Let’s face it, Venice is expensive, and with no easy way to “escape” you have two options.  Arrive prepared with cash on hand (even the ATM’s seem extra expensive) or figure out how to enjoy the city without spending your travel budget.  Since stretching my travel budget as far as possible is usually my plan,…

Day trips from major European cities are an important part of one’s vacation.  Not only do you sometimes need an escape from the hustle and bustle of a major tourist destination but you’d also be missing out on some of the hidden gems of Europe if you didn’t explore.  Here are our first three  suggestions…

Guest post by Escapio.com Tuscany is one of the most beautiful areas of Italy and offers that iconic Mediterranean scenery of hill towns, wine growing valleys and rocky coastlines. Check into a rustic Tuscany hotels and use as a base to discover your surroundings on bicycle, foot or with a hire car. Tuscany is famous…

Whether you’re tired of trains, can’t afford the planes or just simply need to get to Italy from Spain and the French rail workers went on strike…again…taking a ferry across the Mediterranean is an option worth considering.  One of the more popular, casual and convenient ferry routes to include in your itinerary is from Barcelona…

           So you’ve booked your ticket via cruise ship or ferry to or from Rome but you notice something odd. Your ticket says you arrive in or depart from Civitavecchia.  Now you’re faced with a couple problems. First how are you going to get from Civitavecchia to your destination and second how are…

    Often not found in guidebooks, Florence has a fragrant little treasure tucked away through a non-assuming door way near the main train station.  Take a minute out of your day and stop by one of the oldest pharmacies in the world. You probably arrived in Florence by train or bus so finding the…

  It’s lunch time.  Florentine bricklayers, lawyers or working men in general make there way along cobble stone streets to grab a bite to eat.  Gathering around a small unassuming window or stainless steel food service cart they discuss the warm weather, yesterday’s soccer match or current politics and order pane di trippa. 

  All of us have those spots that just make us smile and feel good; those areas that bring a rush of emotion. You might chuckle when you think about them walking down the street and you may even wonder where the person’s next to you is.  In the next few paragraphs I’m going to…

    In a recent article I outlined my thought process for the  beginning stage of planning a trip to Spain and Italy.  I discussed searching for flights, trains, costs and maximizing your time while over there.  The next phase of planning is working out an itinerary. 

  Let’s face it, you want to see Pompeii but quite frankly Naples is not a city you want to visit.  Almost every traveler I have met on the road has told me just how unsafe they feel in downtown Naples:  The cities lack of landfills has lead to complete stand stills of trash removal…

     As a result of several miscalculations, one or two misprints in train and boat schedules and the simple fact that some European cities suck you in and leaving when expected doesn’t happen I arrived in Rome with only one full day to see the sites.  At first I thought this would be impossible…

    You can approach the planning of a trip in a number of ways. For me I narrow it down to where I roughly want to go and then figure out how much it will cost.  From here I can add or subtract locations or side trips.  As I’m currently beginning to plan a…

    You may have heard of Cinque Terre Italy. Travel writer Rick Steves has almost single handedly popularized the five fishing villages along the Mediterranean coast of Italy.  It is in the western most village of Monterosso that I have had the best meal of my life, twice.

  Rome is a busy city and a popular tourist destination.  Any trip to Italy almost has to compulsorily include Rome and Vatican.  What this means is that, like most places in Italy, the local Hotel and Hostel owners know that they can price gouge.  There is a way around this which at first, doesn’t…

  A couple costs many travelers don’t think about often enough are admission prices and inner-city transportation.  It’s all well and good to budget your spending to include airfare, rail pass, food and accommodation but if you simply can’t afford to get around the larger cities or see the sights you came for…what’s the point?…