Day Tours in Europe: by Bus, on Foot, and Your Take on Local Guides: 2008
There are hundreds of European day tours available by bus and on foot. Many of these are small independent operators offering a great value. But quality varies, all are an important commitment of time, and you want to choose wisely. Which ones are the best value and why?
- Please don't post questions here. Use our Travelers Helpline.
Ancient Rome Tour
My wife, 16-year-old daughter and I took the Ancient Rome Tour in late November, 2008. Our guide, Chad, was very knowledgable, friendly and enjoyable. It was pouring rain, but he was unaffected by the torents of rain. Most importantly, my daughter thought he did a great job!
Steve Masterson <email>
Tallahassee, FL USA Fri 12/26/2008
Real Rome Tours
We recently spent 2 weeks traveling through Italy. We concluded our trip in Rome where we took a tour of the Vatican with Real Rome Tours. Our guide was Jerry and we found him to be very informative and knowledgeable. There was so much to see and learn. Jerry made it interesting and fun. We would definitely recommend a tour with Real Rome Tours!
Michelle
Maplewood, MN USA Wed 12/17/2008
Three Presto Tour Guides: 5 STARS
After a rainy (and when i say rainy i mean rainy!) last 2 weeks in Rome I am excited to brag about the 3 tours that I joined through Presto Tours. I booked through the "Buy Two Tours Get One Free Tour" special and it was a bargain. We started off with an evening Rome City Tour (a bit cool), but after 5 minutes with Mitra, i completely forgot about how cold it was. She was outstanding, spoke English like an American and was very friendly. She even took us to a Coffee shop to warm us up half way through the tour. (supposedly the best coffee shop in Rome!). It was great to start off with this tour. It gave us a perfect intro to the center of the city. We went out to dinner in Piazza Navona once the tour ended and the food was great. The following day My husband and I joined the Colosseum and Ancient Rome Tour in the morning and then the Vatican Tour in the afternoon. Our guide at the Colosseum was Michael. Maybe the smartest man I have ever met? I'd ask as many questions as you have. You won't stump him! Ryan was our Vatican Tour guide. He was very entertaining and knowledgeable. If you get a chance to request your guide/s I would definitely choose the three of them. I personally enjoyed Ryan a lot. He was a great story teller and stopped whenever we asked about anything in the Vatican. The best part about our Vatican Tour was walking by 10+ groups with over 40-50 people. Our Presto Tours had 8 people total on all three tours-no lines anywhere either. Essentially a private Tour at a group tour rate. I couldn't recommend Presto enough.
Nancy
USA Wed 12/17/2008
Through Eternity Tour - Rome
My wife and i just finished a 10 day trip to Rome and Florence. While in Rome, we booked two group tours with Through Eternity Cultural Association. The Rome at Twilight tour with Gracelyn and The Vatican Tour with Thomas were both outstanding. Since we were in Italy at a slow time of year (early December), we were the only two people on the tour and we were not charged extra for private tours. Gracelyn spent 3 hours with us and Thomas 8 hours. Their knowledge or art, sculpture and history was outstanding. I would highly recommend Though Eternity tours for either group or private tours of Rome.
Richard Young <email>
Cartersville, Ga USA Tue 12/16/2008
Wine tour in Rome with Presto
We booked a wine tour with Presto that said the guide was a trained sommelier. The man that "led" our tour was obviously not a sommelier, he did not have basic technical knowledge by any means. It was fun to see Roman wine bars, but I actually wanted to learn about wine, not go on a pub crawl.
USA Mon 12/15/2008
Miles and Miles Tours of Rome Recommendation
Having just returned from Italy, I HIGHLY recommend "miles and miles tours of rome".
We had the most amazing personalized experience. Francesco Miglio, our guide, made Rome so extra special for my family. Our daughter celebrated her 10th birthday and he made the day one that we will all remember forever. The expertise and desire to show the unexpected sites as well as the standards was terrific.
I can't wait to go back, and see even more!
Robin
New York, NY USA Thu 12/04/2008
Roman Odyssey
We have just returned form a Mediterrian Cruise. Our best excursion was in Rome thru a private tour by "Roman Odessey". We had a very personable and informative guide "Justin" who spoke perfect English. We enoyed seeing so much history in one day. It was unbelievable.
Dolores Edwards <email>
Birmingham, , Al USA Thu 12/04/2008
Tuscany Tours by Paola and Giuseppe
We used Tuscany Tours by Paola and Giuseppe while in Florence. While it was our misfortune to be there on a Tuesday and major museums were closed, Paola managed to whisk us around Florence for a full day of seeing beautiful art throughout the city. We didn't feel like we had missed a thing. We highly recommend them.
Dolores Edwards <email>
Birmingham, Al USA Thu 12/04/2008
Florence and Rome
In Florence we used Artivia, the tours were good enough, but in Rome we used Sky Tours for two tours. The Vatican state and the Colosseo, those guides are very good.
Small Groups, under 10 in each group for us
Native english, our guide spoke with British english which we loved.
good low cost tours in Rome with Sky guys.
Loved Florence more than Rome though.
Nell K Jackson
USA Wed 12/03/2008
ROME - Rome For Jews
I just got back from Rome and felt I had to share this with all...
I have traveled there and many other countries around Europe before, but this tour had a much different approach and i loved it!
It was a tour of Rome, through the eyes of Judaism and showed many many jewish aspects of this very Catholic city.
Particularly note worthy was the tour of the Vatican & Sistine Chapel, and the many references to the old testament.
Check it out for yourselves!
I recommend it to all Jews & non-jews alike!
http://www.romeforjews.com/
Sammy
NYC, NY USA Tue 12/02/2008
ANGEL TOURS in Rome
When deciding which tour guides to use for our Rome trip, I read all of these reviews from top to bottom.
I chose Angel Tours for a tour of the Vatican and Colosseum/Roman Forum. I chose Angel Tours for 4 main reasons: 1) reasonably priced 2) good value of tour (length of tour vs price) 3) small groups of 10 or less 4) website - I loved their website!! (good sense of humor/doesn't take themselves too seriously).
Our Colosseum/Roman Forum guide was Tom from England. We had 10 in our group. Tom did an excellent job. Answered all of our questions with great knowledge of the area. We had such a small group. There were other tours nearby with such large groups, they had to wear headsets just to hear the guide! Our tour with Angel Tours felt more personable since we had a small number.
Jimmy from Ireland was our guide for the Vatican. I had read about Jimmy on this website from other posters and was glad to have him for our guide. I told him I had read great reviews about him and he said jokingly that the pressure was on!! He hoped he lived up!! He really did. Jimmy is so knowledgeable about everything at the Vatican. He mixes all of the information he gives with great humor. He is truly entertaining. He has a great passion for art, which is evident by the way he gets so excited while telling stories of the vatican's history.
Jimmy lived up to his reputation! We would definitely recommend Angel Tours for any tour.
Regina and Greg McCaffrey <email>
Brookhaven, MS USA Mon 12/01/2008
Great tour guides/drivers for Tuscany:
Our small group of all-women travelers had the pleasure of enlisting the tour guide/driver services of "Florence Tour" for our visit to Tuscany in September 2008. Paola and her husband Giuseppe are reliable, affordable, entertaining, informative, friendly, and experienced English-speaking tour guides/drivers who run their own family business called "Florence Tour." (info@florencetour.com; http://www.florencetour.com)
Their sense of timing, wry humor, familiarity with the interests of North American travelers, and overall expertise in the history and culture of Tuscany are excellent. If you are a small group of 4-8 people seeking a combo of bus touring and leisurely walks (the mini-van holds up to 8 travelers + driver/guide) on a really memorable tour in Tuscany from Florence, Pisa, San Gimignano, and Cortona to Siena, Arezzo, and more of Toscana), then be sure to get in touch with Paola and Giuseppe. They tend book up early, especially during the heavy tourist season from June through October, so do allow several months' lead time. Highly recommended travel professionals. Please tell them that Ann of "The Trip Chicks" sent you. Allora, buona fortuna e buon viaggio!
Ann in Atlanta
Ann Lombardi <email>
Atlanta, GA USA Wed 11/26/2008
Portugal Tours Near Lisbon
We had two wonderful day tours with Lisbon Inside Tours (www.insidelisbon.com) which operates 8-passenger vans, so they are very personal. We took the all-day Fatima tour which also stops at Obidos, Nazare and the Monastery Batalha. We also took the Sintra Daytrip which also stops at Cabo da Roca and Cascais. Our guide for both tours was Martinho who speaks at least four languages, including excellent English. He is from Sintra, so he was able to provide excellent insight to that area -- ask him to lead you on a walking tour of Pena Park when you visit Pena Castle on the Sintra Tour.
Don
Albuquerque, NM USA Mon 11/24/2008
Jewish Tours of Rome-Micaela
I was seearching for private Tours through Rome and Micaela Pavoncello came up in the search. I was thrilled and contacted her. My friend and I went on the tour...it was fabulous. Micaela was energetic, informative and entertaining. She then suggested her young associate for the Vatican Tour that afternoon - the Jewish Tour of the Vatican - she too was energetic and very informative. I would highly recommend these two women for a differnt tilt on Rome.
Debra Forman
West Chester, PA USA Sun 11/23/2008
Rome Tours- Susan
Hello my name is Martin. I was in Rome in October. I didn't plan any tours, but luckily when we were looking for one in Rome, someone suggested that we contact Susan Simcox. It turned out that Susan gave us a great, informative, pleasant tour. My Aunt couldn't walk easily because of her age, and Susan provided a very comfortable wheelchair and took us through the Vatican Museums in the shortest way. Last but not least, her rate has lined up with the recent economic crisis. Thankyou very much Susan! I recommend you to everybody. Her email address is susanmsimcox@yahoo.it
Martin
CA USA Fri 11/21/2008
rome tour- Through Eternity- Brandon
My wife and myself booked three tours with through eternity. between 20/24 October ..at first a little doubtfull , why EU citizens should line up with US/Canadian tourists, we even speak Italian...But we are happy people that we gave it a shot...Brandon took us around for the evening tour while we faced heavy stroms and rains , he showed us places that you cannot find in any guide..The vatican tour was even more suprising, had (and still have) the impression that Brandon is even guiding while he is sleeping ..I am a teacher of history but learned a lot from him during the tours. Due some unforseen situation we could not go into the baslique and Brandon proposed us a discount . The members of our groupe / 12 people/ looked at eachother and not a single person was even thinking to accept this , for this kind of service and guidance, we paid a fair price ...On friday we met up with Gracelyn , same style and same skills, could speak for hours and gave us thorough visit at the forum romanum. We even had the time to chat with our US friends and some of us went for lunch together.
Going to Rome, need professional people around you, you like value for money...Through Eternity!!!
buvens harry <email>
antwerp, antwer belgium Wed 11/19/2008
Context Tours Paris
When I went to Paris last Spring, I booked a group tour of the Italian Masters at the Louvre with Context Tours and I can't emphasize enough how great my experience was. I work as a guide so I had high expectations and those expectations were met. I was the only person on the tour, so it was like having my own private guide. Evenn though the price is higher than most, it was worth every penny. I plan to use Context next year for my annual trip to Paris to do the Dutch Masters of the Louvre.
Sarah
Rome, Italy, Italy Mon 11/17/2008
D-Day Battle Tours; Normandy
Within minutes of meeting Ellwood von Siebold on 17 October 2008, we realized we would be hard pressed to meet a more remarkable, knowledgeable and passionate guide to recount WWII events, battlefields, unit movements, personal veteran histories or any other military related facts than he proved to be. Though we had two well informed military history buffs with us, they were thrilled with the insights and accounts Ellwood gave of little known stories, soldiers, and sights. When he walked us through the battlefields, with pictures, we were all overwhelmed. We thoroughly enjoyed our day with him as he brought these historic events to life for us. Our only regret was not having time to travel to Verdun with him! We highly recommend him. www.ddaybattletours.com
Teri Hunter <email>
Utah USA Mon 11/17/2008
Avoid students selling Coliseum Tours
avoid at all costs the guys selling ilegal tours at the Coliseum, they have american students hanging around outside, you think they will be your guide but then they pass you on to a very rude Italian guide, cant remember his name but he was a tall blond guy. Spoke english with a twang of an american in him. The tour group was huge and his facts needed to be more correct. I know my history and this guy was often way out. How can that be when he may be doing this years now. They told us a free tour of the Forum was included but the guide for that was a no show. The tour was sub standard to say the least, they even tried to get us to take pictures of the Roman Soldiers who Rick tells you to avoid.
Ron T Williams
USA Mon 11/17/2008
Rome in a Day
I have used Miles & Miles both in 2007 and 2008. With a private guide we have been able to see and learn more of Rome in one day than a week with a tour bus group! Their knowledge and love of their city comes through while providing me with comfort and ease of transportation through the crowds. Well worth the cost, especially if your time is limited and you desire to see and learn more than the usual tourist fare.
Miles&Miles
Secrets and Backroads
www.toursofrome.it
info@toursofrome.it
Barb Heywood
Cleveland, Ohio USA Fri 11/14/2008
Great Tour Guide in Rome- Jason
Jason Spieher's "Tours of Rome" delivered the most delightful, insightful and charming explanations of Rome's history, culture, and gossip!
Arlene Katz <email>
New York, NY USA Thu 11/13/2008
Bowled over at the Vatican - "Italy with Us"
My friend and I took a tour with Italy With Us around the Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel and were bowled over by it!
We were very dubious about joining the tour, having previously relied on guide books and audio tours, but despite being in St Peter's by 8am, we were very daunted by the length of the queues for the Vatican museums, and had decided to leave the queue when we were approached by a tour promoter. We remained dubious as we followed him to the Italy With Us office to sign up but once inside the museum with Christopher from New Zealand we were, as I said, bowled over!
The breadth of his knowledge, his ability to engagingly instruct us on the great importance of sculptures of antiquity and Renaissance art, and his intense enthusiasm for Christian history made the three hours or so we were following him EASILY the highlight of our visit!!
I wish we could have had him with us for the rest of our visit in Rome – I suggest Italy With Us have him produce a video guided tour of Rome!
I also want to thank Helen, the owner of Italy with Us, for her great touring services.
I will definitely recommend Italy for Us (info@italywithus.com) to all my friends in the coming years.
Jason Piper
Denver, Co USA Wed 11/12/2008
Rome Tour experience - Sky Tours
If in Roma as a family you should consider a family style tour which does not bore the kids. We booked with Sky Tours Rome through our hotel who recommended them. I did have the Rick Steves book 2009 but our hotel was so much behind Sky Tours we decided to give them a once of. The guide was full of real info and great little stories we all loved his wit and charm. He was a real native english speaker so we could all understand him and he was just about right with the time he used for tour lengths. The Vatican was a happy 4 hrs. The Coliseum was 2.5 and the Central Rome tour was 2.5hrs. A good price we paid by card in advance and never forgot our experience. My wife so wanted me to write this review to give somethimng back to other visitors to Rome. Hope it helps.
JK Hunt
USA Tue 11/11/2008
L'Open Tours of Paris
Just returned from 6 days in Paris. Had a fabulous time, marred only by the L'Open bus tour. We paid 37 euros each for an all-day on-and-off L'Open tour that included a Seine River cruise. None of the 5 drivers we encountered spoke English, not even enough to understand how many tickets you wanted or what for. We took the orange line to the green line and wasted an hour at the transfer point because they neglect to tell you that the transfer point is two blocks away, not at the stop where they let you out (even tho the English voice on the audio says to wait at the stop for the green bus). Then, we learned the maps and lines were meaningless: It didn't matter what line you were on because they all took the same route anyway (so some of us who stayed on the bus went back to the same sites we'd already seen). About a third of the audio stations we tried didn't work on any of the buses, and at the Eiffel Tower, the driver took an hour break to have coffee and cigarettes while we waited for him on the bus. BTW, we never made the Seine tour; it was 35 degrees and raining that night, and the tix are only good for that day. The last time I was in Paris, I was with a different group that took the Rouges line; I'd recommend that over L'Open. It's cheaper and there were none of the hassles we encountered on L'Open.
Carol
Chicago, IL USA Tue 11/11/2008
500 Auto Tour Florence
Dear Sophie & Alex (Owners)
Thanks so much for providing a wonderful Sunday October afternoon in Florence!
We had such a great time touring with you both in our cute little Fiats and would recommend your auto tours to everyone.
We felt like a king and queen being driven all around beautiful Florence and then to the lovely Villa for a lunch and wine tasting. Thanks for your beautiful personalities. We truly enjoyed being with you both.
Sincerely,
Bob & Jane
P.S.
We had an incredible two weeks in Italy.
The 500 Auto tour was the icing on the cake!!
Bob Holl
Wausau, WI. USA Tue 11/11/2008
Rick's giude books: Used before, during, and after our holiday
Dear Rick,
You have recieved many compliments and thank you's over the years and here is one more from us. Not only were your Italian guide books helpful, but what a recourse after the trip to come back to.
One can't remember everything and your books made it so much fun to re-live what re saw in Rome, Florence, Siena, and Assisi. Thanks again to you and your wonderful staff!
p.s. The money belt, alarm clock, and small black wallet we ordered from you came in handy too :)
Bob Holl <email>
Wausau, WI. USA Tue 11/11/2008
Vatican Tour Brenda
On our first trip to Italy, we were fortunate enough to be able to arrange a private tour of The Vatican through a contact of ours. Not knowing what to expect when were asked by our tour guide Brenda Bohen brenda.bohen@gmail.com, to arrive promptly at 7:15 am, we were excited to see that we were at the front of the line to enter the Vatican. She quickly assured us that the effort would be rewarded. The doors were not going to open until 8:00 am, which gave us time to chat with Brenda. After listening to her talk for just a few minutes, it was quite evident that she was going to provide us with an incredible amount of information and we were in for quite a tour. She informed us that she is a researcher focusing on Jewish / Cristian relations in Vatican and Jewish Museums and that she is bridging the gap between Christian and Jewish worlds through art. We have been on many tours throughout many cities and have never experienced such a wealth of knowledge from a tour guide. She provided us with so much history and with so much enthusiasm, it actually felt as if we were living the lives of the ancient Romans. As she spoke, it was so easy to put yourself in the shoes of the people she was talking about, because she has such a deep and passionate knowledge of the subject. The reward Brenda had assured us of when we arrived, was soon realized when the six of us were standing with our mouths wide open, while staring at the ceiling of a very quiet and empty Sistine Chapel. This does not happen to many people Brenda proclaimed and you could see her genuine excitement for us because she knew that we were all in total amazement from what we had just experienced. This is a must see and Brenda is a must have if you want the most of your tour.
John Howard
Irvine, Ca USA Tue 11/11/2008
Vatican After Hours & Early Entrance
Great Vatican tours with Early 8am Entrance (No Line) and After Hour 7pm Entrance by Geraldine "Helen" Italywithus.biz with her English Mother Tongue Art Historians; Susan S, Christopher, Massimo, Jay. Absolutely worth every penny. Fantastic!
Janet Standard G.
Palm Springs, CA USA Sun 11/09/2008
Great Vatican tour
We did the Vatican tour and our tour guide, John, was fantastic. He was so knowledgeable in art history and hit the highlights just right. We could not have been more pleased. We ran into many larger tours along the way and none of the others sounded as good as what we were hearing.
Lee K
Hopkinton, MA USA Thu 11/06/2008
Tuscan Wine Tours, Florence, Italy
My family (7 adults--mid 40s and early 70s) recently returned from our first trip to Italy. Before we left the States, my family left it to me to find a wine tour, so I checked several websites' reviews and found rave after rave about Tuscan Wine Tours, hosted by Rebecca Christopherson. Checked her website (www.tuscan-wine-tours.com), but much to my dismay found she was booked for the entire week we were going to be in Italy. Disappointed, I emailed her, requesting her to contact us should she have any cancellations that might accommodate our group. She emailed back immediately, and graciously offered to arrange a tour for us on her one day off that week, but was hesitant to offer it to us, as she would have to bring her daughter. We gladly accepted her offer, and couldn't have been more thrilled with the result.
She took us to San Polino, an organic winery in Montalcino that only produces Brunello wine. Katya, the owner, hosted our tour, and was quite thorough in her presentation. Her vineyards, olive orchard, and house were exactly what you expect the Tuscan countryside to look like, only better because we were there!!! The wine was superb, of course, and the tasting we experienced was fantastic, as it was accompanied by local bread and cheese, which only enhanced the flavors. After the tasting, Rebecca had arranged a lunch at a local restaurant. Since it was Sunday, the owner opened it specifically for our group, and the result was a very intimate, spectacular lunch outside under a grape arbor. After the lunch, our group went to the nearby monastery to take in the Gregorian chanting done by the monks living there. Fabulous!!! And the last stop was a trip to Montalcino to take in the sights in the historic little town. Even though it was Sunday, many shops and little cafes were open, completing the experience with an Italian espresso.
The day was completely perfect in every way, we couldn't have asked for better weather, a more beautiful vineyard, or a better guide to have arranged it all for us. Rebecca was knowledgeable and wonderful, and her daughter Louise was a pleasure to have with us. Please believe me when I say this was the highlight of our trip to Italy. Seeing the David in Florence was spectacular, but the overall experience of this day with Rebecca is my favorite memory of our trip to Italy. If I could give the experience 10 stars, I would!
Karen Reynolds <email>
Lubbock, TX USA Thu 11/06/2008
Tour in Rome- Sarah
We had a GREAT tour with Sarah in Rome. She is very knowlegeable and alot of fun! I wish we'd adopted her for the whole week!!! We toured Palatine Hill, The Forum and the Colloseum with her. I HIGHLY recommend her!!! You won't be sorry!!!arts_rome@yahoo.com
jay
Randolph, nj USA Thu 10/30/2008
Artviva Walking Tours
This was the best way to get our first look at Florence and we enjoyed the tour immensely. We would recommend this tour to all our friends & family that come to Florence. I would love to come back & I will probably book another tour with Artviva because the experience was so wonderful.
Elissa
Atlanta, GA USA Wed 10/29/2008
Vatican tour guide - Brenda
We just returned from a 2-week Italy vacation, and our tour of the Vatican was one of the highlights of our trip thanks to our fabulous tour guide, Brenda Bohen (brenda.bohen@gmail.com) Her knowledge of jewish and christian religions, as well as the artwork itself is incredible. She's interesting and had a great sense of humor. She came highly recommended by someone at the Vatican, and I know why they use her for their VIP tours. She's great!
Marisa <email>
Newport Beach, CA USA Tue 10/28/2008
Rome day trip &
Me and my husband booked Miles & Miles on our first trip to Rome. We took the rome city tour (including vatican city tour in it) and a day trip to Umbria. Both of them are great and have met our expectation. The city tour was very insightfull, informative and comfortable. Luca, the guide we had in city tour will ensure your needs are met. He's a funny and warmth guy that will make you feel welcome. The day trip to Umbria with Francesco was even much better and filled with escalating surprises. It was a unique and pure place.. He took us to a 3 different villages with 3 different taste. For sure, Miles&miles is a partner worth to contact if you want to have a personal and unique way in seeing Rome and Italy. Will definitely use them again any time Im in Rome!!!
Lila Sepang <email>
Jakarta, DKI Indonesia Tue 10/28/2008
Battlebus Tours: Bayeux, France
Hopefully this is the right place to post this. My husband and I just returned from a 2 1/2 week vacation in Europe. The highlight of our trip was our Battlebus tour from Bayeux, France. Stuart, our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and you could sense his ultimate passion about his subject matter. He has met many of the veterans that survived D-Day and is able to give us first hand accounts of what exactly happened on those beaches. It was a fascinating day and a tour that my husband and I will never forget. Cheers to you Battlebus! :o)
April
Windsor, ONT CAN Sun 10/26/2008
Rome Private Tours - Miles & Miles
I have just returned from a Meditarranean Cruise. Since cruise sight-seing is done in big groups and I wanted to see as much as possible in one day in Rome, I preferred to arrange a private tour. I chose Miles&Miles Private Tours and Gudes, Roberto Muglio, www.toursofrome.
Arrangements were done over the web with a son of the business. He followed it up with a personal call.
When is Rome, I had a most informative day, with as much expediency and comfort as is possible in Rome. The guide, who also owns the business, had been born and raised in Rome and could truly tell me details and show me aspects of Rome that none of the cruise ship tours could ever include. Although I tossed a coin in the fountain, it may well be that I'll never see Rome again and I feel very fortunate to have had this full, in-depth experience of Rome.
Margherita Maloney
Kingston, Ont Canada Fri 10/24/2008
Tour Guide Warning
I have read through a lot of these messages and find many very suspect indeed - both the praise and the warnings.
I live and work in Rome and know nearly every one of the tour guides mentioned on this board personally - average guides have been made to look superhuman. I would advise caution - take everything written with a pinch of salt :)
Geraldine Torney <email>
Rome, Italy Tue 10/21/2008
Vatican Tour
My husband and I recently returned from our first trip to Italy where we toured the Vatican thru Roman Odyssey Tours. Jay, our guide was terrific. His knowledgeable presentation of the history of the Vatican was told in story form that made it all the more interesting. He has a great sense of humor, very patient; an excellent guide. I would highly recommend Roman Odyssey Tours, and Jay, when traveling in Italy. (10/8/08)
Susan Cronkite
Thousand Oaks, CA USA Tue 10/21/2008
Tour of Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel
Our guide, Kate of Roman Odyssey Tours, was incredibly knowledgeable concerning every square inch of every work of art as well as all historical dates. She did masterful planning to maximize enlightenment and did not watch the clock. We highly recommend Kate.
Joe Cronyn
Towson, MD USA Mon 10/20/2008
Vatican Tour
Vatican Tour,
We took the tour through the Vatican with Jay about September 24, 2008. It was great. He was very informed, good personna, entergentic, and answered all questions. We think he ended up going a little longer than usual as we had a small group (8). Would use Odyssey Tours again.
Dave
Plano, Tx USA Mon 10/20/2008
Rome tours - Miles-to-Miles tours
Had best guided tour ever for the 8 of us with the Miglio family(info@toursofrome.it) of "Miles-to-miles" tours - private guided tour by Francesco of ancient Rome & Castel Gandolfo, and then by his sister 2 days later for the Vatican Museum & St Peter's! remarkably intelligent, friendly people with great knowlege base who helped us tailor our own tour. VERY highly recommended! worth every penny.
Denis
Latham, NY USA Mon 10/20/2008
Tuscan Wine Tours
Barry: Rebecca's tour of the Chianti Classico region in Tuscany was absolutely wonderful. She's 100% European, but her English is perfect - absolutely no communications problems at all. She took us to two wineries with tastings at both and a great lunch at the second. Her story about why the black rooster (Gallo Nero) is on the neck of Chianti Classico & Classico Riserva bottles is interesting, hilarious and absolutely true. I checked it out. I sell wine for a living and have repeated the story many times since our return. Ginger: Just wanted Rebecca to know that our Tuscan Wine Tour was one of the highlights of our trip and it far exceeded our expectations. What a fabulous lunch. The whole day will be remembered as one of the best. Thank you again.
Barry & Ginger Stinson <email>
Johns Creek, GA USA Sat 10/18/2008
Paris tours
Richard Nahem of Eyepreferparis.com gives wonderful tours of Paris which are full of stories, history, explainations of architecture etc. He knows the best and most intresting food markets, boutiques etc. He really makes Paris come alive and even though I have been to Paris many times , he showed me things I have never seen or would have seen on my own.
David Lipkin
Fl. USA Sat 10/18/2008
Wine Tours in Tuscany
Tuscan Wine Tours, do not miss!!!! Rebecca, our host, was witty, fun, and had great knowledge of the Tuscan wine region. The shared wine tours were reasonable. We tasted wine, visited organic vineyards, had gourmet lunches and were able to ship wine to the States. Awesome!!!!
Tucci <email>
St Paul, mn USA Wed 10/08/2008
Montalcino Tuscan Wine Tour
On our recent trip to Siena, we had a fantastic day touring the Montalcino region of Tuscany. My husband and I had a private wine tour with Rebecca of Tuscan Wine Tours. (Http://www.tuscan-wine-tours.com).
This was our favorite day of our trip to Italy. It was great fun visiting the small wineries where we were able to talk with the owners. Rebecca was great fun, and very knowledgeable. She did a fantastic job putting together this private tour for us on short notice.
Sara Smaling
Englewood, CO USA Tue 10/07/2008
Wine Tour in Tuscany (tuscan-wine-tours.com)
I don't normally post things on this site, but my husband and I just returned from Italy and the wine tour we did with Rebecca (tuscan-wine-tours.com) was simply fantastic. It is only a day-long tour (at least the one we did). Rebecca picks you up from Florence (Siena also), drives you to 2 or 3 wineries and feeds you a really lovely lunch! Rebecca is AMAZING! She was fun to meet and extremely knowledgeable about wine. She carefully selects each winery you visit and makes sure not to pack too much in to the day. Everyone on our tour was so wonderful and friendly as well.
Meg <email>
Washington, WA USA Thu 10/02/2008
Tuscan Wine Tours
Two weeks in Rome and Florence and one of the best - if not THE best day was a Tuscan Wine Tour with Rebecca Christopheren. Wonderful tour of Tuscany and some very precious small wineries. DO NOT miss this tour. Rebecca is an incredible guide. Her winery picks are outstanding. You will not be disappointed and you may schedule another day with Rebecca. Her attention to some smaller (and some organic wineries) is wonderful. A small group tour that is NOT TO Be MISSED. Photos and more comments by contacting me at ronhoffman@yahoo.com
Ronald H Hoffman <email>
Denver, CO USA Thu 10/02/2008
Tuscany
“Artviva: The Original and Best Walking Tours” www.italy.artviva.com.
This is one of the good ones!
We absolutely loved our Best of Tuscany tour despite the rainy day. Especially enjoyed visiting the working winery/vineyard, having lunch there AND seeing San Gimignano. Thought our guide was incredibly charming and knowledgable. Have recommended this tour company to other travellers and will definitely book again if the opportunity arises.
Oakville, ON Canada Wed 10/01/2008
Artviva Walking Tours of Florence and the Uffizi
The guides were excellent.....Walking tour of Florence was v. interesting...fascinating and the Uffizi tour brilliantly captured the essence of what could have been a difficult and confusing experience! Both tour guides 10/10!!! August 2008
Ron and Julia
Ross-on-Wye, UK Sat 09/27/2008
Italy Hotline Rome Tours
The only way to tour Rome is to use Italy Hotline. They conduct private tours for reasonable rates. They are owned and operated by American expat women. Laura and Anne were fabulous tour guides. Check them out at www.italyhotline.com.
Deborah Sanders <email>
Phoenix, AZ USA Fri 09/26/2008
Sky Tours GREAT Vatican tour- Clare
Our Vatican museums tour was with Sky Tours Rome on Tuesday last week at 930am. Walked right in without waiting in line, used rest room followed by a fantastic tour. Our guide was not just a guide she became a friend for 3 or more hours, time flew as we laughed and listened to our excellent guide Clare. She was a gem she knew exactly when to give more or less info to our group and often asked if we had any questions. She was never in a hurry seeming to really enjoy her work. I would use them again in a heart beat.
D Thomas
USA Tue 09/23/2008
Ascoli Piceno tours
Ascoli Piceno tours. We traveled to Ascoli to see the town where my grandparents came from and happened to luck out and find an American couple running Panorama Italy. I booked a winery tour, where they took us to two family-run places that I would have never found on my own (one was down a hidden road and had no sign!), and provided translating (owners didn't speak English). It was a fantastic experience and we loved the wines. I mentioned that my family came from nearby and Valerie took me to the records office, helped translate to request birth and marriage records, and then took me to the village where my grandfather was born! It was a very emotional day and I felt so lucky and grateful. If you're going to Ascoli Piceno, this tour company offers wonderful, personal service.
Carla Fortini
Cleveland, OH USA Tue 09/23/2008
Roman Oddyessy Tour of the Vatican- Jay
We took a ROMAN ODDYESSY tour of the Vatican this past September and it was WONDERFUL. A small group with a fantastic guide was the only way to go. Our tour guide, Jay, was so knowledgeable and up to date on EVERYTHING we saw. A place like the Vatican could be overwhelming and a complete loss, so a tour is the only way to go. Jay and Roman Oddyssey Tours, hit all the highlights of the Vatican Museum and allowed you the AHHHHHHH factor in the Sistine Chapel. I would take another tour with this group anywhere. Thanks, Roman Oddyssey. Sincerely, T. Drake
T. Drake
Albuquerque, NM USA Mon 09/22/2008
Taste of Florence, THE best food tour [period]
The Taste of Florence tour was THE highlight of our Florence trip. Last month my husband and I had the chance to take a two week trip to Italy that was truly a dream come true. While scheduling tours, trips and museum visits I realized that after a week and a half of all this running around, I needed to plan something more out of the ordinary for my husband. I looked all over the internet and was having difficulty finding something truly unique to do in August and something that, to be quite honest, was not a complete tourist trap. Somehow in my search I found the Taste of Florence. I could not find much on it at the time, but thought it would be perfect for both my husband and me. Though a bit skeptical, I immediately contacted the company through their website and received a near immediate response from Antoinette that helped subside my anxieties in booking this tour. Booking was simple and the price was very reasonable when compared to food tours in other cities. I was sent clear details on where to meet and how to contact the company in case of last minute changes needed to be made.
The trip itself was just amazing. It was much more than either of us expected. We had a wonderful time wondering through the market gawking at all the fresh meats, pastas and produce. Playing guess the meat behind the counter with butchers was quite a laugh and seeing how well Antoinette knew the market folk made us feel less like outsiders.
While there we had the greatest time visiting the family that runs Perini's Delicatessen and savoring the largest taste testing of meats, sauces, spreads and dips, cheeses, breads, olives, truly gourmet balsamic vinegars...we'd ever seen. So thankful we did not have breakfast that morning. Afterward we made our way to a wine shop for a nearby winery and learned more about Chianti and the region than we ever did in any wine class we took back home. Miss Antoinette really knows her stuff, and how to present it so that it makes sense to the average person.
We then took a stroll through town to make our way to the greatest gelato shop in all of Italy. Along the way Antoinette told us stories of her time there in Florence and showed us great places to shop for books, foods and to rest our feet. She even went through our map and marked a wide range of local favorite places to eat [which we tried a few and had an adventure to remember]. We soon arrived at "Perche No?" and sat down to what real gelato should always be. It was pure heaven. It was so quaint, felt like a 50's American ice-cream shop, and quite busy, though it did not seem to be on a main roadway [but was near the Duomo]. So, we ended our day there...taking up much more of Antoinette's time than scheduled, but laughed, learned and enjoyed every moment of it. It was and will be the most memorable part of the entire trip in Italy.
Stormy Davis
Savannah, GA USA Sun 09/21/2008
Our wonderful Roman Holiday
My family and I just returned from the most amazing trip in Italy. Thanks to this website we were able to plan everything perfectly, from where to eat to whom to hire as a guide. Our favorite place to eat was Hosteria Giggetto in the Jewish Ghetto. We spent four remarkable days with our guide Sarah May arts_rome@yahoo.com. We started with a wine tour through the great wine bars of Rome, which was a perfect start to our trip, especially for my brother Phil who absolutely loves Italian wine. We also booked an Ancient City tour, Vatican highlights, Trastevere, and the center of Rome. Having a private guide really made all the difference in the world, because Sarah was very flexible with the itinerary, and really made us feel like she was one of the family. After our tours, we still had a few days in Rome, and we felt like we really knew the place thanks to our guide’s suggestions and help. I can’t recommend enough the exceptional service we received. Another highlight was the Palazzo Massimo, which is in Rick Steve’s book, but I would have overlooked it had Sarah not really emphasized how fantastic the collection is there. You get to see the most beautiful roman mosaics and frescoes from the house of Livia. It was all such a whirlwind, but I personally made sure I threw my coin in the Trevi Fountain to ensure my return to Rome.
Adele Fontina <email>
Richmond, VA USA Fri 09/19/2008
Private tour of Rome from Port
I'm just back from a wonderful cruise on the Med with my family and I want to thank Miles&Miles. A wonderful family that made our day in Rome a memorable one. I found this company on the web and already from their emails I felt in good hands, Francesco was always fast in his answers and reached the point every time. On the day of the tour Roberto was outside our ship bearing our name with a big smile and happy to welcome us to his city! The day went so fast he showed us the major sites of the city and so many others that you can't find on a guide book, like for example the ruins of the ancient stadium of Domitian from the toilette window of a coffee bar near Piazza Navona, or a site on the Appian way still closed to the public.This was Roberto, a true roman with a lot of passion and knowleadge for an incredible city. We toured the Vatican with his wife Caron able to get us into the Museum without waiting on line.
My kids enjoyed everything of this tour and for me and my wife that was very important!
Thankyou Miles&Miles I will recommend your company to everybody. Their website is www.toursofrome.it
Mark <email>
Lytham, UK Wed 09/17/2008
Prague/ Czech Republic
My wife and I just returned from a 9 day trip to Prague and the Southern Bohemia area. It far exceeded our expectations in beauty,historical sights and ease to travel. We have traveled quite extensively and normally prefer to be adventurous on our own. This trip, as we have with others, chose to hire a private personal tour guide. After much research we chose Katarina Kruspanova at www.prague-perfect.cz
That turned out to be a great decision. Katarina is professional, organized very knowledgeable and will tailor her services to your wants.
Katarina made the trip adventurous, yet hassle free. Her "great value package" fit exactly what we wanted. With her help we then rented a car and spent 4 days on our own driving all through Southern Bohemia. The rental car company we used was extremely reasonable in cost-Alimex.eu.
Besides Prague we visit Karlovy Vary-Spa town
Kutna Hora- the Bone Church and silver
mine
Ceske Budejovice- local community
Cesky Krumlov- A spectacular town not to be missed.
Jade Miller
Reno, NV USA Tue 09/16/2008
Portugal tours and guide
Last year, visiting Portugal, we spent two days in the delightful company of Daniel Pequerrucho, a young, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and extremely interesting guide to Lisbon and other parts of Portugal. Daniel speaks excellent English and has a great sense of humor. He is a superb guide who tailored the days to our interests and desires and took us places that the bigger tour companies seldom go to (for instance, the homes of two of the children from Fatima). When I told him that Rick Steves said the pastels de Nata were called Belem pastries in Belem he took us to the most famous place that makes them and proved to us that they are vastly superior! And not identical.
We had a grand time and highly recommend him as a guide for small or large groups. He can be reached at pequerrucho@gmail.com or 00 351 965741560.
Daniel delights in arranging special interest tours.
Kathleen Baxter <email>
Minneapolis, MN USA Mon 09/15/2008
Great guide word of mouth-Rome
My family and I just returned from Europe and found the Rick Steves '08 guide very useful while we were there, but as we like to stay away from big companies and agencies for the private tours we take, hands down the best tours we had were in Rome with Jen, a guide we heard about from friends back home who adored her. She took our tours last minute (we were given her email at freedomtours@live.com and did one day at the vatican and another around the colosseum) and her way of making her impressive knowledge so accessible and fun kept even my kids talking about it days later. And that for us was truly priceless. We even needed some advice towards the end of our trip after Rome and she kept in contact and provided us with detailed info that we needed. Highly recommend this gal.
Sheryl & Bob Hayes <email>
Yakima, WA USA Sun 09/14/2008
Hadrian's Wall Tour--Touchstone Tours
We had a fabulous tour last summer with Touchstone Tours (Colin). We arranged to have Colin pick us up at our hostel, and he drove our family of 5 to Hadrian's Wall and back. He was so engaging that all of us (including our 6 year-old, 8 year-old with ADD and preteen) were thoroughly entertained for the day. Not only did he bring plastic swords and "train" our kids to march like Roman soldiers, but he also kept my husband, preteen and me engaged on a more intellectual level with history and funny anecdotes. The entire tour was well-tailored to our family's interests and attention level. I highly recommend Touchstone Tours.
Christine
Austin, TX USA Sun 09/14/2008
Tour of the Vatican- Through Eternity Tours- Gabriel
We just returned from a wonderful trip to Flourance and Rome. One of the highlights of our trip was our tour of the Vatican. I got the name of Through Eternity Tours from Rick's guidebook on Rome. We couldn't have been more pleased with our guide, Gabriel. He had an affable, easy going manner, but was extremely knowledgeable on the overwhelming amount of history and art associated with a Vatican visit. There is no way we would have had such a meanful visit to the Vatican without Gabriel's expert guidance.
Teresa Ewin
Moreno Valley , CA USA Thu 09/11/2008
Rome
We contacted several of the guides in Rome that are posted here, and Sarah May at arts_rome@yahoo.com was the first to respond, and was very helpful from the start. We booked two three hour tours with her of the ancient city and the Vatican, which both ended up being about 3.5 to 4 hours in length because of her wealth of knowledge. When we told her we were interested in going to the Borghese gallery she was on her phone booking the reservation for us. I can't imagine not having a guide in Rome, such a beautiful and complicated city. Of our whole time in Italy we loved Rome the best because we were able to learn so much about the city through our guide.
Amy Glass <email>
Denver, CO USA Wed 09/10/2008
Puffin Express tours from Inverness, Scotland
I highly recommend Puffin Express tours in Inverness. The owners are a quirky retired couple with a love of history and their staff of guides are funny and knowledgeable. I enjoyed their tours from Inverness to Orkney, John O'Groats, Isle of Lewis and Skye. They will even connect you with local guides in Orkney because they used to live there and know it well.
Kimberly <email>
Georgetown, TX USA Tue 09/09/2008
Do mix business & pleasure in Central Europe
If you are looking for an exceptional way of traveling, try a private tour. Granted it’s not the cheapest option, but boy what a difference it makes. I was in Budapest about a year ago, and I have to say that, although I knew it’s a fascinating place, I just couldn’t penetrate its essence. Then I went back this summer on a private tour with a couple who do custom designed, escorted tours. I felt like I was experiencing a totally different city, because they really showed it to me from the inside.
The company’s name is tour-the-east, it’s located in Berlin, Germany, and they are specialized in Central and Eastern Europe. It’s run by Robert and Lesley Breitner-Czuma (www.tour-the-east.com), a very personable, intelligent German-US guide duo. They plan, arrange, and escort you on their tours themselves, so it felt like I was traveling with old friends. Robert spent a key phase of his youth in Budapest, as a refugee from East Germany, trying to escape to the West, hence his insider’s perspective and obvious love of the city.
I have some business connections to Hungary, so for me it’s particularly important to understand the culture and mentality of my partners there. Lesley and Robert really helped me to do that – including setting up some very useful contacts which I can tap into in future for my company. But first and foremost, it was vacation, and although the program was ambitious and packed with content, I really enjoyed it more than I would have just lying around on a beach - anyone can do that!
Jack
Dallas, TX USA Mon 09/08/2008
Rome Tours
We used Francesca Caruso for an individual tour and she was wonderful. We were fortunate to have her at the begining of our holiday and she helped us "get by Italian style". A memorable experience. We also used Through Eternity tours for the Vatican and also had a very positive experience. The guide was very knowledgable and fille our head with facts a we waited to get through the security line. Made the time pass more quickly.
RRI
Calgary, Ab Canada Mon 09/08/2008
Holiday in Rome
My family and I just returned from Rome. While there, we toured the Roman Forum and the Colosseum with Susan. The next day, we toured privately the Catacombs with her (to see the most beautiful Early Christian Paintings!!). Then we did the Vatican in the afternoon. She has an impressive seemingly ever-increasing knowledge, great fluency in delivery and to top it off, a great personality. She also helped us find an elegant, exclusive seafood restaurant where we dined in True Roman Style! You'll receive Grade A service with Susan. (Contact email: susanmsimcox@yahoo.it)
Elizabeth Baker
New York, NY USA Sun 09/07/2008
Caves of Dordogne
We'd like to share with you an experience "tres Jollie", we had in Sarlat, France as a result of consulting your FRANCE,2008. We hired Allo Philippe Taxi to tour the caves, towns and casteles in the area, as well as other points of interest. Philippe was a wonderful guide. He was courteous and solicitous, anticipating all our needs. As well as being extremely knowledgable and professional, he had a great sense of humor and made the trip great fun for us; a nice departure from the impersonal group tours and the strictly business approach ogf other guides we have had. We highly recommend Allo Philippe Taxi to anyone touring the area around Sarlat, especially if they wish to visit the caves, Font du Gaum, Ruffignac and Lasceaux. Make arrangement with him from the states. We hope you use this endorsement in your wonderful guidebook or on your web site. Merci boucoup. Linda Frank, Dee Brown, Irma Klein and Lillian Justice
Linda Frank
Massapequa Park, N.Y. USA Thu 08/28/2008
Salzburg
In late July, our church group of 7 toured Salzburg with the Bob's Special Tours on the "Sound of Music" tour. It was a highlight of our trip, largely because of our guide, Christian Mader. He was superb! Very personable, very accommodating and quite proficient in English since he lived in the states for several years, Christian made our tour of the Salzburg sites a real event to remember. If any of you go to Salzburg, I HIGHLY recommend that you enjoy the intimacy of this tour, because they use a mini-van instead of a big bus. Furthermore, Christian is an absolute joy to have as a guide.
Carol <email>
Sweeny, TX USA Thu 08/28/2008
Chianti/Tuscany Day Wine Tour
A friend and I just returned from a visit that included a stay in Florence. We were looking for a tour that would let us see some of Tuscany and were beyond happy with our choice of Franco Fadda. Franco picked us up from our hotel in Florence and even arrived early.
We got to the Chianti area quickly and the views were truly breathtaking. I should note here that Franco was an extremely safe driver, and after having just been on a tour the day before where the driver nearly slammed into a guard rail, we appreciated this greatly. He offered to stop whenever I wanted a photo but since every turn afforded a photo opportunity better than the last, I decided I instead must etch the day in my memory.
We started with a small winery and met the delightful Riccardo who shared his work with us and walked us through the wine making process. This glimpse helped us appreciate the small family winery. Our next visit was a larger winery which offered a contrast to the first one. At the large winery we got an unexpected look into the gates of a nearby villa, a magnificent piece of land that stretched to eternity.
Later we visited Volpaia and Radda in Chianti as well as other picturesque stops along the way, each one accompanied by interesting history of the area. I am always amazed how Italians know so much about the history of their country.
I am sure Franco has done this same day tour many times but we felt like it was intimate and personal and terribly unique. That is the mark of a good tour guide, when they can make you feel as though they and you are seeing something for the first time. I would recommend the knowledgeable and charming Franco to anyone who is looking for a small personalized tour of the Tuscany area.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions since we saw so much more than I was able to describe above. Also I have some photos if you want. His web site is www.francowinetourexperience.com and i found this fun video on youtube about the tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8WWJ81f2AE
Hannah <email>
Dallas, TX USA Tue 08/26/2008
Romaround Tours-what a delight
Just a quick note while we are still in Rome here for a weekend wedding catored by Italiacelebrations. Some of our bridal party are still raving about Romaround Tours www.romaround_tours@gmail.com with Roberto at the Colosseum and Jenifer and Mike and Kas at the Vatican. Guides are New Zealand, English & American Art Historians and they just were a delight! A real cup of Tea
Mr and Mrs McCabe & group
Liverpool & Manchaster, USA Sat 08/23/2008
Bike About Tours in Paris
Our family of five (Kids aged 11, 7 & 7) took a private tour with Paul at Bike About Tours in Paris and it was a great way to start our week in Paris! Paul kept the kids interested and did a great job of looking out for them on the tour. It was a highlight of our trip!
Dawn
Centennial, CO USA Sat 08/23/2008
Real Rome Tours
We booked 2 public tours with Real Rome Tours and they were very eay to deal with, very accommodating with our plans and always quick to reply to our emails and very polite. The guides were very interesting and the groups were small (4 and 6 people on the Vatican and Ancient Rome tours). I highly recommend this company.
Debbie Saeger
Toronto, Canada Thu 08/21/2008
Rome Tours
We used Francesca Caruso, who is mentioned in the RS Italy book. She gave us 3-4 hours of Ancient Rome one day and 3-4 hours of the Vatican another day. She was the best guide our family has had. Not only is her English flawless, but she has great knowledge and passion for her subjects. She doesn't just impart knowledge, but rather she helps you understand things in the context of the times they occurred, and gives you "tools" to use to help understand and appreciate other art and structures on the rest of your trip. We were very fortunate to have had Francesca on the first two days of our trip, as it made the rest of it that much better. Molto bene!!!!
joe weinstein <email>
bridgewater, nj USA Thu 08/21/2008
english guides in rome
Absolutely to use Rick Steves guides who are mother tongue native english speakers. Roman Odyssey and Francesca Caruso are mother tongue english, however, Jewish Roma guide is not mother tongue english and if you are going to spend good money it is imperative you understand your guide's english! Thank You Rick Steves for references to mother tongue English guides families with children can understand and learn the art and history of bella roma!!!!
Mrs Hoffman <email>
NY, NY USA Wed 08/20/2008
Ricks guides
Here are our notes about Francesca Caruso some friends went with her and loved her, said she is the best guide they ever experienced. They also had a tour with Micheala from Jewish Roma tours and then did the Vatican with Sky tours Rome. All reviews fell into place which made theirs and our tours the best.
Rick has made the right contacts in Rome, one year we used Ricks tour group on the Family tours. In all the cities Rick used the best guides.
Fran Kuster
USA Tue 08/19/2008
Rome Guides
Tours in Rome must be executed by mother tongue English speaking guides. Rick Steves guide book provides excellent references to find adequate guides that are native English speakers. We looked up Roman Odyssey and Francesca Caruso who are mother tongue English guides and they were Excellent and went far beyond our expectations. Thank You Rick Steves for your references
Oliver S.W.
New Port Beach, CA USA Mon 08/18/2008
Real Rome Tours
We had Jerry from Real Rome Tours for their tour of Ancient Rome, which was very interesting and enlightening. He was extremely enthusiastic, his passion was contagious. The amount of history I learned in 3 hours was more than 4 years of European History in school. Well worth it.
Patrick O Neill
Dublin, Ireland Thu 08/14/2008
'BIKE ABOUT PARIS'- A Paris gem!
I took a bike tour of Paris with 'Bike About' in July and it was definitely the highlight of my trip. These guys keep the groups small (8 on my tour), know the city inside & out, and showed us all the areas most tourists never find. I loved the secret passageways, little streets, and great stories. Highly recommended!!
Nadine <email>
Amsterdam, The Netherlands Thu 08/14/2008
Rome Tours
My family recently took an ancient Rome tour and a Vatican tour with Roman Odyssey Tours. Both were execptional. The guides knowledge, especially Jay at the Vatican, were extraordinary. I highly reccomend this company.
Steve Pratt <email>
League City, TX USA Thu 08/14/2008
Rome Tours
I highly recommend Real Rome Tours for their evening city tour, which they call Rome the City. The guide was fun, energetic and very knowledgeable, and as there were only 6 people on the tour it was easy to ask questions. We met couple of fellow New Yorkers on the tour and together the whole group quickly became friends, which was encourged by the tour guide. Great fun overall, one of my best memories of Rome was this tour.
Greg Harper
New York, USA Thu 08/14/2008
Tuscany Tours
Another great tour we went on was the Best of Tuscany Tour out of Florence - an all day 12 hour air-conditioned bus tour with a great lunch and superb driver. The guide seemed a bit more interested in talking to the driver than the guests, but was knowledgable and helpful
Barb
Kelowna, BC Canada Wed 08/13/2008
Through Eternity tours in Rome
Through Eternity is a great source for English speaking tours. Our guides were both wonderful! Having a good guide was especially important for the Vatican, we can't imagine trying to make sense of it all without our fabulous Through Eternity guide!
Joy & Kevin Thibodeau <email>
Charlestown, RI USA Tue 08/12/2008
Artviva tours the best!
Both Artviva tours we did were spectacular. Our guide for the Original Florence Tour + David, was funny, articulate, and extremely knowledgeable in a non-lecture-y way. My family learned a lot while having a blast! I highly, highly recommend this tour!
The Uffizi tour was also top-notch. Our guide was also extremely knowledgeable. None of us knew much about "art history" except that it sounded kinda boring, but by the end of the tour, we understood soooo much more about the evolution of the painting styles and the parallels to everyday life at the time. I booked this tour for my sister who likes to paint. Needless to say, she found the tour fascinating. Surprisingly, my niece & I also found it fascinating (non-art people).
We highly recommend both tours!!! Though, our suggestion would be to do them on separate days as we clocked in about 6 miles of walking! We couldn't, due to our travel schedule & the museums being closed on Mondays.
Great tours! Great guides! Great value!
Corky
San Antonio, TX USA Mon 08/11/2008
Touring Amalfi Coast
After researching on Rick Steves’ website, my husband and I booked a tour with Mariano de Martino on Wed. July 30th, 2008. We had previously spent time in Paris and Barcelona before boarding the Voyager of the Seas to tour Italy. We left the ship in Naples, took the hydrofoil to Sorrento where Mariano met us. Our day on the Amalfi Coast was the highlight of our entire holiday due to the knowledge and company of Mariano. We feel very confident to recommend him. His price is 200 Euros and it afforded us the opportunity to see many sites and experience the culture of the area in a way we could not have done on our own. It was an unforgettable day which included the back streets of Positano, a tour of Ravello (the Duomo and Giorgio’s cameo shop), lunch at Lido Azzurro in Amalfi (expensive but delicious!) and the fabulous sites along the coast. At the end of our day, my husband realized that he had forgotten our backpack in Mariano’s car which was upsetting. To our immense relief, Mariano found the bag and rushed back to the hyrofoil to return it to us just as we were about to leave the pier. Perfect end to a perfect day. Should you wish to contact Mariano, his email address is pleasureonwheels@tiscali.it
Sue and John Horsley <email>
Merrickville, ON Canada Sun 08/10/2008
Family Happy in Few hours around Rome
Our family had a nice time in Rome, we came in on a cruise, our guide from Sky Tours Rome www.skytoursrome.com met us close to the Vatican Museums then gave us a well planned whirl wind tour around Rome, the Vatican, Colossieum, Trevi water fall and Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and P Navona. all in a few hours. We all loved it. The driver was also helpful. The price was excellent, and the guides english was native.
D Slough
USA Sun 08/10/2008
Italy & European cities-Roman Journeys
Visiting Florence, Venice, Assisi, Pompeii, Rome & Vatican and/or anywhere in Italy and Europe . I highly recommend a lovely couple, Kathy S. & her partner Sarah N. The accomodations in transport, restaruants, musems-skipping any lines at any museums in Italy and the budget accomodations they can provide for families and groups and private tours , my associates in LA and San Francisco rate them A plus. Great tours for Alternative couples/groups traveling in Italy and Europe. This young dymanic charasmatic female couple are just amazing...www.romanjourneys.com
Esmeralda Morris-A.
San Francisco, CA USA Sat 08/09/2008
Night and Day tours in Rome-Dark Rome Tours
Best tours in Rome are by Dark Rome Tours & Walks
any and all day and night tours are provided by this company and they are an absolute must do when in Rome....
Richard Kleine
Chicago, IL USA Sat 08/09/2008
Rome Tours - Through Eternity
Unbelievable! Awesome! Can't tell enough people! Our time at the Vatican and Colosseum and Forum utilizing the services of "Through Eternity" was probably the best tour group we have ever booked. Marle Robinson, our guide, was not only knowledgeable, but she was also enthusiastic and had a great sense of humor. We can't believe that the tour went from 10:30 to 5PM (or maybe it was 6) through the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basiicca. She tied everything together with art and history. We were lucky to have her give us the Colosseum and Forum tour as well the next day. There is so much more we didn't see in Rome, and if we have the chance to come back - we will be booking via Through Eternity Company again - and hoping that Marle is still a part of the staff.
Marilyn and Al Patterson <email>
USA Tue 08/05/2008
Italy Tours/alternative style
Great tours offered of Rome, Vatican, Jewish Ghetto and All over Italy with fantastic private driving accomodations by a young professional alternative style couple Sarah and katherine. Check out www.romanjourneys.com my company hired these young alternative style couple and they are an amazing female couple with great budget accomodations for groups.
jessica brown
Los Angeles, CA USA Fri 08/01/2008
The Original and Best Walking Tours, Florence, Italy
As the director of a popular study abroad program for undergraduate students in Tuscany, I have worked with "The Original and Best Walking Tours" of Florence for three years now. (Web site www.italy.artviva.com) Working with Walking Tours is always a pleasant experience. Everyone in the office is completely professional and extremely helpful... the guides are simply the best. They are knowledgeable without being stuffy, and they generally know how to tailor the tour to their audience whether that is a group of undergraduate students, adult members of the community, or university faculty and administrators.
Howard Shealy
Kennesaw, Georgi USA Fri 08/01/2008
Rome Tours - love4adventure
We recently enjoyed a Colloseum and Forum tour from Jason from love4adventure.com. It was interesting, entertaining and a god-send for saving us an incredible amount of time in the direct, hot sun. There are 2 lines in most places in Rome: the public line and the group tour line. If you take a group tour, you will avoid all the waiting in the direct sun. Jason was very knowledgable and it was a small group, so the tour was personalized to our interests. Jason found lots of nice, shady places to enjoy the view and talk about the history and events that took place in ancient Rome. I highly recommend taking this tour to make the most out of your time in Rome.
angie
Tulsa, OK USA Wed 07/30/2008
Through Eternity Tours
We returned from a trip to Italy last week. While we spent most of the tour on a cruise ship we did have the chance to spend a few days in Rome as a family. The highlight of the adventure was a trip to the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. We used Through Eternity Tours. I can't say enough about them or our guide Marle' Robinson. She was great. The tour company sent a fax the night before reminding us of the program. Marle' arrived on time and was obviously eager to share her knowledge with us. She tailored her program to our needs and ages. She stayed with us the entire day. We would never have learned as much nor seen as much without her. Guidebooks are great but the Vatican is overwhelming. The money was so well spent.
Russell Hampton <email>
University Place, WA USA Tue 07/29/2008
Pompeii and the Naples Archeological Museum
We visited Italy for 10 days at the end of June 2008 and the highlight of the trip was EASILY the tour of Pompeii and the Naples Archeological Museum thanks to Dr. Pina Esposito! She is so knowledgable and yet when she explains what you are looking at (in excellent English I might add) she talks WITH you. We never felt as if we were being lectured at or talked down to. She shared her passion for the site with us.
She enabled us to beat the crowds and see "off limits" places (with the appropriate permission from the site's management). She truly made the ruins come alive.
Make arrangements to have her take you as early as possible both to beat the crowds and beat the heat. We also recommend having her show you the Naples Archeological Museum as she knows the details on everything that is worth seeing and (again) makes a collection of antiquities come alive.
Her judgement is impecable. Trust her recommendations. We had lunch with her at one of her favorite restaurants across from the museum and had an excellent time. Her suggestion to do this both saved time and kept us from being rushed. At the end of our tour with her we felt we had a new friend.
And as an added bonus, her driver was both friendly and skilled.
Grazie again, Pina.
Mike & Patti
Merritt Island , FL USA Mon 07/28/2008
Vatican with Chad
Me and my family had a tour of the Vatican with Chad. Fantastic! Highly recommended.He was enthusiastic and enlightening and made the experience very memorable.
Thanks Chad
Alex Grady
Wellington, New Zealand Mon 07/28/2008
Jewish Rome-Michaela
We did an amazing tour of the Rome ghetto with Michaela of www. jewishroma.com.
A passionate,knowledgeable woman, whose roots are from Ancient Rome, she provided us with the most personal,factual and emotional tour.She then accompanied us for lunch in the ghetto at the most wonderful Kosher restaurant. Do have the carciofi--artichokes Jewish style.
She also had her colleague, Mindy do a Vatican Tour with a Jewish focus that afternoon which was also excellent. I recommend their services without hesitation.
P.W.
Toronto, ON Canada Sat 07/26/2008
Tours of Rome and Vatican - Susan
If you were recommended to take a tour with Roman Odyssey with Susan, be aware that she can no longer be found with Roman Odyssey. She may be reached at susanmsimcox@yahoo.it. She covers all of Rome, and she is very talented.
James
Houston, Texas USA Fri 07/25/2008
Day tours in & out of Rome - Christina
Cristina conducts many tours in and outside of Rome and she has an archaeology background. I found her through the language school I attended and now will keep her personal contact in hopes of attending many other tours with her when next in Rome. I personally attended her day trip to Tivoli which included Hadrian's Villa and Viall d'Estes. I know that she does tours in Rome such as the Vatican but her day trips are the very best; another friend that is still in Rome wrote to me about a tour she took with Cristina to Sperlonga. She is very knowledgeable and has had to take and pass many exams for her field. What I loved about her the most is how inclusive and kind she is to all that are on the trip. BTW I am very picky and critical of teachers/lecturers/guides and she blew my mind!
Cristina Giannicchi
Via Dario Niccodemi 52
tel. 0039.338.111.4573
email crisgiannicchi@gmail.com
Kristi Jacobson
San Rafael, CA USA Tue 07/22/2008
Wine Tour in Provence with Olivier
We had a wonderful tour through the vineyards and wineries in Provence with Olivier Hickman -- olivier.hickman@wine-uncovered.com
He was very knowledgeable and interesting. He met us at the train station in Orange since we were staying in Arles but he will also meet you at your hotel in surrounding villages. Our expectations were high and he exceeded them. One of the highlights of our trip.
Shirley Lewerenz <email>
Huntington Beach, CA USA Sun 07/20/2008
jewish tours
check out www.cinquescole.org for great tours with great affordable prices and they are scholars from the jewish community of rome
miriam
manhattan, ny USA Sun 07/20/2008
Tour Guide Richard Karpen a No-Show in Copenhagen
We discovered Richard Karpen as a guide in Rick Steves guide books. We contacted him by email, and arranged to take his public walking tour of Copenhagen in the morning, and a private tour of Rosenborg Castle for eight people that afternoon.
Without contacting us and without any prior notice to anyone, he failed to show up for his public tour leaving us and approximately fifteen other people stranded.
He sent an email a day later (which of course we didn't receive until several days later) with some lame excuse about water damage to things he had stored in his basement. That, of course, was not an acceptable excuse for canceling the tours, and was no excuse at all for not at least appearing at the appointed time to tell us he was unable to proceed and helping us make alternative arrangements.
MDMGSO
Greensboro, n.c. USA Fri 07/18/2008
Tour of Rome - Sarah
I just returned from a fabulous trip in Rome with my boyfriend where I booked three private tours with Sarah. I was a bit reluctant because I booked my tours quite late, and also she doesn’t have a website, but I knew with short notice, my options were limited, so I took the plunge. I was referred to her through a friend who is friends with her. First of all, Sarah replied very quickly to our emails, and they were very clear regarding tours offered and prices, so I booked my tours, hoping that it would be fine. Of course it was. We toured the Coliseum, Forum, and Palatine one day, Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica the next day, and a wine tour the same evening. The tours were all very informative, and I felt liked I learned more about ancient Rome on one tour than I did in one entire college course. Our wine tour was fabulous; I never knew how complex the world of Italian wine was before! The best part of taking tours with Sarah is that she is a native San Diegan like me, so that was also another pleasant surprise. Besides the tours she was very helpful as far as finding places to shop and where to eat the best food. She even helped us organize some day trips in Tuscany. I can’t recommend her highly enough!! arts_rome@yahoo.com
Stephanie
San Diego, CA USA Thu 07/17/2008
Tour of Vatican Museum, St. Peters Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel
We returned from Europe recently, and one of the highlights was our tour of the Vatican Museum, St. Peters Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel that we had booked with Through Eternity. Our guide was Gabriel. He was fantastic! We were extremely impressed with his depth of knowledge of the artwork, and recommend him highly. I don't think we could have had a better guide. Thank you Gabriel!
Barry Thompson
Redmond, WA USA Thu 07/17/2008
Vatican Trip- Janet Cavellero
Janet Cavellero was my group's private guide to the Vatican in late May of this year. We were a small group consisting of business people, writers, engineers -- quite the variety, and at all levels of sophistication about art history. Janet, who is vivacious and energetic and expert, met everyone's needs. I grew up with a fine arts background, so she and I could get technical, and I could then listen while she explained the various architects of St. Peter's and put them into a cultural frame. Her discussion of Raphael's architectonics was new to me and very revelatory, and I enjoyed her description of the history of museums, the role the papacy played, the role that Rome played as a cultural repository (and, alas, stripmine) for young gentlemen on the Grand Tour. I was also interested in how she described the interactions of Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo -- and how the conventions of art were adapted from the original, classical Laocoon (Vergil included) to Renaissance versions of the statue.
She greatly assisted us in cutting down on waiting and walking time through corridors and was even able to quietly tutor us in St. Peter's. She explained its geometric conundrums and made me realize that the Sistine Chapel, however supernal its frescoes are, began life as a "panic room." That is irreverent, but she brought the buildings as well as their contents to life.
I look forward to coming back. If I take another tour, I would not hesitate to ask for her. In fact, I'd be disappointed if I couldn't work with her again.
Susan, Ph.D.
Susan Shwartz <email>
New York, NY USA Wed 07/16/2008
Taxi guide around the Amalfi Coast
When traveling from Sarrento through out the Amalfi coast I would reccomend a driver by the name of Luigi De Martino. He spoke excellent english,very knowledgeable about the history of this location, and had a great sence of humor. His e-mail address is demartino@aliceposta.it and his cell is 332218812. In addition, he was 100 Euros cheaper than the guide reccomended by Rick Steves in his guide book
David McAlpine <email>
Blaine, WA USA Wed 07/16/2008
Walking Tour of Rome-Essence of Rome tour- Gracelyn
We recently returned from a cruise of Italy and Croatia. We decided to try and see all we could of Rome in a day following the cruise. We researched tours on the web and selected Through Eternity Tours. The staff was most helpful in helping decide on which tour best met our needs (family of four).
They made arrangements for a driver to meet us as we disembarked the ship. He took us to our hotel where we checked our baggage and then to meet our tour guide near the forum.
We spent the next 8 hours with our guide walking around Rome (Essence of Rome tour). We saw and learned more than we could have imagined. Our guide, Gracelyn, was very knowledgable of history and art of Rome and Vatican City.
The tour far exceeded all of our expectations
Bloomington, IL USA Tue 07/15/2008
Fabulous full-day bus tour of Tuscany from Florence!
My husband and I had tried to book winery tours with 2 different companies before we arrived in Italy, but both cancelled on us at the last minute. We were so lucky to find a brochure upon arriving at our hotel in Florence for "The Best of Tuscany Tour," which we easily booked through the hotel staff for the very next day. It was a 12-hour day trip into Tuscany which included stops in Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, and a delicious lunch at a winery estate. Our tour guide, Mauro, was entertaining and informative, and our bus was new and air-conditioned. There was only about 20 people on the tour, so it wasn't too large of a group. We never felt rushed during our stops, and we learned so much more about Tuscany from Mauro's information than we would have if we'd tried to visit these places on our own. For only 80 euros each (much cheaper than the other tours we'd tried to book), we felt we received excellent value for our money. This day trip into Tuscany was my favourite part of our entire trip to Italy!
Carrie <email>
Ottawa, ON Canada Sun 07/13/2008
Guides
We have gone twice now to England and France. Mostly just major cities, London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Pompeii, Naples, Venice. We paid for guides in Pompeii, Venice, and Rome. It was well worth the money! With every area we went with our guide, we were able to go to the front of the line. Guides get in without a wait. It was worth every penny!
Elise <email>
Wichita, KS USA Fri 07/11/2008
“Artviva: The Original and Best Walking Tours”
“Artviva: The Original and Best Walking Tours” www.italy.artviva.com. My husband, niece and I spent a wonderful morning, May 29th, with a guide from “Artviva, The Original & Best Tours Italy”. We booked the “Original Florence and David Tour”. The guide was very passionate and knowledgeable about the history and culture of this beautiful city. She made Florence come alive for us. The highlight of the tour was seeing Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia Gallery along with Michelangelo’s Slaves composition. There was so much more in Florence we wished we could have seen! We strongly recommend “Artviva Tours” for all your Italian Tours.
Yours truly,
Louise
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
Louise
Edmonton, AB. Canada Thu 07/10/2008
Rome Tour with Antonio Palladino
My wife and I had a fantastic tour with Antonio Palladino. We were referred to Antonio from other another family who originally book through Italian Journeys.
Antonio's knowledge of the Colosseum and Forum was incredible. His excitement and energy about Rome was contagious and we thoroughly enjoyed our morning with him. I would recommend him to others.
Paul Noetzel <email>
Austin, Texas USA Wed 07/09/2008
vatican tour
Our guide for the vatican tour was wonderful and very knowledgable. Our only problem was we were short two headphones. Our guide was considerate enough to keep the two without headphones right by him most of the time so they could still hear what was being described.
annette rowe
flushing, mi use Tue 07/08/2008
Presto Tours in Rome
We booked a Presto tour for the Vatican and we were not disappointed. We had a lovely lady from California named Sara who was fun, enthusiastic, and full of information. What was best was the fact that we did not have to stand in the line that morning, and the meeting point was also very easy. I wish we would have had time to take more tours with presto. We thought we would be fine getting around Rome on our own beside the Vatican. We mosly booked the tour to avoid the line, but we had a wonderful tour as well. Sara painted a picture of Rome and Chritianity that made us inspired to learn more and hopefully return. We threw our coins in the Trevi, so I am sure we will be back one day!
Anna and Steve
NYC, NY USA Mon 07/07/2008
Italy Hotline Tours
Italy Hotline (http://www.italyhotline.com) provided two tours for us during our stay in Rome, a day-long tour of the Vatican and Castel St. Angelo and a day-long tour of Ostia Antica.
Both tours were wonderful, due in part to our guide, Ann. She gives great tours and has a wonderful sense of humor ~ a necessity with our quirky group. She answered all of our questions and took extra time to show us things that we had expressed an interest in that were additional to the actual tour. She also made a special trip to Ostia Antica prior to our visit to see if there were new/different sites that would add to our experience. The owner of this tour company, Sienna Reid, was extremely responsive to our questions prior to the trip. She kept in touch with us once we were in Italy and has followed up on their service since we’ve come home. This type of care and professionalism added to our enjoyment. When we return to Italy, we will definitely work with Italy Hotline again.
Cynthia Ledbetter
Plano, Texas USA Sat 07/05/2008
An off the beaten path, but worthwhile monument.
After spending a week in Paris recently, we drove south and spent a day at Oradour. This powerful account of a Nazi atrocity is documented inside a typical but appealing museum which leads you to the remains of an entire village, burned to the ground under the guise of looking for an "underground weapons cache." As four retired teachers, we were all extremely impressed by the powerful presentation and the detailed stories of the aftermath of this awful attack. I will always remember looking out of the only window in the church where scores of women and children were burned and/or shot to death, with no possiblity of escape through it's narrow openings. If in the area, I would suggest that there could be no better way to spend an afternoon.
Ken Andrews <email>
Penfield, New Yo USA Thu 07/03/2008
Odyssey
I used then recently and found the guide disappointing. While he was enthusiastic, his knowledge and oration were sadly lacking. Nice guy, but bad tour (Colliseum + Forum). Would not repeat.
Tom Tebutt
Los Angeles, CA USA Tue 07/01/2008
Through Eternity, Rome
We booked two tours with Through Eternity and one was really great and the other was horrible. The first tour we took was with Nikki, who was fantastic. She was fun and informative adn seemed very passionate about her job. The second was with Rob, who told us he was the owner, and though he had a lot of info, he had a dead personality. He seems nice enough, but he was really unfriendly to tus and seemed like we bothered him. We had him at the Vatican. The tour is five hours, which seems great, but a huge part of that time is the line. As well, he did not take us into the Basilica to see the papal alter and the Pieta. That was a huge disappointment. He stated that it was because they only don't let groups into the Basilica anymore, but we noticed there were plenty of tours with guides inside, and we stopped a guide and asked why she was allowed and why through Eternity did not let us have a guided tour inside, and this man an Italian, said it was because guides without licences are not allowed to go inside the church anymore. We don't know why it is advertised that we would visit the Basilica when we didn't. We were very upset. I would not use this company again mostly due to the unfriendly behavior of our guide that day and the fact that he lied about the reason we could not go in. If he is the owner he definately painted a very bad picture of his company.
Evan
New Orleans, LA USA Sun 06/29/2008
ROME: Through Eternity's 2-day Immersion Tour
My two teenagers, my husband, and I can’t say enough wonderful things about Through Eternity’s two-day immersion tour and its guides. On day one, Gracelyn took us to Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the speaking statute Pasquino, through the Vatican and so much more. She was not only full of energy, enthusiasm and information, she kept our teenagers’ attention! On day two, Janet took us through the Castle San Angelo, Roman Forum, the Colosseum, the Pallentine, and gobs more. Janet also was full of information, enthusiasm (despite a freshly broken arm), and she was great with the kids. Both of their stamina was amazing. We were all pooped at the end of the day, and both Janet and Gracelyn were still like Energizer Bunnies -- ready to keep going. I cannot imagine how we could have seen so much and learned so much in two days without them. Worth every penny. (I also hear from others that tour guide Thomas is wonderful!). The office staff was responsive, accurate, and simply spot on. This outfit and these tour guides are a rare find that I highly recommend.
Wendy
Orlando, FL USA Wed 06/25/2008
Walking tour of Budapest
I had an absolutely wonderful tour of Budapest with Jeff of Pal Street Tours. He is a walking encyclopedia about architecture, art, and political and cultural history. He is very personable and is an American, so he speaks perfect English. I highly recommend this guide.
Marian <email>
South Bend, , IN USA Wed 06/25/2008
Angelo's Boat Tours, Monterosso, Italy
Recently my husband and I were in Italy, and one of our many stops was Cinque Terre. While visiting Monterosso for the day we met the most charming couple. Paula and Angelo of Angelo's Boat Tours. They are a very warm and inviting couple. We just happened to be standing and reading their business sign, when Paula came out on to her balcony and began talking to us. She wasn't trying to pressure us into a tour, but simply asked if she cold help us. After being invited onto her balcony, and sharing a drink, we booked a Sunset tour with Angelo. Angelo picked us up later that night in Vernazza,(where we were staying). On the boat was an incredible spread of Tappas that Paula had prepared. It was the best food we had on our entire holiday throughout Italy and Greece. My husband and I were the only guests on the tour that night. After sunset, Angelo took us to Monterosso where we picked up Paula and went to a local taverna for capuccino. While there an American couple sought our help due to a medical emergency. Within seconds Angelo was on the phone to the town doctor and he arrived within minutes. Paula accompanied the woman who required medical attention and served as a translator,(as she is originally from SanFrancisco). While Paula was busy, Angelo invited us back to their home for wine until Paula returned. Paula soon returned with the couple and promptly whipped them up an omelette as they had missed their dinner. Angelo's Boat Tours does not have a website or a schedule written in stone, but that is a large part of their charm. It leaves them with a lot more flexibility, and it provides a more personalised service. I felt like I was spending an evening with friends and not just another tour company. It is as simple as a phone call or a visit to their doorstep to book a tour. I would recommend Angelo's Boat Tours to anyone.
Their e-mail address is angelosboattours@yahoo.com
english phone number is 339.318.2967
Lisa Stewart
Lacombe, Albert Canada Wed 06/25/2008
Uffizi Tour (Florence, Italy) by Artviva
The Uffizi tour by Artviva blew me away. I feared going to the Uffizi and being overwhelmed by a bunch of paintings that I knew to be important but didn't have a clue about. And I feared having a pedantic, boring tour guide. But the guide was great and the tour a revelation - carefully selected pieces that clearly showed the innovation process inherent in the Florentine Renaissance. It had such an impact that I've read over 20 books on the topic and returned to Florence for an art history course. Not bad for someone who is coined as being allergic to art! This departure from the norm is in no small part due to the impact of the Uffizi tour. So I recommend it strongly. Artviva can be contacted at www.italy.artviva.com
N Krawetz
Edmonton, AB Canada Mon 06/23/2008
Rome - Sky Tours
This morning at 9am we did the Colossieum tour with Tory from Sky Tours Rome, a cute sweet english girl who was a pool of relevent information. We started at 9am and did manage to get though it without too many crowds and without standing in the line.
Darl and Kim
USA Sun 06/22/2008
Tuscany Bike Tours
Tuscany Bike Tours was a great value in that you get transportation from Firenze to the winery/castle. While there you get a tour of the winery and a tasting of chianti and bread with delicious olive oil. Next its on to biking and a tour of the Chianti countryside. With a pit stop at an restaurant in the middle of the bike ride to give you plenty of energy to finish things up. Then its one more leg of biking mixed with another short stop for some relaxation. And one more leg of biking back to the castle and transport home. This was a tremendous value for the money paid and I would highly recommend this tour!
Tim <email>
Copenhagen, Denmark Fri 06/20/2008
Tours in Andalucia, Spain
If your travels take you to Adalucia, Spain and you would like to benefit from some local knowledge, I really enjoyed a tour given by an American who has lived near Malaga for many years. Rick recommends him in his Spain book – Dave Riordan [davidwriordan@gmail.com]. We were on a cruise calling on Malaga so only had about eight hours to see as much as possible. Dave personalized a tour for us, taking us to Grenada and the magnificent Alhambra, then stopping in Frigiliana, Dave’s gorgeous hometown where we did a walking tour and he used the mosaics in the town to explain the Inquisitions. It was so easy as Dave took care of all the details, like getting tickets to Alhamba (which isn’t easy!), and ensuring we got back to the boat in good time. So, thanks Rick, for putting us on to Dave! By the way, I was sooo impressed with Andalucia and hope to return for several weeks.
Marilyn <email>
North Vancouver, BC Canada Mon 06/16/2008
Fat Tire Bike Tours - Paris
We recently returned from Paris and actually had Rick Steves himself on our bike tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours. Imagine our surprise when we realized that!
The bike tour was fabulous and it was a perfect start to our Paris vacation. The overview of the various sites and the ease with which we pedaled through Paris were perfect. I felt the guide was well informed, but didn't bore us with too many details. Instead he gave us several skippy stories and my husband enjoyed. I felt like the fact that he'd lived in Paris for 5+ years was interesting and his personal stories at lunch made a great difference for us.
Ashley <email>
London, UK Mon 06/16/2008
Battlebus tours
We truly enjoyed our 2 day D-Day tours with Battlebus. Our guide Sean was extremely knowledgeable and very passionate about passing this history on to us. We highly recommend this company. Hopefully, we can go on some of their other tours some day, like the British Experience or the Canadian Experience. They were also great about giving us info on finding 2 outstanding B & B's in Bayeaux. This is a charming town with very reasonable overnight rates.
Jo Ator <email>
Frankfurt, Germany Sun 06/15/2008
Day trip from Madrid
Skip the all-day Toledo bus tour by JuliaTravel. You are much better off doing it yourself via the AVE train from Madrid. The tour is way overpriced for what you get. There is no time to actually SEE the beautiful city of Toledo. The El Escorial / Valley of the Fallen was only slightly better in that it is difficult to get there on your own.
Karen <email>
Camden, USA Sun 06/15/2008
Budapest/Tour Guide Andrea Mackay
We were in Budapest in May, and had arranged for Andrea Mackay to give us a four-hour mini-bus tour the first day. Rick Steves had recommended her.
She was far above average. We could not have been more pleased. Due to the traffic, the minibus was a bit late. However, Andrea filled in the time beautifully, giving us extensive tours of St. Stephens and the Parliament, as well as Heroes Square.
Peggy Garrett
Bluffton, S.C. USA Sun 06/15/2008
Intelligent, Unique Florence and Tuscany Walking and Day Tours
Artviva Original and Best Walking Tours (http://www.italy.artviva.com/)
I spent a few days in Florence last week, my first visit, and subsequently took two … tours. I usually abhor tours, but decided as this company seemed so interesting (found a brochure at my hotel, Hotel Cestelli, and cross-referenced them in Lonely Planet), and I had so little time, I would start off with an "innocent" walking tour in order to get a nice background and orient myself. My guide … was just fantastic. I felt that she was so enthusiastic, warm, and especially intelligent and knowledgeable, she gave no ordinary tour. Her personal attention and interest in every member of the small group was very appreciated. Usually you see tourists herded around blankly, like cattle, until they don't seem to care a feather about what the guide is droning on about. I was really thrilled at the experience of this tour, and of course, of the guide. It was just the right length, and I left feeling I had gained something unique, while revving me up to see and learn more about Florence and Tuscany.
So...I decided to chance the "Best of Tuscany" day tour and had another memorable time. The guide is an absolute gem. Such spirit, passion, humor, and excellent knowledge (not to mention his funny trivia games). On a personal note, he was kind of an amalgam of all my old German friends, and it was nice to learn about Italy from someone other than an Italian or an American. Good perspective. The day was spent in lighthearted conversation, everyone felt taken care of, as if we were already all old friends (instead of the strangers we really were), learning a great a deal, laughing a lot, having a glorious time. The guide gave the absolute best restaurant recommendation, and it made my last evening in Florence one I won't soon forget (also because I ended up going out with some folks I had met that day on the tour itself).
I know I'm gushing here.... know that I came to Italy on vacation alone. It only struck me after I arrived how strange this was, that I seemed to be the only person alone, all the time (restaurants, museums, the hotel, everything). Not that I needed any sort of therapeutic remedy to this situation, having traveled all over the world alone for years. Perhaps it was Italy, or getting a wee bit older (I'm 28), it simply stuck out for me more. But these tours really made the difference in my stay. I stumbled upon this company quite by accident; I felt cared for, I felt the guides spoke to us intelligently and didn't patronize in any way, the groups were very small, and I met other young single people on the tours, too. Which was a very welcome surprise. And to top it off, both of the guides I had had genuinely loved what they were doing, and you have to commend a company who employs and allows these good people to flourish.
I will be recommending this company to friends and family.
Irene Hodes <email>
Tel Aviv, Israel Tue 06/03/2008
Prague walking tour
My friend and I went on a fantastic walking tour in Prague. There were several to choose from (look for the tour guides with the yellow umbrellas), so we decided on the Folklore Tour. It was really interesting...we covered most of Old Town, headed across the Charles Bridge, and ended at the foot of Prague Castle. The tour guide was a wonderful 20-ish student...she had lived in Prague all her life so she knew all of the hidden gems. She loved our questions, and was eager to tell us stories. It was a great way to see some of the winding side streets - we got some amazing pictures! I can't remember how much the tour cost us, but it wasn't much. They also had discounts for students.
Any tour of Prague is wonderful! It's a stunning city with loads of history and gorgeous architecture.
Celeste
Regina, Canada Tue 06/03/2008
Tuscan Wine Tours - Rebecca
Rebecca's tour of the Brunello region of Tuscany and Montelcino was one of the highlights of a 2 week vacation in Italy.
Rebecca is punctual, courteous, knowledgeable and makes it obvious that she truly enjoys what she is doing. The 2 wineries were excellent and the lunch one of the best I've ever had. Can't wait to open the San Polino Brunello back in Canada.
Mark
Winnipeg, MB Canada Tue 06/03/2008
Brewer Tour in Berlin
Brewer tours in Berlin were excellent. I took the all day (around 7 hour tour) with Preston. He was extremely knowledgable and was able to answer any question about nearly everything within sight while walking during the tour.
Very friendly and funny.
Todd Z
Ann Arbor, MI USA Sat 05/31/2008
Tuscan Wine Tours - Amazing
The Tuscan Wine Tours was one of my most favorite things I did while in Florence. Rebecca, the tour guide, was amazing and a wealth of knowledge...not only about the wines, but about the cities in Italy and where one should go and avoid. The wine was some of the best I had in the 2 weeks in Italy. We visited several wineries, all of them were small and intimate, tasted many different varieties of the wine, and got to explore local towns. It was an amazing value and a wonderful time. I would most definitely go on another of Rebecca's tours.
Jen
Denver, CO USA Sat 05/31/2008
Wine tours
Tuscan Wine Tours-We had an absolute blast on the tour. Not only was Rebecca knowledgeable about the wines and the region, but she didn't make you feel as though you were a moron if you didn't know the basics about wine tasting. She also supports local organic wineries and farms, which I appreciated. The lunch we had was home cooked and one of the best meals I had in Italy, and I am a picky eater. There was also no pressure to buy any of the wines at the end of the day, but we bought some anyway because they were great. The group we went with was great and we all got along, which made the trip even better. We saw the countryside of Tuscany, which is literally as beautiful as the pictures, in a way that would have been hard unless we had bothered to rent a car. However, we probably would have gotten lost if we had tried. This was one of my favorite parts of my trip to Italy, and we traveled everywhere from Milan down to Sorrento, and several places in between. I highly recommend this tour and any other tour that Rebecca offers. It was a great bargain, considering that we had very generous tastings, and a wonderful lunch.
Briana Fisler
Washington, DC USA Thu 05/29/2008
Florence with a guide
We traveled to Florence and booked a tour with Paola. It was wonderful! She was extreemly knowledgable about the city, its history and the beautiful artwork. She also took us to see local craftsmen, that we would have never found on our own. Our only disappointment was that we were only with her for one day. We will go back very soon, to see more of the region, with Paola as our guide. And, leaving the city, I left my camera and cell phone in airport security. She went and got it for me and mailed it to me! The airlines had told me to just replace them, because I would never get them back. What a great investment it was, in our knowledge and enjoyment of the city, and having a contact in Florence.
Julie
Mons , Belgium Thu 05/29/2008
Walking Tours in Western Europe
I recently spent two weeks going through Western Europe. We hit Madrid, Paris, Berlin, Munich, and London. I lived near London for a while so I am quite familiar with the city, but in every other city we took one of the free walking tours.
In Madrid, we took one from a newer company whose name I unfortunately don't recall, but the guide, Bruce (a South African and native English speaker) left from the Albergue Juvenil Madrid (an excellent hostel, by the way).
In Paris, we took the New Europe tour with a guide named George.
In Berlin, the Insider Tour leaving from the Hackescher Markt S-Bahn stop with Penelope (aka Pen) as our guide was wonderful, and in Munich the New Europe tour again. All of these were excellent.
The guides were knowledgeable and friendly (especially George in Paris), and I never paid more than 15 euro (the tours are run on a tips-only basis). I'd highly recommend that anyone stop by a local youth hostel, even if you're not staying there, and check for brochures regarding free walking tours. They're well worth a good tip, and you learn more about the city than you would simply by walking around on your own.
Nick
Salt Lake City, UT USA Thu 05/29/2008
Tuscany Wine Tour...A MUST SEE
Tuscan-wine-tours.com was amazing! The tour we scheduled with Rebecca picked us up from Florence and went to Montalcino. It was beautiful! We visited the San Polino winery and learned all about what goes in to making a Brunello. We tasted her wonderful wines outside with a breath-taking view of Tuscany. The lunch on the tour was the best meal of our vacation! We met some great new people and have a new found appreciation for Italian wine. Don't miss out of this great tour!
Suzanne Springfield <email>
Suwanee, GA USA Tue 05/27/2008
Normandy D-Day Tours
Our family of four spent several days with Roel and Pia at Chateau de Lignerolle and on Roel's Victory Tour of D-Day sites in Normandy over the Easter holiday. Pia spoils you with her awesome breakfasts and wonderful hospitality, while Roel amazes you with the depth of his knowledge about WWII history, particularly the Normandy invasion. His tours are small, and filled with personal stories that he has gathered over the years from veterans that have returned to France. I was surprised at how moving it was to visit the D-day beaches and hear about this part of our history. Roel made it very real and very relevant. I highly recommend Victory Tours if you are at all interested in WWII history.
Nancy and Douglas <email>
Seattle, WA USA Sun 05/25/2008
Rome - Love 4 Adventure tour
We were in Rome, Italy and used a company called “Love 4 Adventure” as our tour guides. They were amazing!
They were flexible and easy to deal with, energetic and enthusiastic. Most of all I found them knowledgeable and attentive (hard to find among the other Italian tour guides)
I would recommend Jason and his team to anyone.
Mitzi Tubby
Toronto, Canada
love 4 adventure
rome, italy Fri 05/23/2008
Roma Pass, skip the Lines
Giovani from Sky Tours in Rome was very helpful, answered all our travel questions before we left, took calls to advise us on transport, got our Roma Pass in advance and then hooked us up with really nice tours in Rome. If you have any questions ask Giovanni info@skytoursrome.com
ps, Roma Pass is a ticket you can get in advance which gives you free transport and is a also a ticket entry pass to the Coliseum among other sites, passing the lines.
Lorna
USA Wed 05/21/2008
Prague and environs
I took two day trips from Prague last September. Wittmann Tours (http://www.wittmann-tours.com) offered an excellent 6-hour tour to the Terezin Concentration Camp. The guide was extremely knowledgable and engaging. I am less enthusiastic about the half-day Martin Tour trip I took to Karlstejn Castle, although the castle is definitely worth seeing and the rainy weather was mood enhancing. Besides the usual attractions in Prague (Castle, Astronomical Clock. Old Town Square, Josefov, St. Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge, etc.) don't miss Vysehrad, with its beautiful church and tranquil cemetery where Dvorak and other famous Czechs are buried, and Villa Betramka, where Mozart stayed and supposedly wrote parts of Don Giovanni, which premiered in the Tyl Theater in Prague. The museum is interesting and it is in a very beautiful, peaceful setting up the hill from a busy street.
Robert
State College, PA USA Wed 05/21/2008
Tour of Vatican and Roman Colisseum and Forum
My husband and I took Through Eternity Tours in Rome in May. We were fortunate to have Nikki for both the Forum and Colisseum and the Basilica and Sistine Chapel tours. She was most enthusiastic, informative of all the areas. It came alive at the Colisseum and with her voice that projects she had us back there centuries ago. A newly appointed cardinal at the Vatican decided the day we were there to not allow private tour groups, but we went on our own to explore the chapels. Nikki handled the whole situation in a mature way and continued on with the tour with all her spunk. We would recommend her and the tour group to everyone!
Randy and Sue Rice <email>
Lincoln, Vermon USA Wed 05/21/2008
WWI Battleground Sites
Over the Top tours offers full- and half-day tours of WWI battlefields and cemeteries based in Ieper (also spelled Ypr or Ypres) in Belgium. Guides are native English speakers, chock full of info on WWI. We took 3 tours with them, enjoyed all. We stayed at Best Western Flanders Lodge where the manager is a history buff who leads bicycle tours of the area.
Donald Campbell
Edmonds, WA USA Sat 05/17/2008
Pompeii Tour- Gaetano
We recently returned from a wonderful time in Italy. We hired Gaetano Manfredi as our guide to Pompeii. There were 28 of us, so Gaetano suggested hiring a bus, which he did. The driver picked us up at our hotel in Rome at 7:30AM. Gaetano was there to meet us when we arrived. He gave us a very comprehensive, interesting tour of Pompeii. We had a 3 hour tour followed by 2 hours of free time. We were back in Rome by 6:30PM that evening. Everything ran smoothly and we were delighted. We'd do it again.
Bonnie Hewitt
Hanford, CA USA Sat 05/17/2008
Vatican Tour
My wife and I signed up for the Vatican Tour about 45 days in advance of the chosen date and time. About three days prior to our departure we were emailed that our date was good but the time had changed from a morning tour to a an afternoon tour ( this is unacceptaable since it forced us to change our plans for the day at the last minute). The tour guide was late for the arrival by :15 minutes and his equipment didn't work properly causing another delay. Once the tour began the guide was well informed and got us through the tour. Since it was the afternoon session I don't know if we had to rush through to make up the time lost due to the delays. I enjoyed the tour very much after a frustrating start.
Joe Simeone
Stratham, NH USA Thu 05/15/2008
Pompei Guide
We were in Pompei last week and hired Gaetano Manfredi to be our guide. He was wonderful! Although some people have complained that he goes at too fast a pace, we found his pace excellent, depsite the fact that we are in our late 70's. My husband and I have visited Pompei previously and have read much about Pompei. We were with our daughter and her husband whose knowledge of Pompei was much less. Gaetano kept all of us interested, excited and informed. He concentrates on how the early Romans lived. He covers the most important sites but in a way that gives you information on what life was like for the early Romans before the volcanic devastation. His tour was easily a high point of our trip.
An additional comment on train travel to Pompei. If you use Rail Italy, Trenitalia or Rail Europe they will direct you to one of their trains. We purchased tickets in advance which weren't what we wanted. The Circumvesuviana (a private rail), is the best way to get to Pompei from Naples. Tickets can be easily bought at the train station. Buy your tickets
from Rome (or wherever else you may be) to Naples Central station and then take the Circumvesuviana to Pompei Scavi (not Pompei itself).
Have fun!
Irma Greenspan <email>
San Diego, Ca USA Thu 05/15/2008
Day tour in/from Rome
We were lucky to find Sarah, our private guide in Rome. She brought the history and intrigue of the Vatican alive for us. We used her for the Vatican Museums and Basilica, highlights of Rome, and a wine tour where we learned so much about Italian wine!! We plan to come back to Italy next year, and use her again for some wine tours to Tuscany.
you cacn contact her at
arts_rome@yahoo.com
Hector
San Diego, CA USA Tue 05/13/2008
Cooking Class and Tours in Cortona
I just got back from Tuscany and while I was there I took a cooking class through Journey to Enlightenment tours (http://www.tuscan-tours.com). Keith and Tania, who run the tours, were so welcoming and made me feel like I was part of the family. Alessandra is an amazing cook. I learned so much about the local culture and food.
Amy <email>
Zurich, CH Mon 05/12/2008
bike tuscany tour
Bike Tuscany Tour
Wonderful tour - wine tasting very special and meal outstanding. Good company and wonderful, enthusiastic, helpful and informative guide.
janet hillel
new york, ny USA Fri 05/09/2008
Private Paris Tours
My girlfriend and I went on a terrific tour last week when we were in Paris. Richard Nahem has a company called Eye Prefer Paris tours and he gave us a real insiders tour. we saw things we never would have seen on our own for sure.the highlight was the amazing chocolate store and the patisserie he took us too with the most outrageous pastries.He also showed us the most beautiful hidden rose garden. Richard also has a cool blog www.eyepreferparis.com, which I am now a regular subscriber.If you want a fantastic and unusual tour of Paris,go with Richard.
Rachel
Los angeles, CA USA Wed 05/07/2008
Seville White Villages Tours
Outside Seville - Paul McGrath's White Hill Towns Tour was spectacular. Views were terrific. Paul knows just where to go. A day with him is a day well spent seeing a part of Spain that is a hidden gem. Contact him @ the-other-spain@hotmail.com
Judy Sullivan <email>
Arlington, VA USA Tue 05/06/2008
Day tours of Rome with Rich Brunn
We just spent a couple of days in Rome and had tours set up with Rich Brun (www.rome-day-tours.com). He made our visit perfect! Rich was very accomodating to the needs of our group. Extremely gracious. The wealth of knowledge that he had of Rome was exceptional. Because he is an American, we understood everything he said. He went way above the call of duty to help us with everything during our stay in Rome.
Jenae Kennedy
Murrieta, CA USA Mon 05/05/2008
Battlebus DD Tours
We toured the British D Day landing beaches with Battlebus WWII Battlefield Tours. We had a fantastic time; it was very interesting and good fun. Our guide was Dale and he was great. We would recommend it. Great value for money too.
Laurence and Linda McNairn <email>
Guernsey, Channel Islands Fri 05/02/2008
Rome Archeobus = ArcheoBUST
First, let me start by saying that I know you are reading this negative post with a healthy dose of skepticism, because I do the same. But I feel compelled to write about the Rome Archeobus, which goes out to the Via Appia Antica. We wanted to go out to the catacombs, so we did a little research (not enough) and opted to take the Archeobus. We went to the Archeobus website, where we learned some things that helped us decide to use their services to take us to Via Appia, but unfortunately, not all turned out to be true. First, the website indicated that tickets can be purchased onboard the bus. We actually bought our tickets ahead of time at a Tobaccheria, but we saw many people get turned away by the "tour guide" on the bus. She told everyone who did not have a ticket that they couldn't buy them on board, and that they were sold out for the day. We watched two buses pull away from the station with only 10 - 15 people on them (they hold 48) between 10 and 11 am, before we were able to board our bus (also with 10 - 15 people). When a couple of folks who had been waiting asked why the bus was leaving so empty, the guide said it was because they had to pick up more people along the way, and also have enough room to bring people back in the afternoon. However, when we got to the next stop (Piazza Venezia), everyone who was waiting in line was told they could not board the bus unless they already had a ticket (no one had a ticket). The guide was very gruff and unapologetic in her delivery - so much so that I felt guilty just *being* on the bus when so many other people were getting turned away. Also, we saw the third-to-last bus returning from Via Appia Antica practically empty, and the second-to-last bus, which we were on, was also practically empty. So it seems Archeobus angered a lot of people unnecessarily by turning them away earlier in the day. The Archeobus website also said that the buses depart every 20 minutes. That wasn't our experience when we were there last week. I would say the average time was 40 minutes for the 3 buses we saw leave the station. While we were out on the Via Appia Antica (which was so wonderful, by the way - you should go, just not via Archeobus), we saw MANY public transportation buses all day - numbers 118 and 218. I think one or both of these only run on Sunday (when we were there), so you should check the schedule. But it was really nice to be there on a Sunday because they close the road off to traffic (except buses) and pedestrians have the road to themselves. Also note that there are only a few choices for dining on the road, so you definitely pay for it. If this isn't your thing, bring a picnic lunch.
One thing the Archeobus website said which was true: you get a 5 Euro discount if you have a tourist pass for the Metro, or a Roma Pass. So please, it you have to take the Archeobus, at least make sure you only pay 8 Euros for your ticket instead of 13 Euros if you have one of these passes.
Meredith M.
Burlington, MA USA Wed 04/30/2008
Walking Tour in Florence
The Original Florence Walk
“Artviva: The Original and Best Walking Tours” The Walking Tour was by far the most fun and informative tour we had during our day tripping in Tuscany during March. Especially interesting was the local "color" our guide offered with a great sense of humor. Also enjoyed the architectural information. This type of tour could have lasted all day for me.... I highly recommend this tour company and in particular the Florence Walking Tour. www.italy.artviva.com.
Sally
Raleigh, NC USA Sun 04/27/2008
Walking tours of Florence, Italy
My wife and I took the Original Florence Walk, the Original Evening Walk and the Best of Tuscany tour in April, 2008. They were some of the highlights of our trip to Florence. All three of the guides were great: interesting, knowledgeable, informative, passionate about their work, and really nice people, too! They made the tours fun. Based on our experiences, we would highly recommend the tour company, Artviva. The tours might seem expensive, but we felt they were worth every penny.
Peter
Madison, WI USA Sun 04/27/2008
Tour Tip Blog From Rome
Ciao tutti! My wife and I have been going to Rome for twenty-five years. A big help for us has have been to follow the helpful Rome blog of American tour guide JPSonnen (see: www.orbiscatholicus.blogspot.com). Amazing how much these kids know and best tour I ever had! Enjoy!
Al Bremmer
Ocala, FL USA Sat 04/26/2008
Berlin tour guides
Ed, Denver, CO, USA
In Sept 2007, my friends and I had the privilege of spending a day with Jeremy as our private tour guide in Berlin. Starting from the Brandenbug Gate, we luckily had a short line at the Reichstag and an amazing view and scene of Berlin from the new dome. We walked for hours and hours, ate, relaxed, had a drink and were thoroughly immersed in the history, architecture, traditions and stories of old, new, Jewish, gay and modern Berlin from a guide with an encyclopedic knowledge of the city and its history. Little and seemingly insignificant points took on great significance with Jeremy's explanation. We walked by a hospital in the eastern part of the city and Jeremy explained why (rather than a red cross) there was a red box painted on the building some 60 years ago.
Jeremy is easy-going, totally knowledgeable and reliable, and certainly the best tour guide I've ever had the privilege of working with. And, to know that he contributes a portion of what we pay to charity made a wonderful day take on even more significance. Jeremy guided a group of 8 guys with diplomacy, aplomb and kept our interest throughout an 9-hour day. I can't recommend him or his Berlin tour guide services more highly.
www.theberlinexpert.com
Jeremy Minsberg
Denver, CO USA Sun 04/20/2008
running around ireland
Hi, I'm from Boston and a runner. My friends went on a running tour in Ireland just a short time ago. They experienced ireland from the old back roads. They opted not to 'do' dublin because they aren't into anything urban. I'm going to check it out. this is the link irishrunningtours.com
melanie cochrane-fallon
boston, ma USA Fri 04/18/2008
Walking tours- Florence, Italy
I recently took two of your walking tours in Florence...the Evening Walk on 28 March (with Paola ) and the 3 hour morning walk on 29 March (with Freya)....
Although I have been to Florence several times, I found that the tours added another dimension of understanding and enjoyment to my appreciation of the city.
My niece, who was visiting Italy for the first time, was also on the tour and found it immensely valuable as an introduction to the culture of both Florence and Italy.
Please tell Paola that we followed her advice and returned to the church of Santo Spirito (which was open only for concert ticket holders that night and, she told us,
not often open to the public) after the tour and were able to both see the interior, and hear some wonderful music in that glorious setting.
Thanks for a wonderful experience. www.italy.artviva.com.
Patricia
New York, NY USA Thu 04/17/2008
Battlebus D-day Tours
If you are looking for a great tour of the D-Day Area try Battlebus Tours!! We took the American Highlights tour with Dale and had a fantastic time. He was very knowledgable and fun. The day went by way too fast!!!! Battlebus is worth every cent!!!
Ed <email>
Gainesville, Fl USA Mon 04/14/2008
Tour around Florence
I had the opportunity to participate in 2 different tours out of Florence in 2008 that included both Siena and San Gimignano. One was with "Walking Tours of Florence (Artviva) recommended in Rick's Guide and one with CFT, a more commercial operator. The "Walking Tour" used a small 15-passenger van. We were on our own both in Siena and San Gimignano. The highlight was a stop at a winery for lunch that was a scenic gem. It had a great view of San Gimignano from the nearby hill and the winery itself was a photographers dream with all kinds of antiques sitting around outside. We had a traditional Tuscan lunch with unlimited wines. The cost was $125/person. The CFT Tour used a large bus, but we split up into two groups in Siena for a guided tour with a local guide. Admission to the Siena Duomo was included and we had about 90 minutes to either get lunch or explore on our own. The local guide's narrative was very good. While San Gimignano was all on our own, the guide on the bus gave us a lot of background on the way. The "Walking Tour" (Artviva) had a guide who spoke with us in the van, but we were totally on our own in both Siena and San Gimignano. Although she recommended we go see the Duomo, tickets were not included. If you are interested in just seeing Siena and San Gimignano, CFT was definitely better in every way at half the price. That said, the lunch at the winery on the "Walking Tour" was wonderful and I got some amazing photographs. Whether it was worth an extra $60 euro per person I leave it for you to decide.
Mike Grote
Columbus, OH USA Sun 04/13/2008
Rome with Hannah Schneider
My wife, 16 year old son and I spent a week in Rome at thened of March and by far the highlights of the trip were the three tours we took with Hannah Schneider, a native Australian whose love for Rome, its art and its history was infectious. We lucked into a free tour with Hannah of the Palatine Hills and then tracked her down for a fascinating tour of the Vatican the next day, followed by a walking tour of the city at dusk. Funny, enthisiastic, with stories bubbling out of her she charmed her way into all of our memories and sent me back to the states wanting to learn even more. We recommend her services enthusiastically and without reservation.
Tom
Chicago, il USA Fri 04/11/2008
Tour Guides in Rome - Rome Day Tours
If you are planning a trip to Rome, I would highly advise booking a private tour with www.rome-day-tours.com. If like our family, your time is short, but you don't want to miss anything, this is the way to go. My husband, two boys, ages 13 and 11 and I spent four fantastic days with Rich and his team. We discussed what we wanted to see and Rich tailor-made our days. Everything was flexible, easy, and so interesting.
Christine
London, UK Wed 04/02/2008
Paris, France - Rickard Nahem
My daughter and I just returned from Paris. We were a bit nervous being there alone, but out travel agent set us up with the most amazing guide, Richard Nahem. He runs a blog eyepreferparis.com and was awesome. He is from NYC and made our time in Paris the best. He really knows the city and his prices were more than reasonable.
Jodi <email>
Boca Raton, FL USA Mon 03/31/2008
Florence and Rome
Just back from our first trip to Italy It was SO wonderful. My favorite day was with Tuscany Tours by Paola & Giuseppe (info@florencetour
.com). Giuseppe picked us up at our hotel and took us to several hill towns in Tuscany plus a winery tour and tasting. They are extremely knowledgable, genuine and friendly. Also affordable. They offer lots of other tours as well.
In Rome we used Sky Tours/Angel Tours for the Coloseum and Vatican (the two companies seemed to be helping each other out due to a guide shortage). The guides were fantastic - funny, knowledgable, friendly, patient and very experienced.
Nancy Hendrickson <email>
Rockport, MA USA Sat 03/29/2008
Antonio Doblas, phenomenal tour guide in Seville
We recently had the pleasure of touring Seville with Antonio Doblas, a professional tour guide whose knowledge and enthusiasm for everything Seville and also Spain, generally, will entertain you for hours. We learned so much in our short time with him, and felt that we left our tour with a strong sense of people, place, culture, history, etc.
We opted for a portion of our guided tour via horse carriage and that was great too. Antonio trusts certain drivers and so he arranged for one to meet us at a certain time and location. I don't recall the precise amount we paid, but I believe it was in the 30 Euro range, very reasonable for the length of time and distance covered.
I can't say enough about how professional and engaged Antonio was; he's ready to wax rich on nearly anything you can think of pertaining to Seville. I recommend him highly if you want a private tour that's more personalized for your interests and tastes.
Antonio's e-mail address is: adoblasg@terra.es
His phone numbers are: (34)-954909741 / Cell: (34)-616253798
Website: es.geocities.com/guiassevilla/ingles.htm
Enjoy Seville, it's beautiful!
Jeff Simsbury
CT USA Fri 03/28/2008
Accidental Tourist Tours
I highly recommend the different tours offered by Accidental Tourist (accidentaltourist.com, or find through a Google search). A friend and I did the full day wine tasting/cooking class tour in early March and thoroughly enjoyed the day, even though it was on a weekend when the winery is closed. After being picked up in Florence only a 5-minute walk from the Ponte Vecchio (15-20 minutes walking from the Duomo), we were driven out to an old monestary where we tasted 4 wines produced by the vineyard we were near. Our guide Jesse was very knowledgable about the wines and I learned a lot--all of my questions were answered. We also tasted fresh olive oil produced by the same vineyard and it was AMAZING, served with salt-sprinkled Tuscan bread. After wine tasting we drove to the home of the company's owner--Majla--for our cooking class. Her home is an old watchtower that has been converted into cozy apartments, where she lives with her family. After taking a tour of her home we cooked tagliatelle (fettucini) and ravioli completely from scratch, which was then accompanied by *delicious* antipasti prepared by Enzo, who also works in a local restaurant. My friend and I were lucky enough to have a private tour (the other group was a no-show that morning), but I would feel confident to say that even in the busy summer months where there may be two vans full of participants, you will have an invaluable experience, a perfect serene escape from the thrilling congestion of Florence.
Nia <email>
Pasadena, CA USA Fri 03/28/2008
Cinque Terre - Monterosso al Mare
For me and my companions the best deal and most fun for the money is Angelo's Boat Tours in beautiful Cinque Terre. This private tour by a 10th generation Italian (Angelo) took us along the Cinque Terre shoreline where we were able to see all 5 villages. Angelo's lovely wife, Paula, made a fabulous lunch for us, served on the boat. The food was absolutely the best; fresh organic vegetables from their orto (farm) and seafood caught that day and the Prosceco and lemonade flowed freely. Angelo took us to private swimming coves, it was the best tour of our trip.
Barbara Phipps <email>
Oroville, CA USA Thu 03/27/2008
Presto Tours in Rome- Sarah
Hi,
I used Presto tours in Rome and had a young lady name Sarah and she was brilliant. She really made ancient Rome come to life with her history and funny anecdotes. I highly recommend Presto. We also had them for the Vatican, and their price was right and we did not have to stay in line. Guide was very good.
E.S.
Whittier, CA USA Wed 03/26/2008
Van tour of French Riviera -Sunny Days Tour
We just got back from a three night stay in Nice on the French Riviera. As eight students, we were looking for a budget worthy way to make it to a few other cities during our stay. We were able to book a fantastic tour guide, Leo, through Sunny Days tours (sunny.days@free.fr). Maria handles the booking and is very nice. For 41 euro a person we got to see Cannes, Antibes, and St. Paul during a five hour excursion. Leo knows everything about everything, including several languages. The company runs tours to other cities as well, but if you're only in the riviera for a few days, this is by far the best way to get the most out of it.
Jared
Scarsdale, NY USA Tue 03/25/2008
Celtic Horizons Tour of Bath & Surroundings
We contacted Alan Price's Celtic Horizons tour to see Stonehenge from Bath. Wow, we got so much more! He was quite flexible and offered to pick us up at our flat in London, take us on a tour of Hever castle, Stonehenge then dropped us off at our B&B in Bath. He picked us up the next day to see Castle Cumb, Lacock & Avebury before driving us all the way back to London. The depth of this knowledge was staggering, particularly about Bronze Age England. He was able to weave together a narrative connecting the long barrows, stone and wooden henges and all of the ancient sites we visited. [This may be helped as one of his daughters has almost completed her PhD in archaeology]. His knowledge of geology, ancient history, archaeology, and architecture was impressive. He had very reasonable rates considering the time he spent with us (16 hours over 2 days) and the distance traveled.
Teresa Reveley <email>
London, UK Sun 03/23/2008
liverpool tour
We had a great time in Liverpool using Phil Hughes as a guide. We saw all the Beatles sites and then some. Phil was very friendly and informative. His new van was roomy and comfortable, plus he provided drinks and snacks for our 4 hour tour. He was recommended by Rick and I kwould highly recommend Phil too!!!
Rich Reynolds <email>
Sheldon, Illino USA Sat 03/15/2008
Great day with Tuscan Wine Tours
I just took a group Chianti Classico wine tour with Rebecca of Tuscan Wine Tours. However, since I was in Italy in February, my husband and I were lucky to have Rebecca all to ourselves, though the max amount of people she ever takes on a tour is 8. Rebecca is so knowledgeable about wine and the region, and listening and speaking with her was a real pleasure. She took us to a few small towns that we never would have seen otherwise, on a great wine tour and tasting, and to a fabulous lunch spot truly off the beaten path. At 100 euro each (at a slight discount because of the low season) it was truly a great value, and the perfect way to explore Tuscany.
Katie <email>
New York, NY USA Sat 03/01/2008
Ghost tours in Prague
My wife and I enjoy ghost tours.The best was Mcgee's ghost tours of Prague.We got an exciting presentation and learned about the science within the paranormal.There was several ghost tours.Another couple told us they got a guy in a mask jumping out four times literally yelling Boo on one of the other ghost tours.I'm thankful we got mcgee!
Danny Carlow <email>
Tampa, fl USA Wed 02/27/2008
Real Rome Tours
I'm just back from Rome and want to recommend Real Rome Tours. The guide was superb, knew everything and delivered it in a way even our kids loved him. He became our new best friend (we were lucky because we were the only ones to have booked that day) and honestly felt so sad when it came time to say goodbye. He didn't want to leave us himself, the tour had already gone 45 minutes over the promised time.
My advice: Book with realrometours, and ask for Gerard!
Jeremy Pasquilino
Smoki, IL USA Tue 02/26/2008
Walking tour in Madrid
I know this is a very late note as we had our trip to Madrid in July 2007.
However, we always think about it and I would like to say it was one of our best walking tours to date.
Hernan A Satt (his email is info@madrid-museum-tours.org) is a funny, knowledgeable and sweet man who showed us around the secret alleys of Madrid. We are a Canadian family of 5 (english speaking) with kids 10,13 and 15. Even my kids were captivated and happy although they had sore feet. They loved the ice cream!!
So if you are thinking of going to Madrid, you must take a walking tour with Hernan as your guide,.. you will be very pleased and happy, not to mention you will love the city even more!
Thanks
Marci Trachter
Toronto, Canada
marci Trachter
Toronto, Ontario, Canada Thu 02/21/2008
mont st michel tour
Just back from France and want to recommend Westcapades.com cie to all travellers going to mont st michel. It was a wonderful, WONDERFUL tour of Mont St. Michel, Marc's guide/driver were a delight to spend the day with. It was one of the top highlights of our stay in France!!! Connie Minogue (Texas)
minogue
houston, texas USA Thu 02/14/2008
Tuscan Wine Tours with Rebecca
Just back from Italy and definitely want to recommend Rebecca's wine tour to fellow travellers. We did a joinable tour but it was only the two of us and we had a fantastic day touring the wine region outside of Florence. The weather was wonderful and we went to see a castle and multiple wineries. Rebecca was the perfect host and very knowledgeable about wine. I would recommend her company to anyone. The web-site is www.tuscan-wine-tours.com
Joyce Anderson
Pittsburg, PA USA Sun 02/10/2008
Avoid Grayline-Prague Day Trips
Avoid Grayline of Prague at all cost. I've liked other Grayline tours for day trips. Not the one in Prague- The owner is very greedy and a schemer. I booked a day trip from Prague to Czesky Krumlov - I booked online paid w/ my credit card, got a confirmation. Called 2 days ahead to confirm, first guy said they didn't have my booking, another person got on and said everything was fine, they had my paid booking.
In the middle of the day tour - the guide got a call from the owner telling him to leave me in Czesky Krumlov if I don't pay him in cash (he claimed I didn't pay). I got on the phone with him, and he refused to accept a credit card or settle in Prague, he kept arguing I would have to pay the guide in cash. The tour guide was sensible and said he wouldn't leave me there. I told the owner I would go to his office and settle when I got back to Prague. On the way home, the tour guide received another call asking him to leave me in the town again. Luckily I got back to Prague and kept walking and never saw the owner. When I contacted Grayline Corporate Office, they sent me a refund and apologized to me - said the computer system was messed up and would deal with the inexcusable treatment I received from the Grayline-Prague owner. (The tour guide even said he was greedy)
travelfan
Washington,, DC USA Tue 02/05/2008
Amalfi Coast Tour
A Tour of the spectacular Amalfi Coast with WWW.driveamalfi.com is a must for anyone visiting Naples on a Mediterranean Cruise
Matt Hawksbee
NYC, NY USA Sun 02/03/2008
Rome Tours Scam plus good Sky Tours
We signed up for a tour with our hotel, it was for the Colosseum and Ancient Rome. The guide took 15euros from each of us and then walked us by the Roman Forum, pointing things out from the road, then she stood in front of the Colosseum and gave a 20 minute leacture. Insane, we asked if we were actually going to enter the sites but she told us it was not important.
The next day after getting good advice from a fellow travler at our hotel, we joined a company called sky tours. We met the guide at the Colossuem and went into all the sites, he sopke in real English, (from Ireland) and was full of energy that showed he loved Rome.
Be warned, when you book a tour make sure it is entering the sites and that the guide speaks native English.
They usually advertise "english speaking guides" what you want is "native english guides"
The tour with Sky Tours Rome was not so cheap but did make a difference and was not rushed in any way.
Jack Fleming
USA Fri 01/18/2008
Touring Rome
Our family took a tour of the Jewish Ghetto in Rome, led by our terrific guide, Micaela Pavoncello. We started off with lunch at La Taverna de la Ghetto, where we sampled the "jewish roman" food, including the delicious fried artichokes, and then spent the next 3 hours touring the synagogue and more importantly, learning the history of the oldest (and still vibrant) Jewish community in Europe. I highly recommend calling or emailing Micaela before going to Rome- she will make your visit a memorable one. She also does "art tours" and can arrange a tour of the Vatican, which we took two days later.
Mark Shapiro
Greenwich, CT USA Sun 01/06/2008
Presto Tours - Michael
We participated in a tour of the Colosseum with Presto Tours. Our guide was Michael and it was the highlight of our trip to Rome. His knowledge, personality, enthusiasm and ability to convey information in an easily digestible fashion was without peer. This was the best guided tour we have been on in 30 years of traveling!
G
USA Fri 01/04/2008