Italy!
This is going to be a long one, so bear with me, but I’m going to try to be as detailed as I can so that this serves as a helpful resource to those of you contemplating/already heading to Italy in the near future!
Flights
A lot of you had asked what we paid, what is average, when to buy, etc. My best advice is just to always book out as far as you can. Generally speaking, the closer travel gets, the higher the price. Of course, sometimes they drop if they’re trying to fill a flight/sell last minute seats, but you never want to bank on that, so just get them booked! I would say anywhere from $1000-$1500 would be average depending on where you’re flying from and what time of year you’re visiting!
We booked our flights in January (9 months out) and paid $1200 at the time, but Taylor does a good job of consistently watching the flights after we book them, so that if they drop, we can rebook and get the credit (travel hack — always do this). And that’s what happened with these! A few months ago, they dropped to $900, so we each got a $300 credit!
On longer international flights we typically look into flying premium economy, but we’ve only ended up doing it a handful of times. It was more than double the cost of our tickets this trip to upgrade so we just flew economy! If it had been cheaper, I would’ve considered, but for this trip, I wanted to put that money towards hotels. Flying economy for 10+ hours isn’t my fave, but nothing a sleeping pill and glass on of wine can’t fix.
We flew Delta — MCI to ATL, ATL to Rome, Rome to Milan! We decided to do Lake Como pretty late in the planning process, but had we known sooner, we could’ve flown directly from ATL to Milan. It wasn’t the end of the world but if I was doing it again, I’d definitely fly there directly to save yourself a stop.
MCI to ATL is 2.5 hours, ATL to Rome was 9, and Rome to Milan was 1. The number one travel question I get is about flying anxiety/flying for that long. I have no secret other than a sleeping pill (melatonin/anything else you’re comfortable with) and a glass of wine. I’m not saying you should do that, I’m saying that is what I do. Do with that what you will!
Itinerary
Day 1: Fly from KC to Milan
Day 2: Land in Milan, rent car, drive to Lake Como
Day 3: Lake Como
Day 4: Lake Como
Day 5: Drive to Tuscany (quick pit stop in Florence for lunch)
Day 6: Tuscany
Day 7: Drive to Rome
Day 8: Rome
Day 9: Fly from Rome to ATL to KC
REnting a car & International permit
Renting a car is going to be completely dependent on where you’re going, but for us it was a must. There is a train that goes different major cities, but if it’s not going directly to a city you want to go to (it doesn’t go to Lake Como) and you don’t have a car, you’ll need to hire a driver/transportation. Which is doable! It just takes more planning, and there’s more cost associated with that.
If you’re only going to major cities, it may make sense for you to do the train! But if not, a car rental was a fairly easy process.
The only thing to note is that if you’re renting a car, you will need an international permit. Taylor went to AAA to get it, paid $20, and that was all he had to do. They confirm your license info, take a picture, and hand it over.
We rented through National and it was around $500-$600 for 8 days! If you do this — please remember this, take photos and video of the car before you drive it out of the parking garage. If you watched my stories, you saw that when we returned it, they accused us of changing a tire, which we clearly did not. Luckily Taylor just had to write a statement, but learn from us!
Lake como
We loved this hotel! It’s located in Lezzeno, which is a more quiet part of Lake Como. This area doesn’t have quite as much to do/there aren’t as many restaurant options as some other parts of the lake, but that was definitely reflected in the price. It was much more affordable in relation to a lot of the other options I considered! We rented one of their condos, so we had a living room, kitchen, and an amazing balcony. The pool here was amazing, concierge was above and beyond helpful, and everything was very clean and updated. There’s a huge dock, beach chairs, and day beds you can hang out in on the “beach”; very ideal if you’re going when it’s warmer! I was glad we had our car here because we drove to a couple of spots, but there is a ferry that runs all day/into the late night that you can take if needed!
Days: 2.5
Restaurants
Osteria Il Governo 1801 — absolutely phenomenal dinner spot in Lezzeno! Pasta is to die for.
Cava Turaciolo — best spot for aperitvo in Bellagio.
Bistrot Antichi Sapori — lunch in Bellagio (this place is popular, get here early for lunch!)
Things to do
Boat rental for the day is a must! Highly recommend Lake Como by Boat. This is such an incredible way to see all that Lake Como has to offer! We did a private 5 hour boat ride and it was the highlight of our time in Lake Como.
Explore Bellagio for the day! We had the best day here with absolutely no plans or agenda. We walked the streets, enjoyed spritzes, had lunch, shopped, popped into a few wine bars, and had the absolute best time.
Grand Hotel Tremezzo — I wanted to have lunch here but we didn’t have time! This hotel is famous in Lake Como and just a fun touristy / IG worthy spot.
I absolutely loved our time in Lake Como. It was stunning of course, but it was romantic and quaint, it wasn’t too busy, and it was just slow paced and relaxed. We ended up being there 2.5 days, and I truly felt like that was the perfect length of time. Each part of Lake Como is very similar, so you really don’t need time to explore every single one, in my opinion. A couple days was perfect! If we went back, I’d probably consider staying in Bellagio because we loved it so much, Lezzeno was just more affordable!
Tuscany
You guyssss. If there’s any way for you to stay here, I could not recommend it more. It was definitely a splurge for us (luckily I used a lot of credit from Safara since I’ve booked so many trips with them — this is my plug to you to start using them if you haven’t!) but it was worth every penny. It is such a luxe experience from the moment you drive onto the property. Tuscany is incredible on it’s own, but this hotel was so freaking magical. The design, the staff, the rooms, the pool, the food and drink, it’s all top notch. It is by far one of the nicest hotels we’ve ever stayed in, if not the nicest!
Days: 1.5 (wish we would’ve stayed at least 1 more day!)
Restaurants (these are all on the Castelfalfi property!)
La Taverna Castello — this spot is the freaking cutest. We went here for aperitivo both nights we stayed at Castelfalfi! The wine is fantastic, the guy who runs the shop is so incredibly sweet, it’s cheap, and the sunset from the garden across the street is magic!
Il Rosmario — this was my favorite restaurant of the two we went to! We had truffle pasta, and pizza, and both were fantastic!
Olivina — this restaurant is right off the lobby of the hotel and has the most stunning view of the valley. This is also where breakfast is served which is the best breakfast we had all week!
Things to do
Go wine tasting, obviously! Tuscany is home to the most incredible wine we’ve ever had. There are so many places to taste in this area! We didn’t get to do this on this trip, but we spent four days in a different part of Tuscany on our last trip and it was unreal. I would highly recommend smaller, family owned wineries; those are always the best experiences! The hotel offers wine tastings if you don’t want to venture off property. We did a private tasting in their tasting room our first night and it was amazing. It was pricey, but Taylor and I love wine and this was a really memorable experience.
The Spa at Castelfalfi — the spa was undergoing renovations until the last day we were there, so I wasn’t able to go, but it just opened and from what they’ve shared on IG, I would go back just for that. Absolutely incredible.
Golf Club of Castelfalfi — if you’re a wife of the year like me, you can indulge your husband for the morning/afternoon at the golf course on property. I’d never admit it to Taylor, but this was the most enjoyable golf experience I’ve ever had. If I’m going to golf/ride, Tuscany is where I’m trying to do it.
Pool — the pool here was immaculate/like what you’d see in a magazine. A picture perfect way to spend a couple of afternoons, especially when it’s warmer!
Tuscany is such an incredible part of Italy, and one of the only places we’ve been that we are continuously dying to go back to. It’s quiet, rural, romantic, and truly just an out of this world experience. When I think of Italy, I think of Tuscany. The views are like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and if you enjoy wine at all, I cannot recommend it enough! And if you’re super particular about wine — try to look up one of the maps of Tuscany to see if there are areas where your favorite kind of wine is produced (ie: Chianti), and try to stay in that area!
Rome
I will preface this by saying — when I plan trips, I am very intentional with where we’re spending our money. There are times where it’s 100% worth it to splurge (our hotel in Tuscany, boat rental in Lake Como) and there are times where it just doesn’t matter, and Rome was one of those times! Because the Ryder Cup was being hosted in Rome, the hotels in the city were crazy inflated. I also knew we’d be spending little to zero time in our actual room, so it wasn’t worth spending a ton of money! I did not love our hotel, but it got the job done, was not horrible by any means, and it was decently close to the airport which I appreciated! I would probably just pick somewhere different if we went back!
Days: 1.5 (plenty of time for me personally!)
Restaurants
Trevi Cafe — a little overpriced but an insane view of the Trevi fountain while you have a drink!
9Hotel Cesari + Terrazza — this is a must if you’re looking for a rooftop bar! We went here for sunset both nights and it was fantastic.
Mastro Como Gelato — best gelato we had in Rome! Unreal!
Il Vicolo Nel Corso — a great spot for dinner! Extremely casual, but fantastic food.
Pasta E Vino Osteria — a dinner MUST. The gnocchi here, I will dream of. They make the pasta in the window so you can watch them! Everything we had was 10/10!
Things to do
Shopping — Rome is the mecca for high end shopping. If you’re in the market for a designer bag, buy it here! You get anywhere from 11-15% back on what you paid. This article explains it! This is also where the 6 story Zara is!
Sightseeing — Trevi Fountain, Vatican, Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, etc.
We all have different preferences when it comes to what we’re looking for in a trip, but for me, Rome is not an absolute must. We went to Rome 8 years ago, and Taylor and I both agreed that had the Ryder Cup not been hosted there, we probably wouldn’t have gone back. I don’t necessarily dislike it, you just have to really, really love history, churches, art, etc, and that’s just not my cup of tea! I think there are so many more enjoyable/fun places in Italy, but again, that’s just me!
Weather
I’ve been to Italy in both May and September, and I can safely say I would recommend September over May 10 out of 10 times. September was dreamy in every way. It was around 75 during the day, and dipped into the 60s at night. Rome was definitely warmer, but not unbearable. When we went in May, it was insanely hot, kind of miserable at times if I’m being honest!
If we wanted to get a little more use out of the pool, August would’ve been great too! But going later than October is going to be chilly, so Aug/Sept was perfect. I’m sure spring is similar and would be great then too!
Budget
I had so many of you ask about budget for an Italy trip. The hotels and airfares were definitely inflated for our trip due to the number of people visiting the area for the Ryder Cup — what we paid was not average. I specifically priced out our exact hotels / air for Sept 2024 just to get an idea of what an average would look like outside of the Ryder Cup.
Keep in mind these are averages for our itinerary specifically, but to give you an idea —
Hotels: $2500 for 7 nights (Sept 2024)
Flights: $1000 ish each (Sept 2024)
Rental Car: $600 (could be eliminated if you go places that are all accessible via public transportation)
Food & Drink for 8 days: $1500 ish
Miscellaneous: $1500 - 2000 (we splurged on some things so you could absolutely save here, these were all extras; golf, boat, wine tasting, etc — all things you could cut out if you wanted!)
I share this only for the sake of transparency; there are definitely ways to make this trip cheaper, I’m strictly going off of what we did! But generally speaking, Italy isn’t the cheapest international trip we’ve ever taken. If you’re looking for budget friendly, but luxe/amazing travel, I highly recommend Thailand!
Two things we always utilize when it comes to finances on trips: cashback, and Safara. I know I’m beating a dead horse talking about Safara but it has been a game changer for us. They guarantee the lowest rates online, and you get 10% back in credit on all bookings, which adds up so quickly. I have booked so many hotels completely free/using credit.
As far as cashback goes — Taylor and I both have the Citi 2% cashback credit cards, we don’t use any other card. We leverage all of our cashback for trips; whether it be for flights, hotels, while we’re there, etc. When you’re earning 2% on every single dime you spend, it adds up incredibly fast.
Random things I would want to know!
Aperol spritz is the most popular cocktail in Italy, but if you’re anything like me, Aperol might not be your favorite! If not, get the Hugo spritz! They’re a different, much lighter and refreshing take on a spritz.
If you’re going to Lake Como, make reservations for dinner! It was not an issue in Rome or Tuscany, but here in Como it’s definitely important!
If you’re not taking a ton of public transportation, or flying in Italy a ton, don’t lose sleep over packing in a carry on bag — however, these compression packing cubes are helpful regardless!
You will need a converter if you plan to use electronics (hair dryer, phone charger, etc) while you’re there! Here are the ones we bought — they worked perfectly!
Everywhere we went took credit cards, I would not worry about getting Euros.
This is so random, but don’t be afraid to order house wine — it’s SO cheap, and the house wine in Italy is better than 99.99% of the wine we have in the states.
ORDER TRUFFLE ANYTHING — truffle is fresh there and it does not compare to anything truffle I’ve ever had here.
Aperitivo is big in Italy, it’s essentially a drink before dinner. But ask the locals/the concierge wherever you stay for their recommendation — this goes for anything, but they knew of some hidden gems especially when it came to aperitivo!
What i would do differently
Because the entire purpose of our trip was for the Ryder Cup, we had to go to Rome! But if we were to go back, I would swap Rome for Switzerland! Like I mentioned, we’ve done Rome before, and it’s just not my favorite spot, so I would want to do something different! Switzerland, Lucerne specifically, is on my bucket list, and it’s only two hours from Lake Como! So I would’ve started there, then to Lake Como, then to Tuscany, or reverse!
Aside from that, the only other part I would change would’ve been our Rome hotel, although we would’ve had to pay an arm and a leg for that and I wasn’t willing to do that for this trip.
Other than that, it was a freaking dream and I could not recommend Italy more!