Frequently Asked Questions Answered

Small-group vacations means unlocking the secrets of a destination. For some companies the term small group means 24, but not for us! Our average group size is 6. Small group means our smaller private vehicles access more off-the-beaten-path locations. In a small group we can offer you a truly personal understanding as you explore the local regions in greater depth. You will meet like-minded friends and enjoy the convenience of your own personal driver/tour manager, who shares their local knowledge and ensure you visit sites that the mainstream tourist usually misses out on, as well as famous landmarks (you can benefit from a “skip-the-line” pass in most cases). Traveling in a small group, the schedule can be tweaked at times at the tour manager’s discretion, which in turn allows some flexibility to savor certain moments. You will have time to explore on your own and will also have the benefit from the expert guidance of your tour manager.

If you’re passionate about food, wine, culture, beautiful landscapes, historical architecture, and everything that makes travel to Italy exciting, then we’ll have a blast traveling together! I have carefully selected as my specialty destinations where I have local expertise and knowledge, places that are filled with everything I love, and believe you willl too! They are places where I speak the local language, offering you the best possible experience. Keeping in line with my key values of immersion in local traditions and way of life, I always offer the best of what is available in season. Whether it is attending a world-famous truffle festival in the fall, or eating at one of the many summer Sagras, every small group tour is tailored to give you a true taste of what the country has to offer during your stay.

I know that when you journey halfway around the world, you do not want anything to stand between you and getting to the heart of your destination, least of all the size of your group. Traveling with a small group of no more than 6, we will cover more ground with ease, leaving the cookie-cutter itineraries behind.

Each of the locations I offer exclusive small group tours to in northern Italy, are only a few hours or a train ride away from cities like Venice, Florence or Milan. So you can certainly let me know that you wish to do this and add a few days before or after your time with me to visit these places and I would be more than happy to make all the arrangements for you. While you’re with me, forget worrying about the language, logistics, or having a bad meal – you’ll travel stress-free knowing I've taken the guesswork out of planning your trip.

The definition for a private guided tour is an itinerary designed exclusively for you, your family or friends. On a private trip, everybody you travel with will be somebody you know and your pick the dates. Private tours are more flexible when it comes to your group size, travel dates and what your trip includes. Contrary to most other tour companies, our private guided tours usually include everything with the sole exception of personal expenses and international flights. Want to stay longer to soak up the scenery? Or an impromptu stop to quench your cappuccino craving? Looking to go all out for that special someone? Wishing to discover Italy, France or Spain in a more meaningful way? Then private travel is for you!

If you are looking for a vacation that caters to you, your interests and your travel style, Travels With Audrey is able to provide an unsurpassed level of attention and care. If you enjoy the comfort and convenience of an escorted tour, but also crave a customized, intimate itinerary designed just for you, with insider access to local cultures that larger groups cannot provide, then you will love traveling with me, Audrey.

Are private guided tours expensive?
Cost is a legitimate concern for any major purchase. Guests are often pleasantly surprised that we can offer a private departure for less than you would pay for another company's standard tours. Every private guided tour is priced differently because it’s completely unique. 

Think of the difference between a frozen TV dinner and one that has been prepared for you by a chef using the finest ingredients. Therefore, the cost is higher than the large bus tours. However, when you think about how much time those on bus tours spend just waiting for other people, plus all of the other cons associated with mass produced travel, I am the right choice for a select group of travelers who want more out of their travel experience. I work with fewer than 65 people per year, so those who choose to travel with me are members of a very exclusive family.

Below, we've put together a general breakdown of our custom trips to help you budget accordingly. Keep in mind this is a guideline and is dependent on where you travel and the time of year you are traveling as pricing may vary.

Level 1
Price per person, per day: €300-500
Includes: 3-4 Star Lodging, airport transfers, half-day planned activities including guided tours and exclusive experiences, daily breakfast and taxes. Excludes: International air, tips, meals (lunches and dinners ) & personal expenses

Level 2
Price per person, per day: €500-700
Includes: 4-5 Star Lodging, private airport transfers, private guided tours, breakfast daily, some meals, exclusive experiences, taxes. Excludes: International air, tips & personal expenses.

My guests look for quality over quantity and they place knowledge and service ahead of price. A vacation is a very special, important part of my clients' lives, a time to discover and relax, creating memories with loved ones! All of our small group tours and private guided tours are truly all-inclusive in nature. There are no surprises, and no hidden costs.

Please note we do not offer a breakdown of prices included in the packages we create. We will work within your budget and offer you the best options available. You will make the final choice of your accommodations and activities.

Maybe you don’t have time to plan your own European vacation. Perhaps you’ve never been to Europe and aren’t sure where to start. People hire professionals for tasks like lawn care, home renovation, interior decorating, house cleaning, tax preparation, dog walking, and many other jobs they don’t have the time, interest, or expertise to do themselves. It can be the same for making travel plans. Travels with Audrey saves you time, so you can have an amazing European vacation without the stress of handling all the research and the many details.

You’ll save time during the planning process.
To organize a trip to Europe, with the level of organization and detail provided by Travels with Audrey, you can plan on spending about 8 hours per travel day doing online and guidebook research, making phone calls, sending emails, booking tours, and then double- and triple-checking your itinerary. That means a 10-day trip would take about 80 hours for the average person to plan. Compare that to spending a total of 2-3 hours on the phone, or simply sharing emails with the Travels with Audrey team. For a 10-day trip, that’s about 77 hours of time saved. How much is your time worth per hour?

You’ll use your time more efficiently during the trip.
When a trip is well-organized, you won’t waste time getting lost, showing up at the train station and realizing that the train doesn’t run on Sundays, fixing errors due to the language barriers during the booking process, waiting in line for 2 hours for a museum that could have been pre-booked….the list goes on. We estimate that travelers with well-organized and pre-booked itineraries can accomplish 20% more every day. And when Travels with Audrey is taking care of all of the details for you, you’re able to accomplish more every day with lower stress levels, which means more enjoyment!

No. For self-guided tours, the fee includes the cost of my professional services for planning and managing your trip. I work with my in-country associates to build a customized itinerary for you from the ground up within your price range.

Most travel advisors receive commisions based on the total cost of your trip. This business model typiclally limits them to booking experiences and packages with global suppliers that pay a commission. So we do things differently, as we customize and create each itinerary based on client's wishes, booking directly with our in-country associates, using our destination expertise to build your trip.

Our focus is not how much we can earn in commission, but how we can create the most unforgettable travel experience for you. With our years of travel planning experience and local expertise, we have cultivated relationships with people we trust who will take care of you while you are your vacation.

Recommendations for your benefit, not mine.

I am a fee-based advisor. I am not bound by the commission model that 95% of agencies operate. This means, when you see a tour or activity suggestions on your itinerary, you can be confident that I have made these suggestions for YOUR benefit, not mine. I will only recommend activities that have been personally vetted by me and I believe you will love.

Generally, no. From experience, we know that when we only get to work on certain pieces of your trip things can easily fall through the cracks. We want to ensure that the quality of every part of your trip is exactly what you envision.  However, if you have a unique situation, please reach out. We’d be happy to see if we’re the right fit or recommend someone who is.

When to start planning depends a lot on what time of year you want to travel, and how long you plan to travel. For example, if you want to travel to Europe in the high season (May to September) contacting us 6 months to a year ahead of time will give you the best chance to reserve your first choice of hotels, restaurants, and activities. So if you are traveling in the fall of any given year, contacting us around February/March is ideal. If you are traveling in the spring of any given year, then contacting us in September/October is recommended.

France, Italy and Spain, receive millions of visitors each year and even though we can plan in less time, we run the risk of missing out on the availability of our favorite hotels, guides and other providers. We often work with small boutique hotels and family run businesses so it is often difficult to hold a non-paid request, so availability may change. We always want the best for our clients and the more time we have the more we can guarantee just that.

No, they do not. All of our vacations are “Land Only”. We do provide transportation to and from the airport (and often local train stations) and once we are together, we include all transportation, meals, classes, excursions, etc. However, all transportation costs to get to our initial meeting point at the beginning, and back from one of our drop-off points at the end are not included. When crafting your personalized itinerary, I will always recommend which airports to fly in and out of.

Travel insurance can put your mind at ease when the unexpected happens! Travel is an investment, so trip cancellation and interruption insurance is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all Guests. Insurance protects you against unforeseen circumstances that could otherwise spoil your travels and protect your travel investment. Coverage should include medical expenses and repatriation in the event of accident or illness. In addition, we also strongly recommend that you have coverage for personal belongings, delay at your outward or homeward point of departure, personal liability, overseas legal expenses and cancellation.

While trip cancellation and interruption insurance is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all Guests, Travels with Audrey does not sell travel insurance directly, nor are we experts in this field.

North America's travel insurance providers are:

Allianz
Travel Guard
World Nomads

You can compare insurance policies and costs among various providers at SquareMouth and at Insuremytrip.com (both also sell insurance).

NOTE: Please ensure that details of your insurance are carried with you at all times. You may be asked to provide details of your medical insurance or a payment guarantee in some counties before medical assistance will be provided.

Character and Quality: Tasting the local cuisine is an important part of any holiday and Travels with Audrey ensures that an emphasis is placed on local specialties. Our included culinary experiences, enable you to enjoy truly authentic, locally sourced and produced cuisine. Take cooking classes using regional ingredients, visit local farms, enjoy food and wine tastings at local producers. Furthermore, you’ll dine in small, authentic restaurants, frequented by the locals and guaranteed to give a true reflection of the tastes of the region.

Some of our meals will be in towns we visit along the way, while others are in countryside locations with breathtaking surroundings. The locations we select for your included exclusive culinary experiences are authentic locations, most often family run, farm-to-table establishments, 'agriturismi', Michelin star fine cuisine, allowing you to truly experience slow-food & zero-km dining from where it all started.

Most often, you will be able to order from an open menu where you can freely choose 'à la carte', but a number of the restaurants we work with prefer to have a set menu. In this case, we send you the choices and you will let us know what your preferences are. The 'set menu' will always reflect the cuisine and beverages of the region and not the typical "beef, chicken, veggie or fish" options on mainstream tours. We want you to truly taste the lands you are traveling through. We also feature a handful of unique culinary and chef-prepared dinners that feature specific menus exclusively prepared for our guests. Bottled water, tea or coffee is included with all meals. Wine is included with some meals. Beer, soft drinks and cocktails are not included.

For the optional dinners, you are free to make your own gastronomic explorations or join your tour manager, driver-guide.

On private guided tours: We feel that it is in your best interest not to have all meals included in your itinerary as this gives you more control on your budget. We also find that most clients want to have their dinner alone for much-needed private time to talk about the day and about personal matters. Your guide needs those few hours in the evening to have needed down time and for planning the next day. The number of included lunches or dinners of course differ based on client's personal wishes.

NOTE: One thing to remember is dinner times in Europe are later than you might be used to, 7:30 PM at the earliest and often later in some locations in France and Italy (Spain).

NOTE: Vegetarian? Gluten intolerant? For those clients who require a special dining experience, our chefs and cooks can accommodate nearly every need.

Breakfast is included daily. Each itinerary will have a list of inclusions. Meals are noted by B (Breakfast) L (lunch) and D (dinner). Each itinerary differs on the number of included lunches or dinners. They are group events included in the price of the tour package.

During stays at country homes and agriturismi: clients enjoy dinners prepared by local cooks like us and our family, and local chefs – each with a specialty that focuses on local, fresh, and incredibly flavorful meals.

Letting you in on a little secret:

There is a little known secret in the tour business. Some restaurants in the more popular locations in Italy usually do not open until 8PM for the locals, but before 8PM, they are open for tour bus groups, and they have special deals in which they charge 1/4 the price for substandard food that the locals would never eat. We want to share the best of the best with you. So we focus on family-run, local farm-to-table restaurants.

Even in the cities, we find that best place in the neighborhood that all the locals are raving about. You know, the one that is so hard to get into, because their Carbonara is the best in Rome. Food is the number one highest cost in this business, so it is the first place companies try to shave off the bottom line. Simply put, to us, it is our name on the line, so we are not going to try and save a few bucks there. You are in Italy and we are going to make sure you have meals you will never forget.

We pride ourselves in seeking and selecting unique accommodations, locally owned boutique properties mostly small family-owned establishments instead of chain hotels.

Our accommodations (whether a villa situated in a stunning location in wine country, a boutique hotel, a property in the historical heart of cities, charming inns, 'agriturismi' are carefully selected to always reflect the authentic local character and charm of the destination without sacrificing comfort and service. Rather than going by the official grading (based solely on facilities rather than the standard of the accommodation), we base our choices on location, quality and warm hospitality.

In cities, we will select hotels in historical centers and within walking distance of major sights, shopping and museums. Most are historical buildings dating from the 13th to the 19th centuries. On most of our tour itineraries we have also opted to stay in country villas/inns or castles to better appreciate the region and savor the countryside. All of the rooms have private bath and air-conditioning. In some of the country estates, villas or castles, there are spas and swimming pools for you to relax and enjoy.

• At time of booking, please let us know whether you would like a twin room (two single sized beds in a room) or a double room (one standard sized bed for 2 people) or single room. Room sizes in older buildings may vary and each room could have its own unique style and character.
• We do not include porterage as most properties do not offer that service and quite honestly it is actually faster in most cases to bring up your own, even if they have a hotel porter on duty to help you with your luggage.

Additional notes on accommodations:

• In historic buildings that have been converted to hotels, the strongest intent during renovations was to respect and preserve the original structure as much as possible. So we ask for your patience and flexibility as most rooms will be a different size, layout, and view (which is not guaranteed until time of booking) and may be smaller than you might be used to in newer chain hotels. Also, if you are staying in a hotel located within a city center, please know that there may be a certain degree of noise that is higher compared to other accommodations in more remote areas (Cars, pedestrians, mopeds).
• Lifts, if any, are usually very small, due to space constraints in older historical buildings, and your shower may not be as big as the one at home. In many cases this is due to regulations concerning protected buildings, but this will be more than offset by the charm, unique character and history which can be uncovered in these locations.
• Please do not communicate directly with the hotels prior to your vacation, as it could cause misunderstandings. If you have particular requests or concerns, please let me know and I'll make sure to notify the hotels. Thank you for your understanding.
• Most accommodations will have air conditioning, but it will not run as cool as in North America, and may not run all day. Generally, Europe does not adhere to the same spacious rooms that one might be used to in Canada or the United States. They are also, along with some other European countries, some of the most environmentally conscious.
• In regards to bathrooms: sometimes you will have a large bathroom with shower and bathtub, sometimes just a small shower stall that you can barely turn around in. This is just helpful to know in advance, knowing what to expect when traveling to European countries, but that will certainly not take away from your enjoyment.

Note on accommodation tax:

Various European countries or cities have what's known as a Tourist Tax Europe. This fee is paid at the hotel reception desk at checkout. Because this tax is charged and collected by your hotel and is payable in cash only when you check out, we are unable to collect this tax in advance or include it in your price when you are traveling independently. This tax is included in the tour price for clients traveling on an escorted tour accompanied by a Tour Manager who is able to pay directly to the hotel on your behalf.

Letting you in on a little secret:

As an example, Rome has thousands of hotels. The budget companies stay in "corporate" hotels outside of the city where you have to be with them to find your way into the city. The mid-line companies stay closer to the city, but in "Tier 2" hotels that survive on mass tourism and make their money on overpriced, banquet hall food. Even the super high end luxury companies are little different, as they simply put you in a 5 star Americanized hotel, completely robbing you of the local flavor. This does not make our job easy! We painstakingly check a lot of hotels until we find that perfect one... the small, family run, boutique hotel... that happens to be in that amazing location, and carries the flair of local living.

Our private guided tours and small group tours can include different forms of travel all dependent on location, chosen sites and activities. Forms of transportation can vary from trains and ferries to private vehicles with professional drivers. Travels with Audrey hires licensed professional drivers, and also is a driver-guide for private groups of less than 7 people. Depending on your group size:

• For 2 to 3 people it would be your own driver with a sedan vehicle or SUV
• For 6 to 7 guests a comfortable minivan (i.e. Peugeot Expert Tepee, Renault Espace, Mercedes Viano, Ford Tourneo)
• In some cases a separated dedicated luggage vehicle is chartered for increased comfort (this is included in the quoted tour price)
• With more than 8 guests we operate either 2 vans, a 10-15 seater or mini-bus (19 or 24-seater)

Any vehicles larger than a 9-seater van will not be able to enter small towns or historical centers. So we always choose vehicles as indicated above that allow us to access areas of towns and cities where larger vehicles would be restricted. Choosing smaller vehicles also allows us to travel along local roads and across breathtaking mountain passes to find charming villages and picturesque vistas which lie beyond the well-worn tourist trails. For added convenience, we usually drive into the center of small villages and old towns to park beside charming accommodations and intimate local restaurants.

Private transfers to and from the airport can be arranged as part of your all-inclusive land arrangement and is included on all of our small group tours.

No smoking is allowed on all vehicles.

On our exclusive small group tours in northern Italy, we try to keep our time on the road to a maximum of a few hours in one stretch. The hand-crafted itineraries are designed so there is as little time on the van as possible and plenty to see while aboard or along the way from one place to another. Inevitably there are some days when traveling between locations may involve some mileage. Generally we try to do at least two to three attraction stops, comfort and meal stops. It would be as if you had rented a car, without having to drive or concern yourself with directions, maps and the possibility of getting lost or not speaking the language. On some itineraries the train is used and even the ferry.

We choose comfortable 9-seater vans (including the driver) depending on the size of the group. Their size allows us to travel along local roads, across breath-taking mountain passes to find charming villages and picturesque vistas which lie most time beyond the well-worn tourist trails where large motor coaches cannot go. For added convenience, we usually drive into the center of small villages and old towns to park beside charming accommodations and intimate local restaurants.

For private guided tours, how much driving depends on your personally chosen activities and locations on your customized itinerary package. Generally, we design our tours so that there is as little time as possible in the vehicle and plenty to see. We travel along the scenic route wherever possible, meaning you’ll see more of the countryside and local village life.

For those clients who select an itinerary that highlights a region so that they can experience a more authentic vacation, driving would only be done as day trips to explore the area. Clients in this case would only unpack once, or stay several days in each location instead of being in a different location each night.