Trip report - Italy on a tour
Jul 15th, 2003 | 12:33 PM
#1
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Joined: Apr 2003
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Trip report - Italy on a tour
We're back from a Globus land tour of Italy that we all agreed was the best vacation of our lives (and we've had some great vacations). We've always been do-it-yourself people when it comes to vacations, and not very sociable, and we were extremely pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed the tour experience. Some of the advantages of a tour:
--First and foremost, much less stuff to arrange in advance. No having to figure out how to get museum tickets, train tickets, etc.
--Less hassle and lost time, especially important on a relatively short trip when every minute counts. We didn't have to sit at train stations or bus stops, get lost driving around, etc.
--Letting someone else (the bus driver) handle transportation from one city to the next let us really relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery. We arrived at each destination far less tired.
--The tours got us into museums earlier, when they were far less crowded, and bypass the usual lines. We had 45 minutes in a largely-empty Sistine Chapel to luxuriate in Michelangelo's work and 20 minutes to enjoy his David in Florence...I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
--There's always someone available (the tour director) who speaks your language and can answer your questions.
Some suggestions for anyone considering this kind of land tour:
1. Do your homework before contacting a travel agent. Visit the Web sites of the tour companies, read the descriptions carefully, and find out where the hotels are located. Ideally, you'll want at least 2 nights at each stop and hotels within walking distance of the attractions you're interested in. Also check airfares--we saved about $200 per person by booking our own.
2. Also do your homework on your destinations before you leave. Buy a good guidebook (or several!) and read it. I was amazed at how many people in our group had no idea how to do simple things like get Euros.
3. Have a good map of each city. I found a good map of Venice essential, because while it's usually fun to get lost among the little streets, it's not fun if you're hot and/or tired.
4. Buy bottled water and carry it with you on any walking tours. You may also want to pack and carry non-perishable snacks like crackers.
5. Even the "leisurely" tours can be fast-paced. We usually had 6:30 a.m. wake-up calls so we could get to the museums before they opened to the general public. Give yourself permission to take a break. We took short naps at the hotel during the afternoon heat and then really enjoyed the evenings.
I'd be glad to answer any questions.
We were far more pleased with Globus than we'd expected. All the logistics came off flawlessly, the hotels were better than we'd expected,and the tours were absolutely terrific.
--First and foremost, much less stuff to arrange in advance. No having to figure out how to get museum tickets, train tickets, etc.
--Less hassle and lost time, especially important on a relatively short trip when every minute counts. We didn't have to sit at train stations or bus stops, get lost driving around, etc.
--Letting someone else (the bus driver) handle transportation from one city to the next let us really relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery. We arrived at each destination far less tired.
--The tours got us into museums earlier, when they were far less crowded, and bypass the usual lines. We had 45 minutes in a largely-empty Sistine Chapel to luxuriate in Michelangelo's work and 20 minutes to enjoy his David in Florence...I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
--There's always someone available (the tour director) who speaks your language and can answer your questions.
Some suggestions for anyone considering this kind of land tour:
1. Do your homework before contacting a travel agent. Visit the Web sites of the tour companies, read the descriptions carefully, and find out where the hotels are located. Ideally, you'll want at least 2 nights at each stop and hotels within walking distance of the attractions you're interested in. Also check airfares--we saved about $200 per person by booking our own.
2. Also do your homework on your destinations before you leave. Buy a good guidebook (or several!) and read it. I was amazed at how many people in our group had no idea how to do simple things like get Euros.
3. Have a good map of each city. I found a good map of Venice essential, because while it's usually fun to get lost among the little streets, it's not fun if you're hot and/or tired.
4. Buy bottled water and carry it with you on any walking tours. You may also want to pack and carry non-perishable snacks like crackers.
5. Even the "leisurely" tours can be fast-paced. We usually had 6:30 a.m. wake-up calls so we could get to the museums before they opened to the general public. Give yourself permission to take a break. We took short naps at the hotel during the afternoon heat and then really enjoyed the evenings.
I'd be glad to answer any questions.
We were far more pleased with Globus than we'd expected. All the logistics came off flawlessly, the hotels were better than we'd expected,and the tours were absolutely terrific.
Jul 15th, 2003 | 02:13 PM
#2
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 167
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Thanks for your post - been wondering about Globus.
How many cities did you visit in how much time? Were your hotels centrally located?
Did you have time to do things on your own? Did you have all your meals with the tour group people?
Jul 15th, 2003 | 04:10 PM
#3
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 304
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Which tour did you take? I have been looking at the Italian Mosaic tour for a long time. I haven't been on a group tour before,but since I don't speak italian; have thought this might be the best way to go.
How large has your tour group? Did it seem to big? Did you ever feel like you didn't have enough time at a place?
Since I would be taking this with my daughter what was the age range of the people in your group? We are ages 50 and 30.
Thanks a lot for your report and info.
How large has your tour group? Did it seem to big? Did you ever feel like you didn't have enough time at a place?
Since I would be taking this with my daughter what was the age range of the people in your group? We are ages 50 and 30.
Thanks a lot for your report and info.
Jul 16th, 2003 | 12:09 AM
#4
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 238
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We did the Italy's Great Cities tour, which had 2 nights in Rome, 2 in Florence, 2 in Venice, and 1 night in Rome. We also had stops in Pisa, Verona, and Padua (the Venice government doesn't let tour busses arrive before late afternoon). We arrived in Rome a day early, which I would strongly recommend because there's so much to see. I would never do a tour with 1 night per city because you're just rushing in and out.
In each city, we had a morning tour and then afternoon/evening on our own. We picked this tour because we wanted time on our own. If you're not adventurous, the tour company will offer optional excursions for the afternoon/evening, usually including lunch or dinner and running about $45-$60 per person. We didn't do any of those.
The brochure will tell you which meals are included. We had all breakfasts included at the hotels and two dinners. Some of the lunches were on the road, so we didn't get to choose where we ate.
There were 40 people in our group--a busload. Virtually all were in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. Five of the parties were families with children, and two of them had a grandmother along. A couple of women were chronically a few minutes late but otherwise everyone in the group was fine. It almost immediately split into two cliques: the party people who went on all the optional excursions, sat in the hotel bars in the evenings, and talked nonstop on the bus (and sat in the back) and the introverts like us who were quieter and did our own thing.
The hotels were not in the middle of things but were workable. The brochures list the hotels that might be used and, before I booked this tour, I looked up where the hotels were. In Rome we were near the Villa Borghese which is a hike from some attractions (1 mile +) but doable. In Florence we were out of town but the hotel ran a free shuttle to and from the historic area and a taxi was about 10 Euros. In Venice we stayed at the Carlton, on the Grand Canal across from the train station, about a 20-minute walk from Ponte Rialto. Don't do a tour that stays in Mestre on the mainland. On our last night in Rome, we were at the Holiday Inn Rome West, close to the airport and near nothing else, but again they offered a free shuttle to and from the Vatican area.
Did we have enough time? I don't think you can ever have enough time! I was limited by my vacation time at work. It's definitely worth paying for an extra night in Rome. Even with that extra day, we didn't see everything we wanted to, but we saw a lot.
While it was definitely not a relaxing vacation (6:30 a.m. wakeup calls were the norm), we never felt rushed. We had 45 minutes in the Sistine Chapel, 20 minutes to absorb Michelangelo's David, and an hour and a half for lunch in Verona. That somewhat leisurely pace was one of the things we liked best about this particular tour.
In each city, we had a morning tour and then afternoon/evening on our own. We picked this tour because we wanted time on our own. If you're not adventurous, the tour company will offer optional excursions for the afternoon/evening, usually including lunch or dinner and running about $45-$60 per person. We didn't do any of those.
The brochure will tell you which meals are included. We had all breakfasts included at the hotels and two dinners. Some of the lunches were on the road, so we didn't get to choose where we ate.
There were 40 people in our group--a busload. Virtually all were in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. Five of the parties were families with children, and two of them had a grandmother along. A couple of women were chronically a few minutes late but otherwise everyone in the group was fine. It almost immediately split into two cliques: the party people who went on all the optional excursions, sat in the hotel bars in the evenings, and talked nonstop on the bus (and sat in the back) and the introverts like us who were quieter and did our own thing.
The hotels were not in the middle of things but were workable. The brochures list the hotels that might be used and, before I booked this tour, I looked up where the hotels were. In Rome we were near the Villa Borghese which is a hike from some attractions (1 mile +) but doable. In Florence we were out of town but the hotel ran a free shuttle to and from the historic area and a taxi was about 10 Euros. In Venice we stayed at the Carlton, on the Grand Canal across from the train station, about a 20-minute walk from Ponte Rialto. Don't do a tour that stays in Mestre on the mainland. On our last night in Rome, we were at the Holiday Inn Rome West, close to the airport and near nothing else, but again they offered a free shuttle to and from the Vatican area.
Did we have enough time? I don't think you can ever have enough time! I was limited by my vacation time at work. It's definitely worth paying for an extra night in Rome. Even with that extra day, we didn't see everything we wanted to, but we saw a lot.
While it was definitely not a relaxing vacation (6:30 a.m. wakeup calls were the norm), we never felt rushed. We had 45 minutes in the Sistine Chapel, 20 minutes to absorb Michelangelo's David, and an hour and a half for lunch in Verona. That somewhat leisurely pace was one of the things we liked best about this particular tour.
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Jul 16th, 2003 | 02:41 PM
#8
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Joined: Apr 2003
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Yes, we figured this tour would give us a good overview and if we go back someday (and we sure hope to, but we now have 2 kids to put through college), we'll go on our own. Now that we know the lay of the land, so to speak, we'll feel much more confident making our own arrangements.
The Rome half-day tour lasted six full hours; we left the hotel at 7:15 and returned around 1:30. I can't remember how much time we spent at each point. At the Vatican, we saw the hallway with all the ancient Roman sculptures (I forget its name), the tapestry rooms, the map rooms, and the Sistine Chapel. The Raphael rooms were, sadly, closed that day. We then toured St. Peter's main floor (not the catacombs or climbing the dome). My guess is we spent about 45 minutes in St. Peter's. We then had a 20-30 minute rest room/snack/shopping break (I think this was around 11 a.m., which meant we spent 3 hours total in the Vatican and St. Peter's), then took the bus to the Colosseum, where we had a walking tour of the interior, then walked to the Arch of Constantine & the Arch of Septimus Severus (from which we could see the forum). I wouldn't have wanted the tour to be longer; we were really beat by 1 p.m.!
The Florence tour ran something like 7:45-11:30. In the Accademia, we saw Michelangelo's other sculptures and a few others in addition to the 20 minutes with David, then had about 20 minutes to wander around on our own or hit the rest rooms or gift shop. Then we walked to the Duomo, toured the outside of all three buildings and the interior of the Duomo. We then walked to Piazza di Signoria, toured its sculptures, then walked to Piazza Santa Croce.
One of the things I really liked about the tours was that we got in early, bypassed the lines, and beat the crowds. Each site was less crowded and quieter, and t.That made the experience so much nicer!
The Rome half-day tour lasted six full hours; we left the hotel at 7:15 and returned around 1:30. I can't remember how much time we spent at each point. At the Vatican, we saw the hallway with all the ancient Roman sculptures (I forget its name), the tapestry rooms, the map rooms, and the Sistine Chapel. The Raphael rooms were, sadly, closed that day. We then toured St. Peter's main floor (not the catacombs or climbing the dome). My guess is we spent about 45 minutes in St. Peter's. We then had a 20-30 minute rest room/snack/shopping break (I think this was around 11 a.m., which meant we spent 3 hours total in the Vatican and St. Peter's), then took the bus to the Colosseum, where we had a walking tour of the interior, then walked to the Arch of Constantine & the Arch of Septimus Severus (from which we could see the forum). I wouldn't have wanted the tour to be longer; we were really beat by 1 p.m.!
The Florence tour ran something like 7:45-11:30. In the Accademia, we saw Michelangelo's other sculptures and a few others in addition to the 20 minutes with David, then had about 20 minutes to wander around on our own or hit the rest rooms or gift shop. Then we walked to the Duomo, toured the outside of all three buildings and the interior of the Duomo. We then walked to Piazza di Signoria, toured its sculptures, then walked to Piazza Santa Croce.
One of the things I really liked about the tours was that we got in early, bypassed the lines, and beat the crowds. Each site was less crowded and quieter, and t.That made the experience so much nicer!
Jul 17th, 2003 | 12:58 AM
#9
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Joined: Apr 2003
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I just remembered the one negative we experienced on the tour. Every day the tour company offered optional excursions (e.g., in Rome, a trip to Villa d'Este; in Venice, a trip to Burano) for about $45-$60, which always included either lunch or dinner. The tour director plugged these options pretty hard (we figured she got a commission on how many she booked) and, if you decided not to sign up, she was decidedly uphelpful about suggesting on-your-own options like restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. I don't know if that was her unique approach, a Globus policy, or the general approach taken by all tour companies. Fortunately, the great Fodorites here and the folks at the hotel registration desk were so helpful that we could figure out what to do ourselves. So it wasn't a big problem but I thought I should mention it.
Jul 17th, 2003 | 02:11 PM
#10
Joined: Jan 2003
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We have always done the optionals on our tours. I know many people like to do their own thing, but we have never been disappointed in taking the optionals. We would have never gone to Murano, Burano and Torcello on our own, or Capri, as one example.
We are going with GoAhead on a walking tour of Tuscany next week. I've already signed up for the optionals. They may not run, because there are only 11 on our tour. We will be very disappointed.
We are going with GoAhead on a walking tour of Tuscany next week. I've already signed up for the optionals. They may not run, because there are only 11 on our tour. We will be very disappointed.
Jul 17th, 2003 | 02:27 PM
#11
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Yes, it seemed like most of the people in our group took most of the optionals and were very happy with them. We didn't do any because one of the main things we wanted to do was sit at outdoor cafes and pizzerias on beautiful piazzas and watch the world go by and skipping the optionals gave us time to do that! 
Jul 18th, 2003 | 05:34 AM
#12
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 10
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Last year I went on an Insight tour of Italy very similar to the Globus tour you took. Our TD didn't push as hard as yours did, with the exception of a couple of the dinner-based ones, where she said we'd have the best meals of our lives. Those meals were fantastic.
I agree with all of the suggestions given above! I'd like to add one more. If your tour has nights "in Venice" please make sure your hotel will actually be IN VENICE and not somewhere around Venice like Mestre. The beauty of Venice can only be experienced at night.
Venice during the daytime = Disney attraction
Venice at night = hypnotic, enchanting city
I agree with all of the suggestions given above! I'd like to add one more. If your tour has nights "in Venice" please make sure your hotel will actually be IN VENICE and not somewhere around Venice like Mestre. The beauty of Venice can only be experienced at night.
Venice during the daytime = Disney attraction
Venice at night = hypnotic, enchanting city
Jul 18th, 2003 | 06:47 AM
#13
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 73
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Linda, Thank you for posting feedback regarding your recent Globus tour. I have recently booked a Globus Mosaic tour my first trip to Italy. I thought it would provide a good overview, and I could return later on my own and focus on certain areas. With regards to the optional trips, I have taken other Globus tours and never had the tour director push for anyone to take the options. Some must be more pushy than others and I guess I've been lucky thus far. Glad you enjoyed your trip....I am looking forward to mine in October.
RMH
RMH
Jul 18th, 2003 | 12:09 PM
#14
Joined: Feb 2003
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Glad to know that Globus is still satisfactory. That's how we first saw Europe back in 1982, from London to Brussels to Innsbruck to Rome to Lucerne to Paris, etc. We did pick out a route with a few more two-day stays. That has an advantage because it does get tiring to put out the bags at 6 a.m. every day.
We have traveled with Elderhostel and Grand Circle and with others. As you say, there are some advantages regarding someone else making arrangments. Also a fall back in case of emergencies, like when we both had our wallets lifted on a crowded Athens bus. The biggest disadvantage I think is being on a bus with 40 people. But you do make friends.
Ozarks bill
[email protected]
We have traveled with Elderhostel and Grand Circle and with others. As you say, there are some advantages regarding someone else making arrangments. Also a fall back in case of emergencies, like when we both had our wallets lifted on a crowded Athens bus. The biggest disadvantage I think is being on a bus with 40 people. But you do make friends.
Ozarks bill
[email protected]
Jul 18th, 2003 | 01:18 PM
#15
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21
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Hi All:
Reading this post reminded me of my many group tour vacations, of which I have so many wonderful memories. Last month I did California in Depth with Cosmos, which is the budget company of Globus. (I've also traveled with Globus in Europe and the US) I booked the trip, packed and bought a travel guide. That's all. It was so relaxing to be pampered, driven, entertained, etc......
Rita
Reading this post reminded me of my many group tour vacations, of which I have so many wonderful memories. Last month I did California in Depth with Cosmos, which is the budget company of Globus. (I've also traveled with Globus in Europe and the US) I booked the trip, packed and bought a travel guide. That's all. It was so relaxing to be pampered, driven, entertained, etc......
Rita
Jul 30th, 2003 | 06:54 PM
#17
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 7
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Linda, We are planning on taking this same trip next June 20th. What weather can I expect at that time or were you there later in July? Was the language a problem? I would like to hear about the hotels and how far out they were and how you got from them to the city centers.Also, could you give me a list of all the optionals offered? Thanks much. Khchristianhna
Jan 24th, 2005 | 05:39 PM
#20
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1
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Date: 01/24/2005
Hi Linda. I'am taking Italian Mosaic at the end of May. Do you remember at what time you arrived in Florence from Rome and Pisa. I would like to visit the Uffizi Gallery on that day since I am booking a wine tour for the second afternoon. My first choice is a tour starting aroung 14:30. The detailed itinerary you posted, although it is almost two years old, is of great help and I am quite sure very little has changed. Thanks.
Hi Linda. I'am taking Italian Mosaic at the end of May. Do you remember at what time you arrived in Florence from Rome and Pisa. I would like to visit the Uffizi Gallery on that day since I am booking a wine tour for the second afternoon. My first choice is a tour starting aroung 14:30. The detailed itinerary you posted, although it is almost two years old, is of great help and I am quite sure very little has changed. Thanks.
