Jboz1

Hello All, We are headed to Italy June 19th - 30th. We are in Venice for the 19th and 20th, Florence for the 21st-23rd, then into Rome for the rest of the trip. We are looking for things not to miss in these cities. Also, we are looking for guided tour information/ tour companies in these cities. If any one has any companies they used and were pleased with, we'd be appreciative of the help. We are traveling with are 17 and 15 yr old sons. We wanted to book some tours/excursions before we head over. Specifically, the Vatican, the Coloseum and a Pompei trip. Any suggestions on things not to miss in the above cities would be great. Thanks for the help.

Mimar

If your flight into Venice is overnight, I'd consider adding an extra day to Venice for getting over jetlag. Venice is a good place to get over jetlag -- drifting around in a haze is appropriate sightseeing there. Flying into Venice and out of Rome is the way to do it, IMO.

If you search the forum you'll see lots of information about tours. Do you want an individual tour guide or group tours?

In Venice and Florence, with your limited time, just do the obvious. I'd get a reservation for the Uffizi in Florence. In Rome many people recommend ContextRome (rome.contexttravel.com)

suec1

I'd suggest you buy Rick Steve's Italy - it will give you suggestions for tours / private guide. It also has very practical info about getting around the sities on public transportation as well as reasonable restaurants. He rates the sights, usually his ratings give a good idea on where to spend your time. The book includes how to contact the various companies or guides by email before arrival into Italy. Have a grat trip!

buongiorno

We used a company called Vatican Tours & Beyond and thought they were excellent and the prices were reasonable.

http://www.vaticantoursinc.com/

suze

I also would strongly suggest adding a day or two more to Venice (especially if you are coming from US/Canada because of the jet lag you may experience on the first couple days).

We enjoyed doing simple self-guided walking tours in Venice.