Look at doing an Open-Jaw<\/span> or sometimes called a multi-destination<\/span> where you fly into Rome, and out of Venice. \u00a0This will significantly increase your chances of finding availability for the dates that you want.<\/p>\n On my last trip to Europe I really considered flying in and out of Milan. \u00a0The biggest issue was that the car rental was cheaper out of Switzerland than Milan, so I chose Zurich.<\/p>\n Realize that you’ll still make it to Venice, or Rome, but it might be easier to find your dates out of \u00a0Milan. \u00a0Brad did a post a bit back about using the AA miles to get to Europe, so check it out.<\/a>\u00a0 Also check out the post to make sure you don’t get whacked with ridiculous surcharges.<\/a><\/p>\n One of our Wanderlustful friends did just this on his most recent trip to Italy. \u00a0You’ll remember his post about thinking he wouldn’t make it to Europe until he was grey haired, retired, and wore tube socks.<\/a>\u00a0 His whole vacation was planned so he could stay at hotels in Padova, Pisa, and Florence for free with points.<\/p>\n Here is how you do that:<\/p>\n Find the tab on our site for “How to Wanderlust” and look for the page called “Using Hotel Points.”<\/p>\n Then look through the hotel chains to see all of their properties and tiers. \u00a0We’ve added a link that asks, “Where can I stay?” to help you to find the hotels in each tier for all of the major companies.<\/p>\n Once you pick a hotel chain, check out their tiers 1 and 2 to see the lowest redemption tiers. \u00a0This will make your points last longer, and will give you more bang for your buck.<\/p>\n This is how we found our Alpine Europe loop with SPG<\/a> about two years ago. \u00a0It got me so excited that I had to make the trip work. \u00a0What a dream.<\/p>\n Have you ever eaten a plain potato fresh out of the ground without cooking it? \u00a0Was it the most delectable thing you’ve ever eaten? \u00a0Probably not. \u00a0If you were starving caveman, didn’t have time to cook the potato, or add any salt, it would simply fill your cavities.<\/p>\n Now, for comparative purposes…. Have you ever eaten a baked potato that was loaded with butter, sprinkled with salt & pepper, topped with bacon, sour cream, and chives? \u00a0Both of the potatoes would fill you up and keep you from starvation. \u00a0[Can you tell that I’m an Idaho boy through and through?]<\/p>\n The case can be made that preparing for trip properly is like eating a well cooked, and topped potato. \u00a0Either way you will keep from wanderlust starvation, but we want more than that. We want a delicious feast.<\/p>\n Making sure you research your trip\u00a0\u00a0probably help you to realize what things you’d like to see along the way in your trip. \u00a0Rick Steves was the one who got me excited about visiting the Reifenstein Castle<\/a>, and man I was really glad that I took his advice.<\/p>\n My wife and I also watched a fascinating video on Netflix about the building of Venice. \u00a0Really diving into the locations that you’ll be visiting will make a huge difference in your total experience. \u00a0For more research ideas, you can see this past post with other ideas.<\/a><\/p>\n Keep in mind that this can be done while you’re on the trip. \u00a0Wikipedia can be very useful <\/a>in helping you to learn about the things that you’ve seen for the day.<\/p>\n Have you ever dreamed about visiting Venice? \u00a0Riding in a Gondola down the Grand Canal sound romantic? \u00a0How about two scoops of the best cinnamon (my favorite) gelato you’ve ever tasted? And watching the sunset over St. Mark’s square will blow you away. \u00a0There are some great experiences to be had out there.<\/p>\n Even for the least frugal worldwanderlusters costs can become an issue. \u00a0It’s probably the most commonly used excuse when it comes to why people don’t travel. \u00a0To use your SPG points on Venice you would need to burn about 25,000 for one night. \u00a0No gracias! \u00a0What a ripoff! \u00a0However, staying about 45 minutes away would only cost you 7000 points. \u00a0More than likely you’ve got to pass through Padova to get to Venice anyway if you’re coming from Milan, or Munich.<\/p>\n Why not spend two nights in Padova, and wake up early to burn it to Venice so you can have a full day of enjoying the city without hauling your luggage up and down the stairs? \u00a0That way when you’re exhausted from the day of activites, you can hop on the train or in your car to make it back to the same hotel where your stuff has been awaiting you?<\/p>\n Blasphemy! \u00a0You mean to say that Sheldon didn’t stay the night on Venice? \u00a0The truth is that I didn’t. \u00a0We had a great time on our vacation, and would recommend the same to you. \u00a0The truth is that paying for all of the hotels would have either resulted in cockroaches, or not going. \u00a0Hotels are expensive.<\/p>\n Realize that you might have to stay a few miles or an hour from the place you’d love to see. \u00a0It will lower the overall cost of your vacation and make it possible so you can feel good about getting raked over the coals when you pay the Goldolier.<\/p>\n Congrats. \u00a0You’ve settled on Eastern Europe. Your Club Carlson Gold Points will get you free nights in Bulgaria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic<\/a>. \u00a0This is going to be an exciting trip. \u00a0The only thing is that you’ve been dying to see Croatia too. \u00a0Your family history leads back to Zagreb, and you’d like to spend some time looking for your ancestors there.<\/p>\n I’m sure that a quick glance at the Marriott or Priority Club category 1 & 2 would add a number of additional sites that you could see in your journey.<\/p>\n The idea here is that you’re combining the low level redemptions from American Airlines, Club Carlson, and SPG to create an incredibly cheap and unforgettable vacation.<\/p>\n Once the trip has been booked you’ll go back to the step about research and you’ll get to Get on board and score yourself some SPG miles while the deal is on.<\/p>\n Almost anything can be difficult on its maiden voyage. \u00a0The unsinkable Titanic sits at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, Abraham Lincoln was defeated in his first few elections, and the dent in mom’s minivan wasn’t the best news you’ve … Continue reading 2. Plan your trip around the free hotels<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n3. Rent a Rick Steves, watch other videos, read books etc<\/h2>\n
4. Be prepared to stay wherever you need<\/h2>\n
5. Score more points & miles<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>\u00a0Check this out. \u00a0If you combine the category 1 & 2 deals from your Club Carlson with the Category 1 hotels from Starwood Preferred Guest, you’ll be able to see the grave of your great grandfather in Zagreb.<\/p>\n6. Book the trip with points & miles<\/h2>\n
work<\/del> play around finding all of the fun things you’ll be doing on the trip.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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