With input help from the Mrs. I thought I would write a short critique of our Classic Italy Small Group tour that departed early May. The small group tour differs slightly from the regular group tour as aside from having fewer people (maximum 24) they also utilize smaller boutique style hotels. Our tour had 17 people total. In this post when you see any underlined blue text it is a link that will take you to web sites of the restaurant, hotel or other points of interest.
After a very long 2 stop flight from Seattle to Naples via Newark then Zurich we arrived in Naples in the late afternoon. We went to the designated baggage carousel and waited with all the other passengers for our bags. I should say we waited and waited and waited for our bags. It was about an hour and half before our bags arrived on the carousel. All other arriving flights had the same issue. They blamed it on a staffing shortage.
We then went into the arrivals hall as instructed and looked for our driver. After about 15 minutes of searching, we could not find our driver. We then called the number given to us by Tauck for the transfer company and were told the driver had left because he couldn’t find us. If he would have checked with the airline or information desk he would have discovered that everyone was still in the baggage claim area. He finally arrived back after about 45 minutes and we were off to Sorrento.
This was our pre stay day. This is one reason we like to arrive a day early. Being jet lagged and frustrated we just ate at the hotel tonight the Grand Hotel La Favorita.
Day 1
Slept in then walked around Sorrento, then the usual group meeting and dinner that evening. The dinner was at L'Antica Tratoria and quite nice and also a good introduction to our over abundance of food on this tour.
Day 2
On the bus for a tour of the Amalfi Coast and Revello. Lunch was Tauck provided at Trattoria Da Cumpa'Cosimo.
Day 3
Off to Pompei then to Rome. Lunch today was Tauck provided at Ristorante Il Principe in Pompei. After our lunch and tour of Pompei it was off to Rome.
Late afternoon we checked into the W Hotel Rome. Our one disappointment on this trip is the W Hotel in Rome. We had the smallest room we ever had on a Tauck trip with a not so nice view of the alley. The design of the room was such that it was almost impossible to move around. The shower was designed with no place to put soap or shampoo. The staff at the hotel were nice, the rooms clean and it lived up to Marriott Hotel standards but I believe the demographic the W Hotels are targeting are not the typical Tauck traveler.
No place for soap or shampoo.
Day 4
Touring ancient Rome including the Colosseum, Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. Being early May we were in the pre summer shoulder season but I felt the crowds were already back.
Day 5
St. Peters in the Morning then the Vatican Museums in the late afternoon. The Vatican Museums is the only place we had to show our proof of Covid vaccine.
Day 6
Off to Orveito with guided tour of the Cathedral. Lunch was provided by Tauck at Trattoria la Grotta.
After the tour it was off to our hotel Posta Donini where we also had dinner. Prior to dinner there was a concert in the hotel music room. In our opinion this was one of the nicest and most memorable hotels of the trip.
Day 7
Off to Assisi where we had a guided tour of the Basilica of St. Francis and the historic center of Assisi.
Day 8
Off to Tuscany and the city of Lucca where we had a guided tour of the city center. Dinner tonight was provided by Tauck at Antica Locanda dell'Angelo.
The hotel today was at the Grand Universe Lucca and only one night. The rooms were small however the location was right in the city center and rooms were nice.
Day 9
Off to La Spezia the jumping off point for Cinque Terre. The boat ride to Cinque Terre is weather dependent and we hit it on a very nice day. It was a train ride back from Vernazza to La Spezia for the bus ride to Florence.
It was then off to Florence where we spent the next 3 nights at the Hotel Brunelleschi. We had our choice of included dinner at the hotel on any of the 3 nights we stayed there.
Day 10
In the morning right after breakfast, we had an art lecture in the hotel. Usually these things put me to sleep but I was surprised at how entertaining this actually was.
After the lecture we had a walking tour of Florence with a local guide. After the walk we went to Piazza Santa Croce for lunch at Finisterrae where the lunch was more than we usually eat at a big dinner.
After lunch we were on our own where we just wondered around Florence aimlessly.
Dinner tonight was on our own and we were fooded out at this point. We decided to go into a local market and buy a chunk of stinky cheese, a baguette and a bottle of local wine and take it back to the hotel. A grand total of less than €10, The clerk did not speak any English, so we just pointed and hope we got something good.
Day 11
After breakfast it was a walk to the Uffizi Gallery.
Piero della Francesca
After getting our fill of art, the rest of the day was on our own.
Day 12
An early morning departure to the train station for our high speed journey to Venice. (Masks Required on the train)
Arrival in Venice for our water taxi ride to the hotel The Bauer Venezia for our last 2 nights in Italy.
Our hotel room was quite nice with a view of the Grand Canal.
The afternoon was a gondola ride which in my opinion is over hyped.
Dinner tonight was the farewell dinner at Antico Martini. This was a day earlier than usual since tomorrow we have an after hours visit to the Basilica of St Mark’s.
Day 13
Today is our Covid test day. Early in the tour our director said the Covid test would be €90 per person administered by a nurse who would come to the hotel. The TD was able to source out another provider which was the Italian Red Cross which was located just off St Marks, about a 5 minute walk from the hotel. The cost for this test was €22 card only, no cash accepted. We waited outside and the results came back in about 15 minutes. Nine of us out of 17 were leaving the next day. All negative. I don’t know the results for those who stayed extra days.
After the Covid test there was a walking tour of Doge's Palace with a local guide.
In the evening we had the after hours visit to St. Marks followed by a light meal in the basement of the facility.
Day 14
Water taxi to Venice airport for our trip home.
