Unfortunately kamaoleman hasn't really said anything of useful substance. He/she said "I had problems with Insight" on 3-4 separate threads without providing any helpful details.

Those types of posts would be far more helpful if they provide some insight into the problems that arose.

Then he/she copied and reposted this entire thread in a reply without any original content. Perplexing.

So we see that you're a critic. Wonderful. I am trying to be descreet. Just letting people know that they should research this company.

Hi

Can't comment on Italy but we used Insight for our tour in Turkey. They were fantastic. The hotels were excellent, food superb, very professional director and comfortable coach.

Finally got the credit posted to my card this evening. Been a battle but the persistence paid off. 3 weeks is a bit long. Thanks for your comments. Aloha!

We were once charged $600 for a rented phone that we returned with our Hertz car at Edinburgh Airport. For some reason, the agent never recorded the fact that it was returned and I didn't know there was a problem until I got my cc bill.

Anyway, after speaking to several people at Hertz in Edinburgh, I managed to convince them that I didn't have the phone and they agreed to give me a credit.

It still took several weeks for the paperwork to go through and be approved by all the various layers of bureaucracy.

Moral of this story: Most credits don't appear instantaneously on your account, especially is it is a large company. Just be glad you got your money.

What tour did you select? How was it?

I am looking into these trips too for the Summer of 2016, so please let me know which one you went with and if you liked it. I noticed that Globus includes Milan while Insight does not. Also, I'm considering Perillo. Look forward to your review.

This is a 5 year old thread and the OP has not been back since. You're not going to get any report from her.

I would search the forum for the MANY posts on torus versus independent travel - and if you are determined on a tour check here and on tripadvisor for any reviews (not sure you will find any).

Hi JS6,

I just came back from my first trip to Europe, which included 16 days in Italy. We did it completely self guided and I personally would not have it any other way. The benefit to a tour is you don't have to organise anything. But the negatives IMO far outweigh that. You don't get to choose anything really on a tour, apart from choosing the tour itself, and if you want to go to certain museums or churches that aren't on the group list it is most likely bad luck. Or if you want an afternoon lazing on the beach but you have to go with the bus it is also bad luck.

You can't go at your own pace and you might miss the chance to go off the beaten track a little. Travel throughout Italy is so easy. I was super organised for my trip so booked most things, except for one week in Italy, which we left open ended. You can get anywhere you like pretty easily.

I love the Rome2Rio site which lets you plot a trip destination to destination, showing you the easiest and least expensive ways to travel. You could always copy the itinerary of the tour group and then book your own hotel/apartment and transport. It really is easy! And you would save $$$. It's overwhelming when you are planning a trip, but that is all part of the fun too sometimes. :-)

Oh, and we met so many people, so if it's company you're after you won't have trouble finding it in Italy. One of the friendliest places in the world - from what I have seen anyway!

RT