My Dream Trip, If Money Is Not the Deciding Factor. What’s Yours?

If money wasn’t the deciding factor what would you… My wife has posed this question to me many times for different subjects. What job would you want if you didn’t have to worry about the pay, where in the world would you go? So I ask you if you could travel wherever you wanted and money was not an issue or a deciding factor. Where would you go, and what would you do? Would you travel to many places or stay in one place and explore one location to your heart’s content? Is it one country or many? This is an unlimited credit card to do whatever, whenever you wanted, regardless of the price. And yes, I have given this a lot of thought.

I would head straight to Italy, and explore as much of the country as possible. Italy has been my dream trip for over 20 years. Every time I come to a point I can reach out and grab it, it slips away from me over and over again. This last time, I finally bought the tickets, which had never been done. COVID hit us like a ton of bricks and put a closed sign on the world. The first plan was after high school but a family medical emergency came up and had to be put on the backburner. My grandpa ended up breaking his neck and my mom and I were helping with his care. So they were paying me a little to be there to help. But not enough to put away for a European month-long dream trip like I had been planning. And at the time we lived 30 minutes outside a small town of about 10,000 people. So needless to say we lived in Timbuctoo. Not a lot of job opportunities close by.

The next try, the community college I was going to had a three-month study abroad trip that I was saving for. But not long after that, my dad was diagnosed with cancer, so put it on hold again. That one was my choice though. My dad was a big part of my life and I would have loved for him to be able to go with me. And his original diagnosis was a speed bump on the road of life. Sadly, that was not how life works, and he passed away about a year and a half later. After he passed, I lost the drive to want to do that trip and a lot of my other passions for a long time. I finally put my foot down and said, “I am doing this for me” and in September 2019. I bought a round-trip ticket to Rome for a three-week trip, and my flight was supposed to leave in September 2020. In comes COVID, and bye-bye to the trip again. I booked a year in advance so I can save as much money as possible. I wanted to do as much as I wanted since this was a long time coming for me. By March I already had $2000 saved and 6 more months to go. But by April my flight got canceled and I ended up rebooking to go meet my now wife’s family in South Africa. That got pushed once to January 2021, since COVID was still going strong. Now trying to get the time free from work to go do the Italy trip in November this year 2023.

So back to the original question, money is no object. I would fly to Rome and spend the first 2 weeks there. I love sitting at cafes and taking in the area, watching the people. Exploring the city, specifically, the non-tourist areas. See tourist things as well, like the Vatican, and the Sistine Chapel. To see that famous ceiling with my own eyes is something I am really looking forwards to. See the Coliseum and the Trevi Fountain. Rent a Vespa and ride around Rome. And again, sit in a cafe and enjoy the culture and explore a bit of my family heritage. Then head south to see the ancient ruins of Pompeii. One thing I had been planning for my trip in 2020 was seeing the ruins. For about $300 you can get a private tour by one of the archeologists at the site. They take you to areas off limits to a normal tour group. And that is $300 for a group, not per person. after Pompeii. Take a quick jump over to the Amalfi coast, and slowly head north up the coast to Tuscany. Spend about a month exploring the Tuscan countryside and Florence. I have been told I should spend more time in Florence than in Rome. So maybe another 2 weeks in the city by itself. An overnight to Venice, but to be 100% honest, I hear it is one giant tourist trap, so very few days are needed there.

Next head a bit more north, almost to the Swiss border and go to one of my bucket list locations, Lake Como. Lake Como has been the site of many movies over the years. to name a few Casino Royale, Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, Oceans Twelve, and many more. It has been a spot I have wanted to see since I was a little kid, with the beautiful lake backed by the Swiss Alps. Rent a boat and explore the lake a bit and see the spectacular scenery that pictures fail to capture.

Then last, head back south to the west coast to walk down the Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre is 5 small towns on the Italian Riviera. The towns hug the cliff sides and have a stunning view of the ocean the entire walk. There is a bus that can take you from town to town as well. But I truly believe that the only way to experience the beauty of these areas is on foot. Actually to be in the locations to take in the pure beauty of the country and really learn about the people.

I feel I could stay in the country for a year and not see everything that I want to see properly. Another must-go for me is to see the port city of Bari, that is for me though. In my family research, I have done, that is the port that my family left in the late 1800s to come to America. They were from Sicily in the Palermo province. I have been told from the town of Corleone, but I haven’t found concrete evidence of this yet. But the Godfather movies make it very appealing. The Corleone Family was given the name from the town. I would not be unhappy if I find this one to be true. Needless to say, if money wasn’t a deciding factor, I would be spending the next 3 months in Italy.

I would love to hear from others about what their dream trip would be. And how long would they go, and maybe a little bit of why? And maybe sometime in the future, I can be in a position to grant someone their dream trip as well.