Speaker 1: Twenty twenty seven seems a long way into the future
Speaker 1: right now, but it's going to come around quicker than
Speaker 1: you think. For those of us who don't live in
Speaker 1: Europe or who like to do a forward travel planning,
Speaker 1: the best time to start planning your trip to Italy
Speaker 1: next year starts right now. So on today's episode, we
Speaker 1: are getting organized for travels in Italy in twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 2: Saatuti and Benvenuti to one Told Italy the travel podcast
Speaker 2: to where you go to the towns and villages, mountains
Speaker 2: and lakes, hills and coastlines of Belli, Italia. It's week
Speaker 2: your host Katie Clark takes you on a journey in
Speaker 2: a search of magical landscapes, history, culture, wine, gelato, and
Speaker 2: of course a whole lot of pasta. If you're dreaming
Speaker 2: of Italy and planning future adventures there, you've come to
Speaker 2: the right place.
Speaker 1: Jaoaduti and ven Venuti, Welcome back to the Untold Italy
Speaker 1: Travel Podcast. I'm your host, Katie Clark, and this is
Speaker 1: the show for people who want to travel Italy, be
Speaker 1: on the checklist and get right to the heart of
Speaker 1: this beautiful country that we all love. Italy is so
Speaker 1: much more than a list of the obvious highlights. It's
Speaker 1: where you feel like you have escaped a whole another
Speaker 1: world full of beauty, history, and culture. Plus there's a
Speaker 1: healthy dose of chaos to keep things real. You probably
Speaker 1: already know that, and that's likely why you're hear and
Speaker 1: today I want to talk to you about something that
Speaker 1: I get asked about a lot, and that's when to
Speaker 1: start planning the trips and more importantly, where to start.
Speaker 1: So if twenty twenty seven is your year for Italy,
Speaker 1: this episode is for you. We are going to walk
Speaker 1: through some important things to consider before you get deep
Speaker 1: into the weeds of your travel planning for your trips
Speaker 1: for next year, and just like every other country on Earth,
Speaker 1: there are some quirks of traveling in Italy that are
Speaker 1: worth knowing upfront, like the best times to travel to
Speaker 1: certain places like the Amalfi Coast in Sicily, and where
Speaker 1: and where to skip if you're not a big fan
Speaker 1: of crowds. I'm going to walk you through the initial
Speaker 1: stages of planning on the podcast today and give you
Speaker 1: some things to get your trip organization underway. If you're
Speaker 1: stuck in dream mode, then in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: We will also be running a free online event on
Speaker 1: Zoom where we will dive deeper into planning your trip
Speaker 1: in more detail. I will tell you more about that
Speaker 1: at the end of this episode. So to get it started,
Speaker 1: let's have a think about what kind of trip you
Speaker 1: are taking. For most of us, the way that we
Speaker 1: travel has evolved over many years. What works for me
Speaker 1: in my twenties, which was interrailing around Europe on a
Speaker 1: budget of about twenty dollars a day, with very little sleep,
Speaker 1: trying to maximize stops and cities, and more funds allocated
Speaker 1: to wine and nightlife activities than cultural pursuits. And it
Speaker 1: looks nothing like the way that I travel today, And
Speaker 1: thank goodness for that, because it was exhausting. Those were
Speaker 1: really really fun times. But as life continues, kids come along,
Speaker 1: your life changes, and your tastes become, let's just say,
Speaker 1: a little more refined. The style of travel that you
Speaker 1: might choose changes too, and it might not. And you
Speaker 1: know what, that's a beautiful thing, actually, because as we
Speaker 1: grow and evolve, our travel style changes and we start
Speaker 1: to see places and people through a completely different lens.
Speaker 1: On this podcast, we are not here to tell you
Speaker 1: how you should travel, because that is such a personal
Speaker 1: thing based on your preferences, your budget, and your life stage. Instead,
Speaker 1: we are here to share options that you might not
Speaker 1: know about and which could make all the difference to
Speaker 1: the experience that you want to have in Italy. I
Speaker 1: remember when I first started traveling, I was very much
Speaker 1: about seeing as much as I could, and I'd map
Speaker 1: out itineries more in terms of logistics and places rather
Speaker 1: than the feeling or experience that I wanted to have.
Speaker 1: But I think regardless of how you travel, it really
Speaker 1: is important to step back before you do anything and
Speaker 1: think about that type of experience that you want in
Speaker 1: the time that you have available before you even book
Speaker 1: a thing, because doing that will be your north star
Speaker 1: as you make choices along the way. So here's an idea.
Speaker 1: How much time do you have? Most of our American
Speaker 1: and Canadian listeners have a limited amount of vacation time
Speaker 1: and usually plan trips of around two weeks. Our British,
Speaker 1: Irasian European friends can pop over for a weekend trip
Speaker 1: and yes, we are very jealous of you and don't
Speaker 1: understand why you don't do it more often. And for
Speaker 1: my fellow Aussie's Kiwis and anyone in Asia, Africa or
Speaker 1: South America which we do have listeners from which is
Speaker 1: quite amazing. These trips are usually part of an extended vacation,
Speaker 1: sometimes three to four weeks, which in reality is the
Speaker 1: minimum if you're going to be sitting on a plane
Speaker 1: for twenty four hours there and back. So you need
Speaker 1: to understand how much time you have available. And then
Speaker 1: it comes down to how do you want to travel.
Speaker 1: Do you want to slow a trip where you explore
Speaker 1: the back roads, stay in small towns and villages and
Speaker 1: go deep into local culture. Or do you want to
Speaker 1: relax by the sea and soak it all up Lido
Speaker 1: by day, Passagata by night and maybe waking up to
Speaker 1: the sunrise over the Terrannian Sea, or maybe all about
Speaker 1: the culture and want a deeply educational experience. Many of
Speaker 1: you travel for food, and I have to say that
Speaker 1: is a great theme for your Italy trip. And there's
Speaker 1: also the classic first trip that covers the major cities.
Speaker 1: But again this can be approached in many different ways.
Speaker 1: Here's the thing. Most people skip. They go straight to
Speaker 1: where they're going to go. So they might be thinking, oh,
Speaker 1: we're going to go to Rome and Florence and Tuscany
Speaker 1: or Sicily, the Italian Lakes or the Amalfi Coast before
Speaker 1: they have answered a more important question, and it's how
Speaker 1: do they actually want to travel? Because there is a
Speaker 1: real difference between a trip that's built around slowing down
Speaker 1: in one region and really getting under the skin of
Speaker 1: that place and a trip that covers more ground and
Speaker 1: you move a little fast and you hit the moments
Speaker 1: that matter most before you go home, and neither is wrong.
Speaker 1: And I really want to emphasize that you can do
Speaker 1: whichever way you want to travel, and in fact, you
Speaker 1: can obviously combine both styles of travel, but they do
Speaker 1: mean different things for your planning. So let's start here,
Speaker 1: and I've got a few questions that you should ask
Speaker 1: yourself before you start on your planning journey. And the
Speaker 1: first one is are you a slow traveler or a
Speaker 1: see moore traveler? If you love the idea of having
Speaker 1: a regular cafe bar, getting to know the neighborhood, and
Speaker 1: not looking at your map every ten minutes, you're probably
Speaker 1: a slow traveler. You will want fewer bases and more
Speaker 1: time in each one. If the idea of sitting still
Speaker 1: for four days sounds like a waste of time. That
Speaker 1: is useful information too, And look, everyone is different. I
Speaker 1: have changed a lot over the years, and I used
Speaker 1: to be a not sit still person, but these days
Speaker 1: I don't mind a little sitting around soaking it all
Speaker 1: up action. So everyone is different and there's no reason
Speaker 1: for you to adjust your travel style based on what
Speaker 1: anyone else thinks. The next question is are you considering
Speaker 1: driving or are you wondering about getting around by train?
Speaker 1: And this isn't just a practical question, it really will
Speaker 1: shape the trip that you're going to create when you
Speaker 1: go to Italy. Driving will open up the countryside and
Speaker 1: smaller towns and places that have no train station, and
Speaker 1: even in Tuscany, getting around by train is a little
Speaker 1: bit problematic if you want to really go deep into
Speaker 1: the countryside unless you have a lot of time, which
Speaker 1: most people don't. But it also means that someone in
Speaker 1: your group cannot drink at dinner or if you want
Speaker 1: to go to a winery, and parking in Italian cities
Speaker 1: and towns is really not that fun unless you treat
Speaker 1: it like a competitive sport like my husband does. You
Speaker 1: can also try driving service if you like the idea
Speaker 1: of driving, but this is not a budget option. You're
Speaker 1: looking at around eight hundred euros per day and that
Speaker 1: is before any adjustments for fuel price increases that are
Speaker 1: likely to be unless something changes radically with the situation
Speaker 1: in the Middle East. The train is fantastic between major cities.
Speaker 1: It's comfortable and fast and I absolutely love it, but
Speaker 1: it slots you into a certain kind of itinery based
Speaker 1: around cities. So I haven't think about this before you
Speaker 1: start really planning because it does change things a bit downstream.
Speaker 1: But we also remember you can mix and match this
Speaker 1: some train and some driving. Last year we did train
Speaker 1: travel between Rome and Bologna and then up to Bolzano
Speaker 1: where we rented a car to explore south to roll
Speaker 1: and we do this quite a lot, so mixing and
Speaker 1: matching different transportation styles. But remember we have a lot
Speaker 1: of experience driving in Italy and we enjoy it more
Speaker 1: my husband does, and so that's something that we don't
Speaker 1: think twice about. But if you're new to driving initially,
Speaker 1: I would encourage you to go and have a bit
Speaker 1: of a research into what's actually required because it might
Speaker 1: sound like a maybe more cost effective option, but there
Speaker 1: are toll and fuel charges and all sorts of other
Speaker 1: complications around driving in Italy that you should have a
Speaker 1: little bit of a think about before you one hundred
Speaker 1: percent to side. Another time, we had a solid base
Speaker 1: for a week in southern Italy and then ditched the
Speaker 1: car to go to Naples, Rome and Florence. So yeah,
Speaker 1: there's different ways you can travel, and I think making
Speaker 1: sure that you are aware of the different options is
Speaker 1: a good starting point before you make any decisions on
Speaker 1: how you're going to get around the next question is
Speaker 1: who are you traveling with. So a solo trip, a
Speaker 1: couple's trip, a mother daughter trip, a group of friends
Speaker 1: and they this is all different trips, and everyone has
Speaker 1: different ways of traveling. Again, and people have different needs
Speaker 1: and requests. Let's just say not to mention different travel styles.
Speaker 1: I once did a trip through France and Spain with
Speaker 1: some friends that were let's just say they went very
Speaker 1: adventurous eaters, and we ended up going for a Mexican
Speaker 1: takeaway in San Sebastian. If you're a foodie you will
Speaker 1: understand how this is one of my biggest travel regrets.
Speaker 1: I really should have gone off on my own that
Speaker 1: night and gone to explore some of the most amazing
Speaker 1: cuisine that comes out of that town. Anyway, I didn't,
Speaker 1: So you live and you learn, and I just need
Speaker 1: to go back with my food loving family. The point
Speaker 1: is the trip that works brilliantly for two people who
Speaker 1: agree on everything looks quite different from the one that
Speaker 1: needs to make for people happy. So have a think
Speaker 1: about who you're traveling with and really make sure you're
Speaker 1: talking to everyone about what their expectations are that the
Speaker 1: trip art as well. The next question is what is
Speaker 1: your budget orientation? And so this is not just about
Speaker 1: how much you want to spend on the trip, but
Speaker 1: also how you will allocate your budget. So are you
Speaker 1: happy to spend more to stay somewhere like spectacular with
Speaker 1: somewhere with beautiful sea views and that has amazing food
Speaker 1: and then cut back on activities, or do you want
Speaker 1: to do more seymour as somewhere comfortable but not so special.
Speaker 1: And again that's all personal preference. Nothing is wrong, but
Speaker 1: knowing which things you prefer really helps a lot when
Speaker 1: decisions get harder later on in the trip planning. So
Speaker 1: the important thing here is to be really clear on
Speaker 1: your preferences and how you see your trip playing out
Speaker 1: and The only person that can really tell you that
Speaker 1: is you. I think it's super easy to see different
Speaker 1: itineries and things on YouTube and other platforms that you
Speaker 1: think might copy or adapt, but I really encourage everyone
Speaker 1: to think hard on what they would really like to
Speaker 1: experience for themselves. I've been around travel social media for
Speaker 1: a very long time now, over a decade, and what
Speaker 1: I've noticed is there's now such a push to get
Speaker 1: people into a sausage factory of experiences and everything looks
Speaker 1: a little the same. Here's an example that I can
Speaker 1: think off the top of my head, and it's this
Speaker 1: particular sandwich shop in Florence that is now all over
Speaker 1: Italy where people line up for a long time to
Speaker 1: get this for culture full of cub meats, and personally
Speaker 1: I think it's a meal for foot people, but it's
Speaker 1: a lot now. These people are the rare Italians who
Speaker 1: know how to do social media, and really good luck
Speaker 1: to them because you know they've done an amazing job
Speaker 1: of promoting their business. But all I can say is,
Speaker 1: as a mom with a couple of tween ages who
Speaker 1: get the hangrys, the last thing I want to be
Speaker 1: doing is standing in line for a sandwich for an
Speaker 1: hour when I could have got something similar, tasty and
Speaker 1: much less photographed version at the market one hundred meters
Speaker 1: away in less than five minutes. So the point is
Speaker 1: you do you If you want to go to that
Speaker 1: sandwich shop, go do it. If you want your travel
Speaker 1: to be a bit more about self discovery, there are
Speaker 1: other options, and I really do hope that you find
Speaker 1: them here on Untold Italy because their goal is to
Speaker 1: bring those to you. Now. Once you know how you
Speaker 1: want to travel, you can start thinking seriously about when.
Speaker 1: And this matters more than most people realize. Things change
Speaker 1: in Italy depending on the season. The same place in
Speaker 1: April and the same place in August can be completely
Speaker 1: different experiences. I wanted to give you an example, so
Speaker 1: Sicily is a really great example of this. April and
Speaker 1: early may absolutely stupendous in Sicily. It is the best
Speaker 1: time to go in my opinion. The island is waking
Speaker 1: up from winter. There is a great energy that you
Speaker 1: don't see later in the year when everyone in the
Speaker 1: travel industry is starting to get a little bit tired
Speaker 1: after a long season. And to top it all off,
Speaker 1: there are so many local festivals and festivities around the
Speaker 1: easter break that really bring everything to life. The weather
Speaker 1: is warm, but it's not too hot if you want
Speaker 1: to travel around and visit some of the iconic sites
Speaker 1: like the Valley of the Temples and Suggesta and exploring
Speaker 1: the markets in Palermo and Catania. And I can't recommend
Speaker 1: spring in Sicily more. To be honest, I absolutely love it.
Speaker 1: On the flip side, August in Sicily is a totally
Speaker 1: different experience. It's for long, lazy beach days and there's
Speaker 1: no getting around this. It is really hot and it's
Speaker 1: not ideal for sight seeing and visiting ancient sites that
Speaker 1: are highly expose to the elements. So here you can
Speaker 1: see that you have one destination and there are different
Speaker 1: times that suit different types of trips, so really have
Speaker 1: a think about when you want to go and then
Speaker 1: things will evolve from there. One important thing to note
Speaker 1: is that traditionally Italy has defined travel seasons, so May
Speaker 1: till the end of October is when Italians tend to
Speaker 1: open for the season, is what they call it. And
Speaker 1: people in the travel industry outside of the big three cities,
Speaker 1: so Rome, Florence and Venice and some of the major
Speaker 1: tourist sites still generally follow this rule because they like
Speaker 1: to balance work and their rest time and they're quite
Speaker 1: fastidious about doing that. Pully is a great example actually,
Speaker 1: because things will really shut up later in the year
Speaker 1: and there's not usually as many services available for visitors.
Speaker 1: It's sort of more geared towards locals, and even locals
Speaker 1: in the travel industry will go off and you know,
Speaker 1: do their own travels at that time, so you know,
Speaker 1: you get a lot of people traveling to Australia or Asia,
Speaker 1: and they do that because for them it's also cheaper
Speaker 1: and they get a big rest after a long, long
Speaker 1: season of helping people enjoy their own country. So of
Speaker 1: course up in the mountains it's slightly different because they
Speaker 1: cater for skiing and snow season. But for the most part,
Speaker 1: Italians who work in the tourist industry outside Rome, Florence
Speaker 1: and Venice will take a longer winter break, and like
Speaker 1: I said, you're not going to find as many services,
Speaker 1: and this will include things like ferries and boat tours
Speaker 1: or other types of experiences that you might expect to
Speaker 1: be running. And that might be absolutely fine for you,
Speaker 1: but if you were expecting there to be a year
Speaker 1: round industry, catering to visitors, you might be disappointed in
Speaker 1: some places outside the main tourist areas. So now let
Speaker 1: me give you a quick picture of what each season
Speaker 1: in Italy means, and will sort of deep dive into
Speaker 1: that later when we if you join me on the
Speaker 1: webinar that we're going to be running, that's a quick rundown.
Speaker 1: Spring and by this I mean after Easter, so April
Speaker 1: and May is one of my favorite times. So I
Speaker 1: mentioned Sicily and it is absolutely stunning in spring. So
Speaker 1: just like there in Sicily, the whole country is waking
Speaker 1: up from winter, and the energy is real, the light
Speaker 1: is beautiful, and the days are really long after the
Speaker 1: daylight saving time change in March. It's warm, but it's
Speaker 1: not too hot, especially in the south, and the crowds
Speaker 1: haven't arrived yet in huge droves at most places, not
Speaker 1: the summer crowds anyway, So the crowds will be in
Speaker 1: the cities, but as you go out into the countryside,
Speaker 1: you don't have as have as many people cruising around
Speaker 1: at this time. The flowers blank at the countryside, and
Speaker 1: there is a little bit of risk of rain, particularly
Speaker 1: in the north, but honestly, a rainy day in a
Speaker 1: small Italian town or like a city like Bologna or
Speaker 1: Florin with a cozy tretia and nowhere really to be
Speaker 1: is not the worst thing that has ever happened to me.
Speaker 1: It's actually quite fun. Back in a flash right after
Speaker 1: these messages if you've been dreaming of experiencing Italy the
Speaker 1: way it's meant to be lived, slow, unhurried and with
Speaker 1: locals who open their homes and hearts. Our Untold Italy
Speaker 1: Tours are now open for twenty twenty six and beyond.
Speaker 1: We handle every detail, so you can just show up
Speaker 1: and soak in the magic. Spots are limited and many
Speaker 1: field months in advance. Check the link in the show
Speaker 1: notes or visit Untold Italy Tours dot com for details.
Speaker 1: Early summer so I'll kind of call that June is
Speaker 1: still lovely in many parts of Italy, and it's before
Speaker 1: it gets too hot, but it can be quite hot.
Speaker 1: I've had a few trips in June that have been
Speaker 1: very warm, but it is generally, especially the earlier part
Speaker 1: of the month, it's just really lovely, and you will
Speaker 1: start to find the heat in late June, especially in
Speaker 1: Rome in the south. In June, the school holidays haven't
Speaker 1: started yet in most of Europe, so you don't have
Speaker 1: a lot of families and people traveling around. But it
Speaker 1: can be busy and it can be hot in the south,
Speaker 1: so it's a good time for staying in a villa
Speaker 1: on Masaia and relaxing on the coast before all the
Speaker 1: Europeans arrived for summer. Peak summer is July and August,
Speaker 1: and I'll be honest with you, it is really hot,
Speaker 1: and it's when Italians and Europeans go on holiday themselves,
Speaker 1: which means in the big cities, some restaurants and shops
Speaker 1: closed because the owners are going on their own vacation,
Speaker 1: you know. So that gives it a different kind of
Speaker 1: vibe in places like Rome, but it might be for you,
Speaker 1: and I'll explain a little bit more about that later.
Speaker 1: So at this time, the mountains, the coast and the
Speaker 1: countryside are really wonderful, but they're heaving with people trying
Speaker 1: to escape the heat. I've actually had some lovely experiences
Speaker 1: in Rome in late August, and some of my favorite
Speaker 1: restaurants are closed then and people seem to stay away
Speaker 1: due to the heat. But everything also seems a little
Speaker 1: bit more languid, a little bit more lazy and less chaotic,
Speaker 1: and if you plan your days around having a little
Speaker 1: snooze in the middle of the day, it can be
Speaker 1: quite lovely. I've really enjoyed the last times that I've
Speaker 1: arrived in Rome at the end of August actually, which
Speaker 1: brings us to September in October, and they are arguably
Speaker 1: the best months to travel all of Italy, and in
Speaker 1: fact are now undeniably peak season for English speaking travelers,
Speaker 1: especially in the main cities and tourist areas. And that's
Speaker 1: because it's still warm, but you won't get the oppressive heat.
Speaker 1: The cities are busy, but this is the time really
Speaker 1: to go head off into the countryside and explore, because
Speaker 1: the Italians and Europeans that go to those countryside mountain
Speaker 1: coast areas in summer they've all headed back to work,
Speaker 1: and so it's also the time when the harvest and
Speaker 1: the related sagre or food festivals are happening, so the grapes,
Speaker 1: the olives, truffles, pushiny mushrooms. It's really a food lover's delight.
Speaker 1: September and October are great in the cities. It's going
Speaker 1: to be super busy, but out in the countryside, it's
Speaker 1: really absolutely gorgeous, and that's why we have most of
Speaker 1: our tours running at those times throughout the year is
Speaker 1: in September and October because the conditions are excellent. Now
Speaker 1: November through February is a mixed bag, and a lot
Speaker 1: of people don't like this type of weather. You know what,
Speaker 1: I don't mind. I think it's lovely. But the big cities,
Speaker 1: while they stay busy these days, even during this time,
Speaker 1: they're a little bit less busy, and it's kind of
Speaker 1: more enjoyable because you know, it doesn't have the heat
Speaker 1: and you can wander around and avoid the huge crowds
Speaker 1: of summer and spring and autumn. But really the smallest
Speaker 1: cities absolutely delightful. I just love the smaller cities in
Speaker 1: the full and just wandering around. There's chestnuts, very sitting.
Speaker 1: There's like cute little austerlia. You can zip into those
Speaker 1: and just go wandering in piazzas are really I love
Speaker 1: a bit of crispiness in the air too, but that
Speaker 1: means you definitely won't be swimming, but you will enjoy
Speaker 1: the galleries and museums with fewer crowds. Eating at restaurants
Speaker 1: where the all the Italians venturing back into their historic
Speaker 1: centers after the tourist peaks, and you'll be seeing Italy
Speaker 1: in a completely different light. Some things do close, particularly
Speaker 1: in smaller towns and coastal areas that gig more to tourists.
Speaker 1: But I do think winter in Italy is really underrated.
Speaker 1: The exception to this rule, and I found this out
Speaker 1: the hard way, is the period between Christmas and New Year,
Speaker 1: when a lot of Europeans and Italians go to the
Speaker 1: big cities and ski fields for their winter break. It
Speaker 1: is a fantastic atmosphere, but if you were hoping to
Speaker 1: avoid crowds, then is not the best time to visit either.
Speaker 1: So yeah, it's a really interesting time Christmas and New
Speaker 1: Year because the holiday, the actual holiday days are very
Speaker 1: special to Italians and very little will be open. They
Speaker 1: have their little rest and then everyone goes out into
Speaker 1: the street. And I just couldn't believe the Vatican museums.
Speaker 1: I think we went on like it was early January
Speaker 1: and it was just completely packed. I thought it was
Speaker 1: not going to be packed, but it was really, really,
Speaker 1: really busy. So the question of where to go is
Speaker 1: therefore a question of what matters most to you, So
Speaker 1: it really comes down to your preferences. If you want
Speaker 1: beach days on the Amalfi Coast summer is fine, just
Speaker 1: plan it properly and understand it is in hot demand
Speaker 1: and priced accordingly. If you want treffle season in Umbria,
Speaker 1: you need to be there in autumn. If you want
Speaker 1: venice without the crowds going winter, or very early in spring,
Speaker 1: but avoid the carnavade. We end up going to deep
Speaker 1: dive into destinations on this episode. We'll do a little
Speaker 1: bit of that on our upcoming online planning event that
Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you all the details about at
Speaker 1: the end of the show. But I do want to
Speaker 1: say a few things about where to go in Italy
Speaker 1: because I think it is a question people jump to
Speaker 1: first and it could really come later in the planning
Speaker 1: unless there's something very specific drawing you to a place,
Speaker 1: like your heritage, passion for snow sports or fast cars
Speaker 1: or truffles, or a particular food festival. The thing is,
Speaker 1: once you know how you want to travel and when
Speaker 1: you're going, the waar usually becomes clearer and you might
Speaker 1: need to make some compromises. But here's the thing. There's
Speaker 1: no wrong decisions in Italy. Everything will be wonderful wherever
Speaker 1: you go. If you're a slow traveler going in October,
Speaker 1: you probably don't want to pack in six cities from
Speaker 1: Pullia to Piedmont in six weeks, despite the many temptations.
Speaker 1: If your beach lover on a budget, Positano in July
Speaker 1: might need to be reconsidered. And if you've been to
Speaker 1: Rome and Florence before, this might be the trip where
Speaker 1: you head into the countryside for part of your trip
Speaker 1: and head back to the places that you love for
Speaker 1: the rest. So there's a lot of possibilities. But like
Speaker 1: I said, there's no wrong choices in Italy. But sometimes
Speaker 1: it is hard to make those choices on your own
Speaker 1: without some inside of information, and of course that's what
Speaker 1: we're here for. We want to help you. I suggest
Speaker 1: that you do to get started at this stage is
Speaker 1: to start a list right down the places that are
Speaker 1: calling to you, the ones you've heard about on this podcast,
Speaker 1: the ones of friends mentioned, the ones you keep seeing
Speaker 1: and thinking, oh, one day I'll go put them all
Speaker 1: down without editing yourself. We're not building an itinery. We're
Speaker 1: gathering ideas which you can build on later and the
Speaker 1: next up is a very important question, and that is
Speaker 1: who is doing the planning and how much planning do
Speaker 1: they actually want to do. Some people love planning travel,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure many of our listeners fall into this
Speaker 1: category most of the time, but it's not always everyone's
Speaker 1: favorite task, especially when there's a big group involved. Sometimes
Speaker 1: life gets in the way and you don't have time
Speaker 1: to go into the weeds of the many details, or
Speaker 1: you want some deep local knowledge. In terms of planning trips,
Speaker 1: there are so many different options these days when it
Speaker 1: comes to travel, and you don't need to stick to
Speaker 1: just one either. I really like taking a mix and
Speaker 1: match approach to our family travels and it's working so
Speaker 1: well for us, not just in Italy, but also we
Speaker 1: like to travel a lot, and later on this year
Speaker 1: we're going to Japan and other places, so we will
Speaker 1: travel independently for some of our trips, usually big cities,
Speaker 1: and then we use like local trip planning services and
Speaker 1: tour options for some of the more unique places outside
Speaker 1: of the big cities and tourist areas, so that we
Speaker 1: get access to local information and ideas that don't surface
Speaker 1: in any research or they don't surface easily. So the
Speaker 1: main options for travel. This is very general, and so
Speaker 1: it's just to give you an idea of what's available,
Speaker 1: because I think some people don't know kind of what's available.
Speaker 1: And I will deep dive into this more on our
Speaker 1: webinar because I think it's really important that there's not
Speaker 1: just one source of information. There's a lot of different sources,
Speaker 1: and the trick is to find the people and the
Speaker 1: services that speak to you and fitting with your travel style.
Speaker 1: So the main options are you've got fully independent travel
Speaker 1: where you research and organize everything yourself, and you know,
Speaker 1: the Internet's made that really easy for us well in
Speaker 1: some ways. Or you might have a friend or family
Speaker 1: member who would do it for you. So if that's
Speaker 1: a case, make sure to be very grateful to those people,
Speaker 1: because that's a huge job and it usually involves a
Speaker 1: lot of internet time and online research and sitting on forums.
Speaker 1: Unless you're the type of person who is able to
Speaker 1: book a two week break in late October and simply
Speaker 1: wing it. I think winging it. I wish we could
Speaker 1: still do it, but it's very difficult unless you've got
Speaker 1: a very open calendar and heaps of time on your hands.
Speaker 1: So I'm not going to rant about this too much again,
Speaker 1: but if you want to go outside major tourist areas
Speaker 1: anywhere in the world, much of the online information is woeful,
Speaker 1: especially in countries like Italy where English is not their
Speaker 1: first language. So just keep that in mind when you're
Speaker 1: online searching. And I speak about this a lot, but
Speaker 1: it's really true. You cannot find a lot of things
Speaker 1: unless you're prepared to just wing it or you know
Speaker 1: someone local. Now, the other option is assistant travel, so
Speaker 1: that means working with a trip planner or a travel
Speaker 1: agent for all of some of your trip. So if
Speaker 1: you go down this path, please please make sure whoever
Speaker 1: you work with knows Italy very well, or you work
Speaker 1: with a travel agent that can help you with flights,
Speaker 1: and then choose another option for your on the ground assistance.
Speaker 1: Italy is a very big country and each of its
Speaker 1: twenty regions are hyper local and unique with their own challenges.
Speaker 1: So general travel agents may be able to assist with
Speaker 1: say a great driving service in Rome, but they may
Speaker 1: not have the local contacts on the ground in Sicily
Speaker 1: or Piedmont or Pulia if that's where you are going. So,
Speaker 1: as you probably know, we have a team of trip
Speaker 1: planners that are absolutely obsessed with Italy and just love
Speaker 1: helping all of our clients plan their amazing trips and
Speaker 1: what they do best. You share options that you may
Speaker 1: not have thought of and contacts that can really enhance
Speaker 1: your trip. Italy is our passion and we do not
Speaker 1: deviate from that, preferring to go really deep into Italian
Speaker 1: places and experiences rather than trying to do say, all
Speaker 1: of Europe. If you are traveling to Europe and you
Speaker 1: are thinking of going to Spain, for example, we also
Speaker 1: work with people that offer a similar service and can
Speaker 1: direct you to those people also. Okay, the last main
Speaker 1: option is guided multi day tour experiences and these come
Speaker 1: in many different shapes and sizes and for different budgets.
Speaker 1: So at one end you can do budget sightseeing tours
Speaker 1: that are really more of a logistics enabler. And last
Speaker 1: week we heard from my friend Monica whose companies do
Speaker 1: walking and cycling tours. And there are lots of different
Speaker 1: options like this for people that have got a specific
Speaker 1: sort of interest in mind. So one of our favorite
Speaker 1: tour guests, Carolyn, goes on a pilates retreat every year
Speaker 1: in Italy and she loves it and so a lot
Speaker 1: of different specialty tour options, and of course our Untold
Speaker 1: Italy Tours are a fully hosted group option focused on
Speaker 1: a holistic experience around culture, food and wine and exploring
Speaker 1: regional Italy where we take care of everything so you
Speaker 1: can just simply enjoy Italy. So there are hundreds, if
Speaker 1: not thousands, of tour companies operating in Italy, and I'd
Speaker 1: really encourage you to look for those that specialize in
Speaker 1: Italy and support local communities and rather than a generalist
Speaker 1: tour company, because when you go to Italy, you want
Speaker 1: to have that Italian experience and the best way to
Speaker 1: do that is through the locals. So as you can see,
Speaker 1: there are a broad range of trip planning options to
Speaker 1: choose from depending on your preferences and ideas. There's no
Speaker 1: right or wrong answer, just what works well for you,
Speaker 1: and often it's a mixed match of several different methods.
Speaker 1: If you join our twenty twenty seven trip planning event
Speaker 1: happening on Zoom later this month, I'll go a bit
Speaker 1: deeper into what to look for from online resources a
Speaker 1: tour company and or a trip planning service so you
Speaker 1: can make an informed decision. I'm going to be upfront
Speaker 1: and let you know I am not going to apologize
Speaker 1: showcasing what we do and untold Italy in this context,
Speaker 1: because we do this very very well, and I'm very
Speaker 1: proud of our entire team and their passion and dedication
Speaker 1: to supporting local businesses in Italy. But of course we
Speaker 1: know that we're not for everyone, and our goal is
Speaker 1: to help our listeners have an amazing time in Italy
Speaker 1: and navigate through the very many choices that you have
Speaker 1: to plan your trip. So, as we come to the
Speaker 1: end of this episode, what do you do right now
Speaker 1: this week if you want to start building towards a
Speaker 1: twenty twenty seven Italy trip. So I've got two, maybe
Speaker 1: three things that you can do. So the first thing
Speaker 1: is to really start thinking about your travel style. Go
Speaker 1: back to the questions that I asked earlier in the episode,
Speaker 1: and really ask yourself, how do you want to feel
Speaker 1: on this trip, What experiences do you want to have,
Speaker 1: Who are you going with that you're driving or taking
Speaker 1: the train, what does the right pace look like? And
Speaker 1: when do you think you will go? And who is
Speaker 1: going to do the planning. You don't have to have
Speaker 1: all the answers, but start having the conversation and if
Speaker 1: you're traveling solo, just thinking about it with yourself or
Speaker 1: with your travel partner and whoever's coming with you. The
Speaker 1: second thing you can do is start looking at flights,
Speaker 1: and this is where like travel agents can be really helpful,
Speaker 1: but also and just start looking get a sense of
Speaker 1: what prices look like from your city to the Italian
Speaker 1: airports that you know might make sense to you most
Speaker 1: of the time, the flights going to Rome and Milan,
Speaker 1: so Rome's really handy for southern Italy, Milan obviously for
Speaker 1: northern Italy. And you can set up price alerts if
Speaker 1: you use Google Flights or Skyscanner or something like that.
Speaker 1: So you're just starting to get an idea of what
Speaker 1: things are going to cost, and you're not committing to anything,
Speaker 1: and you can just see what the prices are and
Speaker 1: what the sort of schedules are coming up as well.
Speaker 1: And the good thing about that is if you've been
Speaker 1: keeping it hard things, when a really great fear comes up,
Speaker 1: you can recognize it. And the last thing is if
Speaker 1: you are thinking about joining a group tour, it's a
Speaker 1: really good idea to start your research now. Our twenty
Speaker 1: twenty seven dates for our untold Itsaly tours are available
Speaker 1: on our website and ready to book right now, and
Speaker 1: we also have some new tours for twenty twenty seven
Speaker 1: that we will announce soon as some of our most
Speaker 1: popular tools are already half full, so if you want
Speaker 1: to stay updated on that, you can sign up for
Speaker 1: our Tours newsletter where that info is released first. I
Speaker 1: know many other tour companies have their twenty twenty seven
Speaker 1: tours available at least to view now also, so it's
Speaker 1: worth taking a look if you think you might be
Speaker 1: interested in that style of travel, because there's usually early
Speaker 1: bird rates, and I would say for twenty twenty seven
Speaker 1: as we don't know how this Middle Eastern crisis is
Speaker 1: playing out and we don't know the impact on prices,
Speaker 1: but usually people will honor the clients that they people
Speaker 1: have signed up for, so unless there's something materially very bad,
Speaker 1: have a look at those tours if you're interested now
Speaker 1: and see what's available, and then you can start thinking
Speaker 1: more about how you might slop that into the rest
Speaker 1: of your travels. So that's it for now. You don't
Speaker 1: need to do too much. We're only in May twenty
Speaker 1: twenty six, but with twenty twenty seven just around the corner,
Speaker 1: I think if you take some little steps to go forward,
Speaker 1: especially if you're kind of in the dreaming phase, then
Speaker 1: some of the big decisions that you need to make
Speaker 1: later will be much easier now if you want to
Speaker 1: go deeper on all of this, the planning phases, where
Speaker 1: to go, what to prioritize, timeline to book things, vendors
Speaker 1: you can trust, and how to make sure twenty twenty
Speaker 1: seven is the Italy trip that you have been imagining.
Speaker 1: I'm running a free online event on May twenty four
Speaker 1: hour twenty fifth, depending on what time zone you're in,
Speaker 1: and I would love you to join me. We are
Speaker 1: going to do a proper deep dive together with some
Speaker 1: opportunity to ask questions and go through some of the
Speaker 1: key planning steps that you can expect to go through
Speaker 1: when you're planning your trip to Italy. It will be recorded,
Speaker 1: so if you can't make this live session, you will
Speaker 1: still be able to watch it at your leisure. All
Speaker 1: the details to sign up for this session and the
Speaker 1: replay are in the show notes at untold itly dot com.
Speaker 1: Forward slash three two four for episode number three hundred
Speaker 1: and twenty four, and you'll also find the links there
Speaker 1: to some of the episodes and resources that I mentioned
Speaker 1: today that will help you start building your picture of Italy.
Speaker 1: In twenty twenty seven, Grazi miled, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for tuning into Untold Italy today. If this episode was useful,
Speaker 1: I would love it if you shared it with someone
Speaker 1: who is also dreaming about Italy and has a trip
Speaker 1: in mind. Next week we are going back to beautiful
Speaker 1: Milano to explore with one of my friends who's a
Speaker 1: local there. But until then, it's chow for now. The
Speaker 1: Untold Italy podcast is an independent production podcast editing, audio
Speaker 1: production and website development by Mark Hatter, Production assistance and
Speaker 1: content writing by the are they kJ Clark? Yes, there
Speaker 1: are two of us. For more information about Untold Italy,
Speaker 1: please visit Untold Italy dot com