Mother & Daughter

Joyce, don't know about that mother/daughter but my wife and daughter will be in Italy for 2 weeks beginning in mid-September. They will be in Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Umbria (Tusccany & Umbria with rental car) and finally Rome. Anything you need to know about their trip?

You should put where you met them in the subject line!!! This info is important, otherwise you're looking for a needle in a haystack! Good Luck!

The only 14-day RS tour in Italy this year is the "Village Italy in 14 Days" tour. Try putting that and the month in the question title. If they aren't on the Helpline, perhaps someone else who was on that tour was and would be able to help you contact them.

Chaini, it was not a tour that they took. They used Rick's advice on everything, rail, rooms, etc.... So, I thought just posting mother & daughter would help. Thank you.

Larry, I would like to know if they booked everything themselves and if they used Rick's advice for doing it via rooms and rail, etc.... Please email me. I'm on a low LOW budget and would love to get there in the next 3 or 4 years. I'm trying to see as much as I can for as little as I can.
The mother & daughter I spoke with flew into Paris and stayed for 2 days then took the train down into Italy. They went everywhere and used the train bus etc... They told me they only spent about $3000 a person. I would love to do that also! Thank you.

$3000 per person if two are sharing a room makes a difference than traveling solo, keep that in mind when planning.

I don't quite understand what you are saying Zoey.

Joyce, I agree with a previous suggestion to revise your heading to something like "Mother & Daughter at Wine Tasting In...." That's more specific and will give you'll a better chance of finding them. Good luck!

Joyce... if you are looking for the mother/daughter to try to duplicate their itinerary and budget and cannot find them you can still get a lot of info here. There are many people here who travel on a budget and can give you a great deal of help for a wonderful but budget-minded trip. I am one of the many who travels as cheaply as possible, as that allows me to return. If you are saying you have a $6000 budget for a trip... that should work. Just start putting out some questions for suggestions. Do you already have an idea of where you want to go? If not, get the RS book on Italy and start doing a bit of reading. Obviously the book helped the woman you met and it can probably help you too. Good luck in finding her, but if not there are lots of people here willing to help.

Joyce, we did all of our own planning. I have a complete Excel spreadsheet for this trip including estimated costs. It's really quite complete. We do use our United points for the flight and our Hilton points for the Hilton in Venice. I'll PM you and offer this spreadsheet if you are willing to provide your email. If others want the spreadsheet, simply PM me with an email ID. I'll send it to you.

Joyce, here's what Zoe meant. Many smaller hotels in Europe have a few single rooms, but they won't be half the price of a double room. If a double is €100, a single may be only €75, but it certainly won't be €50. Single occupancy in a double room is usually just a few euros less than for two people - and if breakfast is not included, it may even be the same price. Even a difference of €25/night for 16 nights is $500. There are also smaller savings. Sometimes there are 2-for-1 deals on entrance fees, a percentage off the 2nd ticket. In restaurants, its cheaper to split a carafe of house wine than to order by the glass, and while sharing main courses is generally frowned up, 2 can share an appetizer or a dessert. In short, there's no a financial "penalty" for 2 people but there are often incentives for them. There are ways to save money and still have a terrific trip. You'll find lots of information and help here.

Thank you, Chani. I meant that Joyce's example gave what I assumed was the budget for both travelers; if you are traveling solo, your costs will be greater per person than if you travel with a partner and share a room. Chani's example of 75 versus 100 for the cost of a single versus double is right on track.

Thank you all so much. I understand now. Please excuse my ignorance. I have never traveled to Europe. You hints are fabulous. I can't wait to get my first book by Rick. I hope you all have a great day!

Another great way to save money is by renting apartments or staying in BnB's. I've used VRBO.com - (long name Vacation Rentals By Owner). Eat two meals in and one out. It's fun grocery shopping in Europe. Another good site is Airbnb. This particular site will have both bed & breakfasts and some apartments. Be careful with locations, though. Being in a central location will save lots of transportation costs. I don't think two people can realistically do fourteen days in Europe for a total of $3,000. You would need to factor in airfare separately. The apartment rental is a good way to go especially if you want to "home base, for example a week in Rome and day trip to Naples, etc., and Florence for a week, and day trip to Siena and Fiesole, etc. Start taking a look at the apartment websites and your mouth will start watering for this trip! P.S., stay in a hotel the day of your arrival and transfer to the apartment the next day, because the hotel will be open with services available early, and the apartments probably not. I remember standing on a Paris street exhausted after an all night flight with my luggage for several hours waiting for the apartment manager to let us in,
and the apartment wasn't ready. Now I spend the first day/night in a hotel.

Thanks, Donna. That is $3000 per person. And, I would not be interested in renting an apartment because I want to keep moving..... But, I will look into the other tips.
Thanks again!

It's still not clear, Joyce. Are you saying you are traveling solo and your budget is $3000 or that you are traveling with someone, sharing a room and the budget for the 2 of your is $6000? You haven't mentioned going with anyone, but you say "$3000 per person."

The budget I'm having is for two of us. I'd like $3000 per person.
Thank you.