If you’ve made it this far, it probably is! We think Well-Read Travelers is for you if you:

• love learning and travel

• enjoy meeting like-minded people

• want to see not only major attractions, but also off-the-beaten-track places and hidden gems that you wouldn’t find on your own

• are looking for ways to continue learning and challenging yourself intellectually, without having to give up months of your life or quit your job to do so

• want to take a once-in-a-lifetime vacation without having to do all the planning and legwork yourself

Don’t worry - you don’t need to know the first thing about Shakespeare, literature, or the Renaissance to do this program! Our classes are suitable for everyone from the novice to the expert. Whether you’ve never read a Shakespeare play before or you have a PhD in English literature, you’ll learn something new about these plays and places and experience the joy of diving into these works with other curious travelers.

Shakespeare doesn’t need to be daunting if it’s taught well—and with years of experience on our side, we’re up to that challenge.

And if you’re worried about reading the plays and poems in the original language, we have solutions for that, too! First of all, Shakespeare didn’t write in Old English, as many people think. It’s plain old modern English, just with some unfamiliar constructions and vocabulary, and comically inconsistent spelling—so you’ll probably recognize more than you think. Also, most editions of the books (including the ones we’ll send you for the course) have glossaries to help you through difficult passages, and we’ll provide a list of helpful websites where you can find reliable plot summaries and even “translations” into our more contemporary English.

Our Adult Study Abroad programs are suitable for adults ages 18 and up.

Our study abroad programs are capped at 8 students participants to ensure that we can give you the personal attention you deserve and shape the trip to best meet the needs of our group.

Of course! One of the best things about Well-Read Travelers is that we’re a small organization committed to providing you one-on-one expert help before and during your trip. Just let us know what you need help with—there’s a good chance we’ve already planned something like this before, or can connect you with someone else who has!

For Shakespeare’s Italy I: Florence, Verona, and Venice, we’ll be doing a moderate amount of walking, especially in Venice, where the streets are only navigable on foot (except for some very intrepid cyclists). Additionally, some of our hotels and other attractions, some forms of transport, and the entire city of Venice, more or less, require climbing the occasional staircase. That said, all of our hotels have elevators, and we’re not in a hurry, so we can take our time on the walks, and will arrange taxis or other forms of transport as necessary. As a rule of thumb, if a destination is ~10 minutes away on foot, we’ll walk, weather permitting. If it’s further than that, we’ll arrange taxis—and we’ll always check in to gauge how the group is feeling and arrange rides or other accommodations as needed.

Not if you don’t want to! We think you’ll get the most out of the seminars if you read the plays/poems in advance of each session, but if you don’t have the time or inclination, you can absolutely just listen and learn and skip the reading.

The total cost for Shakespeare’s Italy I: Florence, Verona, and Venice is $7600, which reflects double occupancy accommodations. Please see the Shakespeare’s Italy I page or the registration page for more details. When we confirm your registration, we’ll reach out to discuss your preferred payment schedule and method.

We require that all participants have a minimum of $50,000 in medical, evacuation, and repatriation insurance covering the entire span of the trip. Additionally, we recommend that you consider purchasing insurance to cover travel delays, lost baggage, and cancellation - but we leave that to your discretion. You can find information on different travel insurers here. You’ll also receive more information on travel insurance and other logistics in the welcome packet we’ll send you after you register.

Just email us! You can use the contact form here or email us at wellreadtravelers [at] gmail [dot] com and we’ll be happy to help.