CONUFUSED ABOUT DECIDING ON TOUR CO. HELP
 

I AM BRAND NEW TO THIS FORUM.PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH ME. MY HUSBAND AND I ARE GOING TO ITALY FOR FIRST TIME THIS SPRING. I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING TOURS FOR TWO WEEKS NOW WITH MUCH CONFUSION I DONT WANT TO SPEND 3700 DOLLARS FOR 14 DAYS BUT I DONT WANT A BUDJET TOUR EITHER. WE ARE BURNT OUT AND FOR THE FIRST TIME I NEED SOMEONE TO DO THE WORK FOR ME, TO SEE THE IMPORTANT SITES. I WANT ROME FLORENCE, VENICE,SORRENTO, CAPRI POMPEII,END UP IN NAPLES. YOU SEE MY HUSBANDS DAD PASSED AWAY IN MADDALONI AND HE MY HUSBAND IS INHERITING A HOUSE THERE ,SO AFTER A 12 DAY TOUR WE WILL SPENDING ANOTHER WEEK ON OUR OWN TO VISIT FAMILY AND SEE HIS HOME. COULD YOU HELP? WHAT IS THE BEST TOUR COMPANY THAT IS HALF WAY REASONABLE AND GOOD.
THANK YOU
KOOL KUTS.

I'm not sure I have any real answers for you, but I will offer one bit of advice. On your computer keyboard there is a key that says "CAPS LOCK". I suggest you press it once so that your messages don't appear in all capital letters.

Good luck to you. I don't do package tours, so I really can't offer any other suggestions.

Italy is one of the easiest countries to tour on your own...I know you don't want to think about doing it independently, but...we liked a Rick Steve's tour because it hit all the places we wanted to see. However we made a couple adjustments as we wanted to spend more time in a couple spots, and did it on our own for about 2/3s the cost. Do a search here on Italy itineraries and you may find some of us have taken trips you can easily duplicate. Wow. How nice -- inheriting a place in Italy!

I suggest that you ask friends and family for the name of a good travel agent in your community.

This might not exactly be the reply you were looking for, but have you contacted a travel agent and explained to them what you are trying to do? I am biased as I am one, but with so many options out there, it might help if you spoke with someone who could customize a trip for you specifically. I have personally benefited from the advice on this forum for my own upcoming trip, but given the circumstances in which you are traveling and your specific desire to have someone else plan this for you; a travel agent might be just what you are looking for. If you decide to go that route and do not already have one, ask around with friends / co-workers for a recommendation. See if your company or your husbands company has a corporate travel agency; they might also do leisure. If you don't get a name of one trying the above; check the phone book for local companies and ask specifically if they have someone who specializes in Italy. Ask if they have fees so there are no surprises; some agencies will not charge a planning fee if you book a package with them. And best of all; if anything goes wrong, you have someone in your court to assist you. Whichever way you go, good luck and have fun!

I suggest you try to do it on your own.
I tried a "canned" tour of Ireland with Insight last year and was far from satisfied. First the company switched tours on me without really communicating to me all the ramifications of it.
Then we seemed to have a lot of time just riding. We stopped for various attractions, but still there was a lot of time in the bus. I finally decided the tour was a mistake when we seemed to stop longer at shopping attractions than we did at natural attractions like the Cliffs of Moher.
All in all, not my way of doing things. I finished the trip feeling like something was missing. I think it was. I did not get to linger over anything I really wanted to see, and I spent a considerble amount of time looking out of a bus window.

After the tour we freelanced a bit, and enjoyed it much more. Some people like being told what to look at and they don't want to bother with figuring out their own itinerary. I decided after one "canned" go at it, that I will do my own in Western Europe. I might change my mind for a country where I don't have a clue, or public transportation is deficient.

If you don't want a budget tour, you can try a mid-priced "first class" tour such as Globus or Trafalgar. I have used both of them, although not to Italy. Their tours are good, but a lot of time is spent on the bus, and hotels are sometimes inconveniently located. Peirllo is another mid-priced tour company. I have not used them, but have heard good things about them from friends.

Since you are new to this forum you may not be aware that most people who post here are experienced independent travelers, and most questions about tours invariably will be met with several suggestions to do it on your own. However, since you are admittedly burnt out and don't want to do the planning, a tour company or using a travel agent sound like good options for you.

If you do a search in the text box above, you can find info about tours in general, a specific tour company, or Italy. May you have a good trip.

how about looking at the tours that the airlines offer...that would also make it easy to extend at the end of your trip....you might hit the main spots on a tour and do some others on your own...you do not have lots of time alloted however to do that much...

I would like to second Walkabout; Trafalgar, Globus and Perillo are all good companies. You can also book your travel 2 ways with some of them. Purchase a package that includes a guide and tour bus which as dixon stated, is not very flexible and you do spend a lot of time on a bus; but someone else is responsible for all your travel needs (well, within reason!) and you can just sit back and relax. This is the pricier of the 2 versions. The second would be to purchase an independent package with a tour company that would provide your air, a car, and vouchers for hotels/b&b's. The upside is that you can have the benefit of having a knowledgeable person assisting you with your selections, and you can also do things at your own pace without someone dictating your itinerary to you.
You do not have to be an experienced world traveler to plan this yourself though. A few good guidebooks, alot of reading on the areas and of course; reading thru posts here will help guide you. I have spent the last 3 months doing just that and know I will enjoy my trip more due to my "sudden" knowledge of the area's I am going to. Planning the trip really has been half the fun.

It's unlikely you'll find a tour that takes in all the places you listed, but if you're willing to be flexible, you can probably find a good tour. Why don't you check out Club ABC, http://www.clubabc.com I have no personal experience with them, but some friends of mine, who usually travel independently, took their tour of Turkey and liked it.

Club ABC is an organzation you join for 2 years ($35), and they offer a lot of tours for reasonable prices. They have many Italian deals. Check out "Our Italy" which goes to Sorrento, Rome, Florence, Venice, and Stesa. Good luck!

Hi! We took a l5 day trip through Travalgar Tour Co. Recommend it very highly. We just about visited all the places you mentioned you wanted to see. It
was hectic and fast but we saw so much we
are glad we did it that way. When we go
again, we will probably plan a trip ourselves. The best part of a tour is that
everything is done for you. When we arrived at our hotel, our tour guide had
our keys ready and all we did was go up
to our room and luggage came right after.
As I said, trip was hectic and I would
of liked to spend a little more time in
some places, but that's ok, because we
can go back and spend more time. We did
use Rick Steves guide for Italy to help
us with some of the sights we wanted to
see. You do have to pay for some excursions and some times it was worth it. We had a wonderful group and had so
much fun that we all wanted to be together. It is your choice to go on
excursions or not. We went through our
local Auto Club, they were very helpful.
Good luck.

Good luck in your plans for next Spring. Should be a good time for Italy. And combining a tour with time on your own sounds great.

One recommendation I would make if you are over 50 is Grand Circle which we did a few years ago. GCT has what they call "extended vacation" which means you aren't relocating in different hotels like in a conducted tour. This popular one locates you for a week in Sorrento and then in Montecatini plus a little time in Rome. You will be offered day trips to places such as you mentioned and have time on your own, too.

We've also traveled with Globus and Elderhostel and others as we shop for reasonable prices. I know people have gone with Perillo. We do expect to shell out at least $3500 total for any 16-18 day stay.

Glad to answer any questions
Bill in Missouri [email protected]

I have done solo and group travel and feel they both have their place in life. There is much to be said for it all being planned. I am not going to recommend the company I used because it was for students and I was one of the adults that went along to help. My one tip that I will give is...don't leave it all to them. Go to the library or store and read travel books like Rick Steves, Fodors, Frommers, Lonely Planet, etc. This will make your trip more enjoyable.

We've gone on 6 trips with Grand Circle tours, Cambridge, Massachusetts and recommend them highly. Couldn't beat their price which includes air. Optionals mount up but for a tour they hit all the highlights. Haven't done Italy with them yet but will in a couple of weeks for Sicily & Amalfi Coast with an extra week on our own for a minimal extra fee. Will be gone almost a month.

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