Episode #234: Savor Italy – Important Tips for Mindful Travel

This article may contain compensated links. See our full disclosure here

Have questions about your trip to Italy? Ask our Zia our online travel assistant for instant answers - click here to try

Listen to “234. Savor Italy: Important Tips for Mindful Travel” on Spreaker.

LISTEN ON APPLE LISTEN ON SPOTIFY DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

follow us

Traveling to Italy offers a chance to immerse yourself in its rich history, vibrant culture, and stunning landscapes. However, to make your trip more enriching and sustainable, consider small adjustments that enhance your experience while respecting the local environment and communities. By valuing the places you visit, exploring lesser-known attractions, supporting local businesses, and making mindful decisions, you can enjoy a more authentic and positive impact on your travels. Embrace these tips to ensure that your Italian adventure is not only memorable but also sustainable.

Summary

We welcome back Corinna Cooke who runs small group tours in Italy and is the author of best selling book series Glam Italia! How to Travel Italy. In her guides, Corinna approaches travel differently – showing you the places that you probably don’t know inside of the big famous cities. We discuss how to really enjoy your travels to Italy, but not be part of the ever-growing problem of over-tourism. Many of us are keen to be more responsible and sustainable travelers but don’t always know where to start. The good news is that a lot of little choices you make can have a big impact, with the bonus of likely improving your experiences too.

What you’ll learn in this episode

  • Making small adjustments can make a big difference – to sustainability as well as to your experiences
  • Value your destination – appreciate and respect where you’re visiting, which includes reducing your waste
  • Explore beyond the major sights in cities like Rome, Florence, and Venice and also consider visiting less touristy places like Le Marche, Abruzzo, and the Tuscan coasts for affordability and much less international tourism
  • Spend wisely – your spending impacts the local economy. Make mindful decisions about where you shop and what you buy and eating where the locals eat will mean supporting local businesses as well as better food at lower prices
  • Re-consider large group tours. Explore small group tour options or travel independently to avoid feeding the mass tourism model

Timeline Overview

  • 03:38 European cities overwhelmed by tourists, sustainable travel increasing
  • 09:25 Seek out personalized experiences beyond the tourist hotspots
  • 24:38 Support local artisans for a positive impact
  • 27:00 Eat where locals eat and support their economy
  • 42:34 Visit hidden, less crowded destinations

About our guest – Corinna Cooke

Author Corinna Cooke is a favorite guest on Untold Italy. Originally from New Zealand, she fell in love with Italy thanks to a high school art history teacher who introduced her to Italian Renaissance art. After moving to London and traveling throughout Europe, she couldn’t stop returning to her beloved Italy.

Now living in Phoenix in the United States, Corinna is a woman of many skills. She leads several Glam Italia small group tours to Italy each year and writes guidebooks of the same name exploring her favorite corners of beautiful Italia. And her “day job” is as a make-up artist. But, her heart is always called to Italy. 101 Fabulous Things to do in Venice is her latest book full of fascinating stories, tips, and tricks on how to have a fabulous time in Venice. 

Follow Corinna here

Corinna’s books

Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things To Do In Venice: Fantastic Finds In The most Unique City On Earth (Glam Italia! How To Travel Italy)
Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things to Do in Rome: Beyond the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps (Glam Italia! How To Travel Italy)
Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things To Do In Florence: Insider Secrets To The Renaissance City (Glam Italia! How To Travel Italy)
Glam Italia! How To Travel Italy: Secrets To Glamorous Travel (On A Not So Glamorous Budget)

Italian places, foods and concepts mentioned

Places

  • Palazzo Massimo – former palace now containing a museum of classical art
  • Baths of Diocletian – public baths in ancient Rome, built between 298 CE and 306 CE and named after emperor Diocletian
  • Baths of Caracalla – Rome’s second largest Roman public baths first built in the early AD 200s and operated until the 530s
  • Palazzo Altemps – 15th-century former palace now an art gallery with Renaissance artworks
  • Uffizi Gallery – world-renowned gallery home to Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus”, statues by Michelangelo and more
  • Modena – city in Emilia Romagna region home to Italian car manufacturers Lamborghini, Ferrari and Pagani
  • Le Marche – lesser visited region of Italy bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the north, Tuscany and Umbria to the west, as well as Lazio and Abruzzo to the south, with the Adriatic Sea to the east
  • Abruzzo – region east of Rome, with mountains as well as the Trabocchi Coast
  • Genoa – port city and the capital of the Liguria region, in northwest Italy
  • Puglia – the region in the south, covering the heel of Italy, with amazing coastal destinations
  • Cilento – coastal area south of the Amalfi Coast

Words / Concepts

  • Lamborghini, Ferrari, Pagani – Italian car manufacturers 
  • Atomic Habits – book by James Clear on building good habits and breaking bad ones
  • Nasoni – the free drinking water fountains that can be found all over Rome

Related content on Untold Italy

Podcasts

Articles

Plan your Italian adventures with Untold Italy

If you’re enjoying the podcast and are excited about going to Italy but are overwhelmed by all the options, why not hire our Italy travel experts to help you build your dream trip. Our Italy Trip Planning services will get you from dreaming to booking the trip that suits you and your travel companions best – whether it’s a week in Tuscany, visiting the iconic Italian cities or an off-the-beaten-path adventure in Sicily > learn more

THE BEST!

If you want a curated Italian adventure, this is your solution. We hired Tyla and the Untold Italy crew to put together our itinerary through Tuscany. We had the vacation of a lifetime! – Jamey Ice (Google) –  read more reviews.

Untold Italy Tours

Founded in 2022, our small group tour company takes curious travelers on multi-day adventures to Italy’s lesser-known regions and to secret spots in places that are better known. Departing in Spring and Fall/Autumn, each trip focuses on food and wine, local traditions and uncovering the Italy you’ve always dreamed of > learn more.

Planning a trip to Italy?

We love travel in Italy and sharing our knowledge. Read our popular Italy trip planning guide or join our FREE Italy Travel Planning Community. Our 150,000+ members are happy to answer questions about your itinerary, how to get from place to place, the best places to stay and fun things to do.

Sign up for our news and podcast updates where we share mini guides, tips, exclusive deals and more and we'll send you our Italy Trip Planning Checklist to say grazie! >> click here to subscribe

Disclosure: Untold Italy assists our readers with carefully chosen product and services recommendations that help make travel easier and more fun. If you click through and make a purchase on many of these items we may earn a commission. All opinions are our own – please visit our disclosure page for more information.

Please share if you found this article useful