cadnama

We are planning to tour Italy in 2012, and got a good response from this company after I have enquired online, indicating they'll be happy to help me plan a wonderful trip to Italy.

Their services are free of charge, and they also say "Normally we help our clients put together the trip that best suits their interests and budget, then they book their trip or parts of their trip through us, which is how we earn a living and are able to provide this free itinerary planning service"

I have also received a detailed preliminary itinerary that covers almost everything we could think off.
There address is In Italy Online
http://www.initaly.com
Los Angeles, CA 90064

My question is, before I go ahead and start doing bookings and payments to them - does anyone have a review about this company?

Much appreciated!!

qwovadis

BBB Business Review: In Italy Online, BBB Accredited Business, Address: 2355 Westwood Blvd, Suite 707, Los Angeles ... effort to resolve any consumer complaints. BBB ...

http://www.la.bbb.org/business-revie...Los-Angeles-CA...

BBB.org A+ rated no personal experience Travel Agent

I always pay with Credit Card have seen no negative reviews.

Happy Travels!

cadnama

Thank you qwovadis! I got such a good impression from the offset that I had to make sure. They know their business, I have my answer.

Jean

Would you mind sharing the "detailed preliminary itinerary that covers almost everything we could think of"?

tuscanlifeedit

cadnama: that convinced you? One reply in slightly confusing terms?

In Italy is a fine company, but you will be paying for their services. You just won't be charged a fee for them.

Jean

FYI, In Italy Online uses an address of a mail box store. There's nothing wrong with that... unless you need to track down the principals in the business when you have a legal dispute.

Yelp.com shows a different address in a residential area.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/in-italy-online-los-angeles

The referral to a BBB 'rating' is pretty meaningless. Just because a business has no complaints recorded against it doesn't mean much, at least to me. I'd be more concerned that I could find zero reviews of this company, not even positive ones.

cadnama

Thank you so much for the replies, I really appreciate it and honestly? I am not prepared to pay even an average of 20% more if I can save it to spend at the places we're visiting!
Background: this will be our first visit to Europe, we have travelled to the UK-3, China-1, Hong Kong-1, Thailand-2, Dubai-1, Africa-many times. I arranged each of the holidays from the start to finish, and have never experienced any hick-ups apart from a transfer or two that did not realise. I do a lot of research and on occasion make enquiries online to get some other viewpoints or ideas. That is how I found Italy Online. I made an enquiry with the following background information.
• We are a brother and sister with spouses, aged 45-55, (very active), we spend all our holidays together.
• We live in a holiday destination at the coast , flooded by tourists at any given time.
• We see the sea every day from our front door and hear it even while we sleep; we don't really want to see it again apart from cruising on a boat.
• We don't mind tourists, and being amongst them - we love meeting people!
• We love antiques, castles, hilltop towns, cathedrals and everything with history
• We love to explore ruins and walk through places not really visited by tourists. Narrow streets, old buildings, we enjoy!! We want to spend time in Tuscany, Pompeii and end up in Rome before flying home.
• We can sleep anywhere, but it should be in 2 separate rooms, or bedroom & studio.

We are planning a holiday of about 6 weeks from start to finish (April-May 2012). Day 1-18 and 22-28 are fixed – I only wanted to fill in the gaps and do as many things as possible.

This is the proposed itinerary, starting with a note from Italy online:-

“Please note that Piedmont and Lombardy are very large regions so it will not be feasible to cover the both (or even one!) in 3 days. Since you will be heading over to the east coast it would be best to concentrate on Lombardy and its main highlight, the splendid Lake Como. An alternative would be to stay near Verona and explore the beautiful countryside. It will take you around 3 hours to reach Lake Como or Verona from Genoa.

Pompeii is NOT a nice town and Sorrento will make a much better base to explore the Amalfi Coast from.”

Day 1-18, Cruise ship to Genoa
Day 18, land in Genoa, taxi to the car rental agency (once your itinerary is finalized, Kristin, our car rental expert will search for the best available quote for you), pick-up a car and drive to either Lake Como Vistas (In 2011, Apartment for 4 costs Euro 200.00/night - 2012 rates have not yet been published) or Verona Winery (Double Room at Euro 145.00/night or Apartment for 4 starting from Euro 225.00/night). Afternoon to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Day 19, visit Lake Como on your own or as a boat tour or visit Verona.

Day 20, continue exploring the Lake or take a day trip to Milan to see its most famous sites the Duomo, Galleria Principe Umberto, the La Scala Theater, and, of course, Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper. If you stay near Verona, visit the charming Treviso and Vicenza.

Day 21, drive to Marano Lagunare. Please note that there is no car rental locations in this town. The nearest drop-off location is in Udine, which is approximately 40 km away.

Day 22-28, Boat rental Marano Lagunare - Chioggia.

Day 28, train or bus from Chioggia to Venice (1 1/2 - 2 hours) and high-speed EuroStar train to Florence (2 hours). Taxi to Duomo Apartments (Euro 250.00 for a Two-Bedroom Apartment). Afternoon walk on your own or with a guide.

Day 29, morning visit to the Uffizi Gallery and, time permitting, the Accademia (where Michelangelo's original David is on display). You will need advance reservations or can visit the museums with a guide. Or skip the museums and visit one of the open markets.

Day 30, pick-up a rental car and drive to your lodging in Tuscany. If the beautiful Tuscany countryside and its quintessential medieval villages such as Pienza, Cortona, and Montepulciano are your goal, then Palazzo Bandino is a perfect place to stay (2 Double Room at Euro 91.00/night/room). Very authentic, wonderful hosts, fabulous food and a great location. Afternoon visit to Pienza, and, time permitting, Montepulciano.

Day 31, morning cooking lesson at Palazzo Bandino and afternoon trip to Siena and San Gimignano.

Day 32, check out and drive 15 minutes to Chiusi, drop off rental car and train to Naples (3 1/2 hours, go downstairs and train to Sorrento (or we can arrange a transfer from Naples to Sorrento). Sorrento is a great base for exploring the Amalfi Coast and day trips to Pompeii and Capri. Unlike many tiny towns along the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento is authentic, offers a large selection of restaurants and cafes and night life, and is connected to everything by public transportation. Check into Sorrento Villa Garden Hotel (Classic Double Rooms at Euro 130.00/night, Classic Double Room with Side Sea View at Euro 150.00/night, and Superior Double Rooms with Side Sea View and Balcony at Euro 170.00/night). Afternoon to relax and enjoy the beautiful view or go for a passeggiata (a stroll) in Sorrento.

Day 33, visit the Amalfi Coast by bus or as a guided tour.

Day 34, visit Pompeii and Herculaneum by train. We highly recommend visiting these sites with one of our excellent guides.

Day 35, train or transfer to Naples and change to a high-speed EuroStar train to Rome (1 1/2 hours). Taxi to Maison Giulia or La Maison Dell'Orologio (booked through our partner website). Afternoon walk to Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piaza Navona, Pantheon and the rest of Baroque Rome on your own or with a guide.

Day 36, morning Private or Semi-Private tour of the Vatican. Afternoon visit to the Coliseum and Forum

Day 37, shuttle to the airport and fly home!

Jean - this preliminary itinerary did cover almost everything we could think off at the time of my first enquiry. I am exploring more ideas each day.
Tuscanlifeedit - I realised that if I wanted someone to arrange my whole itinerary from start to finish, why not just book a set tour? And that was when I found my answer...

I am going to do it myself, I have already learned so much about Italy just by researching pages full of information. I am even learning basic Italian with audio. A big challenge as English is not even my first language!

I will really appreciate any inputs and ideas, thank you all!!

Jean

I'll let someone more familiar with apartment rentals to comment on the apartments and rates quoted to you, but I suspect you could find apartments on your own at good rates without paying a fee.

In general, I find the land portion of this itinerary too rushed and covering too much geography for my tastes. Too many one-day-here-one-day-there. Train/bus to Venice but not actually SEE Venice???

I wouldn't rent a car in Genoa if heading to Lake Como where a car isn't particularly helpful. I don't like the location of Palazzo Bandino for exploring Tuscany, although Pienza, Montepulciano and Cortona are close. I also think the lodging location in Sorrento isn't ideal for exploring the Amalfi Coast (except with a private driver) and Sorrento (more than a one mile walk away). For self-described "everything with history" fans, having only one full day in both Rome and Florence is nuts.

I hope you'll reconsider how much you want to see and reduce your itinerary considerably. You seem to do a lot of traveling, so hopefully you recognize you can return to Italy. Two trips at a realistic pace are better than one trip at a whirlwind pace.

cadnama

Thank you Jean.
We are renting a house boat and will actually be spending Day 22-28 on a one way cruise from Marano to Chioggia (via Cavallino ou Portegrandi - Caposile - Musile - Cortellazzo - Caorle - Bibione - via Venice and the islands of the lagoon). The cruise itself is 17 hours; giving us enough time to explore villages along the way, but the plan is to spend most of the time visiting Venice. I made sure that I book bicycles for the whole week and have also pre-ordered a waterways map and guidebook that will arrive shortly.

We have done this type of boat rental before during our trips to the UK (cruising the Birminigham, Leicestershire, Grand and Oxford Canals and from the Anderton Marina to Wales across the Pontcysylite Aqueduct). We like to combine land and water, it is a total new perspective and very relaxing!

I agree that the land portion of our trip is very rushed - but that was not initially the idea. I appreciate your feedback. I have a HUGE map of Italy on my wall and have already marked Montepulciano and Cortona as possible stays. We wanted to stay 3 nights at a place, as the arriving time is normally late afternoon, and check-out around 11:00 (a day wasted if I add the travel-time), giving us two full days and 3 nights to explore the area. We never wanted to go beyond Pompeii, as we will be visiting Southern Italy again, the main reason why Naples and the Amalfi coast did not form part our initial plans. Visiting Pompeii this time though is very important for us, only in and out - two nights max.

~~ I am still unsure about where to spend the 3 nights between arriving in Genoa and getting on the boat at Marano. Any ideas?
~~ Tuscany I will sort out (3-4 nights) but will also appreciate any ideas.
~~ Why would Italy online say that "Pompeii is NOT a nice town"? Where should we stay then? Closer to Naples? (2 nights)
~~ Rome (4 nights) also not sure where to stay, as the city is very BIG, must also be close to a bus- or train route.
~~ Shouldn't we rent a car (one-way) from Venice to Naples, and take a train to Rome for our last days there?

Thank you!

Jean

We live on the ocean and have owned boats, but I have no experience on a house boat in open water. I hope you'll report back on this unique experience.

If you wanted to drive from Genoa and spend time on a lake, Garda makes more sense and a car there would be an asset. You could day trip by train to Verona, although Verona would make a good alternative, 'city' destination if paired with a day trip somewhere (Garda?).

Tuscany. You need to prioritize what you want to see. If Florence is a 'must' for you, then you may want to stay there all of your nights and make a day trip or two elsewhere in Tuscany. If the countryside is the priority, then you need to make another decision between a more northern base or a more southern base. IMO, southern Tuscany (south of Siena, the Val d'Orcia area) would be spectacular in late April/early May. Whether you pick an agriturismo or in-town lodging is yet another choice you need to make. Some love agriturismi; we prefer to be IN a town.

It isn't that modern Pompeii is bad; it's just not very appealing. You could stay in either Naples or Sorrento; the Pompeii ruins are about halfway between on the Circumvesuviana light rail line. But I'm going to throw in my opinion again. There's so much more to the Campagna area than Pompeii that to spend travel time and only two nights to see only Pompeii is a big chunk of time you could really use somewhere else (Florence and/or Tuscany or even Rome). Do you not think you'd be back to Italy on a future trip when you could also see the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Naples, perhaps Herculaneum, perhaps Paestum, Caserta, Ischia (I could go on).....

I don't understand your comment that your Rome hotel must be close to a bus or train route. Were you going to make day trips out of the city during your 3-day/4-night stay? If not, you want to stay close to the sights you want to see (Vatican, Coloseum, Forum, etc.), in other words the historical center of Rome. If you provide a budget number, you'll get loads of recommendations for hotels, B&Bs, apartments.

You could rent a car for the Venice to Naples transport, but what happened to Florence/Tuscany? Weren't you going there in between? Perhaps you meant between Florence/Tuscany and Naples. I personally wouldn't want to drive into Naples, so the answer would depend on where you're staying in Campagna.

If you're flying out of Rome, yes, you should put your days there at the end.

kybourbon

>>>Palazzo Bandino is a perfect place to stay (2 Double Room at Euro 91.00/night/room).<<<

I agree with Jean. I wouldn't want that location. I would think San G and Siena are much closer to Florence than Palazzo Bandino. It sounds as if InItaly hasn't been to these places.

You don't want to drive in Naples as the driving is crazier there than most of the cities you've mentioned. You aren't allowed to drive in many cities in Italy(including Rome, Florence, etc.) as it is limited to residents and others with permits. Cameras take pictures of your license plate if you cross into the zone and you get mailed a hefty ticket when you get home.

You might find it easier to just day trip to Pompeii from Rome since you don't care about seeing the coast.

>>>Rome (4 nights) also not sure where to stay, as the city is very BIG, must also be close to a bus- or train route.<<<

While Rome is pretty big, the historic center is pretty compact and walkable (as many cities in Italy are). Buses are everywhere in Rome including pedestrian areas that are served by the small electric buses. You should stay close to the sites you want to visit so you can walk to most of them.

cadnama

Thank you Jean and Kybourbon, your suggestions make sense and I appreciate it. Thanks for the Rome info, I will take your advice and try to get accommodation close to sites we want to visit. I was trying to think ahead - my group tend to wait till the last day when they realise they want to do just one more thing, being closer to a bus/train route that takes us to the airport will be an advantage. We have missed a flight before and I wasn't the favourite person around - that time it was me who just wanted to get the leather bag I saw on the other side of the city, and then got lost......

Jean, I have not received the waterways map yet, but I have read that at Canal Cavetta, between Jesolo and Cortellazzo, we would have to choose between going out in the sea and follow the coast for some miles (nice weather and good sea conditions are necessary) or prolonging our way for more or less 4 hours and to go upstream “Piave Vecchia” to Musile, and than to descend the “Piave” almost to reach its mouth in Cortellazzo. Obviously we wil choose the second option, hopefully the scenery will make up and we can catch a nice tan!
Previously we used to plan our trips according to the map, only working out exactly how far (and how long) to travel per day from one pub to the other (joke) - Italy will be a total different scene, we will have to think about tides, canal repair work delays, lock hours and what else. It will certainly be an adventure, but all worth it!

You both gave me a lot of homework! In the meantime, I must just decide on the land portion of our journey. I will report back

Jean

Do learn about the tidal flow in that area as I believe it's fairly extreme. And, obviously, watch the weather.

I had to chuckle a little at your comment that "Italy will be a total different scene..." I think most here would agree with me that Italy is not known for its attention to detail, maintenance, etc. For your sake, I hope the canal system is an anamoly to the usual Italian aproach to things. The country's current economic woes don't help either. I don't know about lots of canal repairs, but you may find lock hours curtailed.

Getting to the airport in Rome is easy. You can hire a taxi to take you from your hotel to the airport or take you to the Termini train station where there is frequent direct service to the airport.