I need help planning an 20 yr anniversary trip in Oct 2018 to Europe (Mainly Italy)

kjasmin

Earning Chief Wannahucalugi's Ears
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Not sure if this is the best place to post this question but (Apologies if I did!).... I need help deciding what "tour company" we should use for our 2018 Italy trip. So far we are looking at Adventures by Disney, Disney Cruiseline (I know not a touring company) and Perrilo Tours. Wife is Italian and has been wanting to go to Italy for years now. She likes the idea of visiting Europe in general but really want to focus in Italy. Looking to do 10+ days!

Any suggestions/experience would be greatly appreciated tx...

KJ
 
Does your wife speak Italian ? Does she have relations in Italy that she is in contact with ?

If yes ...... then do your own Booking of your flights to Rome & make contact with relatives

And ask them for advice on Italian tour Co. They are there .
 
Italy is so easy to do on your own. I'd map out a logical route --say Rome, Florence, Venice, then research what you want to see. The trains are very easy to navigate in Italy and they are inexpensive.

It would be much more inexpensive this way as well.

I've done Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome on my own with my daughter. We had a GREAT time. We traveled for 2 weeks by train (we flew from Paris to Venice and took the trains the rest of the trip) with carry-ons.

If you go this way you can take advantage of any hotel points you have. For example, the Gritti Palace in Venice where we stayed is (or used to be) a Starwood property.

In Florence you can spend a few days in Tuscany relaxing or spend all your time in Florence (one of my favorite cities).
In Rome you can easily spend a few days in Capri as a side trip.

You have so much flexibility on your own. Hire a private guide in each of the cities for a day (though there's no need to), take some food tours (LOVE these), rent scooters, etc.

For me personally the last place I'd want to spend my anniversary is on a cruise ship.

Another great tour company for Italy would be Backroads, but they are active tours (not sure if that's your thing). They are pretty high end.

Another high end company is Butterfield & Robinson. Again a bit more active. But very high end.
 
How "Italian" is she? Does she connect with a specific region? Does she have relatives (long lost?) that she wants to connect with? That would dictate where you go I'd think.

If she just wants general Italy, then the next question is how much planning do you want to do? Italy is pretty easy to navigate on your own.

Time span - even 2 weeks is not enough to see even a slice of Europe. Don't forget you'll spend one day for each transfer, so for every major city or country you want to see, you'll lose sightseeing time. You could easily spend your entire time in Italy. If she wants to see more than Italy, I'd add just one more city or country to the list.

I have good friends that did a Rick Steves tour to Europe a few years ago and speak very highly of it.
 


The best tour for you really depends on you. My parents have done 2 Rick Steves Italy tours and loved them, but they wanted something active but still a group tour. Rick Steves skews 50s and 60s age wise. They choose centrally located hotels that are comfortable but not posh.

ABD is fancier than RS as far as accomodations and skews younger because of the family focus.

My understanding is that Perillo is more of a traditional bus tour - less active and skews to seniors. But that's based on online research because I don't know anyone who has done Perillo.

DCL has the potential to be a great anniversary trip if it's what you are looking for. I love DCL as a cruise line. The service is impeccable and the ships are beautiful. But cruising only gives you a taste of a particular location because you only have so many hours in port. So if your wife really wants an in-depth Italy experience, then I don't think a cruise is the right choice.
 
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Do you definitely want a group tour? If so, what's your budget range? Which region(s) do you want to see? Do you want to see cities, small towns/countryside, or a mixture of both? If you definitely want a group tour, I'd narrow it down by price range and then see if the ones that fit your budget have an Italy itinerary you like.

If you are open to going on your own, Italy is easy to navigate especially by train between cities. Rick Steves website has great information and suggested itineraries for nearly every European country. Here's the Italy page: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/itinerary
 
If it's both your first time, go with a tour.
There are so many details and unknowns the first time and it's worth the added expense to hand off a lot of those to a pro.
After your first visit, you'll want to go back again! Do that one on your own, we just did!

I'd look at ABD (adults only), or Tauk, unless budget is an issue.
Cheaper options will have larger groups, a step lower in hotel (both quality and location). and fewer "extras"

If you decide to go it alone, copy one of the above's itineraries and maybe do 3 nights in Venice, 3 in Florence, and 4 in Rome.
A site like Fodor's will have a lot of do it yourself travelers on their forum.
 


Thanks for the suggestions...

Wife does not speak Italian or been there... (however she sounds pretty darn good! when I piss her off! :)) Her mom's family (Mom who spoke the language) has family in Calabria. I promised her a trip since we went back to Thailand to meet my family and visit the country. Wanted to take her before our last child goes to college in 2 years. I like tours around areas I am not familiar with, but am open to "winging it". What airlines have you folks taken?

KJ
 
Check out the international air thread. I take pretty much whatever is cheapest (which from Texas basically doesn't exist) without insanely long layovers. For us recently that has been IcelandAir - due to their stopover option, United, Canada Air. We just looked hard at Turkish Air business class but decided to fly United economy to save money. Bummer. I love the lie flat seats, as I feel sooo much better when I get there.
 
Depending on the length of your vacation, another option might be to book part of it with a tour company and then arrange a few 'on your own days' before or after the tour begins/ends.

We just returned from an ABD where one couple was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on the trip while another (much younger) couple got engaged during the Adventure! If you do book a tour with any travel company, be sure to let them know that this trip is a celebration for you and your spouse. Not all companies are the same, of course, but most will try to do a little something special to make the event a little more memorable for your big day.
 
Check out the international air thread. I take pretty much whatever is cheapest (which from Texas basically doesn't exist) without insanely long layovers. For us recently that has been IcelandAir - due to their stopover option, United, Canada Air. We just looked hard at Turkish Air business class but decided to fly United economy to save money. Bummer. I love the lie flat seats, as I feel sooo much better when I get there.
Canada Air or Air Canada? If so, what did you think of Air Canada? Because I'm looking at Air Canada to go to Iceland next summer, but I haven't flown them in YEARS. Icelandair unfortunately doesn't fly from Columbus, so I'd have to book separate tickets, which scares me. Plus their times aren't that good.

Sayhello
 
Air Canada. The business class is very nice, but we have been delayed 3 out of 4 flights with them. And then they permanently lost my ds's suitcase on our trip home. Granted the first leg of the flight began with Brussels Air, but our luggage was checked all the way thru, and though we were business class (all 8 of us) we have got no love from them. I'm not sure I'd want to fly them again. The price might have to be really good.
 
Air Canada. The business class is very nice, but we have been delayed 3 out of 4 flights with them. And then they permanently lost my ds's suitcase on our trip home. Granted the first leg of the flight began with Brussels Air, but our luggage was checked all the way thru, and though we were business class (all 8 of us) we have got no love from them. I'm not sure I'd want to fly them again. The price might have to be really good.
Thanks! That's really good information. Does not make me want to run out and book Air Canada. :headache: I'm really hoping I can work it out to fly Icelandair. I liked flying them 2 years ago.

Sayhello
 
Tauck is a great tour company and they do Italy trips. I am considering one for next summer.
I am still trying to figure out how to manage airfare at a reasonable price for a family of 4.
 
Thanks for the response. Wife is up for winging it!!! Now what time of year to visit? We were thinking end of summer (Sept or Oct) to stay away from the tourist crowd and to get son's school visit out of the way in the summer. Whats your experience?
 
Canada Air or Air Canada? If so, what did you think of Air Canada? Because I'm looking at Air Canada to go to Iceland next summer, but I haven't flown them in YEARS. Icelandair unfortunately doesn't fly from Columbus, so I'd have to book separate tickets, which scares me. Plus their times aren't that good.

Sayhello

I fly Air Canada at least 2 dozen times a year. In my experience they are rarely late and they have never lost our luggage (we haven't even had a luggage delay with them).

However I feel compelled to warn you about their "Rouge" product. It is AWFUL, just dreadful. If you are looking at a seat in economy with Air Canada Rouge I'd recommend looking at other options. The seats are so crammed in in economy I can't fathom how anyone is comfortable. We fly "Premium Rouge" with them when we can't get a real plane with real business class seats and find them to be tolerable but with an extreme shortage of storage space above the seats. I haven't met anyone who likes the Rouge product. We can't wait for Air Canada to ditch Rouge and go back to regular planes. It was a very bad executive decision to go with the Rouge product. So much so that my dh absolutely refuses to fly on Premium Rouge -- it's that bad (he drives 40 minutes out of his way to get on American Airlines flights with real business class seats).

I was looking at flights to Iceland from Toronto next summer and I believe they are flying the Rouge planes on that route :worried::rolleyes2
 
I fly Air Canada at least 2 dozen times a year. In my experience they are rarely late and they have never lost our luggage (we haven't even had a luggage delay with them).

However I feel compelled to warn you about their "Rouge" product. It is AWFUL, just dreadful. If you are looking at a seat in economy with Air Canada Rouge I'd recommend looking at other options. The seats are so crammed in in economy I can't fathom how anyone is comfortable. We fly "Premium Rouge" with them when we can't get a real plane with real business class seats and find them to be tolerable but with an extreme shortage of storage space above the seats. I haven't met anyone who likes the Rouge product. We can't wait for Air Canada to ditch Rouge and go back to regular planes. It was a very bad executive decision to go with the Rouge product. So much so that my dh absolutely refuses to fly on Premium Rouge -- it's that bad (he drives 40 minutes out of his way to get on American Airlines flights with real business class seats).

I was looking at flights to Iceland from Toronto next summer and I believe they are flying the Rouge planes on that route :worried::rolleyes2
Thanks! I believe the routes I was looking at went through Toronto, and the Iceland leg *was* on Rouge. I may have to skip that. We'll see. It's still quite a ways out, so I'm not sure who'll have flights. I think Delta is another possibility. I like Delta's flights, in general, but everything leading up to the actual flight is usually a nightmare!

Sayhello
 
Alrighty... flights booked for 14 days September. Arriving at Milan and returning from Rome.

We love history, art and of course food. Plan is to spend 1 day in Milan (1 day), head up to Venice (2 days???), then to Florence (3 Days), Naples (3 days - Amalfi Coast, Pompei) then Rome (rest of the time). Is this to much for 14 days? Now the modes of transportation. Any suggestion? Train Uber, rent a car.
 
Train is SUPER easy in Italy. We traveled first class and loved it. It's so relaxing.

I'd probably spend 2-3 days in Milan. Be sure to book your tickets for the Last Supper well in advance (the day the ticket window opens). It is exquisite. Your wife will likely want at least a half day for some shopping (the shopping in Milan -- it's AMAZING). Visit Chocolat for the BEST gelato. Go more than once. You'll walk off the calories ;) You can walk almost everywhere in Milan.

I could spend an entire week in Florence. Suggestion: take a day trip to Siena and the Tuscan countryside (we hired a private driver). It's one of my all-time favorite cities. Go to the Scuola del Cuoio. You can watch them making purses by hand. Lovely leather shop on site with handmade merchandise.

Venice, I'd probably stay 3-4 days. It is so much fun just walking around and exploring. We also hired a private guide for a day to show us the famous sites. We went to a mask shop where dd and I each made our masks -- still one of my favorite souvenirs. We were the only ones making them and the instructor didn't speak a lick of English, but we didn't have an issue understanding her. I booked online.

Naples -- I've heard it's much nicer to stay in Capri. However we just visited here 1 day with our ABD cruise so I don't have much to offer.

Rome - 2-3 days was fine for us but we had been before. Very walkable city. Visit Pizzarium -- Best. Pizza. Ever. It's not expensive and very casual. Also try their rice balls. Take several back to your hotel with you. If you like art visit Gallereria Borghese -- it has a lovely collection.

I'd likely do a food tour in at least 2 of the cities on your itinerary, because I love food tours and I also happen to love food (especially in Italy). It's a perfect marriage!

I used an app for restaurant recommendations called Eat Italy (or something like that). Done by an American living in Italy. The recommendations were spot on. I think there was a small charge for each city I loaded from the app store, but well worth it.

Have fun!
 

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