<BR>My husband and I are planning a trip to Florence, Venice and Rome in September. <BR>Any sugestions on a reliable tour group to take.

We took the Globus Rome, Florence & Venice tour last October and were, in the words of my travel agent, "burned". Had done several cruises and, of course, many many ½day tours in England, France & Holland -- thought Globus with it's ½ day of free time would be very much like those experiences combined -- some dinners with group, morning group tour and then on our own. What a false impression that was! <BR> <BR>Some points for you to be aware of & perhaps it will help you have a better experience: <BR>1) All included meals are in the hotels -- don't expect to have the great Italian food you read about on these forums. Also, meals are heavy on the red meat (poorly cooked). <BR>2) Hotels are located for ease of access by a large tour bus -- that means NOT near the center of the historical cities. And none were easily accessible by public transportation, which we enjoy using as part of the experience of Europe. Use taxies. <BR>4) The hotels themselves were part of an American chain & you could be anywhere, USA. <BR>5) Change $ before joining the tour -- one trick to keep everyone in line is to provide $ changing time only toward end of tour -- and then at their "selected" store -- no lira, no freedom to hire that taxi, etc. We had gotten several hundred in lira before we left and were very happy to have local money in our pockets. <BR>6) Some of the local guides were very good. Several were not. -- The driver was great, the driving was safe & he was very accommodating. The tour director used Hitler as her role model, plus she would be pleasant one minute and very nasty the next. <BR>6) Optional meals and activities are pushed VERY HARD. Only good one was the Sistine Chapel tour. If your tour does Florence, suggest you skip the optional "Beef" dinner -- it's bad pot roast, not what non-tour diners were served, although the drive out in the countryside was nice. <BR> <BR> On the plus side, we did stop at places we really enjoyed such as Pisa & Verona but would not have done had we been traveling by train. And we did not have the hassel of driving a car. <BR> <BR>Be aware that most mornings you will be up by 6 am, especially if traveling from 1 place to next. <BR>We start early ourselves, but usually "sleep in" until 7:30/8 am, get breakfast in hotel, out by 9 to see garden and at museum by 10. The land tours lack both the efficiency that cruise ships seem to have mastered and the cruise ship attitude that their patrons are mature adults, with some common sense. <BR> <BR>have heard good things about Manatour (sp?) and Tauck. Check previous posts using search key if you have not already done so.

We took the Globus Rome, Florence & Venice tour last October and were, in the words of my travel agent, "burned". Had done several cruises and, of course, many many ½day tours in England, France & Holland -- thought Globus with it's ½ day of free time would be very much like those experiences combined -- some dinners with group, morning group tour and then on our own. What a false impression that was! <BR> <BR>Some points for you to be aware of & perhaps it will help you have a better experience: <BR>1) All included meals are in the hotels -- don't expect to have the great Italian food you read about on these forums. Also, meals are heavy on the red meat (poorly cooked). <BR>2) Hotels are located for ease of access by a large tour bus -- that means NOT near the center of the historical cities. And none were easily accessible by public transportation, which we enjoy using as part of the experience of Europe. Use taxies. <BR>4) The hotels themselves were part of an American chain & you could be anywhere, USA. <BR>5) Change $ before joining the tour -- one trick to keep everyone in line is to provide $ changing time only toward end of tour -- and then at their "selected" store -- no lira, no freedom to hire that taxi, etc. We had gotten several hundred in lira before we left and were very happy to have local money in our pockets. <BR>6) Some of the local guides were very good. Several were not. -- The driver was great, the driving was safe & he was very accommodating. The tour director used Hitler as her role model, plus she would be pleasant one minute and very nasty the next. <BR>6) Optional meals and activities are pushed VERY HARD. Only good one was the Sistine Chapel tour. If your tour does Florence, suggest you skip the optional "Beef" dinner -- it's bad pot roast, not what non-tour diners were served, although the drive out in the countryside was nice. <BR> <BR> On the plus side, we did stop at places we really enjoyed such as Pisa & Verona but would not have done had we been traveling by train. And we did not have the hassel of driving a car. <BR> <BR>Be aware that most mornings you will be up by 6 am, especially if traveling from 1 place to next. <BR>We start early ourselves, but usually "sleep in" until 7:30/8 am, get breakfast in hotel, out by 9 to see garden and at museum by 10. The land tours lack both the efficiency that cruise ships seem to have mastered and the cruise ship attitude that their patrons are mature adults, with some common sense. <BR> <BR>have heard good things about Manatour (sp?) and Tauck. Check previous posts using search key if you have not already done so.

Hi Ruth, <BR>We used American Express. Their tours give you an great tour of the city, local guides meet you for the museum tours, and they also allow for free time so that you can do what you want for an afternoon or morning. It is a nice break from the group. The other nice thing is that when you arrive in Rome, they take care of your luggage, so you don't have to carry it to/from your room or worry about getting on the bus. <BR>Have a nice trip. <BR> <BR>

We recently got back from a American Express tour of Italy. Found the hotels centrally located and generally quite good without being chains. We could always step out of the hotel and be in the middle of things. We took few optional activities , deciding to spend free time alone. One good thing is that with the war there were a lot of cancellations so the bus was only half full; we could spread out and relax. We also spent a week by ourselves in Rome after the tour. Stayed at the Campo de Fiori and had a great time. We probably will not do a bus tour again, but this one met our needs at the time. <BR>Tony