allanc

I think that Florence is one of those places that is very easy to do on your own. You can make phone reservations at the Uffizi and at the Academia (sp).
They give you a reservation number and you simply enter via the tour entry area and produce your reservation number. I use Rick Steeves, among others, and find parts of his books very useful. There are some travel snobs who turn their nose up at his books. I don't use them exclusively but they do have some very good data. You can find a place well under 250 in Florence that is very good. Try Gustafson's Cheap Sleeps in Italy.

TravelFam

itsv:

We will be taking our first trip to Italy in 2.5 weeks. I'm not a seasoned Italy traveler (but I have traveled) like many of those that posted replies, but I do have to tell you that although we are Rick Steve's fans (we rented all the Italy videos from the library to plan our trip), we found it far less expensive to do Italy on our own. His tours do not include airfare.

We used Steve's Italy 2004 guidebook, his Graffiti wall, SlowTrav and this site to plan our trip. We will be leaving for 20 days in Italy on 9/24 and we're looking forward to it. I should also tell you that we are traveling with our 8 year old son.

We just started our "serious" planning two weeks ago. That's booking the lodging after several days of research and the rail. All we have left is the car and a couple of big tours for Rome - such as the Vatican and Ancient Rome -and Florence. We will be traveling to Venice, Cinque Terre, Sorrento/Amalfi, and Tuscany.

We were able to find great room rates via the web because of posters to this forum and various reviews. If your sister will be spending most of her time in Florence, I would recommend an agriturismo in the outskirts (we're staying just outside of Siena) and use that as your base to Florence and other wonderful areas. We rented ours for 90 euros per day! Pool, a/c, private room/bath/kitchen, etc.

I understand when you say your sister wants to make sure everything is going to go right. My husband just started traveling when we married (AND he doesn't like to get up before 9am)
, while I've been traveling since I was young (ex-military brat). He likes the structure of cruises. I'm a bit more adventurous and dislike the tourist seen (grew up in Hawaii and worked the tourist industry).

Again, as the rest of the posters mentioned, it's a personal preference. Do they like structure or adventure? Either way, after what I've read from this forum and others - in Italy, you cannot have a bad time!!



Sorry for rambling.

I hope you have a great trip!

rshersnow

I was in Florence for my first time in May and found that some of the beauty of being there was the relaxed pace of life and my ability to do that as well. I generally pity the people I see being dragged around as cattle during a tour group excursion. I just feel like I can spend as much or as little time as I want at the sites I want to see. Do as you seem fit but to me you will enjoy your trip much more without the confines of a tour guide.

Zeus

Tough choice - Normally I always suggest doing it on your own mainly because of the arguments listed above. Vacation is for relaxation so doing it at your own pace seems most logical.

However, if it were me, I would probably go with the package tour for two reasons:
1) The price is great. Florence is expensive. That price would be darn good if it were only for airfare, hotel and tours. Getting meals and the excursion to Sienna (renting a car ain't cheap anymore and driving in Italy can be nerve-racking) makes it a no-brainer.
2)Personally, I know no Italian and no nothing about Italian art and culture. Having a guide point stuff out to me would really enhance my enjoyment. They might also be helpful in pointing the way to the best shopping deals(Be careful they aren't sending you to a shop that pays them a kickback. Just ask for general advice such as the best part of town for leather goods or what ripoffs you should be wary of).

lcquinn2

Hi itsv!
I live and work here and florence and would be more than glad to help her find an apt or inexpensive clean hotel and arrange other things that they made need! let me know if i may be of any help - [email protected]

suze

Zeus, but the price doesn't include airfare!

I still think it is worth considering the tour because these folks are not seasoned travelers. And as mentioned it would be nice to be shown the highlights of Florence, as they do not seem enthusiastic in researching the trip themselves (but their nice sister is doing her best to help!).

itsv

thanks again everyone for your help. I will look up the hotels suggested. As people have hit the nail on the head, it is my brother-in-law's adapting to travel that my sister and I are worried about.

Travelfam-thanks for the advice. last year we took our 7 yr. old and 11 yr. old to Italy. In rome we hired a tour guide named danielle hunt for an all day ancient rome tour in english. She did a great job at engaging the kids' interest, plus she took us to a great restaurant for lunch. just do a search should give you the name of her tour company, plus the other company usually mentioned on this board did not want children along on the tour (if my memory served me correct). Be sure to get the audio tours for your son for everymusuem, they were a big hit with my kids and at least your son would have buttons to push and something to do while touring. Also we got books set in the places we were visiting for our children. (both fiction and non-fiction). for venice "zoe sophia's venice scrapbook" was a big hit, if you want more titles just send me an email at [email protected].

lcquinn2, thanks for your offer, Iwill definitely contact you inthe future. my sister's bday is coming up and she wants to start working onthe trip after the event.
thanks, itsv

HelenR

Another thought that no-one has mentioned. My brother, his wife and 2 sons took Rick Steves tour and what the boys (13 and 15 at the time) liked best was other kids their age on the tour so they didn't have to spend all their time with Mom and Dad. With preteens and teenagers, it is sometimes nice to have some "away" time with everyone still safe. Of course this depends on your sister's specific 12 yr. old. Hope they have fun.

mindzye

itsy: My best piece of advice for your sister and her family is to get into some deep research on Florence and its neigborhoods. I lived in Florence for two years, and visited the city many times before that. It is a city for easy wandering at your own speed. There are so many art sites that you can't visit them all in one stay, so relax. You pick a few that match your interest, find out the opening-closing times, and just go. The only museum you need to book tickets for is the Uffizi. And you don't even have to do that if you go two hours before closing.

I don't "get" booking a week-long tour in Florence, even if you have never been to Italy before. See the city on your own; you'll do better, especially in terms of dining. Rick Steves's restaurant recommendations are not particularly good for Florence. If you want to have a guide for a special day in the city or a day-trip to Siena, try Pauline Priore (great personality, knowledge and a car.) [email protected]

The apartment idea is a good one; check out the vacation rental (and restaurant) reviews on the Slow Travel website: www.slowtrav.com But also consider staying at an inexpensive pension and getting a separate single room for the 12 year old.

I understand the concern over the husband's having a good time. I used to travel with one who was always just along for the ride, with no particular enthusiasm for anything except the constant search for an American-style breakfast. In this case, I would focus on the 12 year old having a good time. Take him on the No.13 bus; it goes around Florence from the train station and you can get off at the Piazzale Michelangelo for a stunning view of Florence and a gelato. The No.7, also from the train station, winds up and up to the old Roman town of Fiesole---fabulous.