Tours in Italy
Jul 28th, 2006, 05:31 PM
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Tours in Italy
We are going to Italy in September. So far, from all the postings and research that I have done, this is what I have so far....... Please advise me if anyone thinks I should do these tours differently.
Venice..... We are going to buy tickets for the Doge's Palace unguided tour at a museum across the piazza from the Palace. I have also booked the St. Mark's Basilica for their 10 minute walk through. I have been told to go to the Campinile Tower first thing in the morning and you can walk up to the top without waiting in lines.
Florence.... I have booked the Original Florence walk through Artviva.com So far, the best prices that I have found for the Uffizi Gallery,and the Accademia Gallery are through tickitaly.com. These are also unguided tours.....
Rome.... From advise that I have gotten from this forum, and the fact that my husband doesn't really want to spend endless hours on guided tours, I'm thinking that we should just walk around Rome to the Colloseum/Forum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, etc, and not buy tickets at all.... Can we get into the colloseum and Forum without tickets? Can we see enough of them from the outside? Aslo, tickitaly.com has inexpensive tickets for unguided tours.
I'm afraid to go the "Vatican" tour ticket route, because of the uncertainty of getting those tickets confirmed. So, I'm thinking about doing the contextRome.com guided tour for the Vatican/St. Peter's and Sistine Chapel......... It'a a bit pricey, but sounds certain......
Well, gang, what's your advise? Or will I be even more confused? haha
Thanks,
BB
Venice..... We are going to buy tickets for the Doge's Palace unguided tour at a museum across the piazza from the Palace. I have also booked the St. Mark's Basilica for their 10 minute walk through. I have been told to go to the Campinile Tower first thing in the morning and you can walk up to the top without waiting in lines.
Florence.... I have booked the Original Florence walk through Artviva.com So far, the best prices that I have found for the Uffizi Gallery,and the Accademia Gallery are through tickitaly.com. These are also unguided tours.....
Rome.... From advise that I have gotten from this forum, and the fact that my husband doesn't really want to spend endless hours on guided tours, I'm thinking that we should just walk around Rome to the Colloseum/Forum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, etc, and not buy tickets at all.... Can we get into the colloseum and Forum without tickets? Can we see enough of them from the outside? Aslo, tickitaly.com has inexpensive tickets for unguided tours.
I'm afraid to go the "Vatican" tour ticket route, because of the uncertainty of getting those tickets confirmed. So, I'm thinking about doing the contextRome.com guided tour for the Vatican/St. Peter's and Sistine Chapel......... It'a a bit pricey, but sounds certain......
Well, gang, what's your advise? Or will I be even more confused? haha
Thanks,
BB
Jul 28th, 2006, 06:23 PM
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Hey again bblount,
I called the Doge's Palace and booked our date and time with for an English guide (only certain times for English guide). The woman gave me a reservation number so we can just walk up, pay for our ticket (no prepayment required), and begin the tour. As for the Vatican/Sistine Chapel tour in Rome, (not sure of the cost on the site you state) we are going to meet with this group: http://www.romanpromenades.com/vatican_group_new.htm (I emailed them and asked about a reservation, they said to just show up at their meeting spot on the date I requested).
They also do a Colesium tour if that is what we decide (otherwise we will go to the Palentine first and get tickets that will also allow entry to the Colesium).
Only 5 days until we leave - I am sooooo excited!!!
I called the Doge's Palace and booked our date and time with for an English guide (only certain times for English guide). The woman gave me a reservation number so we can just walk up, pay for our ticket (no prepayment required), and begin the tour. As for the Vatican/Sistine Chapel tour in Rome, (not sure of the cost on the site you state) we are going to meet with this group: http://www.romanpromenades.com/vatican_group_new.htm (I emailed them and asked about a reservation, they said to just show up at their meeting spot on the date I requested).
They also do a Colesium tour if that is what we decide (otherwise we will go to the Palentine first and get tickets that will also allow entry to the Colesium).
Only 5 days until we leave - I am sooooo excited!!!
Jul 28th, 2006, 07:32 PM
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They do this "Secret Itinerary Tour" of the Doge's Palace, which is kind of cool. Not amazing, but interesting, includes some torture chambers.
While in Rome, may I suggest Rome Walks http://www.romewalks.com/ instead? I know-I know, Context is a bit more so it must be better, but it is not... . IMO, Rome Walks does a superior job of the Vatican Museums and they also have a great tour of the Colloseo/Forum. Same small group of up to eight (8) people.
Enjoy your trip!
Anna Roz
While in Rome, may I suggest Rome Walks http://www.romewalks.com/ instead? I know-I know, Context is a bit more so it must be better, but it is not... . IMO, Rome Walks does a superior job of the Vatican Museums and they also have a great tour of the Colloseo/Forum. Same small group of up to eight (8) people.
Enjoy your trip!
Anna Roz
Jul 29th, 2006, 03:05 AM
#4
THe forum is free [and very confusing, so the guide is probably worth the money]; the colosseum of course can be seen from the outside for free but the inside is well worth seeing and is easy to self-guide with a good guide book. Once you have your tickets from the Palatine, remember that your entrance to the colosseum is the left-hand one - ignore the right hand one and go straight through the security barrier. THen ignore the second queue on the right [which is the ticket queue proper] and keep walking all the way round to the entrance.
We did our own tour of the vatican - it took just over an hour to get in, joining the queue at 9am - and it was fine. [that was easter, so september should be better]. we went at our own pace, and could have stops in the cafe [very good and reasonable] when we wanted.
You do not need a guide to show you the spanish steps, trevi, the pantheon, etc.
Have fun!
We did our own tour of the vatican - it took just over an hour to get in, joining the queue at 9am - and it was fine. [that was easter, so september should be better]. we went at our own pace, and could have stops in the cafe [very good and reasonable] when we wanted.
You do not need a guide to show you the spanish steps, trevi, the pantheon, etc.
Have fun!
Jul 29th, 2006, 09:43 AM
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Travel_Bug_Cin
Hey, again...... The reason we aren't getting a guided tour of the Doge's Palace is because a friend of mine, who travels often, said you don't need a guided tour of the Palace. So, Please let me know if you think it is worth it, when you get back......
Also, that worries me a bit about the Romanpromanades telling you to just show up. I hope you don't get stung on the price once you get there.... Let me know how that goes also.
I did get an email from my Hotel in Florence today saying they can get me the reservations in Florence for the Uffizi and Accademia so I don't need to do that myself........The price was the same as the online tickets.
Again, can't wait to hear about your trip.
BB
Hey, again...... The reason we aren't getting a guided tour of the Doge's Palace is because a friend of mine, who travels often, said you don't need a guided tour of the Palace. So, Please let me know if you think it is worth it, when you get back......
Also, that worries me a bit about the Romanpromanades telling you to just show up. I hope you don't get stung on the price once you get there.... Let me know how that goes also.
I did get an email from my Hotel in Florence today saying they can get me the reservations in Florence for the Uffizi and Accademia so I don't need to do that myself........The price was the same as the online tickets.
Again, can't wait to hear about your trip.
BB
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