Which is the best coach tour company for Italy ?
 

My wife and I want to do a coach tour of Italy. We've never been to Italy and want to do a tour around with a good company which has good quality hotels and meals.

Is there a company that stands out ? I've read the brochures and most in the Premium class look alike.

When choosing a tour you need to read all the fine print such as how many days have optional tours, where hotels are located, how many meals are included, what towns and sights you'll drive by or go into and see something. Does the tour go to cities/towns you want to visit or simply stop at towns that are on the way to some place else and not ones that are top of your list.

The "best" tour companies are Abercrombie & Kent, Tauck, Collette, or Road Scholar. Tours with colleges or museums are also excellent such as Smithsonian.

If you have a particular interest (such as art history) there will be very good tours given by local organizations.

I'm sure there are other tours available to British Commonwealth citizens that are not widely known to Americans so look at those as well.

I don't find that most tours look alike. I'm not sure what Premium Class is - what companies you're including in that description so it would be helpful if you state what companies you're considering and give links to the tours.

Thanks for your response. I was looking at Globus, trafalgar and Insights. They classify Premium as having First Class or Superior First class hotels.

My wife and I have taken 6 tours with Insight Vacations and highly recommend them. We are going on our 7th tour with them this Fall....Treasure of Turkey.

I have posted trip reports on our various tours which include Italian Escapade and Sicily in Depth with Malta Option.

For us the main attraction with Insight is their are only 40 people on the bus rather than the usual 50. As well, most hotels you stay are centrally located rather than on the outskirts.

I wouldn't consider Globus, Trafalgar or Insight as premium. They are more middle to cheap tours. Abercrombie and Tauck would be premium.

I have taken a number of Tauck tours including 2 in Italy only and 2 involving Italy as well as other countries. They are really good (for a tour) and have excellent hotels in great locations. Also, all described (and even some undescribed, surprise) sightseeing is included; they don't try to sell you extras like some other companies and don't try to get you to go into/buy from certain shops for kick-backs. Their tour directors are first rate, food is good (usually a la carte off the menu; sometimes you even have a choice of restaurants).

When selecting a tour company, you need to check the websites of the hotels you are to stay at and make sure they match the provided description and that they are actually in a good, central location with easy access to sites you will want to see. E.g, in Venice, make sure the hotel is in Venice "proper," not on the Lido or in Mestre.

I've taken a number of tours because I often travel alone and don't want to have to haul my luggage or mess with driving. (I'm kind of a girly-girl and like nice things and places). I have never been disappointed with Tauck. Their tours are expensive, but in this case, I think you get what you pay for.

You can check their website, www.Tauck.com. Some of the hotels I've stayed in with them in Italy include: Westin Excelsior (in Rome and Florence), Westin Europa & Regina in Venice, Hotel Danieli in Venice, Luna Baglioni in Venice, Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria in Sorrento...

< I was looking at Globus, trafalgar and Insights. They classify Premium as having First Class or Superior First class hotels. >>

Who the heck is doing the classification? Globus is definitely not a premium tour. Can't speak for Trafalgar. I gave you what I consider Premium/best tour companies.

You cannot simply look at the class of hotels (when I took a Globus tour the hotels were not first class and the food was terrible). You also have to consider the things I mentioned above and the quality of the tour guides.

The companies you're naming are not premium.

They can call it whatever they want - hotels will be fairly basic and often at the end of hell and gone and food is likely to be poor americanized versions of local food.

Tauck is a quality company which has better hotels and more central locations - and meals are likely to be more acceptable. Friends of my parents have used them several times when they were old enough that they didn't want to deal with luggage and transfers. They said hotels are quite good - but they typically still eat dinner on their own at local restaurants for most meals.

But, they are not cheap. Remember that you will, if you are lucky, get what you pay for. And planning your own trip will be cheaper - since you don;t have to pay the costs and profits of the tour company and their employees

If you are reasonably energetic you could look at Rick Steves' tours. His groups are smallish - 22 to 28 people depending on the tour, the included meals are good, the hotels are central and comfortable, and the guides are excellent. Also, there are no extra optional acitivities and tips are included.

There are plenty of reports from people who have taken the tours on the website:
http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours/italy

If you are looking for something less energetic I would look at the museum tours (e.g. Smithsonian), or http://www.roadscholar.org.

I think classifying tours into premium, first class, luxury, affordable is not entirely useful without some context. There are some fabulous all inclusive Italy tours that are less expensive than Globus, Insight, and Trafalgar.

Certainly Tauck is very popular on the high end. As is Abercrombie & Kent. These two are in a price league that is higher than Collette. And the hotels are much nicer than those Collette uses, thus one reason for high price.

I have had excellent experiences with Globus and Insight. Collette, Insight, Trafalgar and Globus are not "all inclusive" tours because there are some day tours and activities that are not included. Most buses carry 44 people. Most tour companies leave 4 seats empty and sell out at 40 people.

Tauck has some small group departures with 26, which are more expensive. There are some other nice boutique tours out there that are in the price league of Globus or Trafalgar that are all inclusive.

My SIL and her husband took a Globus 'best of' Italy tour a few years ago. They had a great time, but the trip would have been my nightmare. Packed, breakfasted and ready to board the bus at 7:30a most mornings. Hours and hours riding buses. Large-ish, non-descript, charmless hotels. They could not always remember what they saw where.

It doesn't matter much if a tour is premium or superior or whatever if it doesn't suit your travel style and preferences.