9 Surefire Ways to Ruin Your European Vacation
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After dozens of trips to Europe, we've made all the mistakes so you don't have to! Here is a list of the most common ways to jam yourself up on your own trip.
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My Big Fat Tuscan Dinner Fail
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In 2015 we spent two weeks in a small medieval village in one of our favorite parts of Tuscany. In the middle of that trip we experienced the most extensive, gloriously delicious, and embarrassingly difficult meals we have ever had. Or as Donatella called it, un po' di cena - "a little dinner".
Read MoreLittle Roads' Best Tips for Booking Overseas Flights
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People always ask us how we afford to travel as much as we do. We spend a LOT of time searching for flights, and we’ve figured out a few pretty good tricks. The field is always changing; airlines and booking agencies alter their practices, so we are constantly having to learn new techniques to hunt out those deals. Here are our best tips, as of October 2017.
Read MoreIreland Historic Sights Paired with Gastropubs
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Ireland’s landscapes are legendary for a reason: Sweeping green valleys dotted with sheep and cows; blue-green ocean reduced to white spray on jagged coastal cliffs; and evocative ruins of castles, monasteries, round towers, and stone circles.Here we explore a few of these historic sites. Some are free; all are impressive; and each can be paired with an excellent meal at a nearby gastropub.
Read MoreSix "Game of Thrones" Sites in Northern Ireland
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Northern Ireland is a land of stunning landscapes and medieval architecture, which made it the perfect place for the makers of the "Game of Thrones" to film much of their footage. Here are just a few of the many fascinating places that were used as backdrops or props for the show, evoking a sense of the magical and timeless.
Read MoreGroundhog Day: Italian Tourism Edition
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Our version of "Groundhog Day" involves having the same phone conversations repeatedly with prospective clients. We’ve created itineraries for dozens of clients, and with a few exceptions, they've all come to us with the same travel goals:
1. “I want to see real, authentic places; experience the real Italy without the tourist crowds; and do it affordably.”
2. “I want to visit Rome, Florence, Amalfi, and Venice. And I have 9 days.”
Spoiler alert: Those goals are in direct conflict with one another. Is it possible to visit those famous places and see them in an authentic way?
9 Popular European Tourist Sights and their Hidden Doppelgangers
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Travelers to Europe always want to see the same things, checking off boxes on some “must-see” list.: The Roman Forum. Stonehenge. The Cliffs of Moher. It becomes a scavenger hunt, The trouble is, everyone has the same ideas, so these places are often impossibly clogged with tourist crowds. The good news is, there are alternatives to the headline locations - easier to get to, nicer to see, and often cheaper to visit.
Read MoreHow to Budget for an Affordable European Vacation
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We travel to Europe 4-5 times a year. As we are not rich people, budgeting is extremely important to us. When we create custom European itineraries for clients, the issue of their budget almost always plays a big role. Here are a few tips: What you can expect to spend, and how to budget so that you have a trip that is immersive, authentic, and affordable...
Read More10 Impossibly Cute Irish Towns
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The Tennessean (USA Today) recently published Little Roads Europe's article, "10 Impossibly Cute Irish Towns"... Read about it here, and check out the whole article on the Tennessean site.
Read More10 Best Travel Tips for an Authentic Vacation
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When travelers spend a lot of time and money on a vacation, they often discover that they’re in the midst of a pre-packaged, manufactured environment that’s about as authentic as the Las Vegas Egyptian Pyramid. Here are a few ways that travelers can immerse themselves in a place, and a few reasons why this is a memorable way to travel.
Read MoreDriving on the "Wrong" Side of the Road
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Nervous about driving in the UK or Ireland? Here are our thoughts and tips, garnered from dozens of trips to the other side of the pond...
Read MoreExperience Tuscany As Tourists Rarely See It
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Our recent week in Italy’s famous Tuscany region was a study in contrasts: From renting an entire 11-story, 12th-century tower to a small town B&B; from upscale dining to simple picnicking; from a popular tourist town to a tiny, quiet medieval village. Despite the wide range of experiences, there were common threads: Immersion into the history and the authentic lifestyle of the people who live in this magical and storied country; doing it all in an affordable way while steering clear of tourist crowds; and of course, eating and drinking very well.
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