You don’t need to be rich to travel Europe — you just need to stop acting like a tourist. After 20 years living in Italy (and currently filming this from Carcassone), I break down the money traps tourists fall into… and how to avoid them.
From overpriced hotels to the summer pizza problem, from €25 wine tastings to souvenirs that collect dust — this breaks down where your money actually goes, and what to do instead. And I share the one habit I picked up in Italy that now saves me money everywhere I go in Europe. You’ll travel smarter, spend less, and enjoy more.
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30 Comments
Oklahoma?? Where is your accent, sir? 🙂
Wonderful tips Greg! Thanks!
Unfortunately, given climate change, summer temperatures in Italy are no longer what they were 20/30 years ago but much warmer , and yes, if possible, avoid visiting in the summer. Today, August 13, In Tuscany it's boiling…37 degrees celsius at the moment!!!🤦♂️🥵
About to travel to the Cilento coast in October: Guess what, the prices are still just as high as they are in June thru September. Italian tourist industry is charging more in 2025 than ever before.
"Those cities eat walet" 🥱😮💨
my wife and I are doing Italy next april/may.we're first time international Travellers and i don't like to fly,so we're doing it with a very large budget.first class or business class flight,personal guided tours,car service,the whole 9 yards.we're planning on around 3 weeks and hopefully will have figured international travel out enough to not have to go all out when we do Greece,Spain and Germany,france in the next few years.there's just too much we want to see in Italy to do/plan it on our own.
The amount of souvenirs I bought over the years, that I ended up sending to the thrift store.
I like to buy a piece of jewelry to remember my trip by.
It's small and flies under the radar when going home!
I have been to Carcassone but it was in summer and on a tour so it was crawling with tourists, hot, and we only had a couple of hours to spend. I want to return on my own terms. We also visited Grenoble and Annecy on the same trip. I absolutely love the French Alps and will be returning sometime soon.
We love coffee mugs, a Christmas tree ornament and kitchen towels from places we visit.
Good video Gregor. I do like to splash out a little when I'm travelling. I usually will go to a nice restaurant for lunch and for dinner I will go to a cheap tasca type place and have a lighter cheap meal. I don't skimp on my accomodation either. I will pay a reasonable amount for a nice room but I won't go five stars. I normally rent an apartment for around €70 a night.
Gregor. I use the same company for my accomodation. They know me so well I get a free airport transfer service which costs €60. and a 15% discount if I book directly through the website.
Prices in Europe have indeed increased dramatically. We always stay in apartments, pensions, B&Bs, etc. Always have. We usually buy picnic fixings from local markets and eat in front of rural ruins, cathedrals, castles, mountains or the sea. We sometimes eat dinners out but more as occasional treats, not as a rule. We seek out discount days at museums, caves and galleries. We enjoy taking advantage of International Tourist Day with some attractions free or half price (in October). I'd rather spend an economical month in a small region and get to know it than rush around, "seeing" six countries in ten days of luxury.
We now live in Europe and buy fewer souvenirs but when we do, they are ONLY things unavailable elsewhere, endemic to that region and things we use such, not to be shoved into drawers.
Thank you!
Sound tips as usual. I can't thank you enough for the wealth of knowledge I've gleaned from your channel. I had the same thought on food as a tourist; Snack on street food meals all day long; a suppli and slice of pizza here, a panini there, then have a light dinner instead of an extended, pricey 3 course sit-down. Have a spritz and a couple glasses of wine with some charcuterie and bread for dinner and call it good. With your body adjusting to the time difference, going to bed with a heavy meal on your stomach can adversely affect sleep. As for souvenirs, my thing is shot glasses, as they don't take up a lot of space in the cabinet, and they're good conversation pieces when entertaining. I don't care for t-shirts or apparel because besides being somewhat cliché, it's kind of braggadocios like "Oh, look at me, I'm such a world traveler!"
You've never been to the OK Castle?😁
I book flights into one city and out a different city weeks later. Wing it in between. It is so easy to do with all the online resources.
After a curio cabinet full of dust collecting souvenirs, I only buy magnets now. I have a large magnetic whiteboard framed on my wall where I stick all my magnets. I'm looking for a world map the size of the whiteboard as a background, but I haven't found one the right size yet.
Is that the castle from Monty Python's 'The Holy Grail'?
Good information GB!! Thanks.
Excellent advice all the way around. We like to stay a week or more in each place so we get to know it and often locals get to know us. We also alternate between city and country/small village stays.
I hope to save some cash by grabbing a pizza and bottle of wine and eating somewhere in public while people watching a couple times a week for our trip next month to Italy. Sounds fun to me
I never travel internationally during the summer or Christmas. Anytime from the second week of October to second week of December, and/or middle of March to the middle of May. The weather is great (and if not, who cares?), not too crowded and hotels and BnBs give you decent prices. Also, as a person who likes to cook, I always try to find a local farmer's market and buy some stuff there. A simple steak and veggies with a bottle of local wine is a delightful dinner at home that takes no more than 20 minutes to cook, but will cost about 20% of the cost of a restaurant meal. The same goes for the breakfast omelet. I am not talking about cooking at home every single day during the vacation, but we doing it a few times in two weeks, and everyone loves it.
One thing I do to get a souvenir is to go to Thrift stores overseas. In the states I go to garage sales. I went to garage sales in Hawaii ( Big Island) and bought some beautiful little bowls hand painted from Japan. That was in the 90's still have them. 😊
Meal-wise, we did it the opposite of your suggestion. When we were in our place in Puglia in June/July, we would sparingly do pastries for breakfast, but just some meat and cheese at home for lunch. Then we could do as we please for dinner.
The best tip I was given by a tour guide on a food tour of Rome was to always buy the house wine rather than wine by the bottle. She said that most of the time the house wine is the local wine of the region or even town you are in and that it is a great way to try local variety of the wine. It’s usually the cheapest option on the menu and I’ve never had a bad one.
Prices are going up here in Canada as well. It's insane.
Just got back from 2 fab weeks in italy and france. I would say find local mom and pop restaurants that only locals go to
As a chef, I think I went opposite of this suggestion. I thoroughly enjoyed shopping in grocery stores throughout France, Spain, and Italy. I found everything to be cheap and fresh comparative to American standards. I took it as an opportunity to cook wonderful meals for my family every night. In hindsight, I wish I would’ve went out to dinner more. I wish I would have taken the chance on a random place and and perhaps had a great meal. Either way I had a wonderful time throughout Europe, I thank all the locals who made that possible. Safe travels to all. Many blessings to everyone. He
When I visit NYC, i picnic. I hit the Korean delis, the grocers (not supermarkets), and get whatever looks good, plus a bottle of beer. Then I pick my dining spot. A choice one is a park bench on Roosevelt island with a million dollar view of the skyline. Or any of the numerous structures made for people to sit on, like landscape retaining walls. You are in the thick of things with people streaming around yet you are invisible. Another good one is down by the old docks at Greenwich Village, you can watch the cruise ships depart while pic nic ing.
Hi Gregor ,
Loving your videos especially the ones on Florence. My partner and I have been to Florence twice, last time in 2018 for a month and we are hoping to get back for 6 weeks next year in the fall. We stayed very close to your apartment last trip and visited your local bar a few times and really enjoyed the atmosphere. Was wondering if you could do a video on Fiesole? Did visit last trip and did see alot but I am sure there is much more there.
Cheers from New Zealand.
John
Здравейте, съветите ви са много добри. И аз съм стигнала до същите изводи, пътувайки из Европа. Пролетта, късната есен и зимата са сезони с относително по-малко туристи. За щастие последните десетилетия успях да посетя основните забележителности на най-привлекателните за масовия туризъм места, които сега за непоносими заради тълпите хора. Вече пътувам до по-спокойни дестинации и се наслаждавам без да ми се изпразва джоба. Скоро бях в Неапол и въпреки неговата суматоха, открих прелестни обекти и ресторанти на добри цени. А Каркасон е изумително място и преди две години там обядвах с охлюви срещу скромната сума от 6 евро. Сега едва ли е така, но който иска може да посети ресторант с две звезди Мишлен на същото място. Сърдечни поздрави от България, която последните години вече се посещава от много туристи заради хилядолетната си история и красива природа.
I’ve just returned from a holiday in Italy. Because of my flight, I was in Bergamo and Milan, but I also spent 6 days at Lake Garda, and visited Venice and Verona. Your materials allowed me to feel the Italian atmosphere and accompanied me both before and during my vacation. I did everything the other way around – meaning I booked accommodation at the peak of the season just a week before the trip, but that’s simply how life turned out for me. 🙂 Despite the 38°C in Milan and possibly higher prices, I am very satisfied. What’s more, it’s hard for me to imagine staying at Lake Garda at any other time. It was wonderful. 🙂
I have been picking up inexpensive bracelets from the towns we visit when we go to Italy. I enjoy wearing them when I get home and they take very little space in my suitcase. I know where each of them is from and the memory that goes with them.