Meet Carlo, your expert in Rome!
🌍 Lives in: Rome, Italy
Regions of Expertise: Rome and the Lazio region
Languages: English, Italiano
Experience: 30 years as a guide and tour director
Carlo’s specialties:
Get to know Carlo!
A note from Carlo
"Ciao fellow travelers and Italy lovers!
My name is Carlo and I consider myself bicultural as I was born in Rome and raised there until the age of 10, when my family moved to the U.S., where I lived until I finished college. Of course, all 3 months of every summer throughout my childhood and university years were always spent back in Italy!
After finishing college, I then moved back to Italy to study/apprentice to become a tour guide of Rome & the Lazio region. Wow, that was 30 years ago! 😅 As soon as I passed the guide exams and got my guide license, I set off leading tours of my beloved city. Ever since, I’ve been a guide here in Rome, managing my family’s boutique tour business, organizing countrywide trips for clients, and showing off my hometown to travelers.
When I’m not working I try to spend as much time as possible traveling the world (I’m at over 80 countries!!) or exploring new places in Italy - my country never ceases to amaze me and there’s always somewhere new to be discovered.
I’m also a big logistics guy and love to create custom itineraries for people to help them maximize their time and move around my beautiful country as efficiently as possible.
So whether you’re coming to Rome or are headed elsewhere in Italy, it would be my absolute pleasure to work with you to plan your visit here. I love Italy and I’m excited to help you discover the very best of this magical place!”
Q&A with Carlo
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Rome has everything and anything you couId possibly want. Out of all the cities of the world, I think it’s fair to say that Rome can compete with any of them when it comes to history, culture, architecture, archaeology, art, and cuisine. You could plan an entire vacation to just Rome and never run out of things to see or do.
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A wonderful day in Rome might include a stroll in the ancient city center to see some of the most famous as well as less known sights, and another half day spent driving to other sights outside the city center, which are guaranteed to be far less frequented, yet still amaze you.
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This isn’t especially exciting or “off the beaten path”, but I think visiting some of the city’s underground sights and ruins is an unmissable experience.
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Rome is filled with fabulous restaurants (along with many mediocre ones hoping to prey on tourists), but my favorite, whose name I will be keep to myself here (!), is a little trattoria with nice outdoor dining and specials that change with every season, meaning that they’re using only the freshest ingredients at any given time.
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Roman artichokes (they’re way too much work to ever prepare them yourselves though!), pasta all carbonara - only made the right way-, and a good, simple pasta with a spicy arrabbiata sauce.
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Other than traveling, in my free time I practice all sorts of outdoor adventure sports from snow & water skiing, wake surfing, tennis, racquetball, ocr races, mountain biking, scuba diving, and soccer, of course! Basically, I’m always doing something active.
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I like adventure travel quite a lot, but I also love history and archaeology, so like to mix in a nice balance of art, culture, and historical sightseeing on my travels.
And when my budget can afford it, it’s always nice to indulge in a little luxury from time to time. -
Some years ago I went on a two-week trip through Israel & Jordan to better understand the melting pot of the 3 most widespread religions in the world! It was an unbelievable experience.
Rome Travel Consultations
Plan a better trip with some help from Carlo
Sit down with Carlo for a one-hour planning session to get his expert advice and the best local tips and recommendations.
Our travel consultations are the perfect solution for do-it-yourself travelers who want to plan on their own, but could use some expert local advice. Each consultation is personalized, and Carlo is available to help in whatever way you need.
From working on your itinerary and advising on routes and transportation, to ideas for off the beaten path destinations and truly authentic experiences, he's got you covered.
For the best local advice, go ask a local!
Why plan with Carlo
Spend 60 minutes tapping into Carlo’s hyperlocal expertise to plan a better trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Consultations cost $150 USD.
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Consultations are held over Google Meet. Once you’ve scheduled your call, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing the link for your video call. On the scheduled day and time, just click that link to join.
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Each consultation is different, but here are some common things that our experts typically help with:
Itinerary planning
Transportation, driving routes, and tips for how to get around
Practical travel information; culture, safety, weather, language, money/tipping, etc.
Suggested hotels/accommodations and advice on where to base yourself
Local recommendations for restaurants, activities, and unique experiences
Advice on reputable tour guides, tour operators, and excursions
Pro tips on how to best visit popular sights and attractions
Ways to avoid overcrowded destinations and tourist traps
Insider ideas on off the beaten path places, authentic experiences, and ways to connect with locals
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What you can get done in an hour depends on your goals for the consultation and how organized you are coming into it.
In most cases, an hour is ample time to create a solid itinerary, answer your major travel questions, get practical advice on how to travel in your destination, and discuss lots of great local tips and recommendations.
To ensure that the hour is used efficiently, when you schedule your call, our pre-consultation questionnaire will ask you what your primary goals for the consultation are. Prior to the call, your Local Expert will review your questionnaire and prepare detailed information addressing those goals.
They’ll come into the call ready to share specific advice, recommendations, itinerary ideas/revisions, and useful links and resources for you to review together.
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Yes! Each consultation is guided by a comprehensive pre-consultation questionnaire that you fill out immediately upon booking.
We’ll ask you a series of 30+ detailed questions that really dig into you, your trip, your interests and travel style, and what you want to discuss with your Local Expert.
The questionnaire will cover things like: the dynamics of your group, the things you enjoy while traveling, your budget, how early you want to start your day and how late you want to end it, whether you want to hit the highlights or roam the back streets, and even what types of restaurants you want to eat at.
Your Local Expert will focus only on your interests and travel style.
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Our Local Experts are seasoned travel professionals who have spent decades working in their countries/regions. While their personal interests may be different from yours, they’ve worked with thousands of travelers and have recommendations and advice for every type of individual.
They know their destinations in-depth and can help plan a trip for every traveler and taste.
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No, this is not a part of our service. Your Local Expert will share lots of links, notes, and other written resources via the Chat Box during the call, but they cannot provide post-call notes, documents, or ongoing planning assistance via email.
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No. Our service is geared toward independent, do-it-yourself travelers who intend to make bookings on their own.
Our goal is not to plan your trip for you, but rather to help you plan a better trip independently. To that end, our Local Experts will give you all of the information that you need to confidently put your trip together yourself.
When Local Experts recommend things like restaurants, hotels, excursions/activities, tours, drivers, etc., they’ll provide you with contact details and links so that you can make the final arrangements on your own.
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Almost every Go Ask A Local expert has at least 10 years of professional travel experience as a guide or trip planner in their country/region.
We work with a vetted team of seasoned professionals who know their destinations inside and out.
Unlike other companies, when you book a call, you’ll always be connected directly with your chosen Local Expert. We never pass anyone on to a junior sales associate or some anonymous back office team. With us, what you see is what you get.
Ready to plan with Carlo?
Here’s how to schedule your consultation:
