Insight Vacations - Italy
Jan 9th, 2023, 06:06 PM
#3
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Most experienced travelers here plan their own trips and do not use tours such as the one about which you are wondering, thus so few replies.
I, too, have no experience of Insights Vacations, but I have traveled extensively in Italy to most of the places this tour mentions, so I will comment on the actual itinerary.
Personally, I would never choose this tour. The tour has your group changing hotels almost every night, which means every morning you must be up and packed very early to get on the bus to get to the next city. PLUS, because so much travel time spent on the bus traveling from city to city, it means very little time at the actual locations to see the sights. Also, reading the itinerary wording very carefully, many things are mentioned as "seeing" not visiting--which means you will stand outside the Colosseum and a guide may share some information, but you will not actually visit the inside. Also, there are a number of interesting options mentioned that are exactly that--optional--to be added to your itinerary for an additional cost. The actual tour takes place over 9 days (with travel days at the beginning and ending), only 3 of which do not involve changing hotels. The hotels mentioned are in OK locations, though some could be slightly more central.
Here is a quick analysis of the day-by-day schedule, with an esimtate of how much time on the bus will be necessary each day to travel from location to location. Some of the times are probably too low, since you will be traveling as a group, which always takes more time to move people from place to place and on and off the bus.
Day 1: Arrive Rome (hotel 1)--no activities aside from welcome dinner
Day 2: Rome
Day 3: Travel Rome to Pompeii to Sorrento (hotel 2) (5-hour drive)
Day 4: Sorrento to Capri (hotel 3) (Ferry ride--1 hour)
Day 5: Capri to Florence (hotel 4) (Ferry and bus--5 hours)
Day 6: Florence
Day 7: Florence to Cinque Terre to Positano to Santa Maria Liguria (hotel 5) (3 hours)
Day 8: Santa Maria Liguria to Lake Maggiore (hotel 6) (3 hours)
Day 9: Lake Maggiore to Lake Iseo to Venice (hotel 7) (7-8 hours)
Day 10: Venice
Day 11: Depart for home
I, too, have no experience of Insights Vacations, but I have traveled extensively in Italy to most of the places this tour mentions, so I will comment on the actual itinerary.
Personally, I would never choose this tour. The tour has your group changing hotels almost every night, which means every morning you must be up and packed very early to get on the bus to get to the next city. PLUS, because so much travel time spent on the bus traveling from city to city, it means very little time at the actual locations to see the sights. Also, reading the itinerary wording very carefully, many things are mentioned as "seeing" not visiting--which means you will stand outside the Colosseum and a guide may share some information, but you will not actually visit the inside. Also, there are a number of interesting options mentioned that are exactly that--optional--to be added to your itinerary for an additional cost. The actual tour takes place over 9 days (with travel days at the beginning and ending), only 3 of which do not involve changing hotels. The hotels mentioned are in OK locations, though some could be slightly more central.
Here is a quick analysis of the day-by-day schedule, with an esimtate of how much time on the bus will be necessary each day to travel from location to location. Some of the times are probably too low, since you will be traveling as a group, which always takes more time to move people from place to place and on and off the bus.
Day 1: Arrive Rome (hotel 1)--no activities aside from welcome dinner
Day 2: Rome
Day 3: Travel Rome to Pompeii to Sorrento (hotel 2) (5-hour drive)
Day 4: Sorrento to Capri (hotel 3) (Ferry ride--1 hour)
Day 5: Capri to Florence (hotel 4) (Ferry and bus--5 hours)
Day 6: Florence
Day 7: Florence to Cinque Terre to Positano to Santa Maria Liguria (hotel 5) (3 hours)
Day 8: Santa Maria Liguria to Lake Maggiore (hotel 6) (3 hours)
Day 9: Lake Maggiore to Lake Iseo to Venice (hotel 7) (7-8 hours)
Day 10: Venice
Day 11: Depart for home
Jan 9th, 2023, 08:32 PM
#4
Join Date: Mar 2007
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Day 7 would be Portofino, not Positano. Just a mistake in the above post.
This is a terrible tour. Seven hotels in 9 days is just nuts. 25 hours on a bus is about 3 days worth, so 1/3 of the trip is bottom on seat of a bus.
Do a trip yourself. Choose three (at most, four) bases. No one night hotels! Do some day trips. Use trains.
Skip the Lakes, skip Cinque Terre, visit places close to Florence instead.
Skip Capri or do it as a day trip or take a ferry down the AC instead.
Didn’t look to see if cost included flights, but if not, it is super pricy, especially to see so much from the window of a bus, rather than more sights close up.
This is a terrible tour. Seven hotels in 9 days is just nuts. 25 hours on a bus is about 3 days worth, so 1/3 of the trip is bottom on seat of a bus.
Do a trip yourself. Choose three (at most, four) bases. No one night hotels! Do some day trips. Use trains.
Skip the Lakes, skip Cinque Terre, visit places close to Florence instead.
Skip Capri or do it as a day trip or take a ferry down the AC instead.
Didn’t look to see if cost included flights, but if not, it is super pricy, especially to see so much from the window of a bus, rather than more sights close up.
Jan 9th, 2023, 09:30 PM
#5
Join Date: Apr 2006
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I agree this tour sounds like far too much travel time and not enough time to enjoy the sights. It doesn't sound fun. With 9 full days to sightsee, I would just choose to visit Rome, Florence and Venice. If you can extend your trip, you could then consider adding more locations.
