Our family of three will be traveling to Rome-Florence-Venice this summer - The convenience of an escorted tour (Globus, Trafalgar, through Vacations-to-go) looks appealing, but the hotels look as though they are on the outskirts of town. I don't want to be dumped in a hotel at 4:30 in the afternoon,but the tradeoff is not hving to handle bags,reservations, etc.<BR> What is the skinny on escorted VS independent? Any thoughts?

I have been on both tour (globus) and my own. in my opinion, i prefer to travel with out a tour. I like to be able to get up when i want and eat when i want. tours can be very restrictive but you must expect that. i also noticed on tours you can travel with a lot of other people than can sometimes be an inconvience. going to places on your own requires more work (i.e. you have to research more about transportation and food) but in the end its worth it. good luck and enjoy your trip!!

Hi Rosie<BR>I also have done both in Italy, a coach tour with Cosmos, the cheaper division of Globus and independently and I enjoyed both for different reasons. I want to just answer your question re hotels on the outskirts, the tours you mention usually stay pretty close in, the Cosmos ones are often on the outskirts but having said that, we discovered that the train station into the centres was just a few minutes walk away. I would check the hotels' situation on a map and see if they are close to public transport, that might help you decide.

Hi Rosie<BR>do a search here on tours, and you will find lots of past opinions, most in favor of independent travel.<BR><BR>If you are all in good health, have reasonable stamina, and can handle your luggage, plan it yourself. People here can help you a lot about planning to go to those popular cities, if you provide more information about how many days you have, what your budget is like, and what interests you (art, gardens, shopping, etc)<BR>The trains are not hard to figure out--the first time I did trains and such in Italy I was traveling solo and did fine, except that my suitcase was too large and heavy.<BR><BR>There is no reason to settle for a tour that doesn't have centrally-located hotels. Just keep in mind that on an escorted tour you spend a lot of time on a bus, and not on a schedule of your own making. And read the tour language carefully. &quot;On our way we'll see the famous Leaning Tower&quot; usually means that you'll see it out the bus window, not that you're stopping there.<BR><BR>I will add that if it is possible for you to avoid going in July and August, try to reschedule. It will be quite hot in Rome especially, and very very crowded in Venice especially.

We prefer independent travel as well, but on two occasions have seen &quot;tours&quot; that saved us so much money that we couldn't resist. The reason I put tours in quotes is that these are not the fully escorted tours that take you everyplace with the flock.<BR><BR>Ones we've used included airfare, transfers/luggage handling, hotels, transportation between cities, and a 1/2 orientation tour in each city. Otherwise we were on our own.<BR><BR>This type of tour is not so bad as you don't have to stay with the group all the time. In each city you can do whatever you want to do, go wherever you want to go, and do it whenever you want. The only restriction is that you have only a certain amount of time in each city and sometimes cannot adjust if you especially like or dislike a certain city.<BR><BR>Our first trip to Italy was one of these &quot;tours.&quot; The first city was Venice for which the tour allowed only 2-1/2 days, and the last was Rome which had only 3 days. We knew this wasn't enough, but because they were the first and last cities on the tour, we were able to add 2 days to each city--and we are glad we did.<BR><BR>On the other hand, we really liked the Amalfi Coast region, but we couldn't add to the 3 days we had there because it came in the middle of the trip.<BR><BR>So, for us, independent travel is the ideal, but sometimes a bare bones tour can work well, too.<BR><BR>We really researched the hotels to make sure we weren't stuck in Mestre instead of old Venice, etc. The one hotel that was a bit out of the way was in Rome, where the hotel was in the Parioli district--but after researching some more we discovered that this was a nice area, and not as far from the city center as it appeared at first glance.<BR>

I've never taken a tour so maybe my opinion isn't very educated but I've seen many of these tour buses on our travels and The only way I would go on one is if I was not able to drive myself any longer. My parents have been on one simply because they were no longer able to cope on their own. Some of their observations tanding at the side of buses waiting for the rest of the tour group to gather ,following someone with either a flag or an umbrella like a school of fish, eating americanized foods in americanized hotels sometimes near sights mostly not,<BR>very enjoyable companions and others a pain in the tush, drive by sight seeing as mentioned above. Needless to say there were good things about the tours but for them they were outweighed by the downside. <BR>I would recommend doing it on your own and packing light (something it took me several years to learn). I love the planning stages of trips and find I am so much more prepared .<BR>Well I guess you can tell where I stand on this. This is only my opinion and I hope I didn't offend any who really enjoy tours.

I guess I'll weigh in with the pro-tour stance. We prefer our travel to be completely stress free thus we choose guided tours. I have never use the tour companies you've suggested but my parents will be doing the grand tour of Italy and Sicily with Trafalgar this September. www.trafalgartoursforless.com takes 12% off the tour rate and some extra with a little sweet talk ; ) Charlie took care of my parents, a great guy. <BR>Anyways, with trafalgar you will be left at your hotel at 4:30 but there is always an optional evening tour with more in depth views of the city you're visiting.<BR>Pros:<BR>1. Seeing all the main sights without having the hassle of planning on your own (a con for others)<BR>2. Learning much about the country you're visiting through your guides, history, culture, etc. Can ask questions and get detailed responses.<BR>3. A relaxed pace (you may choose to kick back in your hotel one day. You will cover most of the country without having to drive yourself. Meals are included. not having to schlep your own bags) <BR>4. Seeing lesser known places in Europe you will have never figured out to be worthwhile on your own.<BR>Cons:<BR>1. Having to make small talk with travel companions for the next few weeks (a pro for others).<BR>Hope this helps.<BR>Have done independant before and really like to just be able to hop on and off while still seing the best sights. Hope this helps, have a great trip whatever you decide = )

I went to Italy for the first time last September and I never thought I could make it without a tour. After talking with a travel agent, and seeing the posts on this board, I decided that I too could do this independently- and was I glad I did!<BR>It is easier to get around Italy and within the cities than I first thought. <BR>The travel agent (through American Express) booked my air tickets, hotel, and train tickets. I was on my own in the cities, and would use day tour companies (so many in Rome and Florence) to see the sights out of the cities (like Assisi and Siena). <BR><BR>A tour first appealed to me because it seemed easy. Then I thought about how easy it would be for me to wake up early (for me that means 8am), sit on a bus for hours, and be subject to the whims and preferences of a tour guide and other tour-goers while exploring the destination of my dreams. It seemed truly difficut when I thought about it.<BR><BR>To each his own. However, I now know I will never take an escorted tour. I do not mean to sound superior or arrogant(in fact I do get along with most people) when I say there are a lot of odd personalities on a tour. Definitely interesting, possibly difficult. On a day tour out of Florence to Siena, my husband and I were slack-jawed after 1 50ish man physically threatened a 70ish man whose newspaper had hit the head of his companion several times. This was after 2 people pitched a fit that someone was in &quot;their&quot; seats. Too toddleresque for me.

I agree with most of the others - do partial tours. I've done full tours, no tours, and partial tours. The partial tours take care of your airline and hotel reservations, bring you from the airport to the hotel, arrange a 1/2 day tour for you, allow you to purchase additional day-tours, and make all arrangements to transfers to different hotels if you stay in different cities.<BR><BR>I became disgruntled with full tours for many reasons. First, their aim is to make you buy things, so many parts of your &quot;tours&quot; are spent in gift shops or &quot;factories&quot;. Second, to save on food you are fed pre-arranged meals that lack authenticity of whatever country you are visited. That's a big deterrent to me because I often find local cuisine to be one of the most interesting parts of the tour.<BR><BR>lastly, I don 't like the tours because you often have little, if any free time.

Does your &quot;family of three&quot; include a child? If so, I'd consider how being on a tour that will likely be mostly adults will affect the child. Neither of my children would tolerate a mostly adult tour of Europe for a moment. If you plan on your own - and your child could certainly be involved in the planning; it's half the fun - you could probably do a trip for the same or less money and have a great family adventure you'll never forget. I say this having NEVER been on an escorted tour, never having wanted to, but also having been a tour guide for both groups of kids and groups of adults. There certainly is a large group of people out there who just don't want to do any planning for trips at all. They just want to get on a plane and have everything set up for them once they reach the airport. Don't want to deal with currency or language or road signs or whatever. If you fall in that category, I think the escorted tour is probably best for you - even though I think a child will be possibly close to horrified by the end of the trip, unless there are lots of other kids on the tour of the same age. If you have a sense of adventure and the willingness to learn something about the culture before you embark, go for an independent approach. It's not that big a deal &quot;handling bags, reservations, etc.&quot; I mean, people on Fodor's and people everywhere do this every day. It could be a challenge to do it for the first time, but I'm sure we can walk you through it.

I've been on a couple escorted tours when I was younger (about 30) because I'd never traveled before in my life, except within the US. I didn't know what to do or how to do it on my own and would have been afraid. They were fine, I was a smart consumer and even then, I chose free itineraries (meaning lots of free time), those without prepaid meals (except maybe breakfast or occasional lunch), and an itinerary that consisted of staying in one place for 3-4 days, and I scrutinized the quality and location of the hotels. I did all that pre-internet, it wasn't that difficult if you buy a guidebook and have a map, to figure out the hotel location. <BR><BR>People are generalizing too much about tours and making statements about how they are all like this or that or whatever -- they aren't, you can choose the type of tour you want. I wasn't on any deluxe thing, either, it was budget level. Many tours have free time and don't make you eat prepaid meals. It is nice to have someone to help with questions, historical guides, easy access to good day trips and local transportation, as well as help with luggage. The latter is especially important for those who are older or just don't think they can handle it alone but it is an easy way to travel, I will admit. That wasn't my reason for choosing one, I was just untraveled -- but if you worry about handling bags on your own, I wonder if you have strength problems or age considerations and then it would make sense. <BR><BR>I don't know what you mean about being dumped in a hotel at 4:30 in the afternoon -- if you are worried about not knowing what to do on your own in the evening, it might be really difficult for you to handle an entire day on your own. <BR><BR>There are tours where you are not on the bus all the time, do not have prepaid meals, that do not stay in American hotels with American meals, that do not have hotels on the outskirts, etc. You don't have to pick one with hotels in a location you don't like. Sometimes that's not as bad as it may appear, you have to be a little savvy on that, however. For example, one of the tours I was in had a choice of hotel rooms from cheaper to more expensive -- the most expensive ones were nicer and in the center of major cities, the cheaper ones were in larger hotels on the edge. It was your choice. However, even though one was on the edge of Dublin, sort of (all the rest were central), it wasn't that bad for a few nights because there was a bus stop right in front that took you downtown within 20 minutes. Riding local buses is a good way to see a place, also, after all. The tours I was on did not consist of trying to get you to buy things, either, there was none of that, that's another thing that isn't always true.

Most Japanese like tours because they don't speak the language. However, I speak outstanding Japlish (Japanese English) with some traces of an American accent. I also speak French-panese (Japanese French). I can read German signs and map legends and know a bit of Ger-panese (Japanese German).<BR><BR>Once in Germany, I stayed at a hotel where a group also stayed. I woke up later, ate breakfast, watched TV, then left while they were still outside waiting for their tour bus.<BR><BR>There are plenty of guidebooks to suggest what to see. Who needs escorted tours (not to be confused with tours by escorts - which are prostitutes)

Hi RosieM, I'd advise day tours.<BR><BR>I took a Trafalgar tour, in Venice the hotel was an hour away, and in Florence the hotel was 45 minutes away. <BR><BR>If you're feeling cheap and don't care, than take a tour. If you do care go on your own, or take a tour that stays central. There's not many left - check out Insight Tours, they used to stay in central locations, although it may have changed recently.<BR><BR>Frankly, three people would be able to do it cheaper than the combined cost of a tour. Get triple rooms, alot of hotels have them.

Hi<BR>You didn't say what the ages were oir how long you will be gone. We have always been independent travelers. Usually we rent a car. We stayed in Venice with a car, though we haven't been to Rome or Florence. We travel very light with the wheeled carry on bags for up to 2 weeks. See a guide book about hotels close to the train stations and it really is no problem. When we travel to large cities we may not use a car but fly directly into it. I enjoy being independent because it gives you a different perspective of the place. You meet different people explore the city differently and find little gems. When we were in Istabul a couple of years ago the souverniers sellers would wait for the busloads of people to come and they would not bother with my wife and I. We enjoyed central Istambul and stayed in a hotel in the area.<BR>Whatever you decide just enjoy<BR>alan