Will be traveling to Italy for the first time & am thinking of taking the 10-day Rome-Florence-Venice Perillo Tour. Does anyone have any experiences with this tour outfit that they would share? Will I have enough time in each city to "see it all?" What are the meals & lodging like? Thank you.

I have some friends who went on a Perillo tour. They were quite pleased with what they got. <BR><BR>Be aware that they count days in an interesting manner. The day you leave and the day you return each count as days. <BR><BR>Day 1: Get to the airport and get on plane. Last Day: Get on plane to return.<BR><BR>Also, there are different types of travellers; those who plan the trip and then spend their time doing what they want and those who don't have it in them to plan and carry their own luggage.<BR><BR>Another thing, they are known for hotels being a bit out of the way. Cheaper that way.<BR><BR>A typical day is leave 7AM on the bus, stop in a place of little interest to break up a long daytime drive, arrive early evening and check into hotel, a few hours free time but you're in the middle of nowhere and then eat where they arrange.<BR><BR>If you don't know any better and want to sit there and have your trip go by, you'll have a good time.<BR><BR>If you read the threads on this board some people have been back to the same places several times (so have we). I don't think there is ever such a thing as "seeing it all". If you enjoyed yourself, you will want to go back for more.<BR><BR>Obviously I'm biased.<BR>

Angela: I think the fun of traveling is doing the research on your own and making your own plans. We travel to Europe often and I always do the plans on line. In fact, our family is in an out of the way place in Europe and I found them. We now have a wonderful relationship. If you're uncomfortable doing that, I have heard that Perillo is good, but like the last poster said, the hotels can be out of the way. Search the hotels they give you and see. Out of the way hotels can be a problem is you want to see things in the historic center on your own. Also, as the last poster said, you will never see everything in a city. There's always much more to see.

Angela, one thing Perillo has going for it is great tour guides. It is also quite a luxury, I think, not to have to schlep your bags around--Perillo takes them to and from your room. Perillo stays at nice hotels, but you are getting the standard room at these hotels, with no incentive at the front desk to upgrade you. So you will likely get a nicely furnished small room at the end of the hall facing the air shaft. On the down side, the restaurants they select are mediocre. And, while there are some great people on these tours, there are also invariably some goofs who can drive you nuts. And, no, you will not have enough time to see it all. You will essentially be in Italy for 8 days, as well as traveling in between the cities, so you will be spending at best than 2 days in each city.

Try Collette tours. they a ver god anod an hotels are in the citys not out of the way best advice is if you go go 1 full day early if you can just book the same hotel they should honor the tour companys price per night and also try to do the same on the last day if possible also check to see how many hotel stays look for 2-3 nights per hotel if possible

Hello, Angela! My husband and I took Perillo's Italy North Classic in May 2000. We had a wonderful time. Contrary to what other people have said , the hotels we stayed at were in the center of town. My husband and i often went on our own to explore. There were times when we stayed with the group, but about half the time we went sightseeing on our own.<BR>There is so much to see and do in Italy. 8 days is definitely not enough. Going on a tour, you have to abide by their schedule. Also, it is very expensive. Since then, we have opted to do the research ourselves and spend as much time as we would like in each city. I hope you have a great time, no matter what you decide to do. This forum was very helpful in planning our trips.