escorted tour or solo in Italy?
 

Fellow Travelers: I looked at standard escorted tours of 14-20 days in Italy Sept/Oct but they go too many places and the hotels are poorly located. My travel agent says he can get me well-located hotels, train tickets, day trips, etc. so I can focus just on Venice, Florence/surrounding area, and Rome. I'm female and speak NO Italian. But I'm comfortable being by myself and am more interested in soaking up the street and cafe atmosphere than endless cathedral sightseeing. Should I go it alone or join the tour? Any recommendations for side trips near Florence? If I fly into Milan should I stop in Verona? THANKS

I too have the same question except I am interested in the Cathedrals and anything archeological and/or historical. I want to see Rome, Florence, Naples (Pompeii and Herculeaum). Maybe Capri and Venice. I want a trip in May 2006. The tours seem most reasonable but too many places. I would prefer to use Rome, Florence, and Naples as bases. Maybe 3-4 days in each. I have never been to Italy and speak no Intalian. Any suggestions?

Your comfort level with being on your own and schlepping your own stuff will help you with the final decision, but from what you've told us about yourself, seems you should seriously consider going it on your own as your travel agent suggested. Of course, you will find a bias on this board for independent travel.

Your travel agent sounds right on target, and you can follow up by asking specific questions about hotels, restaurants, sites, etc. here once you get into the planning. Rome/Florence/Venice are called the big three for a good reason. Most first timers visit these three destinations & it is hard to go wrong with them. Added advantage is you can easily travel between them via train. The key is to be comfortable carrying and lifting your own bags; everything else about the trains is easy & reasonably priced.

If I flew into Milan and was traveling to Venice, I would definitely think Verona worth a stopover if I had the time.

Siena & San Gimignano are two frequently mentioned easy day trips from Florence, and there are others.

If you decide to try it on your own, you'll find plenty of people here willing to help.

Parbru, your itinerary sounds doable....2-3 weeks with bases in Florence, Rome & Naples or its environs for May 2006.

Not knowing Italian shouldn't be a barrier, especially in Rome/Florence/Venice....a little less English in Naples, but still you should get along fine. However, DO learn the basic please, thank you, do you speak English type phrases. People seem to respond so much better to courtesy & some attempt to speak their language!

Some people here will probably caution you about staying in Naples, but there are differing views on it. Why don't you try the search feature for some of the Naples threads? In any case, sounds like the outline of a wonderful trip.

Or you might consider a low-pressure, more leisurely approach to group tours, such as <plug!> my friend Rita runs at http://www.tartarugatours.com/ As she says: "We're not in a hurry to get where we're going - this turtle is on vacation! When in Florence, we stay at centrally-located hotels so we can wind up and down the narrow streets getting a feel for the Italian passeggiata. A little pre-dinner stroll to work up an appetite for a relaxing meal."

...and she's fun. (Of course I'm prejudiced - she's a friend of mine and we've stayed at their home in Greve del Chianti, and they've stayed with us in Lecco - good company.)

best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

www.straughan.com (personal)
www.tvblob.com (work)

Sounds lovely, I've emailed her, thanks.

You don't even need a travel agent. You can book your flights on orbitz.com or any number of other online sources, and find hotels at venere.com and other sites.

I find the planning of my own trip to be half the fun...and given how much bad information I see people getting from their "agents"...I figure I can't do any worse. LOL

I'd suggest getting a guidebook or two (I liked Rick Steves Italy for the first time I went), and he has great recommendations and advice for the solo traveler as well.

You don't have to speak Italian -- a phrasebook will help you get what you need, and you'll find many Italians speak English. Just learn the polite words, and you'll be set!

Happy travels,
Jules

While I'll agree that you don't <i>have</i> to speak Italian, you will add so much richness to your experience by going on a crash course... to lay a foundation for at least sightreading, and sounding out words. A vocabulary of 500 words in 30 days is not unrealistic, if you take it as a serious undertaking. Make flash cards, track your progress. Audio aids exist -- they key to getting something out of them is you <b>must</b> repat outloud. No mumbling, no sayint it under your breath - - you need to get used to (and get over how bad you <i>think</i>) you sound. Don't freak out about how little <i>listening comprehension</i> you're able to master. When immersed in Italy, that will improve a lot more in 3 days, than you can expect from 30 days of intensive efforts here &quot;at home&quot;.

You're going to love Italy.

Best wishes,

Rex

Ditch the travel agent. Do your own research. Plan your trip on here and other good web sites. Stay at reputable, centrally located places. Pack light. You'll have WAY more fun and a much more &quot;authentic&quot; experience.

My boyfriend and I are set to leave for Italy on the 15th of this month to visit Venice, Florence/Tuscany, and Rome. We planned it on our own and are not doing a tour. I was able to get very good information by referencing this website as well as others. I have never done a tour before so they might be wonderful, however I am looking forward to enjoying the trip we planned on our own.

Depends on what you are comfortable doing. For me, there's absolutely no way no how I would take an organized tour. I hate the idea, the regimentation, being told what to do, when to go where, getting up early in the morning to get on a bus, and most of all being stuck with a bunch of strangers on my trip. Because I am perfectly comfortable traveling solo I gain no benefit my going with a tour.

For what you describe, I would simply purchase a plane ticket into Rome and out of Venice 2 weeks later. I would use the train to go Rome/Florence and then Florence/Venice, buying a ticket from the local train station. I'd find a hotel in each city (so 3 total) and make reservations. That's basically all there is to it! Especially since you mention soaking up the local atmosphere and sitting in sidewalk cafes (both specialties of mine BTW) it is really quite easy. You would not need to speak Italian to pull this off. I would skip side trips, Milan, etc. for the sake of keeping things simple.

Oops, nearly 3 weeks, even better!

You'll be ok. My first trip to Italy was a solo trip, and I spoke no Italian, and I'm female. Sure it was daunting, but the upshot is, I took my family back 3 times in the next 5 years.

Italians are used to dealing with people who don't speak Italian -- most bill amounts are written down, for example, rather than spoken. Just grab a phrase-book and practice the essentials: Bon giorno, buena sera, permesso, grazie, il conto per favore, gelato grande per favore, dove toilette. Learn to count to ten.

Find a comfortable hotel _not_ near the train station, and enjoy walking the cities and people-watching from cafes. Venice, especially, will charm your socks off.

A bus trip to Sienna or the train to Pisa would make a nice day trip from Florence.

Personally, I was disappointed in Verona -- lots of cars, lots of walking next to busy streets, and generally noisy and tiring. But others disagree.

^^^

As someone said, you will find a bias here for independent travel - but hundreds of Fodorites can't be wrong! Seriously, if you have a little time and are willing to do some reading and internet research you not only don't need a tour, you don't need the travel agent either. The fact that you found this forum is a good start. Start asking specific questions and you'll get more information than you'll probably need. People here are more than willing to give you advise on where to go, how to get there, where to stay, what to see when you get there - and all the tiny details. And the internet is a wealth of information from air and hotel booking sites, to complete guidebooks on line, to people's personal web pages, trip jouronals, photos, etc.

Although I had traveled extensively in the US, I had never been to Europe until five years ago and I was a bit apprehensive about it all. One trip and I was hooked. I've been 9 times in the last five years, plan all the trips on my own and would never consider a tour. I feel sooooo sorry for all those poor people following some tour guide around, seeing what the guide thinks they should see, spending too little or too much time in a place.

And don't let lack of language skills stop you. I firmly believe it's very important to learn a FEW words of the local language so you can make the effort to greet people and ask, in their language, if they speak English. But despite my best efforts my language skills are pretty bad and I have not had problems. Being polite and making the effort is much more important than anything else.