Italy As You Imagine

16/01/2025

‼️So stinking excited to share an update‼️

All of our spring clients are now well into the planning process. March • April • May

And we are now moving knee deep into Summer 2025 planning June • July • August and Fall 2025 September • October planning.

We are no longer accepting clients with departure dates prior to July 1st (with the exception of those we’ve already talked to who appreciate a two week buffer).

Crazy to say, we already have clients with 2026 travel plans.

Planning the right way in Italy is very much like peeling away the layers of an onion. 🧅 Selecting from the best options in each locale, we deal with many many different timeframes. There is an important order to successful planning in Italy which is so far from simply sitting down and jamming out an entire trip in one sitting.

🏠 Accommodations always come first. Yes often before flights! ✈️
Seemingly counterintuitive, but most flights to Italy are priced at FULL retail prior to 6 months out. We help our clients with this foreign - literally and figuratively - concept. We also take into account when NOT to land in and depart from Italy to avoid the ever-present transit strikes.

⚓️ Each trip also has an anchor. Maybe that’s a client’s desire to stay in a Tuscan villa with a pool in peak summer. Or you want to tour of the Dolomites. A whirl around the test track in a Ferrari in Modena. A cherished reservation at Mossimo Batturo’s restaurant. Each of these are perfect examples of hard gets WHICH WE GET and plan around accordingly as the anchor of your trip.

🍋 Activities ALL have different timelines. Many experiences we plan for our clients are NOT available on the internet. And from the ones that are, we know the good ones from the bad ones. There’s a lot out there. And a common mistake is using third party websites, which are NOT the tours themselves but instead are marketing websites that you’re literally paying MORE for the the same tour versus if booked direct. There are many touring companies out there. We ONLY work with the ones who are partnered with the venue (for instance, the Vatican and the Colossuem) to avoid devastating cancellations which are too common at both sites with tour providers not in official partnerships. In addition to not paying the marketing middleman, we have discounts with the partnered tours for both sites.

🍝 Dining. We take care of that too. That may be a chef coming into your villa, which requires additional planning time. Or a coveted reservation which requires the same. Some will only accept reservations a short period out…and we get an extra few days lead time on that, like a cherished always-sold-out steakhouse in Florence who gives us five days in front of the general public. Some places don’t take reservations at all, but we share with you tips to guarantee you get in first.

🚗 Transportation may just be the hardest code for those visiting Italy to crack. Understanding whether a car rental, private driver, train, ferry or even golf-like cart makes most sense in a particular locale is only something that comes with expertise…although everyone who’s been once will have an opinion to share. 😜 And each locale is different! Avoiding train and taxi strikes can be exhausting. We’ve eliminated the issue of taxi strikes with our own drivers in each locale. Drivers who you may only see once but who work with us daily. You’re connected with them on a WhatsApp with us in advance and can have full confidence in their services. Some of them may even become like friends. Transportation is an entire can of worms of intricate timelines. And frankly maps do not necessarily give you the information you need to crack the code.

🆘 The most challenging part of planning is the delicate understanding of how one decision affects another. Every decision has a domino effect. We’ve even learned the hard way over the past two and a half years what works and what we’ve needed to fine tune to give our clients Italy As They Imagine.

16/01/2025

Part #3 of Common Mistakes Americans Make When Visiting Italy

👟 Not Wearing Comfortable Shoes 👠

Save the room in your luggage (a post is coming on this soon), leave the stilettos at home…and dare we say, the flipflops too!

Regardless of where you plan to travel in Italy, walking will be a big part of your adventure, and comfortable walking shoes are essential. Keep in mind cobblestone streets are a charming staple of Italy. As are stairs, lots of them!

If sneakers are the shoes of choice, we suggest bringing along a pair of nicer shoes to wear to a restaurant for dinner. Wearing sneakers out to dinner is a faux pas to Italians. While avoiding heels, opt for wedges or ballet flats, which you can pop in your bag for a quick change when going from touring to dinner.

And always make sure the shoes you pack are well broken in before the trip Keep in mind when packing that blisters can put a damper on your trip (see our solution in our Italy Shopping List), but twisted ankles certainly ruin trips.

Lastly, Italians are NOT fans of Americans' affinity for flipflops. Leave them at home or limit them to post-touring activities and prepare to be called a piedi nudi (naked feet 👣) if spotted wearing them. Most of all, do NOT wear flipflops to the Vatican.

14/01/2025

Part 2 of our series this week of avoiding common mistakes made by Americans visiting Italy.

👚 NOT RESPECTING LOCAL DRESS CODES 👗

For your travels, you will definitely want to dress comfortably, but also sharp like the Italians. The country is fashion conscious, and they dress in simple, modest clothing basics. If you wish to avoid looking like a tourist, stay away from attire that is very revealing and leave the workout apparel and leggings at home, unless you plan to wear to workout. Choose items of clothing that can mix and match to pack most efficiently.

Let’s just say Carmela Soprano would want to cover her chest more in Italy. And they aren’t fans of our bare midriff trend. 😜

Even in the summer, layering is important. Churches require shoulders (and ideally knees) to be covered, and both churches and museums can be chilly.

When visiting Italy in the summer, dress comfortably in loose, light-colored clothes to beat the heat, which can feel unbearable. Cotton, rayon and linen fabrics are ideal. Light, modest dresses and skirts or capris with a blouse or nice tee, paired with a hat to complete the look, are good options for ladies.

While you likely won't see Italians in them, dressy shorts can work too on days you are NOT visiting a religious institution. Tailored, smart shorts (not cargo or athletic shorts) are acceptable for men in hot weather.

With fluctuating weather in the spring and fall months, you will likely want to pack items similar to those listed for summer and adding layering options with light jackets and sweaters. Even in the fall and spring temperatures, you may get hot touring during the day while chilly at night.

Winter apparel will most likely include a larger outer coat, scarves, winter hats and gloves depending on where you are traveling. But many clients find the winter months warmer than they expected and often more temperate than their winter temps at home.

Our client itineraries include guidance for each day in what is the acceptable dress code for all experiences and dining reservations.

⭐️ COMING IN 2025 - a recommended personal styling service who will work with Italy As You Imagine to assist clients in styling to their customized itineraries.

12/01/2025

We will be sharing each day this week common mistakes made by Americans visiting Italy and ways we educate our clients and plan their itineraries to avoid these travel pitfalls.

☀️ ONLY VISITING IN PEAK SUMMER MONTHS ☀️

Often we are asked on our initial call with prospective clients, when’s the best time to go to Italy?

We now answer first with another question of when CAN you go? Because we get it; many families don’t feel they have options other than the summer.

A few large breaks in school calendars to consider include:
🦃 Thanksgiving
🐣 Easter/Spring Break
🎄 Christmas/Winter Break
All wonderful times to visit Italy and often better weather than most of our clients from the Northeast experience for the same time periods at home.

But still if summer is your only opportunity, keep in mind the following:

🥵 It will be HOT. You will not find as powerful AC as we are accustomed to here BY LAW. Ice is also not as plentiful. And you’ll be outside a lot. From the third week of June to the middle of September, understand that you will experience temps higher than what most of us are used to in the USA. We will give you tips for dealing with the heat. We will plan around times of greatest anticipated heat each day. But we cannot completely shield you from this reality.

😮 Because this is when many families can/do travel, it will also be busier. Again, we will plan around this as best we can. At the same time, it will require more time to do things. Meaning - you will need more days in peak summer to do the same amount of things in less-peak times.

💰 Italy is not void of dynamic pricing, and the summer will be more expensive than other times to visit. Flights are also generally more in the summer. Italy As You Imagine is able to help offset that with discounts we have with our Italian partners.

Of all three items mentioned above, there are weeks of the summer better than others that we also help clients with in answering the real question - when is the best time to go to Italy from the time YOU specifically can travel.

11/01/2025

We are excited to share all of our 2024 client testimonials with you in one place. More than 50 wonderful clients have taken the time to share with us about the Italian adventures we have planned for them.

If you are a client who has not yet shared your testimony, it is never too late! We appreciate hearing from you anytime! Just shoot us an email, and we will resend the link.

Flipsnack is a digital catalog maker that makes it easy to create, publish and share html5 flipbooks. Upload a PDF or design from scratch flyers, magazines, books and more.

11/01/2025

A little history about my personal favorite tower in Italy - - - The Guinigi Tower (pronounced GWIN•ah•gee) located in Lucca in Tuscany. I had the wonderful pleasure of seeing it again in September, this time staying in an apartment just under it.

• Built in the 14th century by the powerful Guinigi family, who were wealthy merchants and influential figures in the city.

• This medieval brick tower stands out due to its unique rooftop garden, featuring ancient holm oak trees symbolizing rebirth and renewal, planted by the Guinigi family as a statement of their power and connection to nature.

• It was one of many towers in Lucca during the medieval period, as noble families competed to construct the tallest towers as symbols of wealth and prestige.

• Over time, most of the city’s towers were dismantled or destroyed, but the Guinigi Tower survived, becoming an iconic landmark of Lucca’s architectural heritage.

• Today, the Guinigi Tower is open to visitors, offering breathtaking views of Lucca’s historic center and serving as a testament to the city’s rich medieval history.

11/01/2025

We are excited to share all of our 2024 client testimonials with you in one place. More than 50 wonderful clients have taken the time to share with us about the Italian adventures we have planned for them.

If you are a client who has not yet shared your testimony, it is never too late! We appreciate hearing from you anytime! Just shoot us an email, and we will resend the link.

Flipsnack is a digital catalog maker that makes it easy to create, publish and share html5 flipbooks. Upload a PDF or design from scratch flyers, magazines, books and more.

10/01/2025

The Cinque Terre (the five villages), while part of the Liguria region, is easily accessible from the Tuscan region. While not all daytrips are advisable, Cinque Terre can be a wonderful daytrip, if planned correctly.

Let’s back up…a stay in an area is always better than a daytrip. Cinque Terre, however, creates some unique challenges for larger families or those with young or older travelers (and certainly those with mobility challenges). There are also very few accommodations in the area and mostly private.

With that, Italy As You Imagine has developed a handful of daytrips to this incredible area that have been enjoyed by numerous clients in 2024. Two examples:

1️⃣ Pesto Experience Lunch
Learn to authentically make the region’s most famed sauce - pesto. Basil loves the temperate Ligurian climate! The fabulous views alone are worth it, but it’s also a lot of fun. Plus, the experience also provides lunch and gives clients a “home base” when they arrive into the area so they can feel more comfortable exploring after the experience. Don’t worry, you have a private table and can enjoy the experience at your own pace.

2️⃣ {NEW TO OUR CLIENTS IN 2024} Cinque Terre Wine Experience
Start by meeting Maria in an ancient cellar, away from the crowds of tourists. You will be guided on a discovery of the wine of the Cinque Terre, its secrets, and the wonders of a territory full of colors as you walk through the terraced vineyards overlooking the sea. After the walk, return to the cantina for the tasting of two red, two white and one sweet wine from the region along with food.

Lastly, we feel strongly that clients have an activity planned for their daytrip. Due to the unique topography of this area, without a plan, it can feel confusing and not intuitive where to go/what to do upon arrival. A planned activity gives our clients their bearings and an excellent activity, complete with fun, food, drink, AND INCREDIBLE VIEWS, as they gain confidence in exploring the area after their planned activity.

(Photos taken during June '23 and September '24 visits to the area.)

09/01/2025

Being able to plan families' Italian adventures is an absolute privilege. Being asked to plan a family's Christmas in Italy is an even greater honor.

Over the holidays, relationships we have in Italy become even more important to the client experience because Christmastime in Italy is so much more than just a trip. We have spent the holidays in Italy with our family and have now planned in three Christmas seasons for our clients.

Loved seeing the DePasquale's Roma apartment decorated for Christmas, complete with a Christmas tree, by their wonderful host who has become a friend to Italy As You Can Imagine. We KNOW when we place our clients in this Trastevere apartment, they will feel at home in Roma.

Families are often challenged with hotel rooms, as many Italian cities actually have LAWS limiting capacity. Not only can that create a financial challenge to larger families but more separation than many families may want, especially over the holidays.

This family took wonderful advantage of their Rome home for the holidays. From a culturally rich scavenger hunt of sorts to find the ingredients needed to recreate their Christmas day homecooked breakfast traditions to family game nights around the kitchen table, as you would expect of them at home in America.

Even though great cooks in their own right, the family also enjoyed a chef to cook (and clean) for them in their apartment Christmas night. And they had access to a washing machine, which can be so nice for families (note: it is rare to find dryers in Italy).

We love organizing for our clients in private accommodations. THAT SAID, we have learned the hard way it is important to only place clients in private accommodations we KNOW. We will share more about this in future posts, but there's no more important time than the holidays to have confidence in your accommodations.

The DePasquales had a mix between private and hotel accommodations, which we think provides for a fantastic Italian holiday experience.

Thank you for trusting me with your holidays in Italy, DePasquale family!

08/01/2025

⚠️TOURISTS BEWARE ⚠️

We do A LOT of client education at Italy As You Imagine to prepare our clients for their adventures.

One area is FOOD! Many travelers think but of course they know “Italian food,” but do they reallly?

This local put it best when he said - “There really is no such thing as ‘Italian food.’ The food across Italy is very much a regional thing!”

• Your idea of Italian food may be lasagna Bolognese; that’s specifically from Bologna in the Emilio Romano region. And for the love of food, don’t expect it over spaghetti!

• Pasta carbonara is from Rome. And they’ll make it the real way - NO cream but instead made creamy by whipped eggs “cooked” over the heat of the noodle.

• Caprese salad is from the Campania region, which includes Naples and the Amalfi Coast.

You'll only find all three of these on one menu at a more 'tourist restaurant' with multi-page, multi-lingual menus and photos.

When we plan our clients’ dining experiences, we focus on the local cuisine of each locale. We provide information in their itineraries about dishes and wines (and other beverages) that are specific to each location they’re visiting.

We hear from clients all the time “my buddy at work says we cannot miss XYZ in Rome (from his/her only trip).” And upon review, we help the client understand that XYZ in Rome serves Florentine cuisine, best enjoyed when the client is actually in Florence.

It’s not much different than regional food differences in the USA. Would you recommend an Italian visiting the US try their first bagel in Georgia? To give grits and collards green a whirl in Connecticut? To first experience NY cheesecake in South Dakota? To have their first Mahi Mahi in Oklahoma?

There are also some dishes Americans think are Italian food that are actually of Italian-American origin. These dishes were often created when Italian immigrants to America struggled to find or afford the ingredients needed to recreate authentic cuisine from their homeland. Unless in a tourist restaurant, you likely won’t find:

• Spaghetti served with meatballs
• Garlic bread
• Caesar salad or Italian dressing
• Chicken (or veal) Parmigiana
• Penne vodka
• Baked ziti...to name a few

All the 20 regions of Italy take great pride in their cuisine and culture. We encourage our clients to think outside the pizza box in discovering the incredible tastes across Italy. 🇮🇹

08/01/2025

Dieci, Italian for 10.
That’s how many more clients we will accept for departures *PRIOR TO* November 2025.
1️⃣0️⃣

Things are super busy today as we reopened post-holidays. So many thinking about summer and fall 2025 travel.

We will take on 10 additional clients for the peak season of summer/fall 2025.

Italy As You Imagine is anything BUT a high transaction, master of all locations across the entire globe kind-of-service.

Instead, we design very customized Italian experiences for our clients based on our expertise through extensive travels, prior client experiences and exceedingly close relationships with our trusted Italian partners. We also provide substantial discounts versus booking on your own.

Somewhat unique to a travel agent experience (we are travel planners), we are also available to our clients while they’re ON their adventure. Quite simply, the love and time we put into our clients’ itineraries feels a little like birthing a baby…and we want to know how their trip goes! So we’re available to help clients while they’re away with communication threads established before they even leave the USA.

This is why the number of clients we take on is limited. And we’re sorry when we have to say no.

But, it truly is our passion to deliver quality to our clients over quantity of clients.

We do, however, always try prioritize repeat clients and also our clients’ referrals when we can, as these two segments make up an overwhelming majority of our clients now.

08/01/2025

As we close the books on 2024 holiday travel to Italy, some great news for those considering holiday travel in 2025…

✈️ No air travel strikes!!!

While airport strikes are far from rare in Italy, no such walkouts can take place over the Christmas holidays as Italian law bans any union-related demonstration impacting air travel from December 18th to January 7th.

🕰️ Consider 2025 Holiday Travel Now

It’s never too soon to start planning for the holidays in Italy. Italy As You Imagine has a maximum number of clients we accept over the holiday season each year to balance our commitment to helping our clients while in Italy with our enjoyment of cherished holiday time too.

07/01/2025

Buon 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ & a last look back at 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣!

• 2024 brought more than 40 client departures
• 2025 will see our 100th departure before we hit our 3rd anniversary
• 2025 will also see at least 5 repeat clients … no better compliment!

• In 2024, I experienced some incredible firsts in Italy to share with our clients, including:
- Opening the Vatican/Sistine Chapel
(My third time in the Sistine Chapel, but the only time with only 9 other people.)
- Closing the Duomo in Florence
- Traveling as a solo adult, accompanied only by my 13-year-old son
- three weeks of even more in-depth exploration of Tuscany, the region I’ve spent the most time in over the … {ahem} decades and where my family’s from originally
- explored the Italian Dolomites for the second time in a year and a half, this time in warm weather and including World War I bunkers
- took Gondola-driving lessons
- took steps to begin looking for property to buy in Italy
- revisited my favorite hotel in Roma to witness for myself their renovation

• 2024 also saw the greatest number of new discounts for my clients for tours, accommodations and other unique experiences.

• 2024 saw the expansion of Sicily for our custom planning.services

• And 2024 added a wonderful new trusted relationships with our Milan drivers to compliment our trusted driving partners in Rome, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, Sicily, etc.

2025 brings with it:
• at least 2 more research/exploration trips in June and September
• opening the last three regions to custom planning, including:
- Sardinia
- Calabria
- and Puglia
(Italy As You Imagine only plans in areas we have in-depth knowledge of)

With that, Italy As You Imagine reopens today after the holiday season, and we could not be more excited to pursue our passion for sharing Italy with others.

Below is the almost month of time I spent in Italy in 2024, my 5th adventure in 2.5 years of Italy As You Imagine.

06/01/2025

Today is the national holiday of Epiphany in Italy, signaling the end of the holiday season. With that, Italy As You Imagine reopens tomorrow as well.

Over the holidays, we used the time to begin our annual update of our itinerary resources. Our clients’ itineraries are not just a customized daily schedule. They are also jammed packed with cultural guides, pretrip preparation and travel tips, as well as seasonal information.

Below is our updated insert for Florence at Christmas.

The holiday season begins in early December for those who wish to enjoy the magic of the Christmas season in Italy but want to be home by the 25th.

And the Christmas season, including spectacular NYE celebrations, continues until Epiphany on January 6th for those who want to travel just after the 25th.

06/01/2025

Tonight, children across Italy went to bed after preparing for La Befana’s arrival.

Tomorrow, Italians celebrate the witch who flies the night skies on a broom, rewarding kids who have behaved.

In the morning, Italian children will rush to the fireplace to see what La Befana has left in their stockings: sweets and chocolates if they’ve been good, or ‘charcoal’ (black sugar lumps) if not.

In the Piedmont region, Befana scarecrows are burned to bless the new year. In Lazio, residents do a ‘Befana Dive’ swimming in the cold sea. In many villages and city squares, there are Befana-themed parades.

La Befana arrives on the Christian Epiphany, which is when the Three Wise Men met baby Jesus, bearing gifts.

La Befana found her greatest advocate in dictator Benito Mussolini, who promoted her as an all-Italian, patriotic alternative to the foreign Father Christmas. And in 1928, Mussolini established Epifania as a national holiday.

La Befana’s popularity has survived to this day and Italians adore her because she stretches the Christmas holidays out until January 6th, the final national holiday of the Christmas season.

Accordingly, Italy As You Imagine will reopen to planning on January 7th.

05/01/2025

‼️Changes for Travel to Italy in 2025 ‼️

1️⃣ EU Visa and Passport Changes

Originally scheduled for 2022, the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) and European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) have been repeatedly delayed due to lack of border infrastructure.

The changes are now set to be introduced in 2025 – EES in the first half of the year and then ETIAS six months later, although no exact dates have been established. And, there is no guarantee it won't be delayed again.

EES - This is essentially a security upgrade to the current system that registers travellers’ details when they come into and depart the European Union (EU), which includes Italy.

Following introduction of the new EES system, non-EU travellers first entering the EU will need to register their name, biometric data (fingerprints and facial scans) and the date and place of entry and exit. Data will be retained for three years after initial registration.

ETIAS - This is a new requirement and is essentially a visa waiver, which must be applied for online in advance of travel to the EU. It will cost €7 but is free of charge for people over 70 years or under 18. Once granted, it is valid for three years.

Again, this is expected at some point in 2025, although no date has been set yet, and we have seen continued to see delays since Italy As You Imagine started planning in 2022.

2️⃣ New Flight Routes

Several airlines have announced new direct flights to and from Italy in 2025.

• American Airlines has announced it will launch direct flights from Chicago O’Hare to Naples Capodichino on May 6th, and from Dallas-Fort Worth to Venice Marco Polo on June 5th.

• Atlanta’s Delta Air Lines has said it will open up four new direct routes to Italy next summer: New York JFK-Catania, Minneapolis-Rome, Boston-Milan and Atlanta-Naples.

• United Airlines announced it will launch the first-ever direct route between Rome’s Fiumicino Airport and Denver International Airport on May 2nd, with the airline operating daily services in both directions until September 25th.

The airline will also launch three weekly services between Newark and Palermo on May 22nd, and new direct flights between Venice and Washington on May 23rd.

3️⃣ Tourist Tax Hikes

First introduced in 2011, Italy's tourist tax, also known as imposta di soggiorno, is a charge imposed by some Italian cities and towns on visitors staying in local accommodation overnight (hotels, B&Bs, vacation rentals, etc.).

Though the exact rates are decided by local authorities, the charge works on a sliding scale, with higher tariffs in place for guests staying in luxury accommodations.

These rates are typically 2.5€ to 7.5€ per day per traveller, and there are often exceptions for children.

Increases are expected in 2025 as celebrations for the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year are set to result in a tourism boom not just in Rome, but all across the country. Authorities in Milan and Naples have already announced they will hike the local tourist tax in 2025 in response to an expected surge in tourists.

4️⃣ Jubilee Celebrations in Rome

Large tourist crowds are the norm year round in Rome as the Eternal City is the most visited Italian city, with more than 30 million visitors a year on average.

The number of people travelling to Italy’s capital is expected to increase in 2025 due to the Vatican’s Jubilee Year,
a special Holy Year for the Catholic Church which focuses on forgiveness and the remission of sins and debts.

Besides an additional influx of tourists, the Jubilee is also expected to result in price increases, meaning that visiting the capital will likely be pricier in 2025.

5️⃣ Venice Ramps Up Entry Fee System

An entry fee system requiring DAY TRIP visitors to pay €5 to enter Venice’s city centre was trialled for 29 days (mostly weekends and public holidays) in 2024. Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said that the number of days the system will operate in 2025 will increase to to 54, starting on April 18th.

Italy As You Imagine, however, does not recommend day trips to Venice, which is when this fee is applicable.


#2025

03/01/2025

This is a rare borrowed-picture post (source: Italian magazine on IG).

We loved seeing and sharing our clients’ pictures and videos from New Years Eve’s fireworks over Venice this year.

But we also wanted share other locations across Italy ring in the new year with fireworks. We just happen to think the setting of Venice’s show to be particularly spectacular!

Here below are

• Milan
• Rome
• Florence
• Cinque Terre
• and Venice