Discover Italy With Pat and Wayne Dunlap

With the holiday season in full effect, many people take to the roads and skies to visit with friends and family. Celebrating with loved ones is one of the best ways to spend any holiday or vacation but sometimes you just want to get away from it all without having to worry about pleasing your in-laws. If you and a couple close friends want to bypass the family drama and just get away from it all this holiday season, we may have some helpful information on how to do so without emptying your savings account. Especially if Italy is your destination of choice. Of course, this is all made possible thanks to the thriftiest of travelers, Pat and Wayne Dunlap.

We’ve told you about this amazing power couple before but just in case you didn’t quite pay attention last time, here’s another shot. The Dunlap’s have so much travel experience that they’ve perfected the art of traveling for less than the cost of living in the comforts of your own home. That’s pretty impressive, right? Having visited 100 different countries over the course of over 100 trips, they’ve gone by car, bus, cruise ship, airplane, trains, and tours, and know just about everything you could ever need or want to know.

They both put their knowledge to good use by being travel columnists for the Huffington Post, with some of their stories included in The Christian Science Monitor and Entrepreneur Magazine. They’ve even published their very own book, “Plan Your Escape: Secrets of Traveling the World for Less than the Cost of Living at Home.” Aside from their broad knowledge, it’s their passion and kindness that make them such great personalities to take advice from. They’re so great that they’re now the newest additions to Entertainer and Lifestyles Television, and will be heading up their very own segments to help make all your travel dreams a reality!

This month’s “Plan Your Escape” segment we saw Pat and Wayne chatting about their favorite travel destinations, which they whole-heartedly recommend, and some pretty valuable travel tips. One of the reasons why the Dunlap’s are so great is that they really know how amazing the world is and they have a genuine love for discovery and adventure. They believe that everyone should take advantage of the many sights and sounds of this beautiful world and want to help all of us have unforgettable experiences.

They first began their adventure by making a travel bucket list and recommend that anyone who is planning on traveling should do as well. Make a list of all the places you want to visit! One on their initial list was Italy, which they discovered to have gorgeous scenry, fantastic food, great history, and really friendly people. Venice has become one of their favorite cities in the world; they fell in love with the pedestrian-only city of some 400 bridges, 150 canals, and zero cars.

Pat really loves the romance of Venice, with the water bus tour along the Grand Canal and the gondola rides that drift you through the intimate back canals. Wayne, who leans more towards history, loves all of the historic buildings and stories, like how Venice controlled the Mediterranean for hundreds of years, making them lots of money and allowing them to build such rich and beautiful architecture. The combination of romance and history makes it the perfect city for the two of them to enjoy together.

In this month’s episode of E&L TV they discuss Italy’s stunning lakes, especially the northern Lake District where lakes and villas can be found, as well as George Clooney’s villa. Lake Como is one of their favorite special places that has great food and a plethora of lakeside villas and gardens. They advise staying in the village of Menaggio, not only because of its beauty, but also because the people there really want to please you and the prices are affordable. Due to the ferries, it’s super easy to explore all of the villas, gardens, and hotels around Lake Como.

When you travel to a new place, whether it be a new country or simply a new state, you definitely want to arrive feeling refreshed and excited. Elaine Masters (travel writer, Yoga teacher, and author of “Drivetime Yoga and Flytime Yoga”) came on the show to chat with Pat and Wayne about arriving at your destination feeling great. If you’ve ever felt the strain of a sore back while one a long road trip or flight, Masters has some helpful tips on how to avoid the discomfort. She also spoke about how to avoid unpleasant airline food and how to keep up with a fitness routine while traveling. If you want to learn all about how to keep comfortable, make sure to tune into this month’s E&L TV episode!

Now, getting to those life-saving travel tips! The Dunlap’s advise to use Online Bounce Back Offers. OBBO are when you are shopping online for…let’s say a pair of shoes, only to decide you don’t want them anymore. Suddenly, you’re starting to get messages about those same shoes at a lower cost. That’s an OBBO and travel sites certainly have them as well. According to Wayne, less than one percent of people go back to the same site and buy the service or product so the companies figure why not offer a discount? So, to take advantage you need to visit a good handful of online airline, car rental, and hotel booking sites and start the process of booking. Punch in your travel dates, locations, and email address (make sure you select to receive emails from the company), and then just log off without booking. Soon, you’ll be getting emails offering you deals on the things you were thinking about booking. Pat says that when they did it, they would get offers for $19/day car rentals in New Zealand where before it was $60, and flights for under $100. While the OBBO offers don’t always happen, when they do, it’s worth the few minutes you spent punching your info in.

If you want to know more, visit PlanYourEscapeTV.com and tune in every month to E&L TV!