tour questions
Do all group tours include everyone or are some broken down, e.g. are there 40 people viewing the same paintings at the Uffizi?
Are hearing devices offered?
Understanding there will be some flexibility, what time does the St. Peters tour end? What time does the Vatican Museum tour start and end? Does it include the Rafael Rooms?
What time does the Rome antiquities tour start and end? Does it include entering the Coliseum?
What time does the Florence walking tour start and end, where does it start and end, and what does it entail? Does one go into any buildings other than the Accademia?
The information would be helpful in planning the trip.
Thanks,
Chris
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Comments
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I strongly recommend you not try to squeeze in private tours during free time in Rome that you must book ahead of time. The schedule in Rome often changes from tour to tour, and is heavily dependent on the Vatican management. Our schedule for the three days there was changed the day before we arrived because of the Vatican. Not only were some times significantly different than scheduled, a few items like the after-hours visit to the Sistine Chapel, were on completely different days. I don't know the status now, but for awhile this past year, after-hours visits were totally cancelled by the Vatican and I believe Tauck groups went earlier in the morning. Traffic in Rome can also heavily impact tour times.
As to your specific questions, we went several years ago and some things have changed since then.
As British says, call Tauck, again, because the tour itineraries have changed over the years and for the latest info.
Our entire Small Group tour visited the Uffizi and spots therein, at the same time.
For most tours Tauck uses VOX or Whisper brand listening devices. I don't know if any tours have transitioned to the new Wifi-based devices.
We toured the Sistine Chapel and the Maps room,corridor, but did not see Raphael's library or the Pope's apartments.
We had a semi-guided visit the Coliseum but it did not include the below ground spaces. That was followed by a brief walk partly into the forum.
For us the walking tour in Florence started in the morning at the Accademia Gallery. From there we walked back towards the Duomo and on to the Piazza della Repubblica. We did not enter any other buildings on that day. If you want to see any of the Opera dei Duomo buildings (Duomo, Brunelleschi's dome, Giotto's bell tower, baptistry, museum) you'll need to buy your own tickets. But again, things can and do change.
Tauck didn't have the info. They said the tour director might, once they were assigned 2 weeks prior to trip. I thought I would try to see what past tours have done to get an idea of what else we wanted to do. I appreciate all the feedback, Chris
You gotta press the agent, for details. They usually have more than they are initially willing to reveal, but again, the schedule can change, especially in Rome.
We went early and did extra stuff in Sorrento - one day we went with a private guide to Capri (before it was offered as a pre-tour option) and the next day to Herculaneum, the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, and visited a smaller cousin of the coliseum in Rome in Pozzuoli, a town in a northern suburb of Naples. In Florence we did a bunch of extra stuff, too- on our own we visited the Duomo Museum, climbed Brunelleschi's dome (with head-of-the-line tickets), visited the baptistry, with a guide rode Segways around the old part of town, booked a car and driver for an excursion to Pisa where we climbed the leaning tower and toured the cathedral and baptistry. All was planned in great detail, guides were booked, and tickets purchased months in advance.
I didn't write a trip summary, but here is a link to a post-tour post. https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/comment/32356/#Comment_32356 There are several other posts about our Italy tour in and around that time frame.
Sounds like you had a great (and very eventful) trip!
on any Tauck trip large groups are usually divided into 2 or more and almost always have Vox boxes
thanks, that's good to know
My hearing is not very good mostly due to tinnitus and I find the VOX earpiece to be inadequate, so I always use my own Bose headphones with the VOX. I sometimes uncover one ear so I can hear the other people.
In the past, even though the headphones were a bit bulky and reduced my ability to hear normal conversations, I did the same as Sealord. I then took it one step further and used a small after-market Bluetooth transmitter to send the Vox signal directly to my Bose headset- no cord! It worked great on J&E and Treasures of the Aegean.
Now, however, since I finally got hearing aids- looong overdue
) I use the little USB Bluetooth transmitter that came with my Bluetooth enabled hearing aids for a more compact and totally wireless setup. I plug the transmitter into the Vox earphone jack and use it to broadcast the guide's commentary directly to my hearing aids. My Bluetooth transmitter is not self-powered (some are) so I must use a small rechargable USB 'battery bank.' I stow it all out of the way and out of sight in a pocket or my camera bag. No Vox or lanyard around my neck, no single, uncomfortable earpiece, and no cord to get in the way. I have used it on two tours so far. It works great! If anyone wants more info, send me a PM.
(L - R) Small, rechargeable, USB battery bank; Bluetooth transmitter; Vox
I knew Alan would come up with a more high tech solution. That’s why they dealt with the complicated electronics and I just flew the airplane. (For those in the dark, I was a Naval Aviator and Alan was a Naval Flight Officer.). My ear phones are blue tooth, but the VOX is not … yet. I don’t like the lanyard around my neck either, so I put it in my shirt pocket. The cord is a bother but I deal with it.
Well, I carry a cross body bag which I slip the Vox into an outside pocket and then I use ear buds from either my IPhone or airline like Delta. Some work better than others. I don’t have anything around my neck.
Great suggestion, I have Oticon HAs that connect with bluetooth (I believe) through my iphone, so that may work. It did work with an audioguide at an art museum.