Italy - Guided Trip or Not

Old May 20th, 2015, 06:40 PM
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Italy - Guided Trip or Not

My wife and I will be taking a trip to Italy in September. Specifically, we want to go to Rome, Florence and Venice. Maybe Pisa. My wife wants us to be part of a guided trip from beginning with our arrival in Italy to the end. However, I've not found a good match for the 7-10 days that we will be there. What do you recommend? If a guided trip, please identify some reputable and affordable companies. Thank you.
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Old May 20th, 2015, 06:59 PM
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Most people on these forums are independent travelelers, so advice tends to tilt toward DIY. The trip you describe would be easy to plan and book, but some people just like the whole idea of putting their vacation in the hands of a tour company.

Reasons why my SIL and BIL like guided tours: They don't have to do anything before the trip. No comparing hotels and deciding what sounds best for you. No research about sights, deciding what to see, finding out when things are open/closed, how to get around, etc. Just show up and bring a camera.

Reasons why I don't like guided tours: I'm not especially a morning person, and I definitely don't want to have to be up, fed, packed and downstairs by 7:30a most days. I'm a somewhat slow sightseer and don't want to be marched through museums, churches, etc. If I see something interesting along the way, I want to be able to detour or linger or change plans. I don't like riding buses unless there is no other option, and I prefer smaller hotels with some charm that are very centrally located.

If you're still sold on a guided tour, you need to state some budget parameters in numbers. "Affordable" can mean different things to different people.
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Old May 20th, 2015, 07:00 PM
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Forgot to mention that my SIL/BIL have taken two Globus tours and enjoyed them very much.
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Old May 20th, 2015, 07:18 PM
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I do not recommend a guided tour.

First, the cities you wish to visit are directly connected to each other by train, city center to city center, so transportation is very easy on your own. Personally, I prefer trains to busses. You can get up and walk around, just more comfortable overall.

Second, it is best to select your own hotels. Often, smaller hotels in the city center are better locations, close to restaurants, etc. Tours are limited to hotels that take groups, so fewer choices and not always great locations either.

Finding your own restaurants and places to eat will, I guarantee you, be a better, more memorable experience than eating with a tour group.

On your own, you can read and decide for yourselves exactly what to see based on what is of interest to you.

If there are places you feel you would enjoy having a tour, you can join a local tour or hire a private guide.

You will probably save money over a tour and have a better experience. Use the money you save to hire guides or splurge on restaurants.

Pisa is an easy trip by train from Florence. If you do it, include Luca as a day trip.

Now, 7 days is not really enough time for all three locations. 10 would be good.
Buy multi-city tickets, flying into one city and out of another.
There are tons of options, but Sept is not far off.
Best might be to arrive in Venice and depart from Rome.
Venice, 3 nights
Train to Florence
Florence, 3 nights (day trip to Pisa and Luca)
Train to Rome,
Rome, 4 nights

If you end up with less time, cut from Florence and skip the day trip, or cut from Rome and keep the day trip.

Decide when and where you want to go. People here can give lots of recs for hotels and guides.

I bet as soon as you land and check into your first hotel, your wife will be glad she is not tied to a tour bus.
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Old May 20th, 2015, 07:36 PM
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My sister just came back from that exact tour from Gate 1.

She is not an adventurous eater, was intimidated by the language difference, and was not very knowledgeable of Roman/Italian culture and history.

She liked it immensely, even though it was too much walking for her.

My wife and I are independent travelers and have been to Italy a few times. We do our homework before we go and rely on a Michelin Green, among other books while there. It is our trip not one that someone else has planned.

It is like investing your money some have a stomach for risk others don't.
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Old May 20th, 2015, 08:09 PM
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If I were going to take a tour to those cities, which I absolutely would not, it would be this one:

http://www.ricksteves.com/tours/ital...-florence-rome

Smaller groups than a lot of companies (24-28), excellent guides, central hotels, don't start that early. You do need to be reasonably energetic, pack light and handle your own bag.
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Old May 20th, 2015, 08:54 PM
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mercerb I was supposed to go on an organised tour last year with Trafalgar which I was looking forward to with great excitement. Unfortunately a few months before the tour was meant to start I was told that the company had to cancel.
I had done multiple tours in the past and been very happy with seeing a lot in limited time but when I started looking at alternate tours I couldn't find one that suited me. So I decided to do a bit of independent travel. It's not like I've never travelled solo but not quite to the extent that I was planning for Italy.

Can I just say that I had an AMAZING time. With the help of this forum and the internet I managed to plan and book so much before I left. I also saved a fair bit of money. I had flexibility of doing what I wanted when I felt like it. Having a slow day, have a take it easy morning. Don't feel like eating a big dinner, grab a take away bite to eat.

Italy was also an easy country to do independently and choose day tours as you go along.
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Old May 20th, 2015, 08:54 PM
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Why would you recommend a tour you have not been on?

It is like recommending a hotel you have not stayed at or a restaurant you have not eaten at but it is much more money and bigger commitment.
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Old May 20th, 2015, 09:16 PM
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If that's addressed to me, I have not been on that specific tour, but I have been on other tours run by the same company. I have also read the reviews and reports from people who have been on that specific tour.

Have you been on a Gate1 tour?
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Old May 21st, 2015, 01:16 AM
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I'd struggle with the whole concept, like being back in school or hospital (or some of us the big house), "you will get up at 7:30", "bags packed at 8:00", "on bus at 8:30", "there will be no late arrivals accepted".

Holidays are about having a rough plan, which can be changed by meeting someone interesting, being ill, having a special visit that you want to repeat, seeing the world from a slightly different point of view, spending time with a loved one, stopping and breathing.

Slow down, you are going to die one day, why not enjoy the life you have?

Now if going on a tour does all those things, fantastic, just remember how hard it is to herd cats.
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Old May 21st, 2015, 03:10 AM
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No, that is why I qualified my posting by saying it was my sister, her characteristics and how she found it. I did not recommend it from lack out of lack of my own experience.
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Old May 21st, 2015, 03:12 AM
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BTW, I am one who thinks Rick Steves's guides are lazy, narrow, and uneducated in many respects, but since I have never been on his tours I could not say do not go on his tours.
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Old May 21st, 2015, 03:33 AM
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We have not been on this particular Rick Steves tour but have been on 4 others and have definitely not found them neither lazy , narrow or uneducated.
The hotels are always located in the heart of where you want to be, the guides are local and very knowledgeable, immersion in the cultural is featured as much as possible and we have found that our travel mates on these tours usually have done their homework. (BTW we have met lawyers, surgeons and even the head of a nuclear commission on these trips so not many uneducated.)
Having said that we also love to travel independently which is mostly what we do but sometimes its just great to go somewhere with guidance and not have to worry about logistics and allowing us to enjoy without eyes on the road.We always do much reading before a guided tour though so do not go blindly.
So I think either method of travel is enjoyable but if I were to take a tour it would be the Rick Steves one.
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Old May 21st, 2015, 03:54 AM
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>>BTW, I am one who thinks Rick Steves's guides are lazy, narrow, and uneducated in many respects, but since I have never been on his tours I could not say do not go on his tours.
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Old May 21st, 2015, 12:06 PM
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I've never been on a guided tour, other than those our local adult school or our local ski club organze. On those tours, the main goal is to spend the time with friends and neighbors, to laugh, joke, gossip, sing on the bus, and otherwise have an Italian party. When I travel with my husband, we always travel independently, but I can imagine that when we're getting a bit too old for that, we might enjoy an organized tour.

As others have said, the itinerary you propose is very easily done on your own. You will always save money traveling independently. Finally, I much prefer trains over buses for getting from place to place. In Italy, they're also a lot faster on the routes you're considering.

Organized tours may be better for people who can't manage to get all their stuff in a smallish suitcase.
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Old May 21st, 2015, 01:46 PM
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As often happens people read what they want to read not what I wrote.

Little Ricky guide BOOKS are lazy, narrow, and uneducated in many respects. Not there yours. I do not have a clue how good or bad Little Ricky's tours are, and that was my point.

Nor did I say the people who went on Little Ricky's tours were lazy, narrow, and uneducated in many respects. But now that someone else raised the issue, I worked with hundreds of lawyers and MBA's and I would say maybe 10% had more than a passing interest in fine art and serious literature, although a great percentage had an interest in history.
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