tree804

The three of us: me, my daughter and daughter- in-law will visit rome, venice, and florence in late october. if we've never been there before, and, if we only spend 2 or 3 days in each location, do you think it's a good idea to take an organized tour to get to know each city? if so, is there one city that needs a tour more than others? maybe one where a tour is not necessary? and, are there any tours that you would recommend? perhaps a short tour is best? as for florence we'd like to see the surrounding countryside. also looking for a good hotel in florence, if anyone would be so kind. You guys were so great with venice hotel recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

Theresa

nytraveler

Well, I've become allergic to bus tours - they are just generally way too least common denominator - and you're trapped on the bus.

That said, it is sometime nice to have the POV of someone who is more familiar with a specific place than you are.

For Venice we did a basic intro walking tour - which I had no problem with because it was very inexpensive - and you can simply leave whenever you want. We did enjoy the info (have also done specialized walking tours in London and Prague that we enjoyed).

Separetely we booked a Scavi touri of the Vatrican that was very interesting.

And I know some posters reco private tours in Rome - which I understand are much more in-depth and sopisticated - but also quite pricey. A search here will find more info on those.,

Do not reco any of the overview city tours - unless you are not comfortable with your ability to read what's in a good guidebook - IMHO the basic tour guides rarely impart even as much info as in the book.

almesq

We just got back from Rome and Venice, and it was my first time in both cities. In Rome, we took a Coliseum/Form tour, as well as a Scavi tour and Vatican museum tour. I found them very useful. At those sites, there is so much to see, and the guides were so knowledgeable and pointed out so much that we never would have seen or known that made the experience so much better. In Venice, we just saw things on our own, except the Secret Itinerary tour at Doge's palace, and we did that because the tour takes you to places that you cannot see on your own. We used Romewalks for the Coliseum tour, and Scala Reale for the Vatican tour, and I can highly recommend both. I really think you get so much more out of the experience because the tour guides are experts in the area and it really makes the sites come alive.

suze

I'm interested in responses because two girlfriends who have not been to Europe are wanting an organized tour for their first trip. Italy 2-3 cities, and 2 weeks is their plan sometime 2005. I've never done tours so would love to have some specific positive tips to pass on (besides trying to convince them to travel on their own!).

crefloors

Not sure what kind of tour you are talking about...like a whole organized tour the whole time like a Globus Italy tour or something like that or going on their own and doing local or city tours once they get to their destination? I did a tour with Brendan/Globus with my two brothers and one sister-in-law my very first trip to Europe. They used local tour guides in the cities for places like the Vatican and Versailles. I can't say that I regretted going that way the first time. It taught me a whole lot, we didn't have to stand in line to get in anywhere, the guides were for the most part very knowledgable, I got more information than my brain could hold. We got some good tips on local customs, habits etc. and I was glad for that so I didn't committ as many "fox paws" as I might have otherwise. The down side is, half the group were sicker than dogs by the time we got to our last city, Rome. I didn't get sick til I got home thank goodness. You do spend a lot of time on the bus, you don't have much time to explore on your own, they take you shopping places where the tour company gets a commission and try to tell you that they are saving you from being ripped off by other unscrupulous vendors, if you don't have a good group of people it could be pretty awful I think...we only had two couples that were a real pain and we just laughed at them behind their backs. I know, I know, not nice...but you had to be there. Be careful to read all the literature carefully to see exactly what you are getting, what is included and what is offered as an extra. Some tours allow you some free time, others almost none. We actually had quite a lot of free time compared to many other tours. Like I say, I never regretted a minute of it, it was a wonderful experience, a great introduction to Europe, allowed me to learn a lot, and on my second trip, I went on my own and will continue to do so but having said that, I can't say ,depending on my destination and other factors, that I absolutely NEVER would take another tour. The other thing about a tour is, if you do have limited time, you don't waste a lot of time getting lost trying to find places etc. It is wonderful getting lost when you have the time to savor it, but sometimes it just isn't fun. You also get a good overview of several cities etc. so you can make plans to return and have a more relaxing visit. I also have to say, at that time for what we got, the price could not be beat. So hope this helps somebody.

suze

crefloors~ thank you SO very much for the informative post. that's exactly the kind of info i'm wanting to gather and pass on to my friends.

nytraveler

If you're talking about a multi-city guided tour - then the key thing to do is to understand the needs/desires of the people involved.

I would never reco this unless the people involved are either unwilling or unable to do any of the pre-work themselves (and for me this is at least half the fun).

But then I've lived in a big city all my life and have a degree in european history. I can understand that small town people unused to travel might be overfaced by the combination of a foreign country and a big city. And that people who weren't too hot on social studies/history might feel more comfortable with someone providing the basic background than doing some reminder work themselves.

That said - unless either of the above apply I would definitely do it yourself. It's way more enjoyable to get exactly what you want out of a trip - rather than what some tour guide thinks evryone should want - and I simply can't bear the herd mentality - up at 6, bkfst at 7, on the bus at 8, drive past what you may really want to see and waste tons of time on interminable stops for useless souvenir shopping.

And Italy especially is a very easy country to travel in - nothing really to overface anyone.

One caveat - if you do decide on a tour read everything supercarefully to find out:

where exactly your hotels are (at the edge of town is fatal to any evening activities)

how many dinners are included (avoid these whenever possible - they are usually poor quality - and not very good examples of local cuisine - unless you go for the most expensive tours - Tauk etc)

how many locations are drive-bys or 5-minute photo ops versus actual stops for exploring/learning anything

If you do a search above on the names of some of the tour companies you can get info from people who have used them - and often web sites with controbutions from other previus travelers.

tree804

thanks for all your wonderful responses. Based on what all of you havee said, it does seem that it would be a good idea to do some specific walking tours in each city: rome, venice and florence. and you've given me great ideas on which ones to take. i'm definitely going to check out the romewalks tours and the secret itinerary in venice and maybe find a tour of the tuscan countryside.

thanks so much once again to everyone for some great information!

theresa

elaine

If you are all history buffs, the Scala Reale organization in Rome offers informative and entertaining walking tours, with small groups only, in Rome.
They are often praised by others here as well.
SR has a website. They are a little pricier than some tour agencies, but well worth it imo. In Rome most everyone likes their Vatican tour and their Forum/Colosseum tour. They also provide literature on recommended restaurants in Rome, and SR is very efficient and reliable in general.

Infotrack

Suzie:

IF you decide on a multi-city guided tour, I would recommend Insight Vacations: http://www.insightvacations.com/us/

I've travelled with them, and find that the hotels are usually more central than some others, such as Globus and Trafalgar, and they are still resonably priced, which more things are included in the base price (although they still have lots of optionals).

Let me know if you have quesitons.

--Marv

suze

Marv, Thank you- I'm going to email this thread to my friends to help get them started.

Theresa, Thank you- for letting me tag along on this thread!

Susan

jlmurdo1

Another good one if you're trying to get an overview of the whole city is the Bus110 tour in Rome. You can get on and off, or just stay on-it takes about 2 hours and has headphones in English that will tell you what you are seeing. You get on at the Termini station.

Fodorite018

A good hotel in Florence is the Casci Hotel. We had a quad room there a couple years ago, so there will be room for the 3 of you. The hotel is well known, so book asap is you are interested.

As far as tours, the only one we did was a Vatican tour through the USO. It was just the 4 of us and was great!

Margie

I echo crefloors comments. The first time we went to Italy it was with a Brendan Tour, we were so very very lucky, we had an absolutely fantastic guide! There was more than one time he said "don't go to xx it's tacky" or "xx is very touristy" he steered us in the right direction and put at to the front of the lines in museums etc. Also helped being on the tour when a rock slide closed a road we were to take - he got us all on a train and to our destination without a hitch. As already stated, read the tour descriptions very carefully, know where the hotels are located as you want to be in the center of Florence etc. so you can go out and explore, you don't want to be out in the boondocks. Also as noted pay attention to how much time you are on the bus, just so there are no surprises. If your time is limited, a tour is a nice way to get around a country, see the highlights and make plans for a return trip on your own.

Ask for a list of the "optional" tours and meals so you can determine ahead of time what you want to join in on. Our guide did not push the options, if we wanted them great, if not he was happy to make recommendations of things we could do on our own. Many of the optional tours saved us time and hassle, many of the dinners we skipped so we could venture out on our own. Good luck!

tree804

Thanks once again. Casci hotel was already on my list of possiblitlies, and now that i have a recommendation i'll check it out right now. And, i'm going to look into the bus 110 in rome. being able to get on and off the bus is very appealing to us. but, the scala reale and brendan tours also sound interesting. i'll check them all out. i don't want to go on one tour after another, though. so, we'll probably start with a tour in each city and then go out on our own. i'm also looking into venice walks and rome walks. but, i'd really love a wonderful tour of the tuscan countryside, too. not sure which towns would be best suited to a tour if we're based in florence. (we're not driving).

and, you're welcome, susan. I love it when one thing leads to another and we all get something out of the exchange of ideas.