Italy Travel Safety Guide

The quick answer

Italy is a safe country to travel in, and violent crime against visitors is rare. The realistic risk is theft without confrontation: a hand in a bag on a crowded bus, a phone off a café table, a case taken while you look at a departure board. Nearly all of it is opportunistic, and nearly all of it is preventable.

Where and how theft happens

It concentrates where tourists concentrate: the approaches to the major sights, main railway stations, the buses and metro lines that connect the two, and any crowd that forms and presses. Rome’s Termini station and the 64 bus, Milan’s Duomo, Naples’ historic center and Florence’s central market are the named examples, and the pattern rather than the list is the point.

What works against it is unglamorous. Carry a bag that closes and wear it in front in a crowd. Keep a phone in a zipped pocket rather than a back one or a table. Split your money and cards so that one loss is not everything. Leave the passport in the hotel safe and carry a copy. Be most alert in the ten seconds when something unusual is happening, because the distraction is usually the crime.

The scams that actually work

• The friendship bracelet or the rose, pressed into your hand near a monument and then demanded payment for. Do not take it; keep walking.
• The helpful stranger at a ticket machine, who assists and then requires a fee, or who watches your PIN. Use the counter or an app.
• The gathered crowd or the spilled drink, which exists to make a moment where nobody is looking at their own bag.
• Unofficial taxis at airports and stations. Use the rank or a booked car; a regulated taxi has a visible license and a meter.
• Skip-the-line tickets sold on the street for the Colosseum or the Vatican, which are sometimes real and marked up, and sometimes worthless. Buy from the official site.

Roads and water

Road traffic is the most serious physical risk to a visitor, as almost everywhere. Crossing Italian streets requires you to commit and be seen rather than to wait for a gap that is not coming. Scooters filter through traffic and appear at the edge of a crossing. If you drive, read the transport guide first, because a ZTL will not hurt you but will cost you.

At the coast, swim on beaches with a lifeguard where you can, respect the flag system, and take currents seriously on the exposed western and southern coasts. Lakes are cold well below the surface even in August.

Heat, and the health you carry

Summer heat is a real hazard in the cities and is now the thing most likely to spoil a day. Reschedule around the middle of the day, drink continuously, and use the public fountains. Pharmacies, marked with a green cross, are excellent, widely distributed and staffed by pharmacists who will advise on minor problems and point you to a doctor if needed. Bring your own prescriptions in their original packaging.

Emergencies, and why we do not print the numbers

Italy uses the pan-European emergency number, and there are separate historic numbers for the different services which are being consolidated. We deliberately do not print emergency telephone numbers on this page. A wrong number is the one error here that could genuinely hurt someone, and numbers change. They are published by your own government’s travel advice for Italy and by the Italian authorities, both linked below, and your accommodation will have them at the desk. Write down the ones that apply to you before you travel, and note where your nearest consulate is.

If you are the victim of theft, report it at a police station and ask for the written report, the denuncia. Insurers require it, and a replacement travel document will need it.

Advisories, read properly

Both the US State Department and the UK Foreign Office publish standing advice for Italy and update it. We do not restate an advisory level here, because levels change and a page repeating one goes stale silently. Read the current advice for your own nationality while you are booking, and again shortly before you fly.

Planning with LABUSA Travel

Our groups travel with local guides who know which streets and which hours deserve more attention, and we build the day so nobody is carrying everything they own through a station at rush hour.

Sources

• US Department of State: Italy International Travel Information and the current travel advisory. travel.state.gov. Accessed 11 August 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Italy travel advice, including safety, local laws and entry requirements. gov.uk. Accessed 11 August 2026.
• Viaggiare Sicuri, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: official travel conditions and public-safety information published by the Italian state. viaggiaresicuri.it. Accessed 11 August 2026.
• Polizia di Stato: the national police, including immigration formalities and the reporting of crime by visitors. poliziadistato.it. Accessed 11 August 2026.
• US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Travelers’ Health, Italy: vaccination and food and water guidance. wwwnc.cdc.gov. Accessed 11 August 2026.