How Audrey Creates your Custom Itinerary
I am thrilled you are interested in arranging your customized itinerary with me, where each trip is unique and tailor-made. To provide you with an accurate proposal, I need to know about you and the type of custom trip you seek. The more information I have, the better I can prepare an accurate custom trip proposal. Because I don’t just create standard packages, one custom itinerary and quote means hours of work. As you can imagine, it’s far better for all to have a detailed and clear consultation call at the start.
Your Consultation Call with Audrey
Here are the key questions I ask to prepare your custom itinerary of northern Italy:
- How many people will be traveling, ages, interests, and anything else you think I should know to make the best recommendations?
- How much time do you have?
- Describe a perfect day as you envision it on this trip.
- Have you been to Italy before? (If so, when did you go and what did you see? If not, have you been abroad before).
- Do you have any must-visit places or experiences that you want to include on this trip? These may be as specific as “visit Venice” or as general as “we love wine and food”.
Where will you fly in and out of?
I recommend flying into a major city, for example Milan and flying out of Venice, or even Pisa if you are ending your trip in Cinque Terre. It all depends on your customized itinerary. Not only can this save time, but it could save you money not having to backtrack. Whatever route you choose, I need to know the arrival and departure points from the beginning as it will shape the custom trip itinerary, I design for you. It is also important for you to check flight schedules and pricing to know what your best options are before I start working on an itinerary.
How many nights and days do you plan to stay?
This question is crucial as it helps determine how many places you can realistically visit while maintaining a relaxed pace. For example, if you wish to stay in 2 to 3 different locations, a trip duration of between 7 to 10 nights would generally be recommended. However, this may vary if the locations chosen are far apart or tricky to get to. I can advise you better once I know the maximum number of days you have at your disposal.
How soon are you travelling?
While it may seem obvious, I need to know your expected arrival date and flight options. It becomes hugely important if you are travelling in high season (generally April to October) to the more popular locations. Normally, I prefer to start working on a custom itinerary at least 8 to 6 months before chosen travel dates. This allows time for me to make and confirm all your arrangements, process payments, prepare and send you a personalized itinerary in our AXUS app, with my travel tips, restaurant suggestions, and more. This way, you have plenty of time to acquaint yourself with the locations you’ll be visiting and can ask me any questions or seek clarification on our last ZOOM call together before we meet in Italy.
When time is tight, I may even take steps to provisionally hold hotel rooms for you so as not to lose the space. So, I would kindly ask that you have your exact dates, arrival and departure points and a list of any “must-haves” and places you wish to see.
Where do you wish to go?
There is so much to see in Italy. I specialize in northern Italy and its 8 regions, incorporating must see sites with off the beaten path gems, but with our expertise and years of experience we can also create a custom itinerary that includes the regions of Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio and Campania. You don't want the same old trip that everyone else books. The possibilities are endless and as unique as you and your group. If you’re not sure where you want to go, perhaps you can tell me what you want to see or experience in Italy.
Here are the steps on how I create your custom itinerary:
Step 1: The Basic Itinerary
Based on your feedback to the initial questions, I will send you recommendations for places to see and activities I think you’ll love. I can also help with questions such as “should I go to the lakes or Cinque Terre?” or “which would be a better fit for us, Lake Como or Lake Maggiore?” This is the most time-consuming part of the process, but it’s important to get it right. At this stage, you let me know what you want to do, what you’d like to do if it fits, and what you’ll save for the next trip.
Based on your feedback, I will create an itinerary that:
- includes your “must-do’s” (although here, depending on the amount of time you have, you may need to decide what not to do)
- is a realistic pace (I will advise if it is not)
- works from a geographic standpoint, so you’re not zigzagging around the country.
- is a good balance (for example big city>countryside>small city>seaside is a great balance. Big city>big city>big city can be tiring;
Step 2: Accommodations
After you have agreed to your custom designed itinerary, I move to the next step of creating your custom vacation quote and looking at accommodation availability. I like to recommend our preferred properties in each location. But I cannot move to this part of the planning until you have specific dates, and flights booked.
As you can imagine, I collaborate with a selection of our preferred hotels in each location. It is important you let me know what your preferences are when it comes to accommodations, as well as any special services hotels must have, for example a pool. As you know, the price for a hotel is not just linked to the number of stars. It varies depending on location, style, service, availability, etc. Historical properties are normally more expensive, even if they have fewer stars, because they attract more interest. This is why having an idea as to your budget and your style of hotel preferences will be very helpful.
Based on our philosophy we will however not book chain hotels.
Step 3: Guides, Tours, Activities, Cultural Experiences
I love hearing what you are looking to experience. Maybe visits to local markets, producers of local specialties like cheeses, hams, and of course olive oil. Perhaps you’d like to learn how to cook Italian regional foods? Please share your interests, hobbies, and occupation. If for example you work as a sommelier, or simply love wine, then I can plan winery visits. If you enjoy an active vacation, I can recommend and include locations for hiking, cycling for example.
Every custom itinerary is an all-inclusive package which includes special arrangements such as private local licensed tour guides, pre-booked tickets to popular museums and monuments, private transfers, high-speed train tickets.
Step 4: Logistics
Logistics can make or break the trip. Trains are fantastic but they don’t go everywhere. Renting a car is fabulous in the countryside and should be avoided at all costs in Italian cities. So, the logistics of your trip are really important.
We do not book your car rental for insurance purposes, if you choose to rent a car, but certainly help you with advice on how to find the best car rental, driving in Italy, routes to choose and more. We also can book train tickets, airport transfers, boats, and private drivers. We also learned from you how much walking you can do, and whether you’ll be traveling light.
And finally .....
Before departure, we’ll have one last ZOOM call to go over your itinerary and any questions you may have.
You’ll depart for your vacation with a completely personalized itinerary. Information about all hotels, activities, logistics, and restaurants will be in your itinerary loaded onto our AXUS app, at your fingertips while you’re on the road. On your AXUS app you will also have access to our very helpful tips and Know Before You Go information. These travel tips and advice cover packing, electric plugs, tipping, laundry, and more. All you’ll need to do is relax and enjoy. I look forward to hosting you in Italy.
Join the steadily growing family of Audrey's happy guests
Contact me today for your 15-minute no-obligation consultation call
I recommend you start this process at least 6 months in advance of travel. For more complex itineraries, the turnaround time can vary. If you do not have that lead time please contact me before setting up your appointment to ensure I can accommodate your timeframe.
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