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Driver in Naples
We are going to be on a cruise in July, docking at Naples for the day. Does anyone have the name of a driver/guide that can take a party of six to Pompeii and tour the Amalfi coast?
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Do a search for weadles and Tour of Italy. The Gargiulos (father and son) will pick you up and drive you wherever you want--we had a great time with them.
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Coffeeaddict, thanks. Just got back from Costa Rica, you would have been in pig heaven with the coffee there!
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Hi there!
Thanks, coffeeaddict! Giovanni ( dad) and Giancarlo Gargiulo can be reached at tourofitaly.com or on their cells ( I don't have the area code!) at: GIOVANNI: 3387306575 GIANCARLO: 3335226029 We've used them many times, and have recommended them ad nauseum, I'm sure, here on the forum. |
Hi the internation code from the US is 011. And the area code for Naples proper is 081. I hope that helps.
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Hi Weadles
I am trying to decide on a driver for Amalfi coast and I see you recommended tourofitaly. Did you use Giovanni or Giancarlo? Salvatore from driveamalfi gets rave reviews but he is much more expensive. Do you think tourofitaly is as good. My main concern is reliability. I was going to book Renato but I have read a few posts where he did not show up. Thanks p.s. I see you used Luca too...we are planning on using him in Tuscany..any comments |
Hi eedie,
We've used both Giovanni and Giancarlo many times. They are reliable, charming drivers, and both speak English pretty well.Giovanni used to be a cruise ship waiter based in the States for 29 years, and has lots of stories to tell. Giovanni is sort of the Italian version of Archie Bunker, but even funnier! My kids actually still talk about how much they enjoyed our trips with him. As for Luca, he's great, too. A very personable, very smart guy, who really knows the Chianti area inside out. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch with him at La Bottega in Radda. Maybe he can take you there, too. I hope you enjoy your time with him as much as we did! |
I recommend Salvatore of DriveAmalfi [email protected],he is used by all the top hotels here including the Santa Caterina where he was a fixture for over 20 years.
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Are the the Gargiulos driver and guide, or just drivers? I understand that you usually have to have a separate guide. How much do they charge for a day?
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I would say that the Gargiulos are informal guides for the coast. They've lived their all their lives, and have plenty of stories to tell. You will have a wonderful time with them, but if you're looking for anything more than that, you'd need to hire somebody.
Another driver I'd like to mention is Francesco Marrapese. He has posted some excellent advice about the area here on the forum, and apparently has just started his own business. I checked out his website, francescomarrapese.com, and was very impressed with it. You might want to look yourself, and compare rates. |
There are some good suggestions here,but my personal choice would be Salvatore of DriveAmalfi.
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I second the vote for francesco marrapese, based on the wonderful contributions he's made to this forum recently, and on his brilliant website. If the website is any indication, he has a great personality, and the enthusiastic approach that can make for a fun experience.
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We hired the Gargiulos of Tour of Italy for 2 different days of touring in Italy. Giovanni, the father, drove us from Rome to Monte Cassino, to Naples, to Herculaneum, to Pompeii. He was great - played all Italian music CDs, has a great sense of humor, has great connections and so was able to park us very close to our destinations. He then drove us to our hotel in Positano, stopped anywhere we asked him to and even bought me 3 beautiful long-stemmed red roses!
His son, Giancarlo, drove us on a day-long tour of the Amalfi coast, provided excellent information about the area from where to shop, what to see and took us to a great restaurant for lunch. He is very personable! Both father and son speak English very well. We thoroughly enjoyed our tours with them! |
We just returned from Italy. We had the very best tour guides that you could ever imagine. Their names are Giovanni and Giancarlo Gargiullo, a father and son team (Tour of Italy). We toured Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, Positano, Pompeii, and Rome. They are the best. I highly recommend them to anyone who wishes to be toured "Italian Style". They are knowledgable, friendly, dependable, humorous, and very trustworthy. I cannot wait to return to Italy...they made our trip very special.
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did you use both giovanni AND giancarlo?
If so, who would you highly recommend? Have you used private drivers in other parts of italy and if so do you have other recommendations? |
Hi eedie,
We've used both Giovanni (dad) and Giancarlo (son) Gargiulo of tourofitaly.com for several trips to the Amalfi Coast. Their presence is always a highlight of each trip! You'd be in great hands with either of them, and probably have a wonderful time, too. If for some reason they are unavailable, I would also recommend a new poster here who's contributed quite a lot of great information to the forum. He is Francesco Marrapese and you can take a look at his website: www.francescomarrapese.com. I've been in touch with him through e-mails, and he seems like a delightful guy! Have a wonderful time on the Amalfi Coast. |
I missed the part where you asked for drivers for other parts of Italy. If you're going to Florence/Chianti area, check out Luca Garapa at Hillsandroads.com. We took a few day trips with him last year when based in Radda, and had a great time with him. He is very knowledgeable about the area ( grew up in Siena), reliable, and good company. I highly recommend him!
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Thanks weadles
I have booked Luca for 2 days of touring in tuscany and have also booked Francesco for Amalfi. |
Another vote for Francesco Marrapese. We just spent 4 days on the Amalfi Coast and he picked us up at the train station and another day drove us on a tour of the coast. He is intelligent, funny, professional, and a very good guide. He is also easy on the eyes, if you like tall, dark, and handsome dreamboats. (Sorry, Francesco!!!!!)
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eedie,
Have a great time! Please post a report when you come back! Thanks. |
We got the best price for the day (Herculaneum, Pompeii, lunch and the museum) from "Limousine Sorrento Renato Cuomo" <[email protected]>, so if price is an issue, you might want to check him out. He farmed it out, but the driver was very pleasant, helpful and accomodating.
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Thank you rbnwdln, grazie Weadles and Bellastar...I've just seen this and I thought I had to say thank you and ciao.
I'm sorry I'm not posting too much at the moment, but this is time for me to work. You're very nice, and rbnwdln...you have good tastes ;-) (just kidding!) |
Ciao Francesco-
Sono contenta di sentire che tu sei tanto occupato al momento! |
Salvatore Lucibello from Amalfi was the most courteous and professional driver we used on our entire trip and was highly regarded by all of us.Salvatore is to be found at [email protected]
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bellastar,
How do you know so much Italian? I'm impressed, esp. since I've been studying it for nearly five years, and am only somewhat proficient! Any recommendations other than moving to Italy immediately?! |
I have to agree that Drive Amalfi is the best. We were on a cruise that docked in Naples, and they picked us up at the port and took us to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. They schedule what you want. And it was reasonable. Only cost us $80 euros each for 6 of us. Our driver was Alfredo.
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Best drivers in Sorrento aereas are Gargiulo's family.
TOUR OF ITALY.COM are absolutely FANTASTIC.We had great time with them, they show the best of Amalfi coast, Pompeii, Ercolano,Rome.they took us shopping in places with reasonable price and we had had lunches to fantastic restaurants. Giovanni is very funny, Giancarlo is great.very professinal good english spoken.Thank you for the limoncello Giovanni.missing you |
We spent 5 days centerd in Positano, using Tour of Italy - Giovanni Gargiulos (Father) for arrival and trransportation to hotel, touring of Pompeii & Amalfi coast, transit to Rome with a stop in Monte Cassino. His personality immediately created a sense of comfort as if you were with an old friend you hadn't seen in years. From a point local information, setting of tour guides (in Pompeii), Knowing peolple evrywhere he went and a jovial personality, he was a fantastic source of information and comedy. When we return, we will use his services again and again!
Everyone in my family smiles at the mention of his name! |
topping
great contact information. thanks |
I have to vote for Salvatore. Our cruise last July arrived in Naples and he was there (early) to pick us up. He is extremely knowledgeable of the area (he's from Amalfi) and so courteous (oh, and his English is excellent)! His recommendations on stops were fantastic (we did Pompeii first -- because it gets so hot in the summer, you want to stop there first) and the restaurant we ate at in Pontone (between Amalfi and Ravello) was incredible (both food & view). I wish we could have spent more time with him, but that darn ship left port around 7pm. The van that he used (a new Mercedes-Benz model) fit the six of us with no problem and was extremely comfortable with a great a/c (crucial in the summer). Whomever you choose, the Amalfi Coast is unforgettable!!!
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Good eve, We used a great company called benvenuto limos who can be reached at benvenutolimos.com and our driver was excellent. I have recommended this company several times and would use them again tomorrow. You will have a blast.
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I am planning a trip to the Amalfi Coast and am very interested in these posts. Would someone care to share a ballpark price for these excusions - for example, a tour of the coast, a trip to Pompeii? I just have no idea of what the going rates might be.
[email protected] |
Conlet - The going rate is usually in the € 35-40 per hour range. So you can expect to pay about € 150 for a 4-hour excursion; € 300 for an all-day tour.
You can, of course, get to Pompeii very cheaply by public transport ... Hope this helps ... Steve |
Meeting a driver in Sorrento, but...
I checked the train schedule from Rome to Naples. I know I have to change to a local train, but the Circumvesuviana site won't link to their schedule. Does it run frequently from Naples-Sorrento? How long does it take? |
Lina - The Naples-Sorrento (Circumvesuviana) train runs approx. every 30 mins.
Journey time is about 70 mins. You can find timetables on: http://www.massalubrense.it/circum.htm Hope this helps ... Steve |
We had a driver last year who took us all over the coast. It was a long, ten hour day, but it was wonderful. It cost about 300 euros but there were 4 of us. We felt it was worth it if this is your first trip to that area. I can recommend Francesco Marrapese. He was an excellent tour guide. www.francescomarrapese.com (I think)
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We highly recommend our driver Tony ([email protected]). He picked us up at the port in Naples and then drove us to Pompei, followed by an AMAZING drive along the Amalfi coast where we saw Positano, Amalfi town and Revello. We had the most amazing lunch in Revello! He was also very reasonably priced. :)
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We had a driver named Enzo who was wonderful. He can be reached at [email protected].
He was very accomodating and had a very nice personality and was a very good driver. |
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