A group of us are planning to tour Italy in the spring. Haven't decided on region or length of stay. We did want to do this through a tour and are looking for suggestions on tour groups. Any information would be appreciared.

Most readers of this forum will suggest that you can easily do this on your own.

However, if that simply isn't your thing, there are many reputable tour companies--Globus, Brendan, Perillo, Grand Circle, Overseas Adventure, to name a few. Take a look at their brochures (itineraries) and compare.

I've done it both ways, and doing it on our own was great--very different than with a tour. However, if there are more than 3 or 4 in your group, independant travel can get very complicated and confusing. Eight of us did an independent tour to England a few years ago and trying to keep two cars together was quite exasperating. If I were to try something like that again--would simply name an end point of the day's travels and go from there.

Have a great time planning--that's half the fun!

What is the average age of the people in your group and why do you want a tour? Have you all agreed on what kind of Italian tour you would like to do as a group: scenic, artistic, gastronomic -- or all three?

My sister (36) and I (32) joined a Collette tour of "Italian Vistas" this past summer. We arranged to arrive in Rome early and meet the group after we'd had time on our own. I did this mainly because my sister was not an experienced traveller, a bit scared to try new things unless she is forced to, and she is anal retentive about itineraries. I didn't mind the tour situation this time, because I had never been to Italy and I thought, "Why not--for once, I will just bask in all my touristiness, follow the umbrella and enjoy the cheesy opera singers at dinner." A lot was included and the hotels were progressively better and better so that you were staying in complete luxury at the end before heading home. We were VERY surprised to see everyone from teenagers, triplet teacher sisters in their 20's, families with college kids, all the way up to the retired crowd. I think we got to see every region of the country. I'm not sure it was a typical grouping, but we all had a blast. Some tours, like Collette, can be heavy on the coach bus...which is annoying; however, we got to ride on boats and had a nice chunk of free time. I felt I was able to put my experience to use.

Forgot to add the link--this may not be for you, but at least you can compare itineraries and costs. P.S. I normally don't do tours (have to save face on this site!!!)

Forgot to add the link--this may not be for you, but at least you can compare itineraries and costs. P.S. I normally don't do tours (have to save face on this site!!!) www.collettevacations.com

Thanks all for your recommendations. Our group could consist of anywhere from 10-20 people, from the ages of 20 -60. That is why we are interested in doing a tour, too many to keep together independently. We have never been to Italy and would be interested to hear any opinions. Thanks!

You also might look into Rick Steves' tours. www.ricksteves.com. (Though he does get mixed reviews on this site, I enjoyed the RS tour I was on a few years back. Great mix of people, ages 20 to retirement-age; good mix of free time and group time; and everyone was pretty easygoing and cool.)