Anyone Going on April 30-May 13, 2019 Small Group Italy Trip?

Hi. My husband I and I are on the April 30-May 13, 2019 Small Group Italy Trip.

I'm now planning some of the private side trips that we hope to take in our free time.

In Rome, I'm hoping to see the Jewish Ghetto, synagogue, and museum on the afternoon of Friday, May 3. On Saturday, we are hoping to be able to see one of the Jewish catacombs outside of the city and also some other sites. I'm working with a private tour guide (Laura Weinstein), who is now checking on availability of guides for both afternoons. You can check her company out at www.RomanHolidayTours.com.

If anyone is interested in joining us on either or both afternoons, please let me know.

Thanks,

Sally

Comments

  • edited February 2019
    SallyH1968 wrote:
    Hi. My husband I and I are on the April 30-May 13, 2019 Small Group Italy Trip.

    I'm now planning some of the private side trips that we hope to take in our free time.

    In Rome, I'm hoping to see the Jewish Ghetto, synagogue, and museum on the afternoon of Friday, May 3. On Saturday, we are hoping to be able to see one of the Jewish catacombs outside of the city and also some other sites. I'm working with a private tour guide (Laura Weinstein), who is now checking on availability of guides for both afternoons. You can check her company out at www.RomanHolidayTours.com.

    If anyone is interested in joining us on either or both afternoons, please let me know.

    Thanks,

    Sally

    Sally, We did a number of side trips, but NONE in Rome. Please read my Classic Italy, Small Groups forum posts and similar ones by others- note, due to Vatican scheduling, your Rome itinerary may be NOTHING like the website or Tauck green book and your TD may not know this until the day before you arrive in the city.
  • Thanks, Alan.

    I'm planning my side trips in Rome for the free afternoons, not the mornings or after 5 pm.

    My understanding is that the Vatican visit is in the evening, at/after 6 pm. So, I'm working around that.

    We're planning to going Sorrento/Naples two days early. We will be doing the Tauck Capri pre-trip on April 30. Based on your review of the tour that you had of the Herculaneum and National Archeological Museum in Naples with Driver In Italy, we are planning to book that tour with them for April 29.

    Sally
  • edited February 2019
    SallyH1968 wrote:
    Thanks, Alan.

    I'm planning my side trips in Rome for the free afternoons, not the mornings or after 5 pm.

    My understanding is that the Vatican visit is in the evening, at/after 6 pm. So, I'm working around that.

    We're planning to going Sorrento/Naples two days early. We will be doing the Tauck Capri pre-trip on April 30. Based on your review of the tour that you had of the Herculaneum and National Archeological Museum in Naples with Driver In Italy, we are planning to book that tour with them for April 29.

    Sally

    I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the many possibilities. At most you will have two partial afternoons if you want to be back in time for the Tauck dinners.

    Our hotel was near the Spanish Steps and a few blocks from Trevi Fountain. I believe tours now stay close to the Pantheon. Here is how the itinerary in the Green Book compared to our actual Rome itinerary in 2016:

    Day 3:

    Green Book- Pompeii and late arrival in Rome, dinner w/Tauck
    Actual- Pompeii and late arrival (4:45 - 5:00), (grab a snack or wait), meet at 6:00 pm for after-hours tour of Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel, dinner on own afterwards,

    Day 4:
    Green Book- Tour of Saint Peters Basilica and Square, lunch on our own, afternoon at leisure, dinner on our own, after-hours tour of Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel
    Actual- 9:00 am bus tour of the city (drive-by of Imperial Palace, Circus Maximus, etc.), guided visit to the Colosseum, group photo, short guided walk thru the Forum, "Please be flexible in terms of timing," tour concludes approx 1:00 pm drop-off enroute or at hotel, lunch on own, free time, 7:00 dinner with Tauck.

    Day 5:
    Green Book- Bus tour of the city (drive-by of Imperial Palace, Circus Maximus, etc. guided visit to the Colosseum, group photo, short guided walk thru the Forum, drop-off enroute or at hotel, Dinner w/Tauck
    Actual- 8:00 am depart for tour of Saint Peters Basilica and Square, tour ends 11:45 lunch on own, leisure time, 6:15 dinner with Tauck

    Despite uncertainties, it was a fantastic tour!!!

Leave a Comment

BoldItalicStrikethroughOrdered listUnordered list
Emoji
Image
Align leftAlign centerAlign rightToggle HTML viewToggle full pageToggle lights
Drop image/file