How much advance notice do you need to plan my trip?
It depends on when you are going and how flexible the itinerary can be. For trips in high season, the more notice the better. For a low stress planning process, 4-6 months is ideal. If you are willing to be flexible, it can be done much more quickly.
What if I want to make changes to the itinerary?
Don't worry, we'll work together until it's perfect.
Do you have ideas for trips with the kids?
I have two small children and have traveled a lot with them, so yes I have lots of suggestions for traveling with kids in Italy. What influences trip planning more than anything else is how you travel with kids: some people want a kid-oriented vacation, so move from beach to playground to children's museum. Others want to do the same things they'd normally do, but move at a slower pace and be back at the hotel in the middle of the day for nap time. We'll customize it based on your needs.
What's the difference between a travel consultant and a travel agent?
The short answer is: the business model. Travel agents receive commissions for services they book for you, like hotels, cruises, flights, or tours. From a business perspective, they must spend their time booking things that give them commission, or they won't be in business for long.
As a travel consultant, I charge for my time, and very little of my total itinerary planning time is spent on commissionable bookings. I think it's important to spend time with the client up front working through the ideal overall itinerary, flow, and balance. It means I can discuss the options for getting from A to B within Italy, find best fit for the client, and do bookings or buy tickets. It means I can recommend restaurants, cafes, gelaterias, food festivals, and local markets that are a good fit for my clients. It means I am not limited to a hotel inventory, and can book the best hotel, villa, B&B, pensione, agriturismo, monastery, castle or other accommodation that fits the needs of the client. It means I use small, local guides and services (who are not set up to pay commissions). It means that for trip planning clients, I create a written itinerary which includes not only bookings, addresses, phone numbers, and maps, but everything that is pre-paid, partially paid, or remaining to be paid, including how you'll need to pay it. It means that while we are working together, I am available to answer any questions my clients have: surrounding culture, cell phone usage, how to get money, travel insurance or the Italian language. Basically, it means I can get to know my clients, and design an Italy itinerary that's perfectly suited to them.
Does the written itinerary I'll get replace a guidebook?
No, you'll still need the guidebook. The written itinerary is an outline of activities, contact information, and a daily route map, and will be about 1 or 2 pages per day. If you would like guidebook suggestions we are happy to provide them. For Platinum level itineraries, I will include links to all trip highlights, so while on your trip, you'll pull out the relevant printout, about, say the Giotto fresco you're looking at. Then when you're done you can recycle it in Italy and lose the weight.
At $150 or $250 per trip day, what's the return on my investment?
Return on your investment is in 2 parts:
1) Time saved during the planning process: To organize a trip to Italy with the level of organization and detail provided by Italy Beyond the Obvious, plan on spending about 8 hours per travel day if you are going to do it yourself. A 10-day trip would therefore take about 80 hours for an average person to plan (including internet and guidebook research, time spent on the phone to Italy, booking time, and double-checking everything). By contrast, plan on 2-3 hours spent via phone or email with Italy Beyond the Obvious. For a 10-day trip, that's about 77 hours of time saved. How much is your time worth per hour?
2) Time used more efficiently on the trip: when a trip is well-organized ahead of time, you won't waste time getting lost; showing up at the train station and realizing that train doesn't run on Sundays; fixing errors due to the language barrier during the booking process; or waiting in line for 2 hours for a museum that could have been pre-booked. We estimate that travelers with organized pre-booked itineraries can accomplish 20% more in a day, and don't forget: you accomplish more in a single day, at a lower stress level, for more enjoyment.
An Example
Let's say your 10-day trip to Italy works out to cost $600/day, including everything. Let's say you have 12 hours per day of "out and about time", to enjoy, explore, and relax. Each Italian vacation hour essentially costs $50. A 10-day vacation has 120 vacation hours. Therefore being able to do 20% more because of a well-planned vacation equals 24 hours during the vacation which are spent relaxing and enjoying Italy rather than spent problem-solving and stressed in a foreign country. To put a dollar value on it, those 24 hours x $50 per hour is $1200 worth of time that can be used to enjoy Italy instead of lost due to planning mistakes.
Put your own numbers in to the examples above in 1) and 2) (and take into account that part 2 can be multiplied by number of people traveling together) to calculate how much you will actually save by having Italy Beyond the Obvious plan your Italian vacation!
I've been looking at working with a travel agent or another travel consultant. Why should I work with you?
Ok here's where I am going to toot my own horn. Nine reasons you should work with me:
- I've lived in Italy for five years. The benefits to you are that I know how things work, including the little things, and how to navigate them. I know what can go wrong, and can help you be prepared.
- I've worked as a tour leader in Italy, leading 25 people on 8 day biking and hiking tours. The benefits to you are that I understand Italy's "wow" factor and know how to find it, so I can ensure you have it on your trip. You could say that I've been on quite a few Italian dream vacations, even if I personally was not exactly on vacation. Oh, and I can help you find awesome hiking and biking routes, wineries, cooking classes, and other unique experiences.
- I speak fluent Italian (and have taught Italian). The benefits to you are that because I do most of my trip planning work in Italian, I have access to a lot more information than just what is translated into English. When I book things, because I do it in Italian, there's no worry about misunderstanding or miscommunication. And if you're a platinum trip planning client and are getting on-trip support from me, consider me your personal translator, just a phone call away.
- I spent 8 years in corporate America (including as an expat in Italy). The benefits to you are that I am a process person, I can manage a project and a budget. I rely on my processes and my methods to make the best possible recommendations for your specific trip and to make sure that everything gets booked in time for the best choice but not too early (reservations can be lost when scrawled on a scrap of paper too many weeks in advance). And I've worked with lots of busy people. I totally get it that you have zero time to plan your trip.
- I've traveled to lots of countries. The benefits to you are that I know what it's like to feel like a foreigner in a foreign land. I have tips about travel insurance, luggage, cell phone usage, language, and more.
- I understand customer service. The benefits to you are that you get a North American level of customer service from me. I act as your bridge between cultures, setting expectations on both sides, because the words "customer service" don't mean quite the same thing in Italy.
- I have two kids. The benefits to those of you traveling with children are that I know how to travel with kids. My husband and I have taken our kids across Europe, across the United States and Canada, and in 2011 we took them to India for a month. I understand what it's like to travel with a 4-month old, a two-year old, a six-year old, and have planned many trips with teenagers.... and will make sure your trip is fabulous for the whole family.
- I've worked guiding 90 minute tours to groups in both an art gallery and a fort. The benefits to you are that I know how to choose good tour guides. I work with guides who are engaging, informative, and provide the context you need, whether that be good for the kids; a focus on history; an emphasis on food or the outdoors; or a balance of all of it.
- I work on fees rather than commissions because I decided that a major part of planning your trip involves spending time on things that do not involve commissions, like transportation, food, festivals, and overall flow and balance of your itinerary. The benefits to you are that I'm not recommending hotels or activities or guides based on who is paying me commissions; I'm recommending what I think is the best fit for you, and I'm spending the time making sure that all details are taken care of so that your entire trip flows smoothly.
