How We Have Helped Italy Travelers: Samples of Our Work
Every trip we plan is different. Here are examples of how we have helped clients navigate the specific challenges of planning Italy travel, from flight logistics to lodging choices to building itineraries that actually fit what they want and need.
Airfare and Flight Strategy
Newark, Warsaw, and Gubbio
A family of eleven was traveling to both Poland and Italy. Their plan was to fly to Warsaw, use a low-cost carrier between Poland and Italy, then return to Warsaw to fly home. The connection from Italy back to Poland and on to the US was tight, and the low-cost carrier leg added both cost and risk.
By rerouting them onto a single itinerary with a major carrier — flying into Poland and out of Italy — we eliminated the low-cost carrier leg and the need to return to Warsaw entirely. We identified a better departure airport on the US side and determined which Italian airports made sense for arrival and departure, factoring in rental car costs and one-way drop-off fees. The result was $250 less per person in airfare alone — roughly $2,750 for the group — before accounting for additional savings on the ground.
Montana, Naples, and Milan
We worked with a client who lived near three Montana airports and was traveling in August — one of the most expensive times to fly to Italy. They could only shift their dates by a day or two in either direction. Fares were coming in at over $1,500 per person, pushing the trip into the unaffordable range. The connections were tight and they would be routed through one of Europe’s busiest hubs at the height of the summer travel season. Having transited through this airport ourselves many times, we knew they would, at best, be sprinting like mad people and, at worst, standing in front of a closed boarding door unable to get on to their connecting flight to Italy. They only had about eight days of vacation, and a missed connection could have significantly cut into their time.
We helped them rethink their itinerary within Italy and found them a flight from Billings, Montana to Naples, with a return from Milan to Butte. The fare was $400 per person less and in a higher class of service. It had only one stop in each direction and comfortable connection times, such that on the way to Italy they would be able to calmly make their way through customs and passport control at their European layover city. We researched the specific trains they would need to take to move around within Italy given their new routing and included these in our cost calculations. In every respect—logistics, expense, comfort, stress—our trip plan was an improvement.
Read more about how we approach flight strategy and help you make Italy air travel an affordable part of your trip plan.
Itinerary Design
Milan, Cinque Terre, Switzerland, and What We Did Instead
A client came to us after booking a flight from a regional US airport to Milan. It was a 24-hour itinerary with multiple connections. We would have directed her to a different flight plan, but the tickets were purchased and couldn’t be changed. She planned two nights in Milan, then Cinque Terre, then onto Switzerland by train, and finally, a return to Milan for her flight home.
The problems were significant. Her chosen lodging in Milan would have required multiple trains from the airport after an exhausting journey. Her base for Cinque Terre was an industrial town, whose seaside appeal would be lost in the off season. The Switzerland leg would have consumed an entire day of travel with multiple connections each way. And the return to Milan had no clear plan. As we explained, “You will end up spending much of your standing on train platforms.”
We redirected her to Rapallo, a lovely smaller city on the Ligurian coast, as a base for Cinque Terre. Seaview accommodations were inexpensive during the season she was traveling. From there, we found her a rental car she could pick up in Rapallo. (Kayak searches had implied she could only get a car at the Genoa airport.) We directed her onward from Rapallo to a beautiful Piedmont agriturismo with a restaurant, near a hot springs, close to a medieval city, and within an hour and a half of Milan's airport. On her departure day, she could go directly to Malpensa—no retracing, no chaos, no stress—and get there with ample time before her flight.
Switzerland disappeared from the itinerary. In its place was the Piedmontese countryside, a thermal spa, and Asti, a place she had only ever heard of as part of a label on a wine bottle.
A retired couple: Padua, the Florentine countryside, and a Roman neighborhood
A retired couple had booked a tour through Cinque Terre and the lake country with a large firm. They wanted to fit Venice, Florence, and Rome into their remaining eight days. They had already seen Venice on a previous trip, but given where their group tour ended, they weren’t sure what else to do.
We redirected them. Instead of Venice again, we sent them to Padua — a beautiful, walkable city a short train ride from their tour's final destination, with far fewer crowds. Instead of a hotel inside Florence, we found them a few nights in the Tuscan countryside, close enough for a relaxed day trip but with evenings at a quiet property where they could decompress and take in the views. And instead of central Rome, we placed them in a real neighborhood a 20-minute bus ride from the city center and a 20-minute train ride from the Vatican. The area’s shops, restaurants, and cafes are priced for regular people. The local train station, a 10-minute walk from their lodging, has direct service to the airport, sparing them the freneticism of Rome’s central station, Termini, on departure day.
Eight days, three destinations — traveling Italy, not completing a checklist.
Read more about how we build your itinerary—traveling Italy, not “doing” Italy.
Lodging
A couple in their 70s: Milan
A couple in their 70s contacted us after selecting a hotel in Milan. When we reviewed their choice, we found that check-in was not available until 4:00 p.m., even though they were arriving at 9:00 a.m. Luggage storage had poor reviews and required a 15-minute walk from the hotel. There were also consistent complaints about cleanliness.
They had not considered the check-in timing or the luggage storage issue, but once pointed out, it became clear this was a problem. They did not want to haul their suitcases around the city immediately after a long flight. They needed to rest.
We found them a nearby bed and breakfast on a quieter street at a lower price point with a 12:00 p.m. check-in. They saved about $50 a night for the room and another $40 a day by not reserving the overpriced breakfast — we suggested better options nearby for a quarter of the cost. We helped them choose the room most suited to their needs and determined the best way to get from the airport to the city center given their activity level, luggage, and transatlantic travel time. The lodging change and our transportation advice transformed their arrival day from a minor ordeal to something manageable.
Read more about lodging in Italy and where to stay in without overspending.
View our services to find out more about what we offer and contact us to get started planning your trip.
