Perillo Tour of Italy in July 2011
 

My husband & I have booked a Perillo Tour to Italy in July 2011. We are going to Venice, Florence & Rome. We are in our mid-50's - this is our first trip to Italy. Any suggestions regarding appropriate clothing, accessing cash, keeping safe, and not-to-be-missed activities for our "free" time would be appreciated. Plus anything else that would be helpful! Thanks in advance.

I am not a huge rick steve's fan - but his website has lots of basic helpful info: http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/tips_menu.htm

Clothing covering knees and shoulders must be worn when visiting St. Mark's Basilica and St. Peter's Basilica and is strictly enforced.

I access cash from the ATM machines. It seems to be the easiest way.

Have a wonderful trip! My first trip to Europe was to Italy. Lovely country!

How much actual free time will you have in each location? Hours or days? Will the tour company offer optional tours during that time, or are you looking for some independent type things to do? Would you be comfortable using public transportation around or outside the cities?
I find a good country specific guidebook an invaluable tool for basic trip planning and research.
Are you locked into the July time frame? Summers in Italy can be hot, humid and very crowded-spring or fall is a much more comfortable time to travel.

Suggest you do all of the research to find out what YOU want to do - versus what they think you should se. And be prepared to go off on your own to see what's important to you. You should also learn tour speak so you know what yo uwill really be seeing:

View - means looking at something out of the bus window as you drive by
Stop - means a 5 minute photo op in front of something
Visit - you actually go inside whatever and see it (but based on time may get a cursory look

Also be aware that meals provided are usually not authentic local food - but americanized versions prepared for the tour by hotels. Friends of my parents who took a similar tour at the behest of relatives ended up organizing all of their own dinners after the first one (which they compared to school cafeteria food) - by identifying legitimate local places and cabbing there for dinner.

We have been on two extended Perillo tours and even though the last one was in 2002 some information may still be of value in planning for your tour. You will have a memorable tour, do take a lot of photos. July will be hot, so dress cool, but do remember KL4567's information on proper dress before going on tours to churchs. When touring during the day, jeans and short sleeve shirts with comfortable walking shoes are the order of the day. You are a tourist, so don't worry about looking like a tourist. When going out for dinner with the group, slacks and short sleeve shirts are fine. They do have one "dress up" gala dinner, you might want to wear slacks and a dressier shirt, unless you prefer a suit and tie or sports coat (if you decide to attend). We never had a "bad" dinner on either of the tours, in fact we had some great dinners sitting with some great couples. I cannot say the same about some of the meals we've had on our own since then. However, I would recommend taking a couple of these dinner nights and taking time to roam on your own during the evening. They do offer some optional tours, but don't be afraid to turn these down and use the time on your own. The one optional tour we did take was the gondola ride in Venice (it would have been impossible for me to see Venice and not take a gondola ride on the Grand Canal). Don't worry about being physically safe, but take some precautions against pickpockets. Recommend a money pouch that goes round your waist and under your belt and not to carry a purse with valuables in it. Take only what you need for the evening and put it in your front pants pocket (this is not protection from the professional, but what is??) If someone picks your pocket or grabs your purse and starts running away, let them go, you've only lost what you can afford to lose,so don't let it ruin the rest of your vacation. Go have a gelato and make a toast to being had by a true professional. While you will be taken on actual tours of two or three of the major sites in each place, some research will help you plan on which sites you might want to actually visit on your own time from your hotel location. I would recommend the Eyewitness Travel Guide for Italy. Just remember you're not going to be able to see everything which gives you an excuse to go back on your own to see the rest. Just relax, meet some great couples and above all remember this is YOUR vacation, enjoy, and eat lots of gelato.

Italy is a great location - but like anywhere else in the world - keep your street smarts about you - especially when you are walking around in the Italy's tourist attractions. The following is a website that has several pages that will outline how pickpockets work so you can read up on their scams before you go on your trip. The website even has pickpocket scam information dedicated to many of Italy's top cities.

Don't get to worried about pickpockets - they are harmless - but can turn your trip upside down if they get your wallet with all of your ID, cash, and credit cards.

Here is the website - scroll down to the pickpocket section:

http://www.corporatetravelsafety.com/safety-tips/

If you're planning on using ATMs for getting cash, remember to have your holiday stash in your checking account as you cannot access savings accounts from the banks in Italy (maybe that's all European banks).

I forgot - the same website listed above has a variety of unique money security pouches, as well as special travel bags and purses that have built in security features that keeps your bag's valuables safe from pickpockets and sneak thieves. Pickpockets make a good living looking for unsecured purses and travel bags. You will see that many of the bags on this website have special zipper locks that keep a bag's main compartment secure, detachable shoulder straps that can be secured thru your chair when sitting at a sidewalk cafe, as well as cut proof straps.

Thanks to all for these very helpful suggestions. I will check them all out & do my research. We ARE tied to the July travel time due to my work schedule. I understand that it will be hot, but I guess we'll just have to deal with that. Our tour is called "The Aristocrat" and it is supposed to include upgraded hotels & most included meals in "fine restaurants" (rather than in hotel dining rooms). As I said, this is our first experience so I'm not sure how reliable that is. We will have some free time on this tour as well - at least 3 dinners on our own and 1/2 to 1 full day in each of the "big 3" cities we are visiting. In addition to that, I gather we can "opt out" of any organized portion of the tour (including meals that don't interest us) along the way - as long as we don't miss our bus when we are moving to the next city.

Barbara, have a great time. Although I have not traveled with Perillo, they are considered experts on Italy for those who choose an escorted tour. In the future you may revisit independently those areas which interest you most.

I looked at your tour and saw that you are staying at the Luna Baglioni in Venice. I have stayed there before. It is a lovely hotel in a fantastic location. It is literally almost steps away from Piazza San Marco and Harry's Bar (home of the bellini). I'm not familiar with the other hotels, but I'm sure you will like this one.

latedaytraveler - thank you for the well wishes. We really struggled about the decision to take a guided tour or travel independently - Perillo seemed like a good choice for us for our first time in Europe. I do hope we won't be disappointed! I like your suggestion to go back independently to the areas which interest us most. Here's hoping that there will be a "next time"!

Delaine - it's great to hear from someone who has stayed at one of the hotels we are going to. Thanks for the review. As for Harry's Bar - is that a "tourist trap" or worth venturing into? We will have some limited time "on our own" in Venice & I wondered if it would be a good place to go or if we should try to wander "off the beaten track" a bit.

Harry's Bar is a very touristy place, though with a sense of elegance rather than tackiness. In Venice in general the rpices are expensive. At Harry's Bar the prices are even more expensive. If I had very little free time in Venice, Harry's Bar would not be the place I would choose to spend it. If you want to pay for an expensive drink, choose one of the cafes with the orchestras in Piazza San Marco, a much more memorable experience.

If you are art fans, the Borghese Gallery in Rome is a must.
But you'll need to make a reservation ahead of time --
www.galleriaborghese.it. The Bargello in Florence is also
lovely. And the Uffizi, of course. Vivoli is great for gelato in Florence; San Crispino, Giolitti and Tre Scalini in Rome.
Piazza Navona was our favorite square in Rome. This site offers a wealth of information on all three cities you will visit.

My husband and I (66 and 56, respectively) enjoyed Perillo's 14-day North Continental tour in April 2011. It was a great way to go - everything was very organized and I was much more relaxed than if I had been responsible for figuring out transportation, ticket reservations for the attractions, hotels, etc., etc. The trade-offs for being with a group were worth it. We wouldn't have seen half of what we did if we had been on our own.

All of the hotels were centrally located. We went right to the head of the (long) lines and were provided with a specific guide for each museum or place. The tour bus was very comfortable and I was able to take a large suitcase because I never had to deal with handling it once we arrived.

Perillo offers many add-on tours and entertainment, so I wouldn't worry about planning everything out ahead of time for your free afternoons. You never actually know when those free hours are going to be, anyway, and I wouldn't risk making reservations somewhere ahead of time.

We never felt insecure, although we were on the alert for those scary gypsies, especially the ones with babies! :) I used my AmEx and Visa cards everywhere (never needed a PIN) and got cash from the ubiquitous ATMs without any problem (though I did notify the various companies before we left). Everyone spoke English at the restaurants and tourist spots.

I didn't feel the need to dress up. Just be comfortable while trying not to stand out like an ugly American.

Bottom line, I would highly recommend Perillo for first-time travelers to Italy who want to get a great overview of this fantastic country!

Barbara, please check back in with us after your July tour with Perillo and let us know how you like it...