How Much Does a Travel Advisor Cost for Italy?
If you’re researching travel advisors for your Italy trip, one of your first questions is probably: What’s this actually going to cost me?
It’s a fair question, and one that deserves a straight answer. So here it is.
What All Together Getaways Charges
I charge a non-refundable planning fee based on the complexity of your trip:
Simple Trip — $300 per household
Best for single-destination trips up to 7 nights with straightforward logistics.
Examples: A week in Rome, 7 nights on a single Greek island
Standard Custom Itinerary — $500 per household
Best for two-destination trips up to 14 nights, or single destinations with 8-14 nights and more complex planning needs.
Examples: 10 nights in Rome and the Amalfi Coast; 12 nights exploring Tuscany with three different town bases
Complex Custom Itinerary — $750 per household
Best for multi-destination trips, itineraries 15+ nights, or trips requiring intricate logistics like ferry coordination or special event timing.
Examples: Rome, Florence, Venice, and the Amalfi Coast; Athens plus two Greek islands with ferry connections
This fee covers everything I do to plan your trip: the consultation calls, destination research, itinerary design, supplier coordination, booking management, pre-travel support, and advocacy if anything goes wrong during your trip.
That’s it. No hidden fees, no markups, no surprises. You can learn more about my complete planning process and fee structure on my How I Help page.
Why Travel Advisors Charge Planning Fees
If you’ve been researching travel advisors, you’ve probably noticed that planning fees have become standard practice in the industry. There are a few practical reasons for that shift.
First, the commission landscape has changed significantly. Airlines have decreased or eliminated commissions over time, which means advisors can’t rely on flight bookings as a revenue source the way they once could.
Second, travelers increasingly want personalized, customized itineraries rather than pre-packaged tours. That customization requires significantly more planning time—researching specific neighborhoods, vetting local guides, comparing hotel locations, coordinating logistics between multiple destinations.
Third, the scope of what travel advisors handle has expanded beyond just commissionable bookings. Advisors are increasingly coordinating elements like restaurant reservations, sporting event tickets, concert bookings, and other experiences that don’t generate commission but are essential to making a trip work smoothly.
Planning fees compensate advisors for that time and expertise, regardless of which components of your trip happen to be commissionable. For you as a traveler, it means your advisor can recommend what’s actually best for your trip without being limited to only suppliers that pay commission.
How Travel Advisor Fees Compare
Not all travel advisors charge the same way, and understanding the differences can help you figure out what kind of service you’re getting.
Luxury Travel Advisors
Luxury-focused advisors often charge higher planning fees, often $1,500 or more for a custom Italy itinerary. In exchange, you get access to exclusive properties, VIP experiences, 24/7 concierge support, and relationships with high-end suppliers.
If you want private after-hours museum tours, stays at five-star properties, and a fully white-glove experience, a luxury advisor is the right fit. You’re paying for access and exclusivity as much as you’re paying for planning.
Premium Travel Advisors (That’s Me)
Premium advisors sit in the middle. We design high-quality trips with elevated experiences, but we’re not focused on ultra-luxury suppliers.
The advantage? Flexibility. I can recommend a charming boutique hotel that saves you $400 a night so you can spend that money on a private cooking class in Tuscany. I can book four-star accommodations in Rome so you have more budget for a guided Amalfi Coast tour. I can mix a Michelin-recommended trattoria with a family-run agriturismo dinner.
You get thoughtful planning, cultural depth, and premium experiences, without the pressure to book only the most expensive option in every category.
My $500-$750 planning fees reflect that approach. You’re paying for my time, expertise, and Italy destination knowledge, not for access to a network of ultra-luxury suppliers.
Commission-Only Advisors
Some advisors still work without planning fees, relying entirely on supplier commissions. This model works well for certain types of travel — especially cruises, all-inclusive resorts, or group tours where the planning is relatively straightforward and the advisor can efficiently serve multiple clients.
For custom Italy itineraries, commission-only advisors are less common simply because of how time-intensive the planning process is. Coordinating multiple destinations, researching local tours and guides, managing train schedules and transfers, and designing a cohesive multi-city itinerary requires significant hours of work.
Some commission-only advisors handle this by specializing in pre-packaged Italy tours or working primarily with tour operators who handle most of the logistics. That can be a good fit if you’re comfortable with a more structured itinerary and less customization.
What You're Actually Paying For
When you pay a travel advisor’s planning fee, here’s what you’re getting:
Destination expertise. I specialize in Italy. I’ve researched the regions, I know which cities pair well together, I understand the logistics of getting from Florence to the Amalfi Coast, and I can tell you why Siena might be a better fit for your family than San Gimignano. That knowledge saves you hours of research and helps you avoid expensive mistakes.
Itinerary design. A good Italy itinerary isn’t just a list of cities and hotels. It’s about pacing, transitions, and how each day builds on the last. I design itineraries that balance iconic sights with cultural experiences, that account for travel time and jetlag, and that feel intentional rather than rushed.
Supplier relationships. I work with trusted local guides, tour operators, drivers, and hotels. I know which companies provide excellent service and which ones are hit-or-miss. Those relationships also mean I can advocate for you if something goes wrong during your trip.
Logistics management. Booking a trip to Italy involves coordinating flights, hotels, trains, rental cars, transfers, tours, and restaurant reservations. I handle all of that, including the tedious parts like comparing train schedules and making sure your hotel checkout times align with your tour pickup times.
Pre-travel support. Before you leave, I provide you with a detailed itinerary, booking confirmations, destination information, and answers to any questions that come up. You’ll feel confident and prepared when you board your flight.
Problem-solving during your trip. If a flight is delayed, a tour is canceled, or a hotel reservation gets mixed up, I’m your advocate. I work with suppliers to rebook, rearrange, or find alternatives so you can focus on enjoying your trip.
All of that takes time, expertise, and care. That’s what you’re paying for.
The Hidden Costs of Planning Italy Yourself
If you’re comparing my $500-$750 planning fee to the “free” option of planning your Italy trip yourself, it’s worth considering what DIY planning actually costs.
Your time. Planning a custom Italy trip can easily take 20-40 hours or more. That’s time spent researching destinations, reading travel blogs, comparing hotels, figuring out train schedules, vetting tour companies, and trying to piece everything together into a coherent itinerary. If you value your time at even $25 an hour, that’s $500-$1,000 worth of work.
Mistakes and missed opportunities. If you book a hotel in Rome that’s far from the sights you want to see, you’ll spend extra time and money on taxis. If you choose a tour company with mediocre guides, you won’t get the cultural depth you were hoping for. If you misjudge how long it takes to get from Florence to Cinque Terre, you might miss your train or lose half a day of sightseeing.
Those mistakes add up, both in dollars and in disappointment.
Stress and decision fatigue. Planning a trip to Italy involves hundreds of decisions. Which neighborhoods should you stay in? Should you rent a car in Tuscany or hire a driver? Is that cooking class worth €150 per person? By the time you’ve made all those decisions, you might be too exhausted to enjoy the planning process or the trip itself.
A travel advisor takes that decision fatigue off your plate. You still get input and choices, but I narrow down the options and guide you toward what’s most likely to work for your travel style, interests, and budget.
No safety net. If something goes wrong during your DIY trip (a canceled flight, a booking error, an unexpected closure), you’re on your own to fix it. That might mean spending hours on hold with an airline, frantically searching for alternative accommodations, or losing money on non-refundable bookings.
When you work with a travel advisor, you have someone in your corner who can step in and solve problems on your behalf.
When a Travel Advisor Is Worth the Cost
A travel advisor makes the most sense if:
- You’re planning a multi-destination Italy trip with multiple moving parts (cities, hotels, trains, tours, transfers)
- You value cultural experiences and want guidance on what’s worth your time and money
- You have limited vacation time and want to make the most of every day
- You’d rather spend your evenings and weekends enjoying life instead of researching train schedules
- You want the confidence of knowing your trip is well-planned before you board your flight
- You appreciate having support if something goes wrong during your trip
If that sounds like you, a $500-$750 planning fee is a worthwhile investment. You’re not just paying for convenience; you’re paying for a better trip.
When You Might Not Need a Travel Advisor
To be fair, not everyone needs a travel advisor. If you’re planning a simple trip (maybe just Rome and Florence, staying in two hotels, taking a couple of tours) and you enjoy the research process, you can probably handle that yourself.
Travel advisors also aren’t the right fit if you’re extremely budget-conscious and planning a shoestring trip. My services are designed for travelers who want premium experiences and are willing to invest in quality, thoughtfulness, and ease of planning. If you’re looking for the cheapest possible options in every category, DIY planning or a budget tour company will be a better match.
And if you’re the kind of person who genuinely loves diving into travel logistics (reading forums, comparing every hotel review, building your own spreadsheets), then planning might not feel like work to you. In that case, you might prefer the control and satisfaction of doing it yourself.
How to Decide If It's Worth It for Your Trip
Here’s a simple way to think about it:
Add up what you’d be spending on your Italy trip without a travel advisor: flights, hotels, tours, meals, transportation. For a 10-day Italy trip for two people, that might be $8,000 to $12,000 or more, depending on your travel style.
Now ask yourself: Is spending an additional $500 to $750 (roughly 5 to 7% of your total trip cost) worth it to ensure that $10,000 trip is well-planned, stress-free, and designed around your interests?
For most people planning a meaningful Italy vacation, the answer is yes.
Ready to Start Planning?
If you’re ready to talk about your Italy trip, schedule a complimentary planning call and we’ll take it from there. You can also learn more about how I work with clients and what the planning process looks like.
And if you’re still deciding whether a travel advisor is the right choice for your trip, I’d recommend reading my post on Should You Use a Travel Advisor to Plan Your Italy Trip? It walks through the scenarios where advisors add the most value and when they might not be necessary.
All Together Getaways specializes in custom Italy travel planning for couples and families. I design thoughtfully planned itineraries that bring Italian culture to life through elevated experiences — without the stress of figuring it all out yourself.