Exploring Italy on Any Budget

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!

Transcript

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 0:01

Hello and welcome to All Things Travel. We know when you start thinking about your next vacation, a big clients may be the cost of that trip. Maybe you think your destinations, dates, or length of trip are limited because of the investment you're considering making in your trip. Today we are going to start a series to show you how you can visit your wishlist destinations, no matter your budget.

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 0:28

Listen in with travel advisors and destination experts. Ryan and Julie. I'm your travel professor teaching you everything you need to know to have a magical vacation, and she's a Disney loving Maryland mom of three and a specialist in family travel. Whether we're discussing incredible destinations, top vacation tips, or sharing personal stories, it's always all things travel. So the idea is we look at one location or one region and we say we want to travel there, and we're going to think about a budget conscious way to go, a more moderate way to go, and a luxury way to go. I like it.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 1:15

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 afford that. And so we wanna open your eyes a little bit and show you. You know what to consider. A lot of times we like to highlight itineraries, but this time we're highlighting three separate itineraries for one country,

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 1:36

Alright, Julie, talk about the budget conscious way. Oh, I guess first of all, we should say we're talking about Italy today.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 1:44

Of

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 1:44

I'm.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 1:44

are. It's a

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 1:45

It's a popular place and I know it is often on your mind. So when we talked about doing this series, you said, I'm gonna do the first episode and I'm gonna do it about Italy, so that sounds great. Let's talk about the budget conscious way to see Italy. Now I will say. This is not skimping on a lot of things. You are still very much seeing everything that Italy has to offer. But let's talk about this quote unquote budget trip.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 2:16

Yeah. And so the way that I wanna lay this 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: 2:25

I

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 2:26

wanna give you the the things you need to consider to make that trip fit. The investment you want to make. So specifically for Italy, if you wanna be more aware of what you're spending on your trip, you wanna visit Italy between November and March, the rates are gonna be better, there's gonna be fewer crowds. But you're probably gonna have to avoid the Amul coast, so you're gonna be making some concessions

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 2:50

Sure.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 2:51

I say November to March, but really that could even extend to September, to April. Um, really just that shoulder season we've talked about As far as transportation, you wanna be focusing on train tickets, using the metro, using taxis, Not doing private transportation and not flying everywhere. That's gonna save you a lot of money.

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 3:13

When you say not flying everywhere, you mean within Italy?

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 3:16

if you're going from Rome to Venice or you know,

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 3:19

Yeah.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 3:20

to Florence, or Rome to Milan, or maybe even you're doing two countries and you can get there with a train.

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 3:26

Yeah.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 3:26

just gonna be so much more economical for you. I would suggest only planning for two cities. I know you go over and you see this country and you wanna go everywhere, but let's focus on two cities. other reason for that is, I'm gonna say focus on about a week for travel, for this budget conscious trip. you know, this could be your introductory trip this could be the trip you're really looking forward to. that could be our role is to help you narrow down exactly what you wanna see while you're there. You also wanna think about. Booking share tours or just basic entry tickets. And then grabbing something like audio guides to kind of guide you around that area. Um, and that also just gives you a lot more flexibility. There's also a ton of churches, public parks, piazzas,

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 4:14

Sure.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 4:15

to stroll around that you don't really need to book in

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 4:17

Uh, or if you look online, there are companies that have local tours, and, you pay based on donation. or picking up free walking tours. I think there's just a lot of ways to make it more economical than people think.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 4:33

and I know that I've had clients say this to me before they ask about staying in an Airbnb, Ryan. What do you say when you have that question?

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 4:42

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 it comes into these places. People think they're gonna save money by cooking and then they don't tend to cook'cause they want to try the foods or they want to go do this, that or the other thing, and they're paying a lot of extra fees and then once everything boils down, they're actually paying more. and then also Airbnbs are charming because they're in neighborhoods, but this type of trip doesn't really lend itself to you being in a neighborhood that's a 40 minute train ride outside of your city. That's more. For somebody who's experienced being there or wants a very different type of vacation.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 5:35

Yeah, I would agree with that. And I also always caution, that if a hotel cancels on you, you have a little bit of leverage. If an Airbnb cancels on you, you don't really have anything backing you up there, and that can happen. A lot. So that's my 2 cents on Airbnbs All right, so let's talk about the sample trip, because this is the fun part. The dates I picked were the end of September to the beginning of October. It's a seven night trip. this is going to Rome and Florence. So let's talk about what's included in the trip first, I'll give you like an idea of what the budget could be. So we're gonna start in Rome. You're gonna stay for four nights at the Star Hotels. Michelangelo in Rome, which is a hotel I have booked for clients before. It's got a good location and it's great for families. All these trips we're gonna talk about are for a family of four. You're going to be able to experience shared tours to both the Vatican, the Coliseum, and the Roman Forum, and I would recommend that you take taxis between the airport, the hotels, the hotels, the train stations, all those kinds of things. This actually does include a train transfer from Room to Florence, so at least you have those tickets included there. You'll also have a free day in Rome where like I said, you could go browse those churches, public parks, piazzas, whatever you're up for doing. You're then gonna have a three night stay in Florence and experience shared tours over to pizza to see the leaning tower of pizza and a pizza and gelato making class. I would then recommend you get your own entry ticket to the academia and do like a self-guided audio tour or browse on your own. Um, because that's just a great way to go see that and give you some more flexibility. So, Ryan, what do you think something like this would cost per person per

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 7:29

I would say about$500 per person per night. what did this trip come in at?

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 7:33

close. This comes out to about$350 per person per night,

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 7:40

That's really cool, Julie.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 7:41

like that seems like very affordable, right?

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 7:45

Yes,

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 7:45

put away$350 a week or a month, and next thing you know you're there.

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 7:51

yes. I love it.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 7:52

All right. let Ryan talk to us about the moderate trip.

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 7:55

when you think about doing a more moderate trip, this allows you some flexibility. You've got, some more money, some more ways to either extend your trip or add some value to it. the trip that I'm gonna talk about is similar to the budget trip, but it adds an extra stop in Sorento. for this trip we're going in the summer because if we're talking about a family of four, that makes it a little easier to go. but especially if we can push the trip more towards shoulder season, that makes it more economical. We're gonna book high-end train tickets in advance to secure lower prices and efficient travel between cities and use the metro around the town. Julie talks about using trains as a way to save money. I think when you're in Europe, being on the trains, especially when you're going city to city is part of the fun of it. So I don't think you're sacrificing anything by doing that. what we've done here is we have planned a three city trip in 10 days, but you stick with shared tours. July 18th to 28 in 2026, you're in Rome and you're staying at the Palazzo na Verna. So you are right in the heart of tourist area and can easily walk to any of the main sites in Rome. you have shared tours of the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. the Vatican, you have a shared gladiator for a day experience in Florence. A three night stay at a nice hotel. You're doing shared tours of a small group morning walk tour of Florence with the academy entrance. so you can see everything there, the pizza and gelato making class, and you are seeing pizza. In Sorento, you're staying three nights at the Hilton Sorento Palace. you have a private transfer with a two hour tour of Pompeii on the way, and you have a shared boat tour of Capri. this really adds to this initial trip and makes it that true Italian vacation. Julie,

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 9:51

But still so super affordable.

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 9:54

so.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 9:55

is that per person, per night

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 9:57

Okay. So 5 25 per person per night. You are seeing three different cities in Italy, over a week. This is an amazing moderate trip.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 10:08

Yeah. And the thing I love about this trip is you are, it's a great combination. What the adults wanna see and what the kids wanna see. I included that shared gladiator for a day experience. The pizza and gelato making class. That's always really fun for families. Stopping in Pompeii. That's like a fun thing for kids to see because they hear about it in schools. just love that we added a lot to this 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 you really thought out the details here. But first, before we do that, I wanna talk about where in the world is wonder and beyond travel, and I wanna talk about a family that I've worked with several times. This is a family. with, two moms and three kids, and I've worked with them on cruises. I've worked with them on Disney trips. it was really cool because the couple went to run Disney this past weekend, and they've done this two years in a row, but this year they really went all out and the whole focus on the trip is we wanna run the races. And so they got in Julie at two 15 in the morning. And then the next day, they did the 5K. And then the next day they did the 10 K and the next day they did the half marathon. And what's really cool is one of them had a knee replacement and the other one did a walk run. So it's not even like we're there to just go as crazy as we can. We're there to experience the run Disney experience and they just had some great adult time. Um. I love having trips like this where 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 like really 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 are actually going again in December for a trip for the daughter. they were talking about that trip as they were doing this trip. it's just always fun to be part of helping them create those memories and that really feels special.

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 both them and us, and we can't wait to hear about their trips when they get back. And we love focusing on the trips on this podcast, so maybe yours will be next. All right, Julie, so we've talked about a budget trip, a moderate trip. Now I want to talk about a luxury trip for this family of four. What is that gonna look like for them?

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 12:57

So when I say luxury trip, that doesn't necessarily mean you're staying in huge villas and you know, that kind of thing. I'm more thinking about you have the 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 for your schedule. You are not gonna be limited by thinking I need to go at the most affordable time of year. You can experience private transfers and private tours throughout your trip, you can also stay a little bit longer. This trip that I'm gonna talk about is a two week trip and we visit. Five cities. Now, obviously that's adjustable to where your family is interested in going. but that's what I mean by luxury. I don't mean that our accommodations are top of the line. I mean, you can be flexible. You are doing tours that are private. That means those tours are customed to you. and it's really just about this very custom experience that you can get. this tour is for 14 days and you are visiting Rome, Naples, Sorento, Florence, Milan, and Venice. And apparently I can't count because that's six, is it? Oh, well, no, sort of, because you go to Naples, but you get there from like another place. So you know, I still can kind of

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 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 private tours such as the Ancient and Imperial Room tour, visiting the Coliseum and the room in forum. A Rome by night tour, which takes you around the city and your guide points out all sorts of amazing landmarks you make stops along the way that you wanna do, and a cooking lesson after visiting a local market. You make your way to Sorento. Again, private transfers. You're there for four nights and you do private tours around the Amalfi, Positano and Revelo cities with an optional excursion to add a visit over to Capri, which if I'm in Sorento, I'm definitely going to Capri. Once you get to Florence, you're there for three nights. You have private tours of the academia, the local palaces, and then you get to go out to like the Tuscan countryside and tour some of the small cities there at 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, having lunch at a farm with their products overlooking the Tuscan Hills. I can't even tell you how amazing that was.

j_1_10-27-2025_135610: 15:33

okay. You're also gonna go to Milan for two nights again, private tours. You're gonna get a city tour that includes the Last Supper and also some tours over around Lake Como, and that sounds really amazing. Your last stop is gonna be in Venice for two nights where you're going to have that, iconic evening gondola ride. A classic Venice walking tour. So think around like, St. Mark's and then head over to Murano and Murano Islands, and that's where they have like these very colorful, beautiful houses and the glass blowing museum over in Murano. Um, I mean. This is truly like a once in a lifetime

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 were able to, to give you this experience of you can see this country 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 with this 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 at these 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 to go. And kind of thinking about saving in that sense, um, to get 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 do that and thinking, wow, one person's covered for that amazing experience.

ryan_2_10-27-2025_135610: 17:16

Well, I like the way that we're angling this. What, what other places do you want 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 a very, 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 in Hawaii?

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, we work with you to create a one of a kind journey, taking the stress off your plate so you can focus on the joy of exploring and the memories that will stay with you forever. If you're ready to start planning or you just wanna dream a little bigger, head over to Wonder and beyond travel.com. We would love to help you get started. We look forward to talking to you next week on All Things Travel, when we uncover some of the hidden costs in your travel budget.