Small group classic Italy tips
We just returned from our May 7 - 20 trip, and if you have scheduled this trip, good for you! It was fabulous! Every day contains wonders. I read all of the topics here so I wanted to clarify a few things for those of you who do the same. Do not bother packing a hair dryer. Buy several washcloths that you can throw away. I think there were two hotels that didn't have them. All had hair conditioner but one. Accommodations are excellent and comfortable. Be sure to have great walking shoes. Be sure to see the duomo museum and Bapistry in Florence. Don't miss the Pantheon in Rome...it is right around the corner from the hotel. Don't bother with the Torture Museum in San Gimignano....shop instead. Remember that the shoes you wear for the final dinner will have to get you in and out of a gondola so high heels are probably not a great choice. We had a great time....hope you do, too!
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On first day of the tour in Sorrento we hired a private licensed tour guide and went to Capri. We left early and were able to return to the hotel in time for the reception. One could certainly do this on your own, but we wanted a guide to expedite our schedule. This trip included a two hour tour via private boat around the island.
In Rome we were with the group for our tour of the Colosseum in the morning. Once we completed the guided portion we had the afternoon free. The bus will take you back to the hotel, or you could stay at the forum and see it on your own. Leaving the Colosseum via bus, the director gave people suggestions of things that were on the route to the hotel. The bus stopped NEAR several locations for different groups to get off and tour on their own. These included but not limited to Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and Capitoline Museums. On another day we toured the Vatican with the group in the morning and then had several hours of free time until our after hours group tour of the Sistine Chapel. We just ate, shopped and had a random walk in our free time.
In Florence we had morning guided walking tours of the city on two days including entry into the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia. For our free afternoon times we bought an all inclusive ticket for entry into the Duomo Museum, the Baptistery, and a climb of the Duomo dome. This ticket was good for several days and we divided these sites over two days of free time. Each was very interesting. We bought these tickets online before leaving the U. S. The climb of the dome is popular and a reserved time is required. We scheduled it after 2:00 which left time to eat lunch after the group morning activities.
These were the only two cities where we wanted to plan our free time to see specific places. As I recall, in the other cities we just went with the flow and used any free time for eating on our own with small groups or shopping.
The one thing we learned is to take half as many clothes and twice as much money. (Love to shop!)
That is a big order for a two week tour! "Sightseeing" where you will see . . . . is a bus drive-by, "guided tour/visit" just what it says. As to the extent of the "guided tours," that is subjective. Personally, I wish we had spent more time in Pompeii. But since we had seen Herculaneum on our own two days earlier, I had a sufficient 'fix' of Roman ruins there. Unless you go a day or two early you won't have free time to visit anything in and around Sorrento. So go early and visit Capri (we had a guide (well worth it!) and went for a full day) and visited Herculaneum and the National Archeological Museum in Naples also with a guide and car/driver. Otherwise there is only time for shopping and eating.
The web is full of "top 10 things to see in Rome." You have enough free time to see many of these: Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and a few other spots, on your own but not too much else. You visit the Colosseum but your guide leaves you as you enter. After the Colosseum, we walked through part of the adjoining forum with th guide but it was a relatively short visit there. Some departures just leave you off after the Colosseum, to visit the forum on your own. Timing is difficult in Rome- you are at the mercy of the Vatican. You may be scheduled for your after hours visit of the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums one evening, but up arrival in Rome you find out is in the morning or on a different day, so don't make any hard plans for free time tours in Rome. Our Rome schedule was nothing like our green book.
Our next real free time was in Florence. Luckily our schedule didn't change there- attractions there can be very crowded and you will need to get tickets before you go or else you will waste valuable time standing in line, especially in the peak season. We got tickets with head-of-line privileges to see and climb Bruneleschi's dome months before we went. Included were tickets to the Duomo museum, which shouldn't be missed, the Baptistry, and Giotto's tower. We visited those after the guided morning tour of the Galleria and a short walk through town. We also squeezed in a Segway tour (also booked months in advance) after climbing the dome. The Duomo tickets were good for 48 hours so we visited the museum the next evening after we returned from a trip, on our own, to Pisa where we climbed the tower and toured the Pisa Duomo (the Duomo museum was closed). That day started with a guided tour of the Ufizzi gallery- a place you can spend an entire day. Free time in Venice was filled with a lot of walking and a water taxi tour.
We did a lot and filled up our free time. I literally started planning many months in advance, arranging for guides, car and driver, and buying tickets 4 - 6 months in advance. I even made a timed matrix to make sure we had time to do everything we planned.
If Buzz doesn't follow up, we used "Driver in Italy" for all our private trips (Capri, Herculaneum/Naples, Pisa). They do fixed standard and custom tours. Great service, excellent "licensed guides". Outstanding reviews on TripAdvisor.
Aw, gee : )
Hello - popping in to introduce myself. I am a solo traveler, also on the 9/17 tour, arriving from New York, I look forward to meeting you. Molly
We (Phil and Joy) are going on the small grp Classic Italy starting 9/28 ending 10/11. Suggestions on clothing? Easy to get laundered at hotels?
We (Phil and Joy) are going on the small grp Classic Italy starting 9/28 ending 10/11. Suggestions on clothing? Easy to get laundered at hotels?
Julie and I are also part of the small group tour beginning on the 19th. We are arriving from Los Angeles on the 17th and are planning to do a day long excursion to Capri on the 18th. I'm hoping to go in to the Blue Grotto. We haven't made any arrangements yet and are planning to use the concierge at the hotel. We look forward to meeting you and enjoying this adventure. See you in a few days!
Harry
The posts above and those in both Classic Italy and Classic Italy, Small Groups forum archives should give you a good start so you can come back and ask specific questions. This is a year old thread, so you might want to start a new one for your specific departure.