We will be visiting Italy on our honeymoon the first two weeks of June. We are interested in booking private tours of the Vatican and a private day trip to Pompeii....Does anyone have a recommendation?

Travel Happy:<BR>We were in Rome July 2001 and used &quot;Euroservice&quot; for two private tours (for 10 family members). The first was an all day trip to Pompei (where they arrange for a local guide) and then an hour or so in Sorrento to get a feel for the Amalfi Coast. We then did the Rome &quot;Catholic Tour&quot; with everything but the Vatican which we did on our own. The guide in Rome &quot;Frank&quot; was the best I have had anywhere. Four different Basilicas, the Catacombs, lunch and a quick tour of the Forum. Check out their website www.italytours.ws and ask for &quot;Lara&quot; when you e-mail them. I just arranged for airport transfers and a full day w/ Frank for our trip next month. Pricey but well worth the money.

Hi<BR>If you do a search here on Scala Reale you will find very high praise on their guided walking tours. Usually they take small groups (6 or fewer) but I'm sure they can accommodate a private tour for a couple. I think website is www.scalareale.org They can arrange almost everything it seems.

Can't say enough good things about Scale Reale; really well informed guides, most of whom are US graduate students with a degree in art history, architecture or a relevant subject. They essentially are private tours as the maximum number allowed is 6 and the tours I have taken have actually had less. The Vatican tour we did was private as it was only the 2 of us and our guide.<BR><BR>IMO you can do Pompeii on your own. Take the train, and get the audio guide at the visitors centre. That way you can spend as much or as little time as you want at any sight, and skip parts that you are not interested in. A guide is a bit too pakcaged for me.<BR><BR>The New York Times did a good article about a year ago giving an itinerary for a one-day trip to Pompeii from Rome, including restaurants for lunch. I thought it was helpful. You might see if you can get a copy.

I had the NYX article that Cicerone was speaking of bookmarked. Here is the link , I don't think you'll have to register to use it.<BR>http://query.nytimes.com/search/arti...Europe%2fItaly