After travelling across Italy with her three children, the tourism strategist says memorable family trips are built around flexibility, practical planning and experiences rather than the number of countries visited.
By Wapcodehub9ja LIVE News: Travel & Lifestyle Desk
Travelling through Italy with three children has given Nigerian tourism strategist Elizabeth Agboola a different perspective on family holidays, with the experience highlighting the importance of flexibility, budgeting and leaving room for unexpected moments.
Agboola, who has travelled to more than 70 countries, recently shared lessons from an Italian journey with her three children, aged 12, 12 and 14. The family travelled through several destinations by train, bus, ferry and on foot, turning the trip into a practical lesson in navigating Europe with children.
The family spent eight nights travelling from Naples through destinations including Capri, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Rome, Vatican City, Pisa, Florence and Venice. Agboola said that if she had not previously taken her children to Milan, she would have extended the journey to 10 days and completed the route through northern Italy.
One of her major lessons involved transportation and timing. A delayed train caused the family to miss a ferry to Capri, forcing them to purchase new tickets for four people. The experience reinforced the importance of allowing enough time between connections and checking whether tickets can be changed or refunded.
Accommodation also became part of the family’s strategy. Rather than paying the higher prices associated with some of the Amalfi Coast’s most popular locations, Agboola said they stayed in Castellammare di Stabia and used transport connections to reach nearby destinations.
The journey also demonstrated how quickly small expenses can become significant when travelling as a family. Transport, food, public toilets, beach clubs and unexpected replacement tickets all had to be multiplied across four people, making advance budgeting particularly important.
In Rome, the family balanced paid experiences with attractions that could be enjoyed without purchasing tickets. Agboola said one expense she considered worthwhile was a professional family photoshoot near the Colosseum, arguing that meaningful experiences and lasting memories can sometimes be more valuable than simply paying to enter every attraction.
Pisa brought another unexpected lesson when a misunderstanding involving public transport resulted in penalty notices. The family later missed a planned bus to Venice and had to change their route through Florence, where an unplanned stop became part of the holiday itself.
Venice reinforced another lesson about family travel: the cheapest option is not always the most useful. Agboola said walking can sometimes provide both transportation and sightseeing, while selected experiences such as a gondola ride can be worth paying for when they hold particular value for the family.
For Nigerian travellers, Agboola’s broader message is that a European holiday does not necessarily have to involve visiting as many countries as possible. She argues that staying within one country and creating a logical route can provide a richer experience while reducing the pressure of constantly changing airports, hotels and borders.
Her proposed 10-day Italian circuit would include the Naples and Amalfi Coast area, Rome and Vatican City, Pisa and Florence, Venice and finally Milan. The approach allows travellers to connect destinations by rail and road while giving themselves more time to experience each location.
After more than a dozen visits to Italy and extensive international travel, Agboola says she has become less interested in counting countries and more interested in how thoughtfully a journey is planned. Her experience suggests that delays, wrong turns and unexpected expenses can become part of the memories families ultimately value most.
Be the first to comment