1st trip to Italy...need advice
 

My husband and I would love to take a vacation to Italy. He is deployed with the military so we have 14 days in June that we can meet up to explore Italy and spend time together. Since I only have basically 2 months to plan this trip, I do not know much about Italy, and we would love to do as much as possible while we are there, I am thinking about booking a 9 day tour, such as one that goes through Rome, Florence and Venice. Then we would have a couple days before and/or after the tour to just spend time together and explore on our own.

I have read good things about the tours, but I am wondering if it is an enjoyable experience for couples in their late 20s? Do you get as much out of them as you pay for? And what tours would you suggest?

If you don't think the tour is the best idea for our situation, any suggestions for how to plan a trip to Italy at the last minute?

My husband and I were married in Italy, just outside of Florence. The areas you are considering are wonderful. The tours you are considering, do they go in Tuscany? I would recommend going on sidestep.com for flight and hotel reservations. They check several different websites, such as american air, orbitz and travelocity. Finally, before going I highly recommend reding Rick Steve's books. Actually, if you want to know more about these trips, go on Rick Steve's websites and post a note on his grafitti wall. He has so many wonderful ideas on his sight, and it is taylored to Europe. Also, most libraries have Rick Steve's books so check that out first before buying the books.

Sorry I could not be more helpful with the tours!

Have a great time!

It is very easy to visit Rome, Florence and Venice on your own by train. Spend some time in your local library and bookstore reading guidebooks, and spend some time on the Europe board here, and you'll easily handle this without the straight jacket of a tour. This board is for general questions, you'll get more specific advice on the Europe board.

You may get many more responses if you also post this in the Europe forum.

i used these guys in florence, pisa and OMG senior moment, can't remember the third city. Andreas was very knowledgable and bright, he drove a mercedes mini van, we were 5 people. can't say enough good things about him

http://www.tours-europe.com/

I also suggest posting on the Europe forum as well, not that many people read this "Travel Tips" section.

Thanks for the advice... I posted on the Europe forum and am getting more feeback :). Will check out those suggested websites...I think I am going to try to plan this trip without the tour! Will post more questions as I get into the planning details.

I used this company www.discoveritaly.net for a last minute trip last year and they were outstanding!! They put together a great trip for me and my family a week before we were leaving. I dealt with Franco who I believe is the owner and very knowledgable. The best part was they are based in the US whereas the first tour company I tried to deal with (vaticantoursinc.com) was in Italy and turned out to be a nitemare.

I generally don't like tours because they cater to meal times, shopping and American style lodging more than exploring and discovering (which I prefer). I took my mom on a tour and most of the people were over 65. The only other person under 55 was an extremely gay guy who was also traveling with his mother.

The best thing about a tour is it takes away the need to plan.

If your husband is military, I would assume you are both still relatively young and ambulatory. I would suggest you try a Rick Steves tour. His tours seem to cater to a little younger crowd (50ish vs 60s and 70s).

I worked for the military in Italy. Ask your husband if there is not an office on base which plans leisure travel for active duty members and their families - we had one and most bases overseas of any size did, too. The employees spoke English AND Italian (and several other languages) and (even if your husband is not based in Italy)can help with affordable lodging, train ticket purchase, recommendation of restaurants you can afford, etc. They can do it all. If you're going to be planning most of it, get a name and an e-mail address for them from your husband, contact them, give them a price range, and they'll do it for you, I'll bet. Our base also had great fun tours, planned and executed by them every month for military and their dependents, which included transportation, lodging, meals, tickets, etc. I went to Istanbul for Thanksgiving (yes, we had turkey in Turkey and many other delights), to a delightful Italian animal park, to see the trullis, to the Vatican for Christmas Eve services, to Monte Carlo and France, and, of course, all over Naples and, several times, to the Amalfi Coast with them. They were all great trips, cheap, safe, well planned and well led with English-speaking guides who really knew what they were doing. On their recommendation, I also got inexpensive, clean lodging in both Florence and Rome - they made the reservations for me in Italian (much faster) and guided me on train ticket purchase, advised on avoiding gypsy pickpockets, and helped me prioritize what I wanted to see (and in Rome and Florence, one needs to do that - Italy can overload your senses quickly - there's so much loveliness, to say nothing of the food and wine).
Strongly recommended for someone who has not lived overseas! We all need a little help sometimes. (Besides, don't you want a room to share with your husband which is almost perfect after being apart for a time?)

You might want to find the newspaper for your husband's base on the internet and see if the travel office on his base has listed tours which are coming up shortly. They always advertize them, with the intinerary and price, but may not be listing them yet for June. You should have a group dedicated to support of military families, your husband's unit, specifically; they should be able to assist. Each base also has a Family Assistance department, dedicated to caring for the non-military wives, husbands, and children of active duty members - use them. That's what they're for.

The department on Navy bases is called the Fleet and Family Support Center, btw. The other services have different names for theirs, but they all are there just to make your life easier. To my way of thinking, there is no point in spending more money than you must on civilian tours in these difficult times when the military has things in place to help you. Your husband must be attached in some way to some military base, even if he's an activated reservist, and he IS entitled to use these services! Contact me if I can help.
You'll have a blast, I know! Enjoy!