Just Got Back

I just returned from this tour...(May 13-May20). It was our first Tauck tour and our first time to Italy.

All I can say to all of you getting ready to go......WOW! This was superbly done from front to finish. Worth every penny.... Italy was wonderful. Tauck did a fabulous job in organizing and running the tour.

You will absolutely love your week.... Have a great time. We sure did!

Comments

  • Thank you, FirstTimeItaly! I'm glad to hear you had such a wonderful experience on your trip!

    Sincerely,
    Tim
  • Question. Do you really need a sport jacket and fancy dress for the first night dinner and the farewell dinners?

  • We are scheduled to leave this weekend for the very same trip - our third with Tauck. We would appreciate
    any information/suggestions, especially your "free time" activities and restaurant experiences.

    Thanks.
  • Mkny27 wrote:
    Question. Do you really need a sport jacket and fancy dress for the first night dinner and the farewell dinners?

    Hello Mkny27,

    A sport jacket and fancy dress for the first night dinner and farewell dinner is not neccessary. Most people like to dress us just a little bit, just as if they were going out to dinner with friends at a restaurant.

    Hope this helps,
    Emily
  • The jacket and fancy dress are not necessary, but on our tour pretty much everyone did dress up slightly for those two events...especially the farewell dinner.
  • Most people do dress up and it's nice! Suit isn't necessary but someone underdressed at our last dinner and really stood out!
  • Most people do dress up and it's nice! Suit isn't necessary but someone underdressed at our last dinner and really stood out!


    My wife and I are going on this trip next year. In regards to attire how many suit cases did you bring on your trip? And did you have enough clothing to suit your needs during the trip? Would you have changed anything? Thanks for your help.

    Jay


  • Jay

    My husband and I just returned from this trip in June, our third with Tauck. My understanding is that
    Tauck requests one suitcase per person. We each had one suitcase and one carry on. While we were blessed with no rain on our trip, the average temps in all 3 cities was 95-99 degrees. Extremely hot! There were many times that we had an opportunity to change for dinner, after dinner sightseeing, etc. and we took full advantage. You can take advantage of laundry services at the hotel (which my husband did have to use), but I brought alot of sundresses and a few cardigan
    sweaters for church visits. It was easier to pack the dresses and less pieces to worry about. Lots of underware is a must.
    I bring 2 "dressy dresses" for the welcome and farewell receptions. Most people did dress up. My husband
    did bring a navy sport jacket and wore it to both receptions, but did take it off in the course of the night.
    By the time we arrived in Rome, we realized that we needed to purchase another small suitcase for the trip home.
    Souvenirs and dirty laundry somehow take up alot of space. You will love this trip, especially the Chianti winery visit.
    The recommendations provided to us for local restaurants were excellent. We're already planning for next year.

    Enjoy!

    Suzanne
  • sdenn01 wrote:
    Jay

    My husband and I just returned from this trip in June, our third with Tauck. My understanding is that
    Tauck requests one suitcase per person. We each had one suitcase and one carry on. While we were blessed with no rain on our trip, the average temps in all 3 cities was 95-99 degrees. Extremely hot! There were many times that we had an opportunity to change for dinner, after dinner sightseeing, etc. and we took full advantage. You can take advantage of laundry services at the hotel (which my husband did have to use), but I brought alot of sundresses and a few cardigan
    sweaters for church visits. It was easier to pack the dresses and less pieces to worry about. Lots of underware is a must.
    I bring 2 "dressy dresses" for the welcome and farewell receptions. Most people did dress up. My husband
    did bring a navy sport jacket and wore it to both receptions, but did take it off in the course of the night.
    By the time we arrived in Rome, we realized that we needed to purchase another small suitcase for the trip home.
    Souvenirs and dirty laundry somehow take up alot of space. You will love this trip, especially the Chianti winery visit.
    The recommendations provided to us for local restaurants were excellent. We're already planning for next year.

    Enjoy!

    Suzanne

    Thanks so much Suzanne for your advice. Sounds like you had a wonderful time albeit the hot weather. I have taken your suggestions and reviewed them with my wife Joanne. She's so worried will she won't have enough clothing to dress up on those special occasions with the tour group. I did read a post where one traveler purposely brought old underwear and discarded it prior to departing home in an effort to make room for souvenirs. I'll just have to pack smart and efficient. A couple of last questions if you don't mind. One, how where the rooms in Lugano at the Hotel Slendide? Did the water in Venice have an odor? I've read some reviews where this has happened. Depends on the time of the year from what I've researched. And did you arrive a day early to adjust for the time change. This has been suggested to me. Again thanks for your help. Maybe we'll meet up one day.

    Jay

  • Jay

    We took the "Week in Venice, Florence and Rome" tour, so unfortunately I can't help with the Lake region hotel.
    That area is next on our list so we are looking to combine it with another tour and visit that area on our own. We did choose to add 2 extra days, beginning and end of the trip. My husband had not been to Rome, so we had some things
    that he wanted to do after the tour. If you are able to arrange to arrive a day early, its well worth it.
    I wouldn't stress about the clothing issue. I prefer skirts and sundresses over pants and shorts and I definitely tend to
    overpack. Many women wore capris, shorts, and skirts, while the men wore shorts (except for church visits)
    and docker style pants, even jeans and polo shirts. No one will notice if you wear the same outfit twice...many people
    do. However, because we had such hot temps, we were both glad to have the extra clothing. We brought rain gear
    but didn't need it. Thankfully, no odors coming from the lagoon in Venice. The Luna Baglioni/Venice hotel was beautiful and a great location. A short walk out of the back door to Harry's Bar, if that's on your list. Definitely dress up for that one. We went there for drinks and they are strict with their dress code. My daughter and I took the "Rome & Amalfi Coast" trip a few years ago and it was also amazing.

    To get in the spirit of traveling to Italy, check out Rudy Maxa's dvd. Its called Best of Europe - Italy. It's beautiful and
    fun to watch right before your trip. We also went to see Woody Allen's movie "To Rome with Love" which
    came out the week we returned. It was great fun to re-live our trip.

    Here is my email if you have any specific questions....sdenn01@comcast.net

    Suzanne

  • sdenn01 wrote:
    Jay

    We took the "Week in Venice, Florence and Rome" tour, so unfortunately I can't help with the Lake region hotel.
    That area is next on our list so we are looking to combine it with another tour and visit that area on our own. We did choose to add 2 extra days, beginning and end of the trip. My husband had not been to Rome, so we had some things
    that he wanted to do after the tour. If you are able to arrange to arrive a day early, its well worth it.
    I wouldn't stress about the clothing issue. I prefer skirts and sundresses over pants and shorts and I definitely tend to
    overpack. Many women wore capris, shorts, and skirts, while the men wore shorts (except for church visits)
    and docker style pants, even jeans and polo shirts. No one will notice if you wear the same outfit twice...many people
    do. However, because we had such hot temps, we were both glad to have the extra clothing. We brought rain gear
    but didn't need it. Thankfully, no odors coming from the lagoon in Venice. The Luna Baglioni/Venice hotel was beautiful and a great location. A short walk out of the back door to Harry's Bar, if that's on your list. Definitely dress up for that one. We went there for drinks and they are strict with their dress code. My daughter and I took the "Rome & Amalfi Coast" trip a few years ago and it was also amazing.

    To get in the spirit of traveling to Italy, check out Rudy Maxa's dvd. Its called Best of Europe - Italy. It's beautiful and
    fun to watch right before your trip. We also went to see Woody Allen's movie "To Rome with Love" which
    came out the week we returned. It was great fun to re-live our trip.

    Here is my email if you have any specific questions....sdenn01@comcast.net

    Suzanne

    Again thanks for the tips Suzanne. My wife loves wearing Capris so I think that she will do just fine. More so than anything, I think that her shoe selection will keep her the busiest. I ordered the DVD you recommended on Amazon. Can't wait to watch it. I'll have to make note of Harry's Bar and pay them a visit in Venice. If I may ask one last question, and I know that I've said this several times; what airline did you use to fly to Italy? And did Tauck make the arrangements for you, or did you secure the reservation on your own? And if Tauck did make the reservations was there any discount applied since you were traveling with the Tauck tour already? Again, arrivederci,... I'll be in touch.

    Jay

  • Jay

    On this particular trip, we made our own reservations. We flew USAir because we were able to get direct
    flights out of Philadelphia. Flying coach with USAir is awful, at best. However, we were able to fly 1st class on the return flight which was very nice. On a previous Tauck trip, they did make our flight reservations and the price was the
    same as if we had booked it on our own. It was our first trip with them, so we decided to let them handle
    everything at once. Our daughter is flying Delta to Italy next week (school related research) and is
    leaving out of JFK because of a direct flight option. I can understand your wife's shoe dilema. This is what I
    brought with me on this trip and it worked out very well. One pair of dressy heels (wore 2x), 2 pairs of sandals
    (in case one strap broke), ballet flats (Cole Haan has partnered with Nike Air for cute shoes and very comfy),
    JCrew rain ballet flats (did not need), and a very light weight pair of sneakers, just in case (did not use).
    Hope this helps. Ciao!

    Suzanne
  • Thanks for all your help Suzanne. I will let you know how things progress as the year approaches.

    Jay
This discussion has been closed.