I spent nearly a month traveling through Italy. Here are 8 things I'll do differently when I go back.

• We visited Italy for 25 days this past summer, and there are things we'd do differently next time.
• We'd only stay in a few places, learn more Italian, and buy comfy shoe inserts.

We'd stay in 2 or 3 places, tops

Across our 25 days, we stayed in seven different places, which let us see the best of Venice, the Dolomites, Lake Como, Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast.

But every four days or so, we had to pack up, board a train (or brave a rental car), and travel to our next location.

For a first-time trip, I stand by this choice. But now that we've been and hit all the bucket-list items, I look forward to a return trip where we stay in two, maybe three, spots and really soak in the local culture.

If I had to choose, I'd definitely spend more time in Cinque Terre or the Amalfi Coast, and I could spend months in some of the small towns we visited between Rome and Florence and be thrilled.

Small towns would take priority over more famous ones

Some of our best memories were our days in Orvieto, Bracciano, and Civita di Bagnoregio, all charming towns between Rome and Florence. Wandering the streets, sampling the food, exploring a castle, and just observing the culture was so relaxing.

We visited a few other small towns in Tuscany during day trips from Florence, but most of our days were spent in the larger, sprawling cities you've more likely heard of.

Although those cities were full of adventure, great food, beautiful architecture, and even nightlife, I found myself drawn to those smaller towns — and I can't wait to go back and explore more.

Bus tours will not be on our itinerary ...

We took two guided bus tours — one to Tuscan towns and one to wine tastings — but we felt the experiences were rushed, overpriced, and spent mostly on the bus.

For instance, when we visited Siena on a tour bus, we only had an hour to see the city. But we had a half day of exploring when we drove to Orvieto and a full day of exploring when we took the train to Bracciano.

Going on your own can be scary and stressful, but there's lots more adventure that way, too.

... and neither would Airbnbs

We mostly stayed in hotels and agriturismos (farmhouse stays) during our trip, with just one Airbnb, but that wasn't the original plan. When we booked the trip earlier this year, our itinerary featured mostly Airbnbs.

However, hosts kept canceling our bookings with little explanation. One said he needed to cancel our reservation and ask us to book again at a higher price.

After multiple cancellations — and plenty of frustration — we decided it would be easier to just stick with hotels, for the most part. (We held onto one Airbnb because we loved the location and wanted access to its washing machine.)

Going forward, we plan to stick to formal lodging when traveling internationally. Back home in the US, we'll still rely on a mix of hotels and Airbnbs.

We'd wander farther south

Our trip started in Venice, and then we went a little north. Eventually, we made our way down to Florence and Rome, then the Amalfi Coast. But then we went back up to the Roman airport and headed home.

Italy's a massive country, and we completely missed the actual "toe" and "heel" of its boot shape. Most notably, we didn't make it to Sicily, which I've read is a trip on its own. We intend to go back someday just to explore this region.

Better-fitting shoes and inserts for them would be essential

My husband and I are avid hikers, and we packed some of the best hiking boots REI has to offer. But we only wore those when hiking in the Italian Dolomites and the Path of the Gods on the Amalfi Coast.

The rest of the time, we walked in tennis shoes. And we walked a lot.

When you're touring Italy's cities and small villages, it's easy to walk 10 to 15 miles a day. Doing so took a toll on my feet. By the end of the trip, my tennis shoes were down for the count, and I had blisters all over my feet.

When we go back, I will definitely be packing shoe inserts — and some better-fitting sneakers.

We'd learn more Italian

Although we certainly got by with English, our Italian cheat sheet, the little we learned from Duolingo, and Google Translate, I definitely wish I had learned more Italian before the trip.

I don't foresee ever being able to have a full-on conversation with a local, but I would at least like to make an attempt. After all, I'm in their country — I'd love to try to speak their language.

We'll be wearing plenty of linen clothing next time

Linen shirts, shorts, and pants are all the rage in Italy, and it's clear why: They're cool and comfortable on hot Italian days.

We each bought a pair of linen shorts about halfway through our trip, and they were a huge improvement from the khakis we'd been wearing. Linen is much lighter and more breathable, which was great on long days of walking around cities and hopping on and off hot buses and trains.

Close to the end of the trip, I splurged on linen shirts as well. How I wish I would've worn those shirts every day.

The beautiful thing about not having all the best experiences on our first trip to Italy is that we have a reason to go back

My husband and I have plenty of other trips abroad on our horizon, but I know we'll return to Italy to relive some of our favorite memories and make some new ones.

That's the thing to remember about a trip to Italy — or anywhere, really. Just understand that you can't possibly see it all on any single trip, and there will always be things you'd do differently if you could.