Classic Italy - small groups - general questions
Getting ready to book the Classic Italy tour for spring 2017, and trying to decide between regular tour and small groups tour. Can't seem to find much information comparing the two. The most key question for me: for small groups tour, is the same bus size used as in the larger group tour? If so, does this allow for much more room per person, and increased comfort in general? Do arms between seats lift up? Another question; is it easier to navigate the sights with the smaller group, since there are less people to herd around? And finally, the hotels for small group version of tour seem somewhat less appealing than those listed for the regular version of this tour. Are the small group tour hotels nice, or have there been any issues with them? Would appreciate any input, and thanks!
0
Comments
First, if you are considering booking a Classic Italy, Small Groups tour this Spring, you better decide and call now! All but two departures are sold out for Spring 2017! Those two have limited space! The weather was great in Italy last May. It can get really hot in Italy in the summer. September is a good fall-back and there are still openings.
Regular vs Small Group- If you do a search (see "search" in light blue bar above) you will find quite a few discussions, but you'll get as many opinions as regulars who visit the forum.
We like small groups and take them whenever they are offered- we did Classic Italy, Small Groups last May. Same itinerary. Hotels are all 4-5 star; most, not all are different than the regular tour, mostly smaller (boutique?), I would not say "less appealing" unless you are judging them from the outside or by size. The ones we stayed in were very nice in every city- Sorrento; Rome (changed for 2017); Umbria/Tuscany (town/hotel have changed since last year); Viareggio hotel (same as regular tour) was nice but you spend just one night; Florence- Brunelleschi Hotel was fantastic, a modern hotel wrapped in a historic building in the heart of the primarily historic pedestrian-only zone and just two short blocks (2 min.) from the Duomo!; Venice - nice, just a 2 min. walk from St. Marks Square. If there have been issues with hotels on this tour, I don't remember reading about them, and if there are, Tauck will usually make a change for the following year.
Same size bus- more room and though there is usually a rotating seating plan you can always find a vacant seat if you need one. Singles were seated by themselves unless they wanted to sit with another single. Seats are the same, standard Euro style. Arms on most buses can be stowed down, if not they fold up. Big benefit to Euro buses is two doors- front and mid- easier to enter and exit the bus.
It takes less time to get organized and do almost everything with a small group- receive room keys, get seated/order in restaurants, faster bathroom stops, easier to navigate sites and museums and see artwork, etc., etc., etc.
We loved the hotels on the small group tour. In Florence, Venice and Rome the hotels were located CENTRALLY and many sites were easily walkable which was handy in the free times. I second AlanS, the Brunelleschi Hotel was fantastic. The hotel in Rome has changed from last year due to an ownership change. The small boutique hotels were very nice and many reflected the local culture. All had nice baths, hairdryers, turndown service and comfortable beds. The only difference that we have seen regarding hotels is that at larger hotels you are more likely to have a decent view because of the number of rooms available to Tauck. With the smaller hotels you get a good view sometimes and a not so good view sometimes because of the smaller number of rooms. (A bad view in Venice is NOT that bad!) But, if you are sitting in the room on the Classic Italy trip you are wasting time and missing out on the experience of a lifetime.
Bingo!!!!!!!
I hope you were able to decide and that the time slot you wanted was available.
Some of the trip s sell out very quickly. HAVE FUN. Please let us know what you decide.
1. Do you REALLY have to bring all your medications in their original bottles in order to get thru customs, either in US or Italy?
2. Is it reasonable to plan on having laundry done at a hotel mid-way in the trip (14 day trip), or no?
3. Is it possible (allowed) and safe to leave a small carry bag inside the bus seating area during tours?
4. Does anyone have a small travel fan to recommend for use in hotel rooms that may not have stellar AC?
Greengirl
1. We were told by our doctor who has taken this trip that it is not really necessary. We took our meds in the original bottles just to be on the safe side. Our flight went into Frankfurt where we changed planes to Naples. No customs in Frankfurt because we were thru passengers. In Naples there is a line for people with nothing to declare, which included most people. Interesting thing was that we never saw any customs or immigration agents in Naples for the nothing to declare line.
2. We had laundry done midway through but only where you will have two night stays. Bring your pocketbook because it was not cheap. We laundered small items in the bathroom sink. Bring your own detergent, small box or bottle will do.
3. Small carry bags can be left on the bus all the time. (no money or passports just to be safe) Driver stays with the bus or locks it up and it is parked among other buses. Drivers seemed to take care of each other watching the buses.
4. We did not find that this was needed. In April you should be early enough where it will not be hot. At home we keep the air conditioner on 72 F at night. We were not uncomfortable at night while on the trip.
Have fun and enjoy!!
Mid-tour (2016) we stayed in Torgiano in Umbria. We didn't know it at the time but there was a laundromat there, so we did some laundry in the sink. Even though we spent two nights there we had to use hairdryers (there were two in the room) to finish the drying process. Your tour stays just 4 km away from Torgiano, in the nearby small town of San Martino in Campo (south of Perugia). While there may be a "Lavanderia Self-Service" in San Martino as well, (maybe NUOVA STIRERIA S.N.C. DI VARINI MARIO & C. ? ), I wasn't successful finding any using Google, however.
Remember, generally speaking, you will need to be in a location for 2 nights in order to do your own laundry or send it out.
We take a lot of supplements, and used small ziploc bags that I found in the jewelry aisle at the craft store to separate our pills out by day and labeled them. I like that better than the daily pill containers, because the footprint shrinks with each passing day. Have done that twice going into Europe the last couple years, including Classic Italy last year, and had no problems.
I got a 10" O2Cool fan with an AC adapter that I took both times as well. Dual voltage, althought it doesn't specifically say so in the Amazon description (just be sure voltage is something like "110-240"). Pretty flat, easy to pack, and worked great. It isn't as warm in April, to be sure -- but as someone who needs to be very cool to sleep well, I used it all the time last April! Taking along a euro extension cord helped me position it right where I needed it. There are also smaller ones available, many rechareable with USB interfaces. Don't forget your plug adapters.
Have a wonderful time!