Expert guidance for independent travelers planning meaningful journeys through Italy
Italy Travel Consultations
Slow down. Wander deeper. Experience Italy more thoughtfully...
with guidance that supports you and the communities that make your journey possible.
How I Can Help
Planning an Italy trip can be exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming. Whether you're just getting started or refining plans you've already made, a consultation can help you save time, avoid costly mistakes, and uncover opportunities you might otherwise miss.
Your 2-Hour Consultation Can Include Any of These:
- General Italy travel advice
- Choosing regions and destinations
- Route and pacing recommendations
- Itinerary review and refinement
- Accommodation suggestions
- Activities and experiences
- Transportation guidance
Plus my personally curated Italy Travel Tips.
Consultation Fee
$225
Need Additional Support?
After your consultation, additional guidance is available at $100 per hour. This may include further assistance with accommodations, transportation, activities, restaurants, regional comparisons, or itinerary refinement.
Erica is detail oriented, super helpful and diligent. She took the time to get to know us and created our dream vacation. Couldn’t be happier!
Matt & Liz, Washington
Why Slow Travel Matters & What RLTI Offers
Slow travel isn’t just a pace - it’s a way of experiencing Italy with awareness, curiosity, and respect for the people and places that make your journey possible. Roads Less Traveled Italy supports your travels through two complementary paths: learning and planning.
Education that empowers your travels - through classes and one‑on‑one consultations that help you understand how to travel independently throughout Italy with confidence, while making choices that align with your values.
Customized trip planning - shaped by real conversations, not algorithms, and designed to help you explore Italy’s lesser‑known towns, regions, and landscapes at a pace that feels right for you.
Independent, flat-fee planning - ensuring every recommendation reflects your needs rather than partnerships or kickbacks.
A commitment to affordability - because thoughtful, meaningful travel should be accessible, not exclusive.
An alternative to mass-market tourism - choosing experiences that honor local culture, avoid over‑touristed hotspots, and create space for genuine connection.
Support for community tourism - with 15% of all trip‑planning fees donated to Planeterra, helping to support community-based tourism throughout the world.
Erica was so responsive and helpful, and everything worked out perfectly. We loved the recommendations of places to stay and the suggested restaurants…attention to detail was so appreciated.
Tracey, New Hampshire
Italy Travel Classes — Coming in 2027
New online classes designed to help you explore Italy more deeply and plan trips that reflect your interests and values. More details coming soon.
Join Interest List
Ready to Plan Your Trip?
As an independent Italy trip planner, I focus on creating itineraries that reflect your interests, values, and pace — without commissions or sales‑driven partnerships.
Tell me a bit about what you want out of your trip, and I’ll take it from there.
About Erica
For more than thirty years, I worked as a teacher and school counselor, helping teenagers build self-awareness, resilience, and a deeper understanding of the world around them. That same approach now shapes my work with Roads Less Traveled Italy. I help travelers make sense of how Italy works - its rhythms, its regional differences, its lesser‑known towns and landscapes, so they can move through the country with ease and respect for the communities they visit. All of this with an eye towards creating a meaningful, sustainable travel experience.
My focus is on Italy’s quieter, less‑traveled places, where local life is still lived rather than performed. Through classes, consultations, and trip‑planning support, I offer guidance that helps travelers choose experiences that reflect what matters most to them.
Erica’s service is well worth the reasonable charges and she went above and beyond expectations.
Annette & Family, Bellingham