Topper

To the top.

a---z

\ <BR>once more, this time for Ed.

ro

mhs 3 years is a very long time and alot can happen in that time. please see my post of 16 days w/globus. if anything, we were longing for red meat. i think we only had it one time. yes, the hotes is in the "new" part of venice and not within walking distance, but when we got back to the room from our days travel, we were exhausted and really didnt look forward to any more touring for the day. the hotel was 15 minutes away from the port. rome and venice were the only hotels not located in center of town. florence, lk maggiore, sorrento, naples, assisi were all within walking distance of ctr. town. there was no money changing nor was it suggested by anyone on the tour. you changed money as you saw fit. lino was our driver as well as another lino tour director. both were very professional. as a matter of fact we did do our own thing and were given directions how to get to and fro by the tour director. sistine chapel was included in our tour not optional no one pushed any of the options. as for verona, i did not enjoy traveling the distance to look at a whimsical balcony. thats all that was in the town. true,if you did it on your own, you would not have seen it. on the plus side, nothing lost, nothing gained. not all included meals were in hotels. some were in decent rest. the food was adequate but because you had unlimited wine with dinner your portions were smaller. we never had a bad meal. i am alot fussier than most when it comes to food, and i really cant complain. i will say the portion sizes were smaller than anticipated. although, you could ask for more and got it. as i said before, 3 years is a long time. after dinner which ended approx. 9 pm you were tired and wanted to get some rest and get ready for the next day. usually breakfast 6:30, bus left 7:30 for wherever. so dont think you had that much time to walk around, because even if you did have the time to walk, you probably couldnt walk because you were so tired. optional tours were: isola bella, gondola ride. i might be forgetting something else, but all the major attractions sistine chapel, fine arts museum, coloseum were included. catacombs was not included but we took the tour on our own for $25, tarantello not included. it cost us $5,000 for 2. perillo was more money. the age group was 40-50's with a few stragglers. and we all had a hard time keeping up. this was a fast pace tour. but w/o it we would not have seen as much as we did. the restaurants we went to had live entertainment which included musicians, opera singer. one couple from the group got up and did the tarantella. i also did not want to have every meal with the tour director. when we were in florence, venice, rome we ate on our own. money was the same difference was in size of portions and you ate what you wanted. nancy is right, break away from the tour when you can and just stoll the back streets and enjoy. milan we went to galleria, saw the duomo and had time for shopping or whatever. we also saw christoper columbus house and had time there for lunch. we did have enough time. perhaps not what you would called relaxed time to shop. but still enough time. we did see pompeii. our tour included rome florence venice milan lk maggiori sorrento, capri, naples assisi. look a little closer at the brochure for what you are interested i seeing. i will say this tour if fast moving and not for older people or people who cannot walk very well. i did a whole spread sheet on all the tour companies before we went, and for us, globus offered the most for the best price. by the way, brendan tour people were with the globus tour.

Joe

Ro did you feel that you could have done the tour on your own? Were you satisfied with what the tour did include? If you had to do it over again, what would you change?

ro

as mentioned, we took a globus tour 14 days, and stayed 2 extra days in rome. for those 2 days we got up later, had breakfast later, fussed around with where do you wanna go, i dont know where do you wanna go. before you know it, half the day is gone. we would not have seen as much on our own as we did with the tour. even with charting out our days, i did not have to read from a book what we were looking at to my husband. i heard more facts from the tour director than a book could provide.i'd certainly do it again. i think i would like more time in venice, florence, sorrento, lake maggiore. i really liked these towns and look forward to visiting them again. only i dont know how soon that will be.

tom

I recently took a tour to Egypt,as far as tours go, they are probably all the same. 50 people who are your new best friends,forced small talk to mind numbingly stupid folks, really bad food at someone else's timetable and a tour guides idea of what is important and what is not, not to mention the fact that you are rushed thru so much that you have no time to really enjoy what you are seeing. If your plan is to see as much as humanly possible and piece it together thru your photos, then by all means take the tour, otherwise get a good travel book and some airline reservations and enjoy. Most europeans, esp. in big tourist areas speak adequate english and the internet is an amazing tool to research hotels, etc.

Rob

Hello Sandi: I can empathize with you. I booked a trip to Europe with my wife last summer (last week in July - First Week in August, 2001) and, prior to booking, I was horrified to read some of the responses to my query concerning Globus tours. Forutunately, my budget ultimately dictated that I travel through Globus, and I couldn't have been more pleased!! Sure, some of the hotels were not "centrally" located (i.e. the "Venice" hotel was actually in Mestre, IT), but most were within walking distance to the attractions you wanted to see. For example, our hotel (Star Hotel Michelangelo) was about 7 to 10 minutes walking distance from the Vatican." <BR>

Rob

Hello Sandi: I can empathize with you. I booked a trip to Europe with my wife last summer (last week in July - First Week in August, 2001) and, prior to booking, I was horrified to read some of the responses to my query concerning Globus tours. Forutunately, my budget ultimately dictated that I travel through Globus, and I couldn't have been more pleased!! Sure, some of the hotels were not "centrally" located (i.e. the "Venice" hotel was actually in Mestre, IT), but most were within walking distance to the attractions you wanted to see. For example, our hotel (Star Hotel Michelangelo) was about 7 to 10 minutes walking distance from the Vatican." <BR> More importantly, though, were the quality of our traveling companions. Our group was nothing short of exceptional, with age groups ranging from about 18 to 65. All and all a great mix! Moreover, our tour director (Kurt) and driver (Salvatore) were outstanding.!! Kurt knew more about European history than some of my college history professors.<BR> In closing, we did NOT get burned by Globus. Rather, we experienced the vacation of a lifetime, and you will too provided that you don't have a problem rubbing elbows with the proletariat!! <BR> <BR>Have a great trip!!!

jb

Hi Sandi,<BR><BR>My sister took the Globus 9 Day tour to Rome, Venice and Florence. She loved it - but I think her expectations matched the experience. She knew that the meals were just OK, so she opted for a few of the extra cost excursions and she also knew the hotels were not going to be centrally located. She ended up having a wonderful time.<BR><BR>My point is if you know what you are getting into, I think you can justify what happens on a tour. If you think you are going to get more, you are often disappointed.<BR><BR>I want to take a Tauck Tour next year - it is very expensive (about $2500+ for a week most places) but it includes everything - from what I hear the hotels are amazing, the food is amazing and you get to choose when you want to eat and with whom. Those are big pluses for me, so even though I haven't been on one, you may want to check it out - if you are willing to part with a bit more money.<BR><BR>BTW - I think my sister spent around $500 extra dollars going on a few outside excursions.

Melissa

Sandi,<BR><BR>My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon to Italy this March (3/03).<BR><BR>We are inbetween the 14 day Perillo North Classic tour, or another tour.<BR><BR>It is a bit expensive compared to others packages. <BR><BR>Did you decide to go? I would be interested in discussing this with you futher. <BR><BR>Thanks!<BR>Melissa

Alba

Last year, for our trip to Italy, I compared numerous companies. (FYI, I am in my late 30's and I was traveling with my uncle and father, both in their 70's.) The two companies we narrowed it down to were Perillo and Globus. We chose Globus for a couple of reasons. Firstly, as was mentioned in previous posts here, every meal and activity was as a part of the group. We preferred to have a little more flexibiity. Secondly, was the price. We were extremely pleased with Globus! Our tour guide, local guides and bus driver were all fabulous! We visited Venice, Rome and Florence. All of our hotels were great and conveniently-located. For example, our hotel in Venice was right on the Grand Canal, and the hotel in Florence was the same one being used by Perillo. It comes down to how much "free" time you want and how much you're willing to spend.<BR>Have a wonderful trip!

Alba

ooops! Need to clarify my post, above. When I said "every meal and activity was as a part of the group", I meant that for Perillo. With Globus, we had more flexibility.<BR>Sorry!

bb

Were there any children on any of these tours? <BR>Thought about bringing two boys (11 & 15) on a tour of Europe (or several countries) and would like to let someone else do the driving. Would kids this age be accepted on the bus? (They're experienced travelers.)<BR>