Thinking of booking a trip? You should consider Costco Travel.

Sam’s Club move aside, Costco Travel is here to make your travel worries go away.

I mean it! And if you want to see the video version of my thoughts, check it out here (thanks Costco Travel for the shout out)!

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Every year, Gabe and I embark on a honeymoon trip for our wedding anniversary. We spend the full previous year saving up, setting aside a weekly amount in our honeymoon fund for a fun trip.

For this trip we set $3,000 aside, so we knew we wanted to go bigger than normal but not break the bank. That’s where Costco Travel came in.

After an initial look through their packages in Hawaii, our curiosity peaked when we found their European options. With some solid location options in Italy we landed on a week-long package with two locations, Venice and Rome: Your Way which included our hotels, transfers, and railroad tickets (you can also book flights through Costco Travel but for this trip we had enough airline miles to get us there and back).

The best part of the Your Way booking was that Costco Travel gave us their top hotel choice but we were able to select a different option either at the same cost or at a price change. This was vital for me as I live and die by reviews of a location and wasn’t convinced by the initial hotel option in Rome.

So, let me get you straight to the carefully-curated travel portion of our itinerary that Costco Travel picked for us.

MAY 4

We landed late in Venice and were greeted by our driver holding a Costco Travel sign. He was so kind and offered us local tips, delivering us straight to a private water taxi who then dropped us off at the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa. This resort was out of the world. Situated on its own private island of Isola delle Rose, this resort boasted luxurious rooms, a rooftop pool deck overlooking Venice, and various restaurants. Thanks to Costco, our breakfast was included during our stay too! The resort also provided a complimentary shuttle service that took us daily to the heart of Venice and our daily activities. Every need we had, the staff at the JW Marriott Venice anticipated it before we ever did. And can I just talk about their restaurants for a minute? They were ah-mazing and hands down meal experiences I will never forget. Picture proof below from our meals at the Sagra Rooftop Restaurant and Pizzeria Cucina.

MAY 7

After two amazing and full days in Venice, it was time to head off to Rome. Thanks to Costco Travel, we were booked First Class tickets for our 4.5 hour trip south to Rome. The train ride featured spacious seating, wifi, and food. This was my first true train experience and I loved it!

Upon arriving to Rome, we decided to walk to Hotel Mascagni since it was relatively close (and because 9 minutes is nothing in walking-friendly cities). As I mentioned above, this wasn’t the original hotel Costco Travel offered in our booking, but the one we chose based off location and reviews. The hotel was kind enough to give us a bottle of wine for our anniversary and thanks to Costco, we once again had a daily buffet breakfast offered!

I’ll be honest, going from the 5-Star JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa to the 3.5-Star Hotel Mascagni was a downgrade HOWEVER, the hotel’s location was superb. We were central to everything! The metro was a two-minute walk from our hotel and the Trevi Fountain a 15-minute walk and the Pantheon an additional eight. The staff was also kind and generous, making sure we were set for our stay and delivering our bags straight to our room. I did a terrible job of capturing any photos of our hotel stay there, so I’ve included some photos from the fun we had instead (which I’ll be writing on more later)!

MAY 10

We loved our stay in Rome and knowing we were going home on the 10th was less stressful thanks to Costco Travel setting up a private transfer from our hotel to the airport. Imagine this: no dealing with the metro or with a taxi but a private service that arrived straight to your hotel and ensured you were comfortable for the start of our trip home. The private transfer arrived three hours before our flight and got us to the airport with plenty of time to go through security and get settled.

We’re so grateful to Costco Travel for making our annual honeymoon trip so easy! We’re big travelers and are usually pretty good about creating travel plans that make our travels comfortable, but Costco Travel took it to the next level by taking care of everything (minus flights) for us.

As summer wraps up, maybe you’re looking to book a trip to somewhere tropical for this winter OR maybe you want to get a head start and book your big summer trip for 2025. If you’re either of these, check out what Costco has to offer! Just make sure you’re a Costco Member (and honestly, if you aren’t, what are you waiting for?)!