Italy Beyond the Tourist Map: How to Get Around, Spend Less, and Explore Like a Local

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Sally, this this destination we're talking about today is so popular that I literally ran into people I know on the streets of Florence when I was there a couple of weeks ago.

Everyone had the same idea.

Let's go to Italy.

Wow, who did you run into?

So I ran into my high school math teacher.

He was sitting at a table right next to me at a restaurant.

And then my boyfriend ran into his high school friends while online for avogado.

No way, both of you.

Wow.

Yeah, Italy is one of the most popular European destinations for Americans to visit.

And the huge demand actually means there's plenty of opportunities to save on your next trip there.

Welcome to Smart Travel, a deep dive into the tips, tools, and tactics to maximize your travel dollars.

I'm Megan Foyle and I'm Sally French.

And we're the travel nerds ready to help you plan your next big trip.

Today, we are taking our listeners to Italy with us.

So grab your Apple Spritz, sit back, and enjoy.

Wait, but before that, let's do the news.

And before that, the disclaimer.

Oh, okay.

So every episode, we talk about some credit card companies that are nerd wallet partners in this episode, but that doesn't influence how we discuss them.

The benefits, terms, and fees mentioned were accurate at the time of posting, but things can change and some offers may have expired by the time you're listening.

For the latest details, follow the links in the episode description.

Okay, Megan, we are finally entering a new era of travel where TSA checkpoints won't smell like feet.

TSA just updated its policy to officially allow all passengers to keep their shoes on during the security screening, even if you don't have TSA precheck.

You know, it's funny.

I was in the airport the weekend of July 4th and they were just telling people not to take off their shoes and I didn't really think that much of it at the time But now this news has come out and I'm like oh it was not just a San Antonio thing and I have to say no one was mad about this and then of course I realized that this was a slow phase in of the change ahead of the official announcement last week.

Wow, so you got a little sneak preview.

Absolutely.

My question is, where does that leave TSA pre-check members?

Because do you think it diminishes the value they paid?

They pay almost $80 to get benefits like not removing your shoes.

Yeah, I mean, maybe it diminishes the value, but I would still say you get other value for things like not having to remove belts or light jackets and then the laptops or the small lotions.

So maybe it does make the value proposition of TSA precheck a little lower, but I definitely don't want to act like this is a bad thing.

This news is a good thing in speeding up airport security.

Taking off shoes always seems to be the slowest part.

So if that makes the lines go faster for everyone, then I am all for it.

I'm here for it too.

Although that's funny, you think that taking off the shoes is the slowest part.

I actually think it's the laptops.

Okay, maybe.

I honestly doubt it'll change the decision much for most people.

And I think most people pay for TSA Precheck just to get access to that faster line.

And like I said, to avoid removing that laptop, it's my least favorite.

And plus, you might not necessarily have to pay for it.

Many credit cards actually cover TSA PreCheck as a benefit for holding that card.

So we might have to link to that in the show description.

We'll definitely link to that in the show description.

All right.

Built Rewards also just announced that they are launching a new suite of cards next year.

This is a company that has made a name for itself by offering rewards for rent payments.

It currently has a $0 annual fee that I know you have, Megan.

And I'm nervous.

Anytime you hear card revamp, our smart travel listeners already know the benefits are changing and the annual fee is probably going up.

Bill already announced that the Built 2.0 cards will still have a $0 annual fee option, but there's also new premium cards with a $95 and a $495 annual fee.

Okay, so that's good.

Hopefully they just don't nerf the benefits on that $0 annual fee option.

Of course, we do not have many details at all about those card benefits.

We do have a launch date though.

Built Card 2.0 launches in February 2026 and current card holders will be moved from Wells Fargo to Built's new card platform cardless at that time.

And I hope anyone who has that $0 annual fee card like I have, don't get your hopes up.

Like things are not looking good because

Wells Fargo's partnership with Built was supposed to end in 2029, but the Wall Street Journal reported Wells Fargo wanted to get out early because they were losing as much as $10 million a month on this card.

Wow.

And yeah, a lot of that was from Wells Fargo eating the card transaction fees from the rent transactions.

Like that is costing.

that card company a lot of money.

So this makes me think that there's no way that $0 annual fee card that I have will be able to offer the same benefits on rent earning.

But, you know, I'm speculating.

I don't know what's going to happen with this card either.

Okay, we'll cross our fingers for you, Megan, and we will be watching closely for updates.

Of course, we will break this news all down once it officially drops.

In lounge news, American Express just announced it's building its first Centurion lounge in the Netherlands at Amsterdam's Gippel Airport.

Construction is already underway.

The lounge is expected to open in 2026.

It'll be located in the airport's main international terminal, which is good news since Amsterdam always seems to be a big layover airport.

I've done a 12-hour layover there once, though I do recommend getting out and actually wandering the city if your layover is, in fact, that long.

Yeah, if you're flying KLM, you'll definitely be laying over in Amsterdam.

One of the unique features of this lounge that I'm excited for is a coffee bar.

That will pay homage to the drink's importance in Dutch culture.

Maybe I'll go there instead of the Starbucks I usually go to.

They're here for that.

I loved the tea bar at the Centurion Lounge in London.

So this kind of feels like it has that same energy.

Yes.

Other new Centurion lounges opening this year include Tokyo, Haneda, and Salt Lake City, plus Newark, New Jersey in 2026.

And then we have to talk about JSX.

That's the air carrier that offers something of a private jet style experience by way of scheduled public charter flights using small jets.

These are outfitted with around 30 seats.

You also get to fly out of your own private terminal and you get truly nice benefits like free Wi-Fi, drinks, and snacks.

So JSX just launched its first ever loyalty program called Club JSX.

If you're a member, you collect 5% back on your fare aside from those things like taxes and fees.

The rewards you earn can be spent on future flights.

What's funny is Club JSX does not offer much more in the way of elite status benefits since everyone flying with JSX gets that elite status experience already.

Right.

I like that the reward system is pretty simple though.

5% back is a decent return rate, which is good since JSX is more expensive than flying coach with a traditional airline.

There are also other benefits like bonus rewards during your birthday month and a referral program where you can give someone $100 off their first flight and you get $100 once they take it.

So a lot of nice perks here.

Now, even someone in our travel team was like, what is JSX?

I gotta say, JSX is definitely a niche carrier.

I've never done it myself as the only flights they offer near me are either to Las Vegas or Burbank out of Oakland.

But I do know some people who have done it and they like it.

It's definitely for people who want that bougie experience, but aren't truly bougie enough to afford a real private jet.

Ooh.

We're back in a minute.

Stay tuned.

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Today, we finally get to dig into the trip that we have been talking about on the show for what's felt like months.

Megan, this is your two-week trip to Italy for not one, but two Italian weddings.

I hope you are ready to recount a play-by-play of every dish you ate.

I will try.

It's really hard.

It was pasta, pasta, pasta, pasta, pasta.

Pasta pasta, the Italian version of pizza, which is not like American pizza at all.

Really?

More pasta, seafood.

And then when I got tired of all of that, I had a burger one day and I had Chinese food one day because I could not eat any more Italian food.

How's Italy's Chinese food zine?

I think it's actually pretty decent.

I actually know someone who's Chinese and grew up in Italy.

So they gave me some tips on some spots.

But yeah, I would love to go back and explore that more.

Okay, well, speaking of the places where you went, where did you go for this trip?

I went to Florence and I went to the first wedding in a small town of in the Tuscany region called Garganza, then Cinquater.

Oh, love Cinquatera.

Yep, then back to Florence, then Rome, then another small town for the second wedding, which was a town called Macherata.

And you went to Italy last year, is that right?

Yes, I went on a cruise last year with my grandma, which I think I've talked about on the show before.

I love that.

So you are basically an Italian expert.

I wouldn't say that yet, but I can answer some of these questions we've got.

And that's exactly what I want to talk about is for many people who have never been to Italy at all, they want to know when's the best time to go, how much it costs, all the things, where to go.

So let's start off with planning when to go.

Megan, when is the best time to visit Italy?

So I went in mid-May and despite everything I was hearing about this is going to be a crazy year for Italy and it's the Jubilee, I still think May was a great time to go.

And the weather was warm, but it wasn't like so hot outside.

In fact, I was wearing like my long pants and like my jeans some days because it wasn't hot enough.

So that was nice.

And then everything was blooming.

Like we went to some gardens and like all of those like flowers over the archways or the windows, you know, that's so cute and so European.

And I thought May was a great time to go.

But honestly, any shoulder season, like I think April would probably still be good.

September or October, if you want to go after the peak summer crowds, I think those are all excellent times to go and you'll be very comfortable with the weather.

All right.

So there's a lot of chatter about visas.

Do you need one?

There's this new program coming out that's been delayed.

Do you need a visa to get into Italy?

No, you do not need a visa.

If you're a U.S.

citizen, you can stay up to 90 days without a visa in Italy.

I was worried because there is something called Etias, European Travel Information and Authorization System.

It's usually written with acronym E-T-I-A-S.

That was supposed to go live this year, but it's been postponed again, many times already.

So So starting in the last quarter of 2026, that's when this new program will go into effect.

And you'll need to fill out an application for an ETIAS travel authorization to visit any of the ETIAS member countries, including Italy.

So that'll apply to all travelers regardless of age.

And again, that's coming next year.

And there is a small fee associated with it.

It's about seven euros for adults between the ages of 18 and 70.

Okay, let's talk about transit.

How do you get around Italy?

Right.

So within the cities, I walked almost everywhere, especially in Florence.

Rome, also very walkable, especially in like the main tourist area.

But to get in between regions, that's when I was using like trains, rental rides, that kind of thing.

But I really wouldn't even want a rental car in Rome or Florence because, as you said, everything is so walkable.

I did get a rental car to go out to the small towns.

And I would say that is totally worth it if you are, you know, going to road trip and see some of the places outside of the big cities.

How was it driving a rental car in Italy?

Well, I made my boyfriend drive.

Oh, you didn't have to drive.

Okay.

Yeah, but it was pretty easy.

Like the signs were easy to read.

Google Maps worked great.

But honestly, figuring out the tolls was the hardest part.

Like you take a ticket and then you got to like keep that ticket with you.

And then you put it back like when you exit.

So be prepared for those kinds of things if you do get a rental car.

And then the other thing I want to mention is that Italy does want you to have an international driver's permit to be able to rent a car there.

And so you can get one from your local AAA office.

So that's what my boyfriend did before we left.

It was super easy.

I think we did it the week he left and it was very fast.

Everybody loves trains in Europe.

Let's talk about the trains in Europe.

Yes.

So in between those cities, if you're not stopping in the small towns, I would really recommend taking those high-speed trains.

They go super fast.

Like you can get from Florence to Rome or vice versa in less than two hours.

But there are two major companies, Trent Italia and Italo, that offer high-speed trains.

So you can look online and just see which one offers the itinerary or the departure time that you want and then book that and you'll be good to go.

It was great.

On regional trains though, I do recommend.

validating your ticket.

I actually got a fine like five minutes into being in Italy.

You didn't scan your ticket.

You got fined?

We bought the ticket, but we didn't validate it, which is actually this little machine, usually either on the train station track, like at the train station or on the train itself, that you have to like run your ticket through it.

And it stamps it with the time that you got on.

Oh my gosh.

So you couldn't play like the I'm a dumb American card.

I didn't know.

Oh, I tried.

I tried everything.

I was like, I'm so sorry.

We literally just landed.

Like, I could show you my ticket from the airplane.

We all got 40 Euro fines like immediately

for a two Euro ticket.

Okay, listeners, we make travel mistakes too.

Everybody does it.

And I think that's a pro tip.

You always got to budget for these little extra expenses because you never know when you're going to get a ticket on the train in Italy.

Yeah, that was definitely part of my travel emergency fund, which we've talked about.

Okay, let's talk about money.

So Italy is on the Euro.

Now, I have not been to Italy since before COVID, and it seems like things have really shifted away from cash.

So I want to know what was the payment situation like for you in Europe?

Yeah, so most places accept credit card, but you'll want some cash, especially if you want to do a gondola ride.

Are gondolas cash only?

Yeah, they are cash only.

The ones in Venice, it costs 90 euros for every like a 30-minute ride.

And that's it.

You have to carry a lot of cash.

Okay, so plan ahead.

This is not like the five euros of change.

Yeah, that was literally the only place that I really needed the Euro cash, but everywhere else I could use cards.

So that was easy.

Okay.

So have some cash on hand, especially if you're doing an expensive 90 euro gondola ride.

That's kind of expensive in my mind.

Well, there's a lot of ways you can save on the gondola, actually.

Like

a lot of people are down to ride with you.

That's like 90 euros per boat.

So like we had people come up to us because my sister and I went together.

So we were walking around town and people were like, oh, we can share.

I think some of them can fit up to like five people.

Oh, that's kind of fun, actually.

Then you make some friends that way.

Yeah, totally.

That's a a great tip.

Yeah.

And then my other tip for the gondolas is you don't have to go to the first gondola you see.

There's literally gondolas all over Venice, of course.

And I think some of the better ones are on like the quieter canals, not the grand canal.

Yes, right.

That reminds me of Nomadic Matt's tip where he talks about eating and he's like, do not eat within five blocks of a tourist attraction.

You got to go just like a little bit more past and it's a way better experience.

What I found hard about Venice is like the whole city seems like a tourist attraction.

So many people want to go to Italy.

so it just becomes more and more tourists.

Speaking of people wanting to go to Italy, tons of airlines have started new routes to Italy this year.

What are some of the deals that you're seeing?

Our friends at Going have actually been sending me all these airfare deals this year.

Some of it is because those airlines have started those new routes to Italy.

I've been seeing prices like in the $400 to $600 range for round trip flights to Italy.

And they're not just in Rome.

They're actually to Venice, Milan, like other cities as well.

So if you're looking for a cheap flight, I would recommend, you know, setting your price alerts on whatever service you use or search aggregator.

There are definitely a lot of deals to be had to go to Italy.

And also, you know, you mentioned it's so easy to get around via train.

So even if you're like, I really actually want to go to Florence, sometimes if you get a cheap flight into Rome, that's so much better and taking the train versus trying to find a more expensive possible flight to Florence.

Yeah, that's a great tip.

Honestly, the most expensive part of the trip is probably going to be the hotels or the lodging, like it is on every trip.

Let's talk hotels.

What are prices like for hotels in Italy?

Well, hotels are expensive.

In fact, according to the 2025 hotels.com price index, hotel prices were up slightly in Rome, Florence, and Milan last year in 2024.

The average nightly rate is $296 in Rome, and it's about $300 also in Florence and Milan.

These are not super fancy hotels either.

In Rome, hotels.com found that like $250 hotels will most likely get you a three-star stay, which is probably going to be comfortable, but it won't be the most luxurious four or five-star stays that you might be seeing on social media.

So I would just, you know, temper your expectations that way that you can find cheaper hotels in Italy, but it might not be like an amazing high-value deal where you get all these like amenities as well.

That's such a a good reminder of how expensive hotels can be because I think a lot of people when they're planning their vacation, they start by saying, wow, I got this $400 airfare.

This vacation is going to be so cheap.

But it's like $400 is small potatoes when you figure this average $300 nightly rate.

If you're going to stay 10 nights, that's $3,000.

So that cheap airfare is kind of a drop in the bucket anyway.

I had a lot more success finding cheap Airbnbs.

So

that was because it's really really hard to find accommodations in Europe that fit more than two people without buying multiple rooms, right?

But at Airbnbs, they have some of these bigger properties and they were much cheaper when you split it with a group.

So in Chinquater, we had a group of eight people staying together and the Airbnb was less than $200 per person for three nights.

So that's way cheaper than $300 a night that you might be paying at a hotel in Rome or Milan or something like that.

You know, I did a family trip.

There were six of us and we went to Italy and every single place we stayed at was an Airbnb.

I do think the experience can always be, let's say, an experience.

In Venice, it was like so sketchy to even find the host and we were like standing in the bus station trying to get the Wi-Fi to communicate with him.

So do, again, temper your expectations that, as is often the case with Airbnbs, the experience can be inconsistent, but almost always so much cheaper.

Yes.

I also want to throw in a really affordable option that my family stayed in last year.

You can actually stay at a monastery or a religious guest house.

Interesting.

And you don't have to be that religion to stay there, but it was awesome.

Ours was like this beautiful, really historic building.

And I mean, you'd see the nuns around and the rooms were incredibly comfortable.

You had your private bathroom.

It was just like a hotel room.

It was just very simple.

And that's it.

That's all cool.

That feels like part of the Italian experience.

Oh, yeah.

And like they also had breakfast included every single day.

You know, I love a free breakfast.

You can book these through some aggregators like monasterystays.com, but probably the cheapest option is to book directly.

But that means you might have to do a little extra legwork in terms of like emailing them, asking about the availability, that kind of thing.

So if that's like a real turn off for you, then maybe not.

But I thought it was great.

I loved it and I would stay again.

Wow.

I've never considered staying in a monastery, but I'm glad that I too listened to the Smart Travel podcast.

All right, let's talk about planning.

Now, everyone dunks on things like Disney for the amount of planning required, but I'm sorry.

I feel like Italy requires just as much planning, if not more.

Yeah, totally.

I mean, you really have to buy things way ahead of time because it is just so crowded and all of these sites are so popular.

So I recommend everyone who wants to do any of the popular touristy things in Italy to just figure out first when the tickets come out and book them ahead of time.

Yeah.

So with many of these things, it's like the tickets go on sale 90 days out and you have to be there 90 days out to get your tickets.

So do plan if you have some of these must-see museums.

What sort of like your recommended cities you would go to?

I know you may name so many cities.

When I go to Italy, I'm like, boom, one city a day.

I'm like a manic bunny.

But how would you recommend someone break down their stay if they have like one or two weeks?

So I think you could take it a little bit slower and spend an entire week around one of the major cities and then maybe add on like a few little small towns or nearby destinations, but really base yourself in one place as much as you can.

So I did Rome for an entire week last year and we had little extra day trips to go to Ostia, to go to the sea and stuff like that.

But I thought that was perfect, especially if you like history.

There's literally so many things to do in Rome.

I also think you could do an entire week in Florence-ish if you combine it with several days exploring the countryside.

or you could even do three days in Florence and three days in another nearby destination like Chinquatera or Venice.

I actually did Venice as a day trip and I came back to Florence that night.

So all of those things are possible, but don't just take it from me.

I also asked Elle Colomarino.

She is better known as your Italian bestie on Instagram and TikTok.

Here's what she said about planning a trip to Italy, her home country.

Elle, welcome to Smart Travel.

Thank you for having me, Megan.

So tell me a little bit about yourself.

You grew up in Rome.

What was your attitude toward travelers and tourists that you would see in your city?

So I grew up in Rome and it's actually a separate little town called Ostia.

It's by the water, which is super pretty, but it's still part of Rome.

And I remember actually my grandma and I, we used to travel to Rome City quite often just for a day out together.

Yeah.

We would take the train.

It'd be like 20 minutes or so.

And we'd go in and obviously there were always tourists because we'd go to like the Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum and all the fun places.

And I feel like tourists were there, but they were also kind of just in the background.

You know, we were doing our own thing and it wasn't super busy.

I feel like there is a bit of a comparison to now where, you know, before we used to be the locals in our city, whilst now maybe it's a bit more, it's the tourist place a little bit.

But yeah, I loved growing up in Rome.

So how did you get into creating content about Italy?

Yeah, so I was made redundant last year from a corporate job, but it was a really big blessing, actually.

And I thought, why not just jump in and just do something for myself?

And I just started creating content.

I'd also seen not great Italy advice, I would say.

So I kind of

went online and I did a little bit of competitor research.

And I thought, there isn't really that many Italian really speaking about their own country.

So I just thought I could be one of them.

So I did it.

And the rest is history.

And what kind of content were you trying to make in terms of you wanted to help people find hidden gems?

What were your goals or what was your niche in creating this Italy content?

I think initially it was how to experience.

Italy and how to travel within Rome, how to, you know, visit a lot, but also don't get too overwhelmed.

and then it became also sharing the local experiences like local restaurants within the city because there's so many good places there's also very very bad places or like you know more tourist traps so for me it's like I really want someone that goes to Rome to have an amazing experience and see it the way I see it and you mentioned that you saw things on social media initially that weren't quite right or maybe not the best advice for Italy.

What were some of those things you were seeing?

I think just really overhyped restaurants and itinerary advice that wasn't for me the most ideal.

So I just thought instead of sending someone to a restaurant where there's a queue outside that you have to wait for maybe like an hour and a half, two hours, I know so many spots.

My uncle owns a pub in Trastevere as well, like in the center of Rome.

I'm like, he knows so many places.

So we kind of bounce ideas back and forth.

So that's where like I started to share all these local places too.

What do you think are the most common mistakes people make when visiting Italy?

I think

over planning, like you have five days and so many places you want to visit.

And I totally understand because you're overseas, you maybe want to see you going to Rome, but then you like, maybe I can do a day trip to Florence, maybe I can go to Venice for a night.

And it just becomes such a long list of things and it just becomes overwhelming.

I'd say strip it back and just plan, but also leave some time for some chill times because the times where you're strolling around Rome or you're strolling around Florence and you get lost in a little alleyway, and maybe you find a little winery, those are the best memories that you're going to actually be telling everybody.

Yes, 100%.

I think it feels good for the traveler too, because it's like a surprise for them.

Like they weren't expecting some of the little delightful moments you can have if you give yourself time to just happen upon them.

Exactly.

If people want to visit Italy like like a local, I think the key here is that they want to go to local restaurants or take tours that are actually given by people who have lived in Italy their whole lives or something like that.

What are your tips for finding those very local experiences?

I think if you just research the tours, like you were saying, make sure they're local led.

There are so many big corporations that actually run these tour companies that maybe they've hired someone local, but you're not giving back to the local community you're just giving back to this corporation set in another country in europe somewhere so just really question yourself and ask does this look like it could be local led and look it's pretty hard sometimes to actually make sure that that happens, but also ask the locals.

So when you're around, you hear someone speaking Italian, you can ask them, hey, like, where do you go for food?

And that way you know that you're supporting a local business.

That's a great tip.

I love doing that.

And also like just asking literally any local who will talk to me every single one I interact with.

I'm like, so where are you going next?

Can I, can I also come to lunch?

Can I also get a drink?

What are some ways that you think tourists overspend when they're on their Italian vacations?

Definitely going to overhyped places.

I love their malficos, but it is very, very expensive.

And that's a reason why many italians they either go in low season or they don't really go at all to be completely honest or even like overhyped restaurants there is quite a few that come to my mind and like that's a way that you know you can actually support with that money and you can spend half of the money you're spending on that restaurant into a local restaurant and you're actually supporting a local business.

So that's definitely the two ways, I think, going to overhyped destinations, but also overhyped restaurants.

One thing that I didn't struggle with exactly, but I found out there's a lot that I didn't know was taking the trains around Italy.

I was wondering if you could help explain for people who haven't been there yet, kind of how the train system works.

There's like these regional trains, there's some fast ones, there are some smaller local train systems.

What?

should people know about taking the train in Italy?

I think two main things.

The first one is try to pre-book the trains, especially if they're the high-speed trains.

I would pre-book them in advance because the earlier you pre-book, actually, you get better price and you get better deals.

So you can get a business class from Rome to Florence, maybe for like 35 euros.

Whether if you're trying to book it from today to tomorrow, if it's available, you'd maybe pay like 150 euros.

And then secondly,

Yeah, you have high-speed trains and you have regional trains.

The regional trains are unexperienced

because you don't have assigned seats.

You can purchase them on the day, really, because it doesn't really matter.

You can just get on the train without having an assigned seat.

That means that if you're going from Naples to Sorrento, there is a chance the train will be completely full.

And if you're going to like those really, really busy destinations, even between Cinque Terre, maybe get a private driver instead if budget allows.

But yeah, those are my two main tips okay let's go back to Rome once people have hit all the main tourist attractions you know the Colosseum the Spanish steps the Vatican what is the next place you usually recommend people check out I always recommend Trastevere and it's just the next door neighborhood it's really beautiful is now getting a little bit more touristy so it has still has that local flair however it is getting a bit out there getting busier and that's where actually my grandma lives, which is so nice.

And then next door to Pras Tevera is actually another neighborhood called Testacho.

And Testacho has this nice food market that has so many different stalls and they're all local-owned stalls of food.

So you can taste all the different foods.

There is something from called Piadina from Emilia-Romagna.

You can taste Prosecco from the north of Italy.

There's so many different things, amazing pizza.

So definitely check out Mercaso d'Estacio for a very local experience.

Oh, I love that.

I love a food market.

And last question.

Do you have any destination dupes?

So this is a concept that one of our guests actually taught me a few weeks ago.

And it's like, if you want to go here, but you don't want to deal with a lot of crowds or maybe how much it costs to go there, you can go to this place instead.

We kind of talked about one for the Amalfi Coast, but do you have any others?

I'd say, yeah, for the Amalfi Coast, I would go to Puglia instead.

So much more local, much more authentic.

I don't think you can really substitute Rome or Florence, to be honest, but if you want to go countryside and maybe Tuscany, you want something a bit cheaper and kind of similar style, you can go to Umbria, which is the next region over.

So super easy to get to.

It's just another maybe like 20-minute drive.

It's like on the border, really nice.

All right.

Well, Elle, thank you so much for coming on the show.

Thank you so much for having me.

It was so fun.

Okay, that was so fun.

I like the idea of going on vacation where the locals go on vacation.

Same.

Actually, both of the couples that got married in Italy did that of the two weddings I went to.

One went to Sardinia right after and the other did Sicily with their friends.

All right.

Let's hear from the listeners.

Tell us about your Italy experiences.

Send us your questions.

And I kind of like this format of the show where we talk about the same trips we've just taken.

What country or city should we do next?

I think the listeners should tell us.

They can email us at travel at nerdballet.com, or you might even leave us a voice memo.

We might play your voice on the show.

Now, Megan, what if people want to stock your Italy pics?

And by stock, I mean just casually follow you on Instagram like a normal person, maybe throw some likes on photos of you looking cool on a small Italian yacht.

Where can they find those photos?

I would love that.

It's Miles with Megan Co.

It's Megan with an H and Co., kind of like a company, but it's not a company.

It's just the beginning of my last last name.

And you can follow me on Instagram at SaveWithSally.

I will do my best to hunt down some of my 2019 Italian pics and posts too.

Nice.

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This episode was produced by Tess Viglin.

Hilary Georgie helped with fact-checking.

Nick Charissimi mixed our audio.

And here's our disclaimer: we are not financial or investment advisors.

This info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes.

It may not apply to your specific circumstances.

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