Classic Italy Aug 20, 2014

Scav

We booked the 8/20/14 Classic Italy tour, and would be interested in contacting others that will be on the tour. We are leaving from JFK, and will be arriving a day earlier and plan on visiting Capri. This is our first trip to Italy.

RHT

We are also arriving a day early from LA. We would love to see Capri. How far is it and how do you get there?
You can see we have not been to Italy before and have not begun our trip planning yet!
RHT

RHT

Sorry I checked and our trip begins 8/13.

LMB1

Hi Scav. My husband and I are going on the Classic Italy trip starting August 20th. I would love to communicate with you before we go. I am not sure how this forum works, and if there is a way to "meet"online. We will be arriving on the 19th, and we are coming in on Lufthansa. I talked to our travel agent about going to Capri. You take a boat from Sorrento to Capri. I don't know if you get reservations, or what.

This is our second trip with Tauck. We have heard great things about this trip, from friends who went last year. We are looking forward to going, and meeting you.

British

For those people arriving the day early especially the people who travel from the west coast, please take jet lag into consideration before you book the trip to Capri. This is a very busy tour and I would suggest you spend the day before relaxing or probably sleeping. Capri is lovely, but I would have suggested arriving maybe 3 days early to adjust and doing Capri the day before your trip begins. You can't do everything on one trip to Italy, so you could always go again and do a trip that does include Capri. It would be a shame to begin the busy Tauck tour by falling asleep as soon as you get on the bus and missing all the beautiful scenery along the way

LMB1

Thanks Explorer. My travel agent said the same thing. Sorrento is suppose to be beautiful, so I think we'll be enjoying that. I know the temperature is usually in the 80's during the day. Is it very humid? Is it alright to wear bermudas, or should men and women wear long pants? Is it rainy that time of year?

I know the Vatican has strict dress codes.

British

If you go to the web page about your specific tour, you will see a section Before You Go scroll down to weather and you will see a drop down arrow where it will give quite a detailed breakdown of temperature and humidity conditions of the areas you are visiting. I am sure Bermudas will be fine. I tend to wear capris these days for that kind of tour and maybe long pants on more exotic tours where there are insects to think about. Italy is such a beautiful country and there is a good mixture on the tour you are going on. We have been on two separate Tauck tours to Italy, the last one we did is no longer running but we have been most of the places you will be going to. We last went to Venice in 1977 when it was still very dirty, lots of pigeons and rats, though at the time it was the most different place I had ever been to and I loved it. I remember we could hardly afford a cup of coffee in the square. That would be my next trip if I get the chance.

crackers54

LMB1 wrote:

Thanks Explorer. My travel agent said the same thing. Sorrento is suppose to be beautiful, so I think we'll be enjoying that. I know the temperature is usually in the 80's during the day. Is it very humid? Is it alright to wear bermudas, or should men and women wear long pants? Is it rainy that time of year?

I know the Vatican has strict dress codes.

Just remember when wanting to do church's knees and shoulders need to br covered or they will deny entrance in most Italian churches.

Scav

LMB1 wrote:

Hi Scav. My husband and I are going on the Classic Italy trip starting August 20th. I would love to communicate with you before we go. I am not sure how this forum works, and if there is a way to "meet"online. We will be arriving on the 19th, and we are coming in on Lufthansa. I talked to our travel agent about going to Capri. You take a boat from Sorrento to Capri. I don't know if you get reservations, or what.

This is our second trip with Tauck. We have heard great things about this trip, from friends who went last year. We are looking forward to going, and meeting you.

Scav

LMB1 wrote:

Hi Scav. My husband and I are going on the Classic Italy trip starting August 20th. I would love to communicate with you before we go. I am not sure how this forum works, and if there is a way to "meet"online. We will be arriving on the 19th, and we are coming in on Lufthansa. I talked to our travel agent about going to Capri. You take a boat from Sorrento to Capri. I don't know if you get reservations, or what.

This is our second trip with Tauck. We have heard great things about this trip, from friends who went last year. We are looking forward to going, and meeting you.

Didn't make reservations. i understand all we have to do is go to the bottom of the hotel and the ferry leaves from the hotel dock.

LoveToGolf

My husband and I are also going on this Aug. 20, trip. We are from Ohio and will be arriving a day early and staying at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria. This is our first trip to Italy and we booked this tour because our friend took it and loved it.

ndvb

I haven't been on this trip, so maybe they do something special in Sorrento, but we went to the Almalfi coast on our own and stopped in Sorrento. We stopped on the road at the top of the hill and had a great Kodak moment of the entire city. I wasn't overly impressed with the city when we walked through it on our visit. It was ok, but I was much more impressed with the smaller towns and villages, like Positano. After a nice walk on the beach, we stopped and had a lunch on the beach there (after a steep walk down the hill and a steep climb back up after we ate). There are shops everywhere if you into shopping or just looking.

We did not go to Capri but I wish we had done that. It is a beautiful and colorful area which made for great landscape pictures. The water is a beautiful blue and the sky, that day, was clear with just a few clouds, making for great pictures too. I know there are boats you can reserve to go there, but I have no idea if Tauck can set that up for you or if you even have enough free time to do it.

Enjoy the trip. I am sure you'll see some great things. This might be a trip I take down the road.

Happy Trails.

Goingsolo

I am on the Classic Italy October 6, 2014 tour and am so looking forward to meeting (or should I say hearing from others) on this trip before we begin. I will be arriving on the 5th and it is my first trip to Italy and my first trip traveling alone. A little nervous so fellow travelers please let me hear from you. Looking forward to seeing a beautiful country and getting to know all of you that will be on this tour.

Ms. Robbie

crackers54

Goingsolo wrote:

I am on the Classic Italy October 6, 2014 tour and am so looking forward to meeting (or should I say hearing from others) on this trip before we begin. I will be arriving on the 5th and it is my first trip to Italy and my first trip traveling alone. A little nervous so fellow travelers please let me hear from you. Looking forward to seeing a beautiful country and getting to know all of you that will be on this tour.

Ms. Robbie

Don't worry about being solo. I have taken several trips solo and have had a great time. Most trips I find people to hang out with in the off time on trip. I took this trip last September and loved it. I was lucky on this one. The other solo's and I pretty much stuck together and had a great time.

BAP

We just returned from the Classic Italy trip and really enjoyed it.

For those arriving a day early you might consider taking the ferry from the hotel in Sorrento to Capri. There you can buy a ticket, along the waterfront, for an around the island tour. Quite scenic and relaxing. The boat stops at the Blue Grotto, the green grotto and they point out a number of things along the cliffs. Cost is about 15 or 17 Euro per person in addition to the cost of the ferry over.

As for attire I would definitely take shorts and light, moisture wicking clothes if you have them. The days where you need church attire are clearly marked on the schedule you will receive when you arrive. I'm a golfer, so I carred a pair of rain pants and put them on when it was time to enter the church. It was and will be quite warm to be in long pants as you walk through the cities and tour.

When you get to Umbria for the two night stay avoid the beef and the specials suggested by the host. The fish was much better.

In Venice at the farewell dinner avoid the "fillet" of beef. We had trouble cutting it with a steak knife. Some sent it back but to no avail. It was just tough.

LMB1

Thanks BAP. I was in Italy 46 years ago and remember well the gray looking steak. No thanks. :-). How difficult are the walks on this trip? Did you have some kind of system so you could clearly hear what the guide is saying? We live in Florida, so walking in higher altitudes can be more difficult. I do realize, that if you walk down, you have to walk up to get back to the bus, so it might be best to enjoy some sights like the Colliseum, from where you walk in. I am so excited to go on this trip!

menahelen

My husband and I were on a Classic Italy Tour in May. We flew in one day early and relaxed, walked around Sorrento etc, but did Capri the next morning (the day of the welcome dinner)
. It was no problem whatsoever, and many of our fellow travelers did the exact same thing. Make sure you take the Hydrofoil and not the Ferry. The Hydrofoil has continued service back and forth all day, and it leaves from a dock directly behind the hotel. The concierge can provide you with a schedule. Don't miss Capri if you have that extra day. Get ready for an amazing trip with Tauck.

Sue

LMB1,

I took this trip several years ago and it was great!

In Italy Tauck usually uses a contraption called a "whisper guide." It looks like a walkman and has an earphone plugged into it. You wear it on a strap around your neck. The guide speaks into a microphone and you can hear even if you wander a bit away from the group.

Sue

BAP

LMB1,

Most of the walks are flat. Our tour director offered several times to arrange separate transport in places that had "difficult" climbs for those who were concerned. The most difficult walk was at Assisi.

To maximize your time in Florence and Venice be sure to ask the tour director for the route of the city tour so you don't duplicate sites.

Enjoy,
Bernie

JJE

We will also going on the 8/20 classic Italy tour and will be arriving mid day on the 19. We would enjoy meeting others before the formal tour begins perhaps for dinner and something like Capri during the day on 8/20.

Just talked to two couples who both advised against the Capri trip. But still interested in meeting prior to the 8/20 dinner.

Julian and Karen

Scav

We are coming from JFK and arriving a day earlier also, and plan on Capri. Friends of ours did this same tour last year and recommended going early and seeing Capri. They said it was well worth the extra $$$$.