Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their own?

[CherryBlossom]

Hi hi hi hi

My parents are doing a whirlwind 4 mouth trip all over Europe from London, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, all the way to Israel.

I told them that I want to purchase their Italian portion of the trip as a present and they wanted me to figure out if it's worth to take a 7-15 day escorted tour which goes to Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, Sorrento, etc. Hotel & bus travel accommodations, breakfast, and guided tours + admission to museums, etc. are included.

I have NEVER taken an escorted/chartered tour... so are they worth it? or should they attempt to do it on their own by renting a car, traveling by taxi and just purchasing their own museum passes, hotels, etc. ??? When I travel I love going off on my own, staying in hostels, I don't think that I have even went on a single organized tour etc. and while my parents don't really mind staying in 3star+ hotels I don't want them to be overwhelmed with having to drive places, figure out the freeways/roads and end up shelling out even more for the excursions at the tourists sites... especially if in the end we only save a few hundred $$.

Is it worth it to just book an escorted tour? they main places they want to visit is Rome, Florence, and Venice. Has anyone does Italy on their own? did you save a lot of $$$ or did you do a tour that you hated? any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! thank you, I know that I can count on you folks when it comes to these matters

My parents are in their 60s and english is their 2nd language. They used to travel when they were young (when they were 20-3) and actually in their late 20s bought a car in London and drove it all the way to Israel and stopped all over Europe... but they have traveled VERY little in the past 20 years, so I stress out about that too.

 

[Blackpaw]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

Hmmm, im never one to recommend a tour, especially in Europe where its stupid easy to travel....but if you think your parents might enjoy not having to think about where they're going then yes, id say a tour isnt a bad idea

maybe you could book them a 'self-guided tour', which i think is where everything is sorted for you, you're given all the info you need, have someone to call if you need to, but you're on your own doing it as it were. Might be a good compromise - and that way you dont risk them getting a group of idiots

 

[TravelingGal]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

Are your parents spontaneous people who march to the beat of their own drum, or do they like schedule and direction? Because what I noticed about tour groups (never been on one, but research a ton of them in the beginning and also ran into people on tours when I did my own thing) was that everything was on the clock. Gotta be here at x time, etc etc etc. Also a LOT of time is spent on the bus in those tours...take a very close look at the schedules. Meals tend to be in restaurants that will take large groups...which aren't usually the best places to eat in town. Lots of excursions designed to give the tour kick backs as they unload the tourists for shopping.

Self guided tours might be better, but it's been a long time since I've checked them out. However, one benefit to tours is more chance to be social. Depending on the personalities on the tour (and the personalities of your parents when it comes to socializing) that may be a good or bad thing.

Still, for the older folks (and more nervous any age travelers), tours take the guesswork out of so much. They take care of your luggage, you don't have to drive and figure out directions and if you get a great tour guide, they can give you information you might not have known otherwise. Many people LOVE tours. But I hate that so much is paid in advance, with insurance needed in case anything happens. I'm much more of a fly by the seat of my pants traveler, so I'd never take one myself. However for my non-English speaking mother, it would be the BEST THING EVER.

Lovely that you are doing this! My guess if your parents are going to do 4 months on their own, they are seasoned travelers and don't need a tour...unless they need a mental break from figuring it out themselves.

 

[TravelingGal]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

btw, since you are thinking of doing this for Italy, I will say there are benefits to NOT driving yourself in Italy. It's been awhile since I've been to Europe, but at the time there were only TWO countries that my platinum mastercard would NOT cover for driving insurance. Ireland and Italy. It doesn't take rocket science to figure out why...............

 

[VRBeauty]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

There are different kinds of guided tours. Some hustle you in and out of vans or busses, schedule most meals, and leave you with very little time to explore on your own. Others take care of the transportation and accommodations and arrange for guides where necessary, or as an introduction to a new city, but leave a lot of time for the travelers to do things on their own. My carpool buddy and his wife often do the latter, especially for more exotic locales... and they're very experienced travellers. In addition to having the logistics taken care of they get a chance to meet other travellers, often from other countries.

Ask you parents what they'd prefer.

 

[elrohwen]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

My parents have done a few and love them! I think they're planning to do another in England this year.

My mom likes the ones that just drive you around and drop you off at your hotel - it takes away all the stress of planning transportation, but there aren't any structured activities so you can still do whatever you want once you get to the next location. I don't think they've ever done one that was super structured and included all of the tours, so that would be something to think about.

Personally, I like figuring out where I'm going to go and how I'm going to get there. However, when you're traveling around Europe for that long and to that many places, I think having a tour group organize your hotels and getting you from place to place would be a treat. I'd be much more likely to do it in your parents' situation for one or two locations than for a simple trip to only one place.

 

[zoebartlett]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

What a fun trip! My guess is that if your parents are visiting that many places, they're pretty confident travelers. Unless they want the luxury of not having to deal with driving themselves, I'd recommend that they do a tour of their own. Having said that, I should mention that I haven't been to Italy, but I have traveled in other parts of Europe. I've never done a guided tour because the ones we looked into seemed pretty regimented, and my husband and I wanted to explore at our own pace. Actually, when we were Ireland a few years ago, we followed a route that a bus tour was going on, but we edited it (if that makes sense) along the way. We made sure to hit some spots but we skipped a few others. We saw only the things we wanted to, and we spent as much time at each place as we felt like before moving along. There wasn't any pressure, as I'd imagine there would be (or could be) on a guided tour.

I do see TGal's point, though, about how having a tour guide on an escorted tour could be beneficial because your parents might learn things they wouldn't otherwise.

 

[JulieN]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

Lolwut, rent a car in Italy? Just plan everything around public transportation.

 

[VRBeauty]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

I should add that a lot depends on how much time they (or you) want to put into planning. I was in Rome for two weeks without a guide last summer. We didn't have to worry about accommodations (home exchange) but figured out all the rest of it on our own. Many of the main attractions in Rome are centrally located - if you're in reasonably good shape you can walk from one to the other. It's easy to get lost in the central city but you never get lost for too far, and there's a very good public transportation system. The key to getting the most of it though is a few good guidebooks and figuring out each day's activities in advance. That said, the city is not too good when it comes to signposts and such... one of the most common sights we saw was tourists with their heads buried in a map. We also managed to get lost on the pubic transportation system a few times... taking the wrong bus, or going in the wrong direction or too far, etc, and at least a few of the bus drivers seemed to delight in giving out as little useful information as possible. It also took us a while to figure out where to go for non-tourist food at non-tourist prices! The point is that these little glitches eat up time and in some cases money - and that it's helpful if someone in the party has good map-reading skills!

 

[CherryBlossom]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

Hey everyone, thanks for your input. Honestly after spending some time reading over some of the tours (even the luxury super expensive like $3K plus for just 8 days PER PERSON) I think a lot of them are just very expensive and just drop people off. After checking into it most claim to offer free breakfasts... yet a majority of the hotels (that you can book on your own) along the way also offer similar breakfast buffets, furthermore in most of these cities you an book tours that are a couple hours long for a fraction of the price. So I could technically book the hotels myself, rent them a car and eurorail passes, and spend $150 EACH on 3-4 tours in each city that they stop in... and each of these tours will be guided and include admission to the main tourist spots, but just wont be ALL day long, etc and still end up paying HALF of what I would if I were to get a FULL 5-10 day fully organized tour.

They told me that they are fine with either option... and like the fact that they would save money, which I could put towards making sure I book really nice hotels for them and get them some nice little excursions, gondola ride, etc. etc. all kinds of cheesy things.

I am just having a difficult time deciding on forms of transportation. The thing is that they will be arriving in Italy by way of a cruise... but it will not be arriving in Rome. The boat will arrive in the port city of Civitavecchia, which is about 1 hour from Rome and 3 hours from Florence. They will be in Itay for about 5 days before they go on another cruise to Greece which already has shore excursions, etc. sorted out.. that cruise will come back to Civitavecchia 2 weeks later and my parents will remain in an Italy for 3 days before they fly out to Israel. I was thinking that since the 2nd cruise is going to bring them back to Italy, they should spend those 3 days in Rome instead of any of the first 5 days when they arrive in Italy. Mainly because it will be difficult for them of hurry to drive/take train from Venice to Rome (which would take 3-5 hours+ wasting more than half the day)

Sooooooooo, I am thinking that they should they rent a car in from Civitavecchia and drive it to Florence where they will spend day 1 and 2 (of 5) towards end of day 2 leave and drive to Venice, check into hotel, drop off the car at the airport (***BTW how far away is the airport in Florence from the Island?) take some transportation from airport back to hotel on the island. Spend Day 2, 3, and 4 doing random things in Venice that can be done via public transportation or short tours. Day 5 leave early via train back to Civitavecchia (2 1/2 hours long) and get on their new cruise which departs at around 4 PM.


Is this a good idea? or should they just take the train from Civitavecchia port to Florence and another train from Florence to Venice, and another train on the last day from Venice to Civitaecchia?? I just want them to be safe driving from Civitavecchia to Florence and from there to Venice. Anyone been on these roads? relatively easy/safe to drive? or should I just get them rail passes? I just think that getting from the port to Venice will be MUCH easier by renting a car than by train, especially since they'll have all their luggage w/ them and will want to make random stops. It will also be a bit more cost effective (3 days to rent a car is under $200+200 for gas etc) comes out to almost the same amount that just 2 train rides for 2 ppl. would cost. i'm babbling so much...

The Rome portion of the trip after the 2nd cruise will be MUCH easier, because they can just take a shuttle from Civitavecchia to Rome, check into a hotel and walk around for the 3 day they are there... and on the last day take a shuttle to the airport in order to fly out. It's the first part of the trip which is going to Florence and Venice that's worrying me.

oh man I have a headache

but thank you all for your help!

 

[purplesilk]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

Hi!
I'm Italian and I live in a small town which is about 50 miles from Venice: driving in these three towns isn't easy at all also for Italian people...!!!...my advice, don't rent a car, travel by train.
Civitavecchia seaport is only 10 minutes of walk from the Civitavecchia railway station: from there, they have to take a train that goes to Rome: when in Rome, they can take a train that stops both in Florence and in Venice.
Just to give you an idea, it takes one hour and half from Rome to Florence, it takes 2 hours from Florence to Venice, it takes less than 4 hours from Rome to Venice...the best things are: a) once you catch the train in Rome, you don't have to get off to reach Venice (Florence is between Rome and Venice in the railway line); b) railway stations are in the very center of every of these three towns.
Here's the link to the Italian railway company (treniitalia)
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2aaeb5fac465a110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD
(up, in the right corner, click on English if you like it better)

I forgot to mention that Italian people don't usually speak English very well (I mean most of common people don't understand English, so it is really difficult to have a piece of information about streets, traffic,...)

 

[purplesilk]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

I feel I have to give you another piece of advice: in Italy, tips are appreciated (1/2 euros maximum) but not expected (99% Italian people don't give tips).
Tips are considered offensive when buying tickets (means of transport, museums,...)

 

[Pandora II]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

Ditto purplesilk on everything she said.

I lived in Italy for 8 years and I wouldn't care to drive anywhere - the only place scarier is Sri Lanka! Trains are definitely the best way to get around. Florence and Venice are on the main Eurostar trainline which is nice, modern and fast.

Don't plan to do too much. I would spend a couple of days in each place rather than trying to do 10 cities in a week. 2 or 3 days in Venice - the islands are great fun: Murano for glass and Burano for lace. I'm not a huge fan of Florence - I lived in Arezzo just down the road for 6 years so went quite often - but lots of other people seem to like it!

Otherwise I love the Cinque Terre and Lake Como.

Also very true that most Italians do not speak English. The younger generation will speak some as it's now taught in schools but most people of my age (late 30's) don't speak any as they learnt French instead. Also what English they did learn seemed to be Chaucer and Shakespeare rather than useful stuff like how to buy a train-ticket!

Other things to remember: Always take your passport with you wherever you go - you'll need it for hotels etc. Always, always get a receipt when you buy anything in a shop and KEEP IT. You can be stopped by the Finance Police who will ask to see receipts for what goods you have on you and if you can't produce one the fines are massive. I saw so many tourists get done for that.

 

[CherryBlossom]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

yeah I think the driving thing is out. While I do think that we (mainly I) would save a lot of money if they did the whole tour on their own... they keep mentioning the fact that they don't want to drive or deal with train and figuring out transportation from the train station their hotels in different cities.

So it looks like we are once again leaning towards the escorted tours. And if we go that route I don't want to just do a cheap one that drops them off places and does not do guided walks of museums, etc.

So I've found a really good one that's like a gastronomy bus tour from Rome to Florence to Milan to Lake Como to Venice to Tuscany to Sorrento and back to Rome.

I like it because there are a lot of stops, all museum admission, guided tours, and specialty food & wine tasting is also included... and of course it's going to cost a pretty penny. But I would rather either have them go all out and do a luxury tour or just do it on their own... because I don't like some in between thing that will nickle and dime them in between. In a few places they will also be staying in villas and castles (oh my!) instead of just at hotels... so that's special and fun.

I'm glad you all told me about the driving issue... when I was budgeting it out it seemed like that would make things MUCH cheaper but would also be some drama because whoever ended up driving wouldn't be able to enjoy the scenery as much and would have to stress about getting around.

So with so hesitation I'm going to pull the trigger on the escorted luxury tour and hope that they have the time of their life. now I wish that I was going.......

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

Wow, what an amazing daughter you are! I was going to chime in and say please get them the escorted tour!!! As many countries as they will be visiting, I can't imagine keeping up with all the itineraries and have to deal with all of your own transportation! I cannot fathom traveling continuously for 4 months straight, though! I'd be exhausted!

 

[purplesilk]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

So I've found a really good one that's like a gastronomy bus tour from Rome to Florence to Milan to Lake Como to Venice to Tuscany to Sorrento and back to Rome.

Are your parents deep interested in visiting museums/churches or do they prefer to "capture the mood" of the town?
The gastronomy bus tour is a good choice only if they like the second option.
Don't want to ruin your excitement, but these are too many places to visit in 5 days: your parents are going to spend 90% of their time on the bus...by bus, it takes over 3 hours to go from Florence to Milan and it takes about 5 hours to go from Lake of Como to Venice...from Venice to Sorrento at least 8 hours!
Of course you can choose whatever you prefer, but I would suggest choosing only a couple of cities like Florence-Venice or Naples-Sorrento...some information about what you find in
Florence: David and many other statues by Michelangelo (Galleria dell' Accademia)( they will find other Michelangelo's masterpieces in Rome), Santa Maria del Fiore dome (choose to visit the Brunelleschi's cupola only if you are healthy and not claustrophobic: no lift and 463 steps between a narrow path, wonderful view of Florence when you're on the top)...it takes 1 day to visit both these two places.
Florence has many others wonderful churches/museumsandora said she didn't like Florence very much: I think it is worth the visit.
Venice: St Mark's square (free), St Mark's basilica, Grassi's palace,Murano's isle if you like artistic glass, Burano's isle if you like lace, gondola 's ride (40/50 Euros each person for a 40 minutes ride on the gondola)...
Staying 2 days/each city will fly both in Florence and in Venice.

Naples: Santa Maria della sanità's church, catacombs(if you're not claustrophobic),...
Excavations of Pompeii
Sorrento
It takes 4/5 days to visit these 3 places

 

[purplesilk]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

If you choose the Naples-Sorrento tour, don't forget to visit the royal palace of Caserta: a masterpiece!!!

 

[zipzapgirl]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

Check with the cruise line for the cruise ending outside Rome. Usually you can book the transfer for an additional fee and they will unload you straight from the ship to a bus that takes you to the Rome city center.

I agree with the folks who said to avoid driving to get around. The trains are clean, fast, and economical. Best of all, they deposit you straight from city center to city center and then it can be a short walk or cab ride away from the hotel. The only place a car makes sense is in Tuscany, where the beauty of the scenery is really a main focus and the sites you might want to visit like vineyards are often off the beaten path. Since your parents are targeting Rome, Florence and Venice, they can do this very easily via train. In Venice, cars are restricted to a large parking area outside the city. The transfer from this parking area is a major pain to get to the city center and of course you take a risk if you leave your car unattended there for a few days.

I also agree that the gastronomy tour seems really extensive for the short time span. Lake Cuomo is pretty far away.

My experience with Italy is that the very best parts involve just walking around the towns, eating gelato, tasting the wine, enjoying the food and people watching. There is so much culture and beauty you can't miss it--unless you are just sitting on a bus!

 

[CherryBlossom]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

So I've found a really good one that's like a gastronomy bus tour from Rome to Florence to Milan to Lake Como to Venice to Tuscany to Sorrento and back to Rome.

Are your parents deep interested in visiting museums/churches or do they prefer to "capture the mood" of the town?
The gastronomy bus tour is a good choice only if they like the second option.
Don't want to ruin your excitement, but these are too many places to visit in 5 days: your parents are going to spend 90% of their time on the bus...by bus, it takes over 3 hours to go from Florence to Milan and it takes about 5 hours to go from Lake of Como to

oh sorry the second leg (Italy tour) got pushed back because they really liked this tour. The same route of the cruise happens every other week, so they going to take the cruise first and the tour afterwards and just fly to Israel. The Italy portion is now going to be 13 days long

you guys have great advice! Thank you Purplesilk!!! keep it coming!! BTW after coming back from the cruise my parents are going to have 5 days in between arriving in leaving for the tour. The tour will start in Rome, so I am going to assume that they should get off in the port down and take a train ride to Rome, right? the tour itself is supposed to take them to all the sights in Rome and Sorrento... so what do you all suggest they do on their own those 5 days? they are up for pretty much anything.

 

[purplesilk]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

It's a pleasure for me to help everyone interested in visiting my country.

They have to take a train from Civitavecchia port to Rome (they have to get off in Roma Termini station which is in the center of Rome) : the ride takes 1 hour and the ticket costs about 4.50€/each person; rides are quite frequent (every 30 minutes more or less).
Tickets can be bought in Civitavecchia station ticket office, no reservation allowed.
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ad1ce14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD
(in the left box, insert from: civitavecchia to: roma termini, choose the leaving day and click on send, don't worry you're not going to buy anything, just to display options)

About staying in Rome for 5 days...they can choose to visit churches and monuments not included in the tour or they can just choose to relax strolling around.

I 'd suggest them to buy Roma pass (25€/each person, 3 days of validity from the first punch) or Roma&più pass (27€/ppl, 3 days of validity from the first punch- the difference between Roma pass and Roma & più pass is that the second one allows to catch the metro+bus and visit museums not only in Rome, but also in the towns around Rome)
http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?t=columns&c=2&l=en&tid=2

NOTE: from April 9th to April 17th, almost every museum is free.
http://www.romapass.it/?l=en
...so if your parents are in Rome during that period, they can just buy BTI pass (metro+bus illimited rides for 3 days)
http://en.turismoroma.it/benvenuti_a_roma/muoversi_in_citta

 

[zipzapgirl]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

Five days is a perfect amount of time to visit a region and relax. I'm thinking Cinque Terre or Amalfi Coast. Both are beautiful coastal areas with trails and seaside cliffs that are stunning. They both have great food from the regions and are close enough to Rome to make it comfortable for 5 days. Amalfi Coast is about 3 hrs, I think Cinque Terre is 5 hours. Pull up the pics on the internet and you will not be disappointed.

 

[CherryBlossom]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

It's a pleasure for me to help everyone interested in visiting my country.

They have to take a train from Civitavecchia port to Rome (they have to get off in Roma Termini station which is in the center of Rome) : the ride takes 1 hour and the ticket costs about 4.50€/each person; rides are quite frequent (every 30 minutes more or less).
Tickets can be bought in Civitavecchia station ticket office, no reservation allowed.
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ad1ce14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD
(in the left box, insert from: civitavecchia to: roma termini, choose the leaving day and click on send, don't worry you're not going to buy anything, just to display options)

About staying in Rome for 5 days...they can choose to visit churches and monuments not included in the tour or they can just choose to relax strolling around.

I 'd suggest them to buy Roma pass (25€/each person, 3 days of validity from the first punch) or Roma&più pass (27€/ppl, 3 days of validity from the first punch- the difference between Roma pass and Roma & più pass is that the second one allows to catch the metro+bus and visit museums not only in Rome, but also in the towns around Rome)
http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?t=columns&c=2&l=en&tid=2

NOTE: from April 9th to April 17th, almost every museum is free.
http://www.romapass.it/?l=en
...so if your parents are in Rome during that period, they can just buy BTI pass (metro+bus illimited rides for 3 days)
http://en.turismoroma.it/benvenuti_a_roma/muoversi_in_citta

This is perfect! Yes, they have decided on the two weeks gastronomy tour of Italy. But they will have 5 days in between the the time they get off the boat and the tour starts. So they are just going to hang out in Rome and walk around. good idea on the passes!!

BTW, last issue of concern is phone/internet usage. We have two smartphones that we're going to get unlocked. Do you know anything about where we can purchase SIM cards ahead of time that way they can use it to make calls and also use to surf the net/send emails without having to take a laptop w/ them.

 

[purplesilk]

Re: Gift 4 my parents - Escorted Italy tour or DIY on their

I'm not an expert and I'm not sure if I'm aswering your question:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal-activation-sim-card-for-apple-iphone-2g-3g-3gs-4-48157
http://valuesphere.com/intouchsmartcards/wind_italy_sim.html
http://www.telecomitalia.it/telefono/carte-telefoniche/carte-internazionali
The last link above is about some prepaid (debit) cards you can buy in Italy: they provide you a code, you type the code on the phone, you type the number you want to call (you can call foreign countries both with your mobile and from phone boxes)...5 Euros for 60 minutes (and over) calls. You can buy these phone debit cards in paper shops (where you buy newspapers and/or cigarettes and stamps).

In Italy there are internet points: you pay about 3/4 Euros per hour and you can surf on the net and use Skype.


I hope it helps.

I won't be on Pricescope during the following 2/3 weeks, so