, is the most common land tour dress for men long pants or are shorts the common attire?  Want to make sure I'm not the 'ugly American tourist' or that I'm not packing lots of extra clothing.  We'll also be spending several days in Venice and have the same questions about that city.   I know the common dress code restrictions related to most churches, so my primary concern is for other tour locations.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Paul

[Husky61]

We did 14 days in the Med and all of our land tours I wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  Wife wore shorts as well.😃

[George C]

Shorts are fine as long as you are not visiting churches and Vatican, most of our tours had churches so shorts were not allowed , one guy had a pair of pants that could turn into shorts. I did wear shorts on all trips without church’s. Italy can be really hot in summer we were there in September and it was hot then. 

[cruiserchuck]

I generally wear long, thin hiking/travel pants, and short sleeve polo shits.  I do not get too hot, and am ready to visit churchs and other places that might require long pants.  As long as you are spending money, most places do not seem to care if you are an ugly American.

[GottaKnowWhen]

Khakis, or other slacks work well in cities. Shorts are ok for beaches or villages.

Check out Pick Pocket Proof Pants from Clothing Arts. Quite comfortable and your wallet etc will be secure.

[DrivesLikeMario]

It'll be plenty hot in July.  Wear shorts if you want.  My DH always wears long board shorts and a polo shirt and has never been stopped going into any venue including cathedrals.  Believe me, you will see a bit of everything.  Just dress modestly in more neutral tones and don't wear a baseball hat or tank shirt and you'll be just fine. 

[CruisinCons]

My son is doing a study abroad in Italy at the moment, and was told by his professors before they left that it's considered rude to wear shorts in the city, and they are reserved for the beach areas only.  You must be appropriately dressed to enter any church, which includes no bare shoulders for women.  He spent four days in Florence, then four days in Rome, before migrating south to Sorrento where he is now.  I asked him about the dress when he was in Rome and he said that only the obvious tourists were in shorts, and that more than 90% of the men he saw were in pants. 

 

They assured the students that no matter what they wore, the fact that they were Americans would be super obvious. LOL 

[wpgcycler]

Having been burned before by bad advice on travel forums about “what people where there” I’d suggest you seek out photos of what people are actually wearing in your planned destinations. Here’s a link to some stock photos of people on the streets of a Rome. Although, if you don’t look at the buildings you’ll see these folks could be in almost any city in the USA. Don’t fall for the legends. (However, religious sites can and do sometimes impose unclear rules regarding dress).

 

https://www.alamy.com/rome-italy-july-2017-the-busy-shopping-street-of-via-del-corso-in-image152520850.html

[Cruise Junky]

3 hours ago, CruisinCons said:

My son is doing a study abroad in Italy at the moment, and was told by his professors before they left that it's considered rude to wear shorts in the city, and they are reserved for the beach areas only.  You must be appropriately dressed to enter any church, which includes no bare shoulders for women.  He spent four days in Florence, then four days in Rome, before migrating south to Sorrento where he is now.  I asked him about the dress when he was in Rome and he said that only the obvious tourists were in shorts, and that more than 90% of the men he saw were in pants. 

 

They assured the students that no matter what they wore, the fact that they were Americans would be super obvious. LOL 

^^. Pretty much this. 

[DYKWIA]

If you plan on visiting the Vatican City they do have people enforcing the dress code - we saw several people being turned away whilst queuing for st Peters - we didn’t see it being enforced elsewhere, that’s not to say it wasn’t happening 

[Highpeaklad]

59 minutes ago, DYKWIA said:

If you plan on visiting the Vatican City they do have people enforcing the dress code - we saw several people being turned away whilst queuing for st Peters - we didn’t see it being enforced elsewhere, that’s not to say it wasn’t happening 

 

We used to tease my other half’s 80 year old gran that she was dressed so immodestly that they wouldn’t let her in the Vatican - her skirt was above the knees 😂😂

[steve ch]

If you're wanting to look like a local guy in Rome, wear a dark suit with collar and tie, even on the hottest days!

 

[carlmm]

10 hours ago, CruisinCons said:

it's considered rude to wear shorts in the city, and they are reserved for the beach areas only. 

 

I only can confirm: That's spot on.

 

4 hours ago, DYKWIA said:

If you plan on visiting the Vatican City they do have people enforcing the dress code - we saw several people being turned away whilst queuing for st Peters - we didn’t see it being enforced elsewhere, that’s not to say it wasn’t happening 

 

 

And of course it would be most rude to ignore the dress code just because a particular church does not have somebody to check the dress code. Maybe it be that  a parish cannot effort to pay somebody just for this task, resignated before the "ugly tourist", is just to polite or for what ever reason.

 

10 hours ago, CruisinCons said:

 You must be appropriately dressed to enter any church, which includes no bare shoulders for women. 

 

But the OP, Paul, you already knew this and have no problem with it.😃

 

13 hours ago, scorpio47 said:

 We'll also be spending several days in Venice and have the same questions about that city.   I know the common dress code restrictions related to most churches, so my primary concern is for other tour locations.

 

In Venice you will see many tourists in shorts - certainly and unfortunately. The basic recommendation remains: long pants. It is a city full of churches, history, culture ...

 

Tour locations besides beach resorts where shorts would be fine could be for example a hike in the mountains or an excavations site like Pompeii.

[waterbug123]

It is often said that Italians (or Europeans in general) don't wear shorts except at the beach.  While long pants may still be more common, we've see our share of Italian men in shorts during our multiple trips to Italy, especially among the younger generations.  And there will be  plenty of American and German tourists wearing shorts as well.  Italian women don't seem to wear shorts as much, but again, there will be so many tourists in shorts that one doesn't stand out.    If you do opt for long pants, I'd consider light weight and loose fitting fabrics, such as either hiking/trekking pants or loose fitting linen pants (this is for either men or women).  Jeans will feel very heavy, as will typical chinos/khakis, or any type of "skinny" fitting pants.  Women who choose not to wear shorts also have the option of skorts for the comfort of shorts without the look of short.  I have some from brands like Columbia, in the same light fabric as hiking/trekking pants and they are quite comfortable in the heat.

Edited June 6, 2019 by waterbug123

[scorpio47]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!  I was assuming that kong pants were the proper dress, but just wanted to make sure.  All your replies confirmed my assumption, so long pants it will be.

Thanks again for all your replies.

Paul

[Denny01]

I understand we see shorts in Europe, but I’ll disagree that many locals wear them a lot, young or old. But we should keep in mind what to wear/not wear beyond shorts and t-shirts. I was taking a tour of Dachau, a concentration camp where 10’s of thousands were tortured and murdered, and a woman on the tour wore a Mickey Mouse jacket, all the colors and mouses all over it. I found it more than a bit inappropriate for the venue, so there are considerations beyond the ‘church tour’ attire. 

 

Enjoy. I think my hangup on shorts probably has more to do with what my legs look like and what I don’t want to expose locals or fellow tourists to!!

 

Den

[ggo85]

Shorts and bare shoulders are not appropriate in Catholic churches in Italy.  Even if no one says anything, you're earning "ugly American" (or whatever nationality you are) points by not observing their customs.  

 

I've done Med cruises many times and IMHO, shorts are ok for other venues.  It may not be what the locals wear but it's not rude at non-religious venues.  Yes, you stick out as an American but, as others have said, it's pretty obvious even without shorts.

 

If you are taking a shore excursion, be sure to check and double check whether you'll be visiting a church.  A number of years ago, the itinerary didn't mention one but our guide took us to one.  A few couldn't go in b/c they were wearing shorts or tank tops.  

 

So, wear lightweight pants and wear shirts with a slight sleeve or bring a shawl (for women) if you want to be on the safe side.  Or avoid religious venues.