October 29, 2025 • 18 mins
Dreaming of Italy but worried about the cost? Travel advisors Ryan and Julie break down how a family of four can experience the magic of Italy at three different price points—from budget-conscious to moderate to luxury—proving that your dream Italian vacation is more accessible than you think.
Episode Highlights
Budget-Conscious Italy ($350/person/night) Discover how to experience Rome and Florence over 7 nights without sacrificing the essentials. Learn why traveling during shoulder season (September-April, excluding peak summer), using trains and metro systems, and booking shared tours can dramatically reduce costs while still hitting major attractions like the Vatican, Coliseum, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Plus, find out why staying in hotels might actually save you money compared to Airbnbs in Italy.
Moderate Italy ($525/person/night) Take your Italian adventure up a notch with a 10-night journey through Rome, Florence, and Sorrento. This itinerary adds exciting family-friendly experiences like a "Gladiator for a Day" program, pizza and gelato making classes, a stop at Pompeii, and a boat tour of Capri—all while keeping the trip surprisingly affordable through smart planning and high-end train tickets booked in advance.
Luxury Italy ($820/person/night) Experience Italy like never before with complete flexibility in your travel dates, private tours customized to your family's interests, and two weeks exploring six incredible destinations: Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Florence, Milan, and Venice. From cooking lessons at local markets to wine tastings in Tuscan farmhouses, gondola rides in Venice to tours of Lake Como, this is the ultimate Italian experience.
Whether you're planning your first trip to Italy or returning for another adventure, this episode will open your eyes to the possibilities within your budget. Ryan and Julie also share valuable insider tips on transportation, tour options, and why certain choices make financial sense.
Coming Soon: The hosts tease future episodes featuring Japan and Hawaii using this same three-tier approach!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (00:01):
Hello and welcome to All Things Travel.
We know when you start thinkingabout your next vacation, a big
clients may be the cost of thattrip.
Maybe you think yourdestinations, dates, or length
of trip are limited because ofthe investment you're
considering making in your trip.
Today we are going to start aseries to show you how you can
(00:24):
visit your wishlistdestinations, no matter your
budget.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (00:28):
Listen in with travel advisors and
destination experts.
Ryan and Julie.
I'm your travel professorteaching you everything you need
to know to have a magicalvacation, and she's a Disney
loving Maryland mom of three anda specialist in family travel.
Whether we're discussingincredible destinations, top
vacation tips, or sharingpersonal stories, it's always
(00:50):
all things travel.
So the idea is we look at onelocation or one region and we
say we want to travel there, andwe're going to think about a
budget conscious way to go, amore moderate way to go, and a
(01:11):
luxury way to go.
I like it.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (01:15):
Yeah, because I think a lot of times,
you know, a family will say,man, I'd love to go to Japan,
but I could just never affordthat.
And so we wanna open your eyes alittle bit and show you.
You know what to consider.
A lot of times we like tohighlight itineraries, but this
time we're highlighting threeseparate itineraries for one
(01:36):
country,
ryan_2_10-27-2025_1356 (01:36):
Alright, Julie, talk about the budget
conscious way.
Oh, I guess first of all, weshould say we're talking about
Italy today.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (01:44):
Of
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (01:44):
I'm.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (01:44):
are.
It's a
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (01:45):
It's a popular place and I know it is
often on your mind.
So when we talked about doingthis series, you said, I'm gonna
do the first episode and I'mgonna do it about Italy, so that
sounds great.
Let's talk about the budgetconscious way to see Italy.
Now I will say.
This is not skimping on a lot ofthings.
(02:06):
You are still very much seeingeverything that Italy has to
offer.
But let's talk about this quoteunquote budget trip.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (02:16):
Yeah.
And so the way that I wanna laythis out for our listeners is I
do wanna give you a specific,sample of what your trip will
look like,
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (02:25):
I
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (02:26):
wanna give you the the things you need
to consider to make that tripfit.
The investment you want to make.
So specifically for Italy, ifyou wanna be more aware of what
you're spending on your trip,you wanna visit Italy between
November and March, the ratesare gonna be better, there's
gonna be fewer crowds.
But you're probably gonna haveto avoid the Amul coast, so
(02:48):
you're gonna be making someconcessions
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (02:50):
Sure.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (02:51):
I say November to March, but really
that could even extend toSeptember, to April.
Um, really just that shoulderseason we've talked about As far
as transportation, you wanna befocusing on train tickets, using
the metro, using taxis, Notdoing private transportation and
not flying everywhere.
That's gonna save you a lot ofmoney.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (03:13):
When you say not flying everywhere,
you mean within Italy?
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (03:16):
if you're going from Rome to Venice or you
know,
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (03:19):
Yeah.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (03:20):
to Florence, or Rome to Milan, or
maybe even you're doing twocountries and you can get there
with a train.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (03:26):
Yeah.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (03:26):
just gonna be so much more economical
for you.
I would suggest only planningfor two cities.
I know you go over and you seethis country and you wanna go
everywhere, but let's focus ontwo cities.
other reason for that is, I'mgonna say focus on about a week
for travel, for this budgetconscious trip.
you know, this could be yourintroductory trip this could be
(03:48):
the trip you're really lookingforward to.
that could be our role is tohelp you narrow down exactly
what you wanna see while you'rethere.
You also wanna think about.
Booking share tours or justbasic entry tickets.
And then grabbing something likeaudio guides to kind of guide
you around that area.
Um, and that also just gives youa lot more flexibility.
(04:09):
There's also a ton of churches,public parks, piazzas,
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (04:14):
Sure.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (04:15):
to stroll around that you don't really
need to book in
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (04:17):
Uh, or if you look online, there are
companies that have local tours,and, you pay based on donation.
or picking up free walkingtours.
I think there's just a lot ofways to make it more economical
than people think.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (04:33):
and I know that I've had clients say
this to me before they ask aboutstaying in an Airbnb, Ryan.
What do you say when you havethat question?
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (04:42):
I think especially if you're
looking at someplace like Italy,you need to be a little careful
because there's a lot of.
Policies and regulations when itcomes into these places.
People think they're gonna savemoney by cooking and then they
don't tend to cook'cause theywant to try the foods or they
(05:03):
want to go do this, that or theother thing, and they're paying
a lot of extra fees and thenonce everything boils down,
they're actually paying more.
and then also Airbnbs arecharming because they're in
neighborhoods, but this type oftrip doesn't really lend itself
to you being in a neighborhoodthat's a 40 minute train ride
(05:25):
outside of your city.
That's more.
For somebody who's experiencedbeing there or wants a very
different type of vacation.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (05:35):
Yeah, I would agree with that.
And I also always caution, thatif a hotel cancels on you, you
have a little bit of leverage.
If an Airbnb cancels on you, youdon't really have anything
backing you up there, and thatcan happen.
A lot.
So that's my 2 cents on AirbnbsAll right, so let's talk about
(05:55):
the sample trip, because this isthe fun part.
The dates I picked were the endof September to the beginning of
October.
It's a seven night trip.
this is going to Rome andFlorence.
So let's talk about what'sincluded in the trip first, I'll
give you like an idea of whatthe budget could be.
So we're gonna start in Rome.
You're gonna stay for fournights at the Star Hotels.
(06:16):
Michelangelo in Rome, which is ahotel I have booked for clients
before.
It's got a good location andit's great for families.
All these trips we're gonna talkabout are for a family of four.
You're going to be able toexperience shared tours to both
the Vatican, the Coliseum, andthe Roman Forum, and I would
(06:37):
recommend that you take taxisbetween the airport, the hotels,
the hotels, the train stations,all those kinds of things.
This actually does include atrain transfer from Room to
Florence, so at least you havethose tickets included there.
You'll also have a free day inRome where like I said, you
could go browse those churches,public parks, piazzas, whatever
(06:59):
you're up for doing.
You're then gonna have a threenight stay in Florence and
experience shared tours over topizza to see the leaning tower
of pizza and a pizza and gelatomaking class.
I would then recommend you getyour own entry ticket to the
academia and do like aself-guided audio tour or browse
(07:19):
on your own.
Um, because that's just a greatway to go see that and give you
some more flexibility.
So, Ryan, what do you thinksomething like this would cost
per person per
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (07:29):
I would say about$500 per person
per night.
what did this trip come in at?
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (07:33):
close.
This comes out to about$350 perperson per night,
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (07:40):
That's really cool, Julie.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (07:41):
like that seems like very affordable,
right?
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (07:45):
Yes,
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (07:45):
put away $350 a week or a month, and next
thing you know you're there.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (07:51):
yes.
I love it.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (07:52):
All right.
let Ryan talk to us about themoderate trip.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (07:55):
when you think about doing a more
moderate trip, this allows yousome flexibility.
You've got, some more money,some more ways to either extend
your trip or add some value toit.
the trip that I'm gonna talkabout is similar to the budget
trip, but it adds an extra stopin Sorento.
for this trip we're going in thesummer because if we're talking
about a family of four, thatmakes it a little easier to go.
(08:18):
but especially if we can pushthe trip more towards shoulder
season, that makes it moreeconomical.
We're gonna book high-end traintickets in advance to secure
lower prices and efficienttravel between cities and use
the metro around the town.
Julie talks about using trainsas a way to save money.
I think when you're in Europe,being on the trains, especially
(08:39):
when you're going city to cityis part of the fun of it.
So I don't think you'resacrificing anything by doing
that.
what we've done here is we haveplanned a three city trip in 10
days, but you stick with sharedtours.
July 18th to 28 in 2026, you'rein Rome and you're staying at
the Palazzo na Verna.
(09:00):
So you are right in the heart oftourist area and can easily walk
to any of the main sites inRome.
you have shared tours of theColiseum and the Roman Forum.
the Vatican, you have a sharedgladiator for a day experience
in Florence.
A three night stay at a nicehotel.
You're doing shared tours of asmall group morning walk tour of
(09:21):
Florence with the academyentrance.
so you can see everything there,the pizza and gelato making
class, and you are seeing pizza.
In Sorento, you're staying threenights at the Hilton Sorento
Palace.
you have a private transfer witha two hour tour of Pompeii on
the way, and you have a sharedboat tour of Capri.
(09:42):
this really adds to this initialtrip and makes it that true
Italian vacation.
Julie,
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (09:51):
But still so super affordable.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (09:54):
so.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (09:55):
is that per person, per night
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (09:57):
Okay.
So 5 25 per person per night.
You are seeing three differentcities in Italy, over a week.
This is an amazing moderatetrip.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (10:08):
Yeah.
And the thing I love about thistrip is you are, it's a great
combination.
What the adults wanna see andwhat the kids wanna see.
I included that shared gladiatorfor a day experience.
The pizza and gelato makingclass.
That's always really fun forfamilies.
Stopping in Pompeii.
That's like a fun thing for kidsto see because they hear about
(10:28):
it in schools.
just love that we added a lot tothis tour and we didn't increase
the price by that
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (10:37):
I love it.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (10:38):
feels really doable.
Yeah.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (10:39):
I am excited to hear your take on a
luxury trip to Italy.
I can only imagine that youreally thought out the details
here.
But first, before we do that, Iwanna talk about where in the
world is wonder and beyondtravel, and I wanna talk about a
family that I've worked withseveral times.
This is a family.
with, two moms and three kids,and I've worked with them on
(11:01):
cruises.
I've worked with them on Disneytrips.
it was really cool because thecouple went to run Disney this
past weekend, and they've donethis two years in a row, but
this year they really went allout and the whole focus on the
trip is we wanna run the races.
And so they got in Julie at two15 in the morning.
(11:23):
And then the next day, they didthe 5K.
And then the next day they didthe 10 K and the next day they
did the half marathon.
And what's really cool is one ofthem had a knee replacement and
the other one did a walk run.
So it's not even like we'rethere to just go as crazy as we
can.
We're there to experience therun Disney experience and they
(11:46):
just had some great adult time.
Um.
I love having trips like thiswhere people get away and have
fun.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (11:55):
That sounds amazing.
Um, I love run Disney.
We've
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (12:00):
I
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (12:00):
about it
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (12:00):
it.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (12:01):
and I'm so jealous.
Wine and Dine 2026 is likereally on my list right now.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (12:07):
what's really fun is, one of the moms
and the youngest daughter areactually going again in December
for a trip for the daughter.
they were talking about thattrip as they were doing this
trip.
it's just always fun to be partof helping them create those
memories and that really feelsspecial.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (12:23):
Yeah.
That's amazing.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (12:25):
Well, we love celebrating where our
clients are headed.
It inspires curiosity in boththem and us, and we can't wait
to hear about their trips whenthey get back.
And we love focusing on thetrips on this podcast, so maybe
yours will be next.
All right, Julie, so we'vetalked about a budget trip, a
(12:47):
moderate trip.
Now I want to talk about aluxury trip for this family of
four.
What is that gonna look like forthem?
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (12:57):
So when I say luxury trip, that doesn't
necessarily mean you're stayingin huge villas and you know,
that kind of thing.
I'm more thinking about you havethe flexibility to pick your
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (13:11):
Yeah.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (13:12):
Which means you could go in peak
summer if that's what works foryour schedule.
You are not gonna be limited bythinking I need to go at the
most affordable time of year.
You can experience privatetransfers and private tours
throughout your trip, you canalso stay a little bit longer.
This trip that I'm gonna talkabout is a two week trip and we
(13:33):
visit.
Five cities.
Now, obviously that's adjustableto where your family is
interested in going.
but that's what I mean byluxury.
I don't mean that ouraccommodations are top of the
line.
I mean, you can be flexible.
You are doing tours that areprivate.
That means those tours arecustomed to you.
(13:54):
and it's really just about thisvery custom experience that you
can get.
this tour is for 14 days and youare visiting Rome, Naples,
Sorento, Florence, Milan, andVenice.
And apparently I can't countbecause that's six, is it?
Oh, well, no, sort of, becauseyou go to Naples, but you get
(14:17):
there from like another place.
So you know, I still can kind of
ryan_2_10-27-2025_1356 (14:19):
Alright.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (14:20):
so you're starting off in Rome for three
nights and you're having privatetours such as the Ancient and
Imperial Room tour, visiting theColiseum and the room in forum.
A Rome by night tour, whichtakes you around the city and
your guide points out all sortsof amazing landmarks you make
stops along the way that youwanna do, and a cooking lesson
(14:43):
after visiting a local market.
You make your way to Sorento.
Again, private transfers.
You're there for four nights andyou do private tours around the
Amalfi, Positano and Revelocities with an optional
excursion to add a visit over toCapri, which if I'm in Sorento,
I'm definitely going to Capri.
(15:04):
Once you get to Florence, you'rethere for three nights.
You have private tours of theacademia, the local palaces, and
then you get to go out to likethe Tuscan countryside and tour
some of the small cities thereat local farmhouses, local
lunches, local wine tastings,which sounds a lot like what you
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (15:22):
Yeah, and that, and that was the
highlight of the trip, havinglunch at a farm with their
products overlooking the TuscanHills.
I can't even tell you howamazing that was.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (15:33):
okay.
You're also gonna go to Milanfor two nights again, private
tours.
You're gonna get a city tourthat includes the Last Supper
and also some tours over aroundLake Como, and that sounds
really amazing.
Your last stop is gonna be inVenice for two nights where
you're going to have that,iconic evening gondola ride.
(15:54):
A classic Venice walking tour.
So think around like, St.
Mark's and then head over toMurano and Murano Islands, and
that's where they have likethese very colorful, beautiful
houses and the glass blowingmuseum over in Murano.
Um, I mean.
This is truly like a once in alifetime
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (16:13):
Yes.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (16:14):
with visiting all these cities and
having all this time to go.
But I really hope that we wereable to, to give you this
experience of you can see thiscountry in three different ways.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (16:27):
So Julie, break it down for us.
We've had$360 per night.
We've had$525 per night withthis luxury trip, two weeks.
What's the breakdown here?
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (16:40):
So the, for this trip, this is about$820
per person per night.
And I really love looking atthese trips in that fashion to
think, okay, if I can save.
$820.
There we go.
That's one night.
One person that day is good togo.
And kind of thinking aboutsaving in that sense, um, to get
(17:04):
ready for those types of trips,especially when we were talking
about that first budget trip,being able to put away$300,
however often you're able to dothat and thinking, wow, one
person's covered for thatamazing experience.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (17:16):
Well, I like the way that we're
angling this.
What, what other places do youwant to talk about when we talk
about visiting a place?
Three different ways.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (17:25):
So I think we do something that I
mentioned before that is like avery, very wishlist destination
for a lot of people.
And that's Japan.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (17:34):
All right.
What about if we also throw inHawaii?
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (17:38):
I love that idea because there's so
much to see there.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (17:43):
The world is full of wonder and your
next great vacation is waiting.
At Wonder and Beyond Travel, wework with you to create a one of
a kind journey, taking thestress off your plate so you can
focus on the joy of exploringand the memories that will stay
with you forever.
If you're ready to startplanning or you just wanna dream
a little bigger, head over toWonder and beyond travel.com.
(18:05):
We would love to help you getstarted.
We look forward to talking toyou next week on All Things
Travel, when we uncover some ofthe hidden costs in your travel
budget.
Hello and welcome to All Things Travel.
We know when you start thinkingabout your next vacation, a big
clients may be the cost of thattrip.
Maybe you think yourdestinations, dates, or length
of trip are limited because ofthe investment you're
considering making in your trip.
Today we are going to start aseries to show you how you can
(00:24):
visit your wishlistdestinations, no matter your
budget.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (00:28):
Listen in with travel advisors and
destination experts.
Ryan and Julie.
I'm your travel professorteaching you everything you need
to know to have a magicalvacation, and she's a Disney
loving Maryland mom of three anda specialist in family travel.
Whether we're discussingincredible destinations, top
vacation tips, or sharingpersonal stories, it's always
(00:50):
all things travel.
So the idea is we look at onelocation or one region and we
say we want to travel there, andwe're going to think about a
budget conscious way to go, amore moderate way to go, and a
(01:11):
luxury way to go.
I like it.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (01:15):
Yeah, because I think a lot of times,
you know, a family will say,man, I'd love to go to Japan,
but I could just never affordthat.
And so we wanna open your eyes alittle bit and show you.
You know what to consider.
A lot of times we like tohighlight itineraries, but this
time we're highlighting threeseparate itineraries for one
(01:36):
country,
ryan_2_10-27-2025_1356 (01:36):
Alright, Julie, talk about the budget
conscious way.
Oh, I guess first of all, weshould say we're talking about
Italy today.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (01:44):
Of
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (01:44):
I'm.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (01:44):
are.
It's a
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (01:45):
It's a popular place and I know it is
often on your mind.
So when we talked about doingthis series, you said, I'm gonna
do the first episode and I'mgonna do it about Italy, so that
sounds great.
Let's talk about the budgetconscious way to see Italy.
Now I will say.
This is not skimping on a lot ofthings.
(02:06):
You are still very much seeingeverything that Italy has to
offer.
But let's talk about this quoteunquote budget trip.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (02:16):
Yeah.
And so the way that I wanna laythis out for our listeners is I
do wanna give you a specific,sample of what your trip will
look like,
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (02:25):
I
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (02:26):
wanna give you the the things you need
to consider to make that tripfit.
The investment you want to make.
So specifically for Italy, ifyou wanna be more aware of what
you're spending on your trip,you wanna visit Italy between
November and March, the ratesare gonna be better, there's
gonna be fewer crowds.
But you're probably gonna haveto avoid the Amul coast, so
(02:48):
you're gonna be making someconcessions
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (02:50):
Sure.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (02:51):
I say November to March, but really
that could even extend toSeptember, to April.
Um, really just that shoulderseason we've talked about As far
as transportation, you wanna befocusing on train tickets, using
the metro, using taxis, Notdoing private transportation and
not flying everywhere.
That's gonna save you a lot ofmoney.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (03:13):
When you say not flying everywhere,
you mean within Italy?
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (03:16):
if you're going from Rome to Venice or you
know,
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (03:19):
Yeah.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (03:20):
to Florence, or Rome to Milan, or
maybe even you're doing twocountries and you can get there
with a train.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (03:26):
Yeah.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (03:26):
just gonna be so much more economical
for you.
I would suggest only planningfor two cities.
I know you go over and you seethis country and you wanna go
everywhere, but let's focus ontwo cities.
other reason for that is, I'mgonna say focus on about a week
for travel, for this budgetconscious trip.
you know, this could be yourintroductory trip this could be
(03:48):
the trip you're really lookingforward to.
that could be our role is tohelp you narrow down exactly
what you wanna see while you'rethere.
You also wanna think about.
Booking share tours or justbasic entry tickets.
And then grabbing something likeaudio guides to kind of guide
you around that area.
Um, and that also just gives youa lot more flexibility.
(04:09):
There's also a ton of churches,public parks, piazzas,
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (04:14):
Sure.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (04:15):
to stroll around that you don't really
need to book in
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (04:17):
Uh, or if you look online, there are
companies that have local tours,and, you pay based on donation.
or picking up free walkingtours.
I think there's just a lot ofways to make it more economical
than people think.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (04:33):
and I know that I've had clients say
this to me before they ask aboutstaying in an Airbnb, Ryan.
What do you say when you havethat question?
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (04:42):
I think especially if you're
looking at someplace like Italy,you need to be a little careful
because there's a lot of.
Policies and regulations when itcomes into these places.
People think they're gonna savemoney by cooking and then they
don't tend to cook'cause theywant to try the foods or they
(05:03):
want to go do this, that or theother thing, and they're paying
a lot of extra fees and thenonce everything boils down,
they're actually paying more.
and then also Airbnbs arecharming because they're in
neighborhoods, but this type oftrip doesn't really lend itself
to you being in a neighborhoodthat's a 40 minute train ride
(05:25):
outside of your city.
That's more.
For somebody who's experiencedbeing there or wants a very
different type of vacation.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (05:35):
Yeah, I would agree with that.
And I also always caution, thatif a hotel cancels on you, you
have a little bit of leverage.
If an Airbnb cancels on you, youdon't really have anything
backing you up there, and thatcan happen.
A lot.
So that's my 2 cents on AirbnbsAll right, so let's talk about
(05:55):
the sample trip, because this isthe fun part.
The dates I picked were the endof September to the beginning of
October.
It's a seven night trip.
this is going to Rome andFlorence.
So let's talk about what'sincluded in the trip first, I'll
give you like an idea of whatthe budget could be.
So we're gonna start in Rome.
You're gonna stay for fournights at the Star Hotels.
(06:16):
Michelangelo in Rome, which is ahotel I have booked for clients
before.
It's got a good location andit's great for families.
All these trips we're gonna talkabout are for a family of four.
You're going to be able toexperience shared tours to both
the Vatican, the Coliseum, andthe Roman Forum, and I would
(06:37):
recommend that you take taxisbetween the airport, the hotels,
the hotels, the train stations,all those kinds of things.
This actually does include atrain transfer from Room to
Florence, so at least you havethose tickets included there.
You'll also have a free day inRome where like I said, you
could go browse those churches,public parks, piazzas, whatever
(06:59):
you're up for doing.
You're then gonna have a threenight stay in Florence and
experience shared tours over topizza to see the leaning tower
of pizza and a pizza and gelatomaking class.
I would then recommend you getyour own entry ticket to the
academia and do like aself-guided audio tour or browse
(07:19):
on your own.
Um, because that's just a greatway to go see that and give you
some more flexibility.
So, Ryan, what do you thinksomething like this would cost
per person per
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (07:29):
I would say about$500 per person
per night.
what did this trip come in at?
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (07:33):
close.
This comes out to about$350 perperson per night,
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (07:40):
That's really cool, Julie.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (07:41):
like that seems like very affordable,
right?
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (07:45):
Yes,
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (07:45):
put away $350 a week or a month, and next
thing you know you're there.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (07:51):
yes.
I love it.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (07:52):
All right.
let Ryan talk to us about themoderate trip.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (07:55):
when you think about doing a more
moderate trip, this allows yousome flexibility.
You've got, some more money,some more ways to either extend
your trip or add some value toit.
the trip that I'm gonna talkabout is similar to the budget
trip, but it adds an extra stopin Sorento.
for this trip we're going in thesummer because if we're talking
about a family of four, thatmakes it a little easier to go.
(08:18):
but especially if we can pushthe trip more towards shoulder
season, that makes it moreeconomical.
We're gonna book high-end traintickets in advance to secure
lower prices and efficienttravel between cities and use
the metro around the town.
Julie talks about using trainsas a way to save money.
I think when you're in Europe,being on the trains, especially
(08:39):
when you're going city to cityis part of the fun of it.
So I don't think you'resacrificing anything by doing
that.
what we've done here is we haveplanned a three city trip in 10
days, but you stick with sharedtours.
July 18th to 28 in 2026, you'rein Rome and you're staying at
the Palazzo na Verna.
(09:00):
So you are right in the heart oftourist area and can easily walk
to any of the main sites inRome.
you have shared tours of theColiseum and the Roman Forum.
the Vatican, you have a sharedgladiator for a day experience
in Florence.
A three night stay at a nicehotel.
You're doing shared tours of asmall group morning walk tour of
(09:21):
Florence with the academyentrance.
so you can see everything there,the pizza and gelato making
class, and you are seeing pizza.
In Sorento, you're staying threenights at the Hilton Sorento
Palace.
you have a private transfer witha two hour tour of Pompeii on
the way, and you have a sharedboat tour of Capri.
(09:42):
this really adds to this initialtrip and makes it that true
Italian vacation.
Julie,
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (09:51):
But still so super affordable.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (09:54):
so.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (09:55):
is that per person, per night
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (09:57):
Okay.
So 5 25 per person per night.
You are seeing three differentcities in Italy, over a week.
This is an amazing moderatetrip.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (10:08):
Yeah.
And the thing I love about thistrip is you are, it's a great
combination.
What the adults wanna see andwhat the kids wanna see.
I included that shared gladiatorfor a day experience.
The pizza and gelato makingclass.
That's always really fun forfamilies.
Stopping in Pompeii.
That's like a fun thing for kidsto see because they hear about
(10:28):
it in schools.
just love that we added a lot tothis tour and we didn't increase
the price by that
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (10:37):
I love it.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (10:38):
feels really doable.
Yeah.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (10:39):
I am excited to hear your take on a
luxury trip to Italy.
I can only imagine that youreally thought out the details
here.
But first, before we do that, Iwanna talk about where in the
world is wonder and beyondtravel, and I wanna talk about a
family that I've worked withseveral times.
This is a family.
with, two moms and three kids,and I've worked with them on
(11:01):
cruises.
I've worked with them on Disneytrips.
it was really cool because thecouple went to run Disney this
past weekend, and they've donethis two years in a row, but
this year they really went allout and the whole focus on the
trip is we wanna run the races.
And so they got in Julie at two15 in the morning.
(11:23):
And then the next day, they didthe 5K.
And then the next day they didthe 10 K and the next day they
did the half marathon.
And what's really cool is one ofthem had a knee replacement and
the other one did a walk run.
So it's not even like we'rethere to just go as crazy as we
can.
We're there to experience therun Disney experience and they
(11:46):
just had some great adult time.
Um.
I love having trips like thiswhere people get away and have
fun.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (11:55):
That sounds amazing.
Um, I love run Disney.
We've
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (12:00):
I
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (12:00):
about it
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (12:00):
it.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (12:01):
and I'm so jealous.
Wine and Dine 2026 is likereally on my list right now.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (12:07):
what's really fun is, one of the moms
and the youngest daughter areactually going again in December
for a trip for the daughter.
they were talking about thattrip as they were doing this
trip.
it's just always fun to be partof helping them create those
memories and that really feelsspecial.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (12:23):
Yeah.
That's amazing.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (12:25):
Well, we love celebrating where our
clients are headed.
It inspires curiosity in boththem and us, and we can't wait
to hear about their trips whenthey get back.
And we love focusing on thetrips on this podcast, so maybe
yours will be next.
All right, Julie, so we'vetalked about a budget trip, a
(12:47):
moderate trip.
Now I want to talk about aluxury trip for this family of
four.
What is that gonna look like forthem?
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (12:57):
So when I say luxury trip, that doesn't
necessarily mean you're stayingin huge villas and you know,
that kind of thing.
I'm more thinking about you havethe flexibility to pick your
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (13:11):
Yeah.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (13:12):
Which means you could go in peak
summer if that's what works foryour schedule.
You are not gonna be limited bythinking I need to go at the
most affordable time of year.
You can experience privatetransfers and private tours
throughout your trip, you canalso stay a little bit longer.
This trip that I'm gonna talkabout is a two week trip and we
(13:33):
visit.
Five cities.
Now, obviously that's adjustableto where your family is
interested in going.
but that's what I mean byluxury.
I don't mean that ouraccommodations are top of the
line.
I mean, you can be flexible.
You are doing tours that areprivate.
That means those tours arecustomed to you.
(13:54):
and it's really just about thisvery custom experience that you
can get.
this tour is for 14 days and youare visiting Rome, Naples,
Sorento, Florence, Milan, andVenice.
And apparently I can't countbecause that's six, is it?
Oh, well, no, sort of, becauseyou go to Naples, but you get
(14:17):
there from like another place.
So you know, I still can kind of
ryan_2_10-27-2025_1356 (14:19):
Alright.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (14:20):
so you're starting off in Rome for three
nights and you're having privatetours such as the Ancient and
Imperial Room tour, visiting theColiseum and the room in forum.
A Rome by night tour, whichtakes you around the city and
your guide points out all sortsof amazing landmarks you make
stops along the way that youwanna do, and a cooking lesson
(14:43):
after visiting a local market.
You make your way to Sorento.
Again, private transfers.
You're there for four nights andyou do private tours around the
Amalfi, Positano and Revelocities with an optional
excursion to add a visit over toCapri, which if I'm in Sorento,
I'm definitely going to Capri.
(15:04):
Once you get to Florence, you'rethere for three nights.
You have private tours of theacademia, the local palaces, and
then you get to go out to likethe Tuscan countryside and tour
some of the small cities thereat local farmhouses, local
lunches, local wine tastings,which sounds a lot like what you
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (15:22):
Yeah, and that, and that was the
highlight of the trip, havinglunch at a farm with their
products overlooking the TuscanHills.
I can't even tell you howamazing that was.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (15:33):
okay.
You're also gonna go to Milanfor two nights again, private
tours.
You're gonna get a city tourthat includes the Last Supper
and also some tours over aroundLake Como, and that sounds
really amazing.
Your last stop is gonna be inVenice for two nights where
you're going to have that,iconic evening gondola ride.
(15:54):
A classic Venice walking tour.
So think around like, St.
Mark's and then head over toMurano and Murano Islands, and
that's where they have likethese very colorful, beautiful
houses and the glass blowingmuseum over in Murano.
Um, I mean.
This is truly like a once in alifetime
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (16:13):
Yes.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (16:14):
with visiting all these cities and
having all this time to go.
But I really hope that we wereable to, to give you this
experience of you can see thiscountry in three different ways.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (16:27):
So Julie, break it down for us.
We've had$360 per night.
We've had$525 per night withthis luxury trip, two weeks.
What's the breakdown here?
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (16:40):
So the, for this trip, this is about$820
per person per night.
And I really love looking atthese trips in that fashion to
think, okay, if I can save.
$820.
There we go.
That's one night.
One person that day is good togo.
And kind of thinking aboutsaving in that sense, um, to get
(17:04):
ready for those types of trips,especially when we were talking
about that first budget trip,being able to put away$300,
however often you're able to dothat and thinking, wow, one
person's covered for thatamazing experience.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (17:16):
Well, I like the way that we're
angling this.
What, what other places do youwant to talk about when we talk
about visiting a place?
Three different ways.
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (17:25):
So I think we do something that I
mentioned before that is like avery, very wishlist destination
for a lot of people.
And that's Japan.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (17:34):
All right.
What about if we also throw inHawaii?
j_1_10-27-2025_135610 (17:38):
I love that idea because there's so
much to see there.
ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610 (17:43):
The world is full of wonder and your
next great vacation is waiting.
At Wonder and Beyond Travel, wework with you to create a one of
a kind journey, taking thestress off your plate so you can
focus on the joy of exploringand the memories that will stay
with you forever.
If you're ready to startplanning or you just wanna dream
a little bigger, head over toWonder and beyond travel.com.
(18:05):
We would love to help you getstarted.
We look forward to talking toyou next week on All Things
Travel, when we uncover some ofthe hidden costs in your travel
budget.
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