Day Tours in Europe: by Bus, on Foot, and Your Take on Local Guides
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?
Have you hired a guide in Turkey or Morocco? Right now we're particularly interested in getting your feedback about day tours in Turkey (especially Istanbul) and Morocco (especially Tangier). If you've had a good experience hiring a Turkish or Moroccan guide, we'd like to hear about it. Please include the guide's name and contact information. Thanks!
- Please don't post questions here. Use our Travelers Helpline.
Private driving tours in France
American Driver/Guide in Paris
Just met an amazing sightseeing guide in Paris - He's American, but has been living in France for something like 20 years... He picked us up at the hotel, and drove us through the Loire Valley in his minivan, where we got to visit the fabulous Renaissance castles of Chenonceau, Chambord, and Chaumont (his personal "favorite" suggestions). he was such an interesting person to have as a guide! He grew up in the US, but his parents were French, and they taught him the language while he was young, and he later moved to France and Married a French woman. When he gives his tours he has a wealth of knowledge on local customs, and such an interesting perspective on life in France - I'm sure we would never have learned any of the stuff he told us - from a French guide... It was such a great tour that we decided to hire him the next time we go to France - for a tour to Normandy, and the WWII invasion beaches - as he said it was his most popular excursion. We found him online: http://www.americandriverinparis.com
Phoebe
LA, CA USA 02/08/2012
Our experience in Rome
My husband and I took three tours with Ettore and Sarah at Antiqua Tours in Rome and we highly recommend them. It turns out they are a married couple that runs this business together with each doing tours. We joined their wine tour for our first night in Rome with Ettore and couldn't be more please. He was delightful, knowledgeable and hosted an excellent tasting in the heart of the city. A great way to get to know "real" Rome outside of the obligatory sites.
Since we had limited time we opted to take their Rome in a Day tour which took us EVERYWHERE in the city including the Vatican, Trivia Fountain and Coliseum, but also a few lesser known places that were off the beaten path. Sarah, our guide for the day, never made us feel like tourists, but rather like old friends taking a stroll in the city. Plus, it was fantastic to be able t just get into each place with no wait in line. Everything was taken care of. Even though it was a long day, Sarah was energetic and knowledgeable and really made the day fun. We had lunch in a Trattoria that was excellent, the pesto ravioli and roman artichokes were divine!
For our last day we once again joined Ettore for a tour of Ostia Antica. We had thought about taking a day trip to Pompeii, but we are sure glad we didn't. Ostia Antica is one of the most fascinating places to visit in Rome and there is barely a soul there. Acres and acres of ruins, and with Ettore, we felt like we were able to understand the ancient Roman way of life. Ettore was excellent, read Latin inscriptions for us and brought Rome to life.
Thanks Antiqua Tours, we can't wait to get to Rome in the near future, it is certainly sad to leave.
Kelly Bennet
NYC, NY USA 02/05/2012
Eco Car Tours Rome Italy
We booked an Eco Car Tour experience through Angel Tours while staying in Rome which was the best choice we had made in Italy because our teenage girls and our parents all really loved the trip. The cars are small open electric cars which can be parked almost any place and the local guides know the city well, and explain things in simple easy to undertand terms. The price was fair and the tour lasted 6 hours or more which went by very fast.
Betty Wills
MI USA 02/01/2012
Jewish Roma Vatican Tour
This tour was just phenomenal. i had heard so many wonderful things about it and it did not disappoint.
Everything from start to finish kept me listening intently and captivated.
I went with a few mates and all agreed, it was just amazing.
I would not recommend for younger children. 3 hours is a long time to be on your feet, and im not sure, from my personal experience, they would appreciate it at a young age. Better to wait till they do, it's worth it.
Australia 01/31/2012
Incredible Berlin tour with Lee Evans
Our recent shore excursion was led by Lee Evans, who, in twenty years of traveling, was easily and by far the best guide we've ever had. Lee is an expert in all things Berlin and Germany and there was never a dull moment. He really connected with all of us, especially my children and constantly tailored the day to meet our needs. Not only was he smart and funny, but was in Berlin when the wall fell, giving us his life experience as well. Throughout the day, Lee had special treats, like chocolates and cookies that fit into whatever he was discussing with us. He even had typical Berlin snacks when he discussed the role of French immigrants on Berlin's history. I particularly enjoyed his iPad photo selection of Berlin's glory days and destruction during the war.
We were early and managed to get off the ship before our meeting time. Lee had great recommendations for every other port-call on our cruise and we wish that he could have come along with us to Finland and Estonia.
Lee made our day memorable and special.
Rebecca Jorden
Chicago, IL USA 01/31/2012
Jewish Roma Walking Tours
We had a great experience with Jewish Roma tours, using them for two family tours (Jewish Ghetto and Ancient Rome) tours. Highly recommended
Myra Mogilner
New York, NY USA 01/30/2012
Rome Walks Tours
We were in Rome in May 2011. We booked two walking tours with a company called Rome Walks. We booking a tour of the Vatican Museum and a tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Forum. We had the same guide for both tours. She was absolutely wonderful, and it was great having explanations of what we were seeing. She was completely through and added so much to our experience. It was also great not having to wait in the long lines to get into these site.
Bill
Hainesport, NJ USA 01/30/2012
Jewish Roma walking tours
The tour with Jewish Roma run by Micaela (we had Sara as a tour guide) was one of the highlights of the trip! She gave us so much more information that we would not have gotten from a book and let us know more about the history of such a great place that is generally overlooked. Very highly recommended!!!
Mindy
London, UK 01/29/2012
Rome was our favourite thanks to Roman Empire Tours.
We had a wonderful time in Europe but Rome was our favourite mostly thanks to our two wonderful tours of The Vatican and The Colosseum and Forum by Jimmy from Roman Empire Tours. We found Roman Empire Tours through Tripadvisor and we were surprised to see their reviews were flawless. After spending two days with Jimmy we could see why! If Rome is apart of your European trip you must check these guys out... http://romanempiretours.com/
Daniel English
London, USA 01/27/2012
Segway Tour of Ancient Rome
We absolutely loved the Segway tour of Ancient Rome. It exceeded our expectations, and we would recommend it to anyone we know who will be travelling to Rome.
Our guide was wonderful, his English was impeccable, and he was very informed. His knowledge of the area kept us entertained for well over 3 hours.
This tour was truly the highlight of our week in Rome!!
Kerry Hannify Morin
Southington, CT USA 01/27/2012
Berlin tour
We had the good fortune to hire Nick Jackson for a tour of Berlin. His professional background, intelligence, deep knowledge of the subject matter, sense of humor and enthusiasm gave us an experience that surpassed our highest expectations. Nick went the extra mile for us, recommending things to do in Berlin and restaurants to visit, including what to order. It was cold, rainy and my feet were wet but I hung on his every word for five hours. He is highly recommended by Rick Steve in his Germany guidebook and can be reached through Ship2Shore Tours.
Lynne, Tim & Kathy Kerwin
Keuka Park, NY USA 01/23/2012
Exceptional Tour of Normany Battleffields
My wife and I highly recommend guide and historian Edward Robinson and Battle of Normandy Tours in Bayeux. Edward did an extraordinary amount of research on my wife's father's unit and led us on a customized tour of Omaha Beach, the hedgerows and St. Lo, where her Dad fought in 1944. It is very, very worth the price to hire a personal guide, especially if your time is limited and you have specific things you want to see and learn about. Edward Robinson is smart, humorous and focused on providing a tour you will remember for a lifetime. Thanks, Edward!
James Harnar
Portland, ME USA 01/22/2012
Jewish Roma Private Tours
Jewish Roma Private Tours
My family and I had a great time with the tours that we took in Rome. The guides explained the facts past and present with a lot of details. We would recommend them to anyone visiting Rome.
Ivo Halpern
Sao Paulo, Brazil 01/18/2012
Tour of Tivoli/Hadrian's Villa with ChristinaGiannicchi
My nephew and I had a marvelous tour of Hadrian's villa and Villa D'Este and a quarry on the way to Tivoli with Christina Giannicchi. I contacted Christina ahead of time and she made great suggestions of how to structure our private tour at
various prices. She arranged for the
terrific limo which picked us up at our hotel, picked up Christina and off we went to the quarry. She had made arrangements with the quarry and we had a great tour, and she handled all the translations. Then off to Hadrian's Villa, where she provided us with a comprehensive tour within time constraints so that we could get the bus to return to Tivoli. Her direction for a quick place to eat lunch was good and economical. Then off to Villa d'Este with its amazing water features and gardens. She watched the time so we could enjoy gelatto and catch the bus back to the train station. She also helped us get us to the correct train back to Rome. She is quite knowledgeable and her English is terrific. My nephew and I agree that
Chris was the best tour guide we had in Italy. We were quite sorry to say goodbye to her. Her command of the details of travel and time requirements meant we had a chance to see a lot in one day. I would highly recommend her. She also does tours of the Vatican and other areas in Rome.
Jan Luymes
Newport Beach, CA USA 01/18/2012
Oui Paris!
While my family and I were wandering around (getting lost) in Paris, we stumbled onto a very witty tour guide giving a tour of center city. We followed her for awhile until we asked if we could jump on and she said "absolutley!" The price was right and the tour was amazing! We don't normally take tours because they feel like history lectures but this was totally different! Her knowledge of the city, culture, and history was overwhelming. and the way she gave the tour was great. There were lots of witty jokes, interesting facts, and we were allowed to ask as many questions as we wanted. They have other tours that unfortunatley we could not take because we were leaving the city. However the next time we are in town we will go again with this company. The company is called Oui Paris tours and they have a website with some nice pictures too!
Joanne
USA 01/16/2012
Knowledgeable and Entertaining
In our first visit to Berlin, Jeremy Minsberg proved a most engaging and informative guide. With Jeremy, we walked extensively through different parts of the city, viewing a wide range of historical sites, memorials, and architectural styles. Jeremy is knowledgeable, communicates effectively, and is refreshingly frank (if not irreverent). He helped to make our visit a most enlightening and meaningful experience. We recommend him highly. Jeremy's web address is: http://www.the berlinexperts.com.
Michael & Renee
Minneapolis, MN USA 01/16/2012
Florence cooking class
If you have a spare morning or afternoon in Florence I would highly recommend giving 'Cook Eat Italian' a try. They run small group hands-on cooking classes in Florence, Tuscany at fairly reasonable prices. Aimed at the amateur rather than professional cooks we found it was perfect as an introduction to Italian and Tuscan cooking. And we got to have lunch with a glass of wine at the end of the class! Lots of fun: give it a try.
Jim Sanderson
Chicago, IL USA 01/15/2012
Eye Prefer Paris Tours
Eye Prefer Paris Tours.
I have had the pleasure of going on two of Richard Nahem's Eye Prefer Paris Tours. Richard takes the time to customize the tour depending on what you want to see and what your interests are. Richard is funny, knowledgeable and not to mention 'in the know' on all the Parisian trends.
Richard's tours are now going to be a part of all my trips to Paris!
Jaime
Boston, ma USA 01/12/2012
Prague Walker Tour
My husband and I took a few days to enjoy Prague. We booked a tour with the Prague Walker. This was my second experience with tours with the Prague Walker. We booked their new Communist tour and had them tailor it with a little history of Prague for us as well. Katarina offered an excellent tour that was personable,informative and well paced. Once again the Prague Walker excelled our expectations in service, competence and best of all is reasonably priced for a private tour. Thanks for the recommendation.
Gary and Linette
Colorado Springs, CO USA 01/07/2012
Antiqua Tours in Rome
Over the holidays we visiting Rome and had a splendid time. Rome is so beautiful at Xmas time, lights everywhere! We took three tours with Antiqua Tour and couldn't be happier. Ettore was fabulous for all three tours, we is full of knowledge, but also charming and personable, in fact his wife is from our home town, San Diego, so we hit it off right away. We had a wine tasting tour on our first evening which was both fun and informative. In fact it was the highlight of our trip to Rome. We learned so much about Italian wien and Roman culture. it was like a night out with a good friend who happens to be an expert in wine. We also toured Ostia Antica and Trastevere and the Jewish Quarter. Both were fabulous! Ettore made ancient Rome come to life at Ostia. i think it was one of the most facinating historical sites i have visited, and as a third time visitor to Rome, it was a great break from the crowds in the Forom. Trastevere was facinating and gave us a glimpse into early Christianity and Judaism in Rome. Honestly, I think it was the guide that made them so facinating. When in Rome it is a true benefit to have a guide, and a blessing to have one that is so much fun and made us feel like we were part of the continuing history of Rome.
Melinda O'Neill
San Diego, CA USA 01/04/2012
Morocco (Tangier) tour guide
Morocco - tour guide: Aziz Begdouri we emailed ahead of time. Aziztour@hotmail.com He got right back to us and offered us a few choice days. He told us not to buy our ticket to the ferry, and sent us a confirmation number. This worked perfectly. We boarded without paying a dime. He met us as soon as we went through immigration – with a sign with our names. He put us in a van with 4 other couples (including one family). Had we chosen our own guide as the couple we bumped into on the ferry, we would have had a guide to ourselves. That said, we totally enjoyed the other people – particularly the charming little boys who allowed us to see Morocco through their eyes.
Aziz took us through the streets to the Grand Socco (the big, main square), market places, supermarkets, Old Town and the Kasbah. We saw the people entering mosques for prayer, and were thrilled by the tolling of the bells calling people to prayer. It was quite fascinating. We ate at a nice restaurant with Aziz helping us order. After lunch, off to shop! I wasn't going to buy a rug, but I'm really glad I did. I actually left the shop after offering an absurd price, and the man ran after me and said yes. Then he asked if we'd like to pay in cash or "plastic fantastic," which we thought was quite comical. We then got back in his van and drove past the king's palace. We saw the beautiful beaches and rode a camel (silly, but fun).
The only problem was that we were worried we would miss the 6 PM ferry. Aziz assured us it was fine, and even called the ferry line to say we were on our way. We hit traffic and sat at a light, watching a man in the front seat of a car turn to the woman in the backseat and punch her. Quite shocking!
Well, Aziz got us through passport control and the three families (the others stayed overnight) dashed down to the dock just in time to see the doors close. No amount of pleading could get them to put us on the boat, though it sat there for about half an hour. We were told another would be there in 30 minutes. HA!!!! I'm glad the adorable, little boys were there, as I was about to blow my stack when the 5 year old said to me, "It's okay! There will be another boat!" Ah, the easy-going nature of a child. Even this little guy started getting tired by 8:30. Aziz (we called him) did come back and checked up on us (and brought us a bottle of wine – but no corkscrew so we never drank it). The ferry did finally show up. But then it had to debark the passengers and the cars and the BUSSES!!!!! One of the busses actually bottomed out as it came out. It took many men and about 30 minutes to finally get it off the dock. I took a picture of it – and as I was taking a second – a guard came running up to me and yelled at me (be sure to check out my picture trail, as you will see pictures of the boat and the guard!)
By the time we landed in Tarifa, it was 11:30. Thank goodness our car hadn't been towed. We returned to the Marriott at 2 am. Sadly, we couldn't get ourselves up to go to the Alhambra the next day. Oh well – a reason to return to Spain one day.
ellen luchette
Limerick, pa USA 01/02/2012
Italy Segway Tour - Rome
Italy Segway Tours-
I very much enjoyed the segway tour that I took in Rome. It was very easy to learn how to use the segway, I had never been on one before. I really liked how we covered so much area in just a few hours. I don't believe I would have seen some of the amazing views of the Rome skyline if I had not been on this tour. The tour guide was very informative and the information shown on the iPad was really neat! I would recommend this tour to anyone that is in the area looking to see a lot with little time!
Guide: Claudio Coppi
(+39) 055 2398855
Jiehan
Birmingham, MI USA 12/29/2011
D-Day Tours
We (Mom, Dad and kids 18 and 12) took an all day tour with Edward Robinson of Battle of Normandy Tours and had a wonderful experience. Edward was knowledgable and fun and even my 12 year old daughter had a good time!
Leah Beske
Coronado, CA USA 12/28/2011
Krakow
For day tours in and around Krakow, I highly recommend Andrew Durman.
www.tour-service.pl
Karen Gruska
Boynton Beach, FL USA 12/27/2011
Wine tour from Florence, Tuscany
Our day trip from Florence into the countryside of Tuscany with the Slow day in Tuscany was the highlight of our Italy trip. It was the one day where we really got talking with the locals at the winery and learnt about the Tuscan cuisine. I'd highly recommend them if you want a day out from Florence. Now we're hoping the wine we shipped arrives in time for New Years.
Linda
Tulsa, ok USA 12/24/2011
D Day
We spent two days with Edward Robinson touring D Day sites. He is both extraordinarily
knowledgeable and entertaining. The trip was a gift to my 14 year-old son, who is fascinated by D Day. Edward was especially informative for Ben. On our second day Edward took us to the setting of an obscure post D Day skirmish, where he used a
metal detector to find used German bullets and other remnants buried under leaves and dirt. They are now an amazing treasure for our son.
It is said that the best teachers are those who are truly passionate about their subject.
In every respect Edward Robinson is a great teacher because he has a profound
passion for his subject. We spent 6 days in France. Our two days with Edward were the highlight of our trip and a magnificent and lasting memory.
Andy Greenspan
Palm Beach Gardens, FL USA 12/24/2011
Wine Tour
My husband and I recently took a tour through Tuscan Trails with Todd. We were fortunate to be the only people on the tour so we had his undivided attention. We had a great time! My usually skeptical husband even admitted he had a good time. We thouroughly enjoyed the wine and wineries, but what made this tour stand out was Todd's other knowledge. My husband enjoyed his knowledge of italian history and politics. If you are looking for a great wine tour plus more, this company is for you!
Debbie
Pittsburgh, PA USA 12/19/2011
Segway Rome
Segway was fantastic.
Although it rained for most of our Rome Segway tour, it made no difference, the machines are a lot of fun and we got to see things we never would have been able to see had we been walking.
We also felt they were very safe on some of Rome's busier roads.
Our guide Roberto was also fantastic, keeping us safe and his knowledge of Rome and his command of English was excellent.
A great tour, highly recommended.
Isabel
Sydney, NSW Australia 12/15/2011
Segway tour
We had a fantastic time on the Segway tour, in under 3 hours we got to see a huge chunk of Rome and had a very informative tour guide who was very knowledgeable about the site and showed some interactive videos of past and present site around Rome which were fantastically done. I would highly recommend this to anyone going on a Tour to Rome, it is a lot less exhausting than walking and you get to get a lot closer than on a bus.
Kim
Cork, Cork Ireland 12/13/2011
WW II Normandy Beach tour
We took a one day tour of the landing beaches in Normandy with "Overlord Tours", and found it to be excellent. It was well organized, informative and very interesting. Our guide was knowledgeable, answered all of our questions, and spoke excellent English.
John Stratton
Manhattan Beach,, Calif. USA 12/09/2011
Franco's Fadda's Wine Tours Tuscany
Don't miss this if your in the Florence area
I have been on this tour 3 different times and each has been different. You can even plan your own tour. Small and intimate tours, no huge buses. I really think this is something of quality that you would pass along. Give it a shot. You haven't let me down so far and Italy is a long way to go from California. This one is well worth the time and money.
Joe
Long Beach, Ca USA 12/09/2011
Antiqua Tours-Wine Tour and Ostia Antica in Rome
We enjoyed a wonderful wine tasting tour in Rome with Antiqua Tours over Thanksgiving. Ettore was so charming and a virtual encyclopedia when it came to Rome and wine in general. We enjoyed the tour so much we later joined him for a tour of the Historic Center and Ostia Antica. Ostia Antica is by far the most facinating place we visited in Italy and Ettore was the perfect guide.
James Forel
Boston, MA USA 12/08/2011
Rome Segway tour
This tour was the highlight of my trip to Rome. The Segways are soo much fun and so easy to control. The guided tour was amazing because we wore an ear piece and could hear every word clear as a bell. It was extraordinary. Do it!
Ames
Austin, TX USA 12/07/2011
Visit to Berlin
Ship2Shore Guides to Berlin from port of Hamburg with Lee Evans and Nick Jackson, with extra tour from Mina in Hamburg. We pulled into Hamburg and our group of 8 off the Prinsendam were met by Mina, a Ship2Shore guide. She gave us a great introductory walking tour of Hamburg. We had an early call the next morning, so she picked us up, packed us onto the ICE train to Berlin, where we were met by Lee, the Guide supreme, for our wonderful visit to Berlin. In the early afternoon we were joined by his partner Nick Jackson, and continued our visit. Before departing Berlin, they also shared our meal at a true German pub, near the train station. We cannot say enough about this company, and at no time did we worry that we would not make it back to the ship on time. Taking the fast train to Berlin saved a lot or road time, and we were well into our tour when I saw the ship's tour pull up to the Brandenburg Gate. Great tip from your Germany guidebook!
Judy Medeiros
Naples, FL USA 12/04/2011
Rome Segway Tour
I'm sorry I don't remember our tour guide's name, but he was also an archaeologist, and incredibly knowledgeable and interesting, besides being a nice, approachable guy! For me, the Segway Tour was the highlight of my trip to Rome. It was so much fun and just a fabulous way to see the sights. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to ride one at age 67, but it was very, very easy. I loved the experience and have nothing but praise for Italy Segway Tours.
Betsy Beecher
Portland, ME USA 12/04/2011
Horrible Free tours in Rome
We joined the Rome free tour or new Rome free tour at the Spanish steps in Rome with an Italian man who was boring and not easy to listen to, but to top it off he spent a lot of time running after guides he didnt like to tell them he was calling the cops on them, it was funny at first but then just became annoying. We think his name was Stefano.
The next day we joined a tour with guide who talked about tipping all the time but didnt really offer much info because he said we would get more info if we joined the paid tour from the guys street selling in front of the Colosseum. We wanted to leave but then saw a huge line so joined that tour which was ok but had about 25 people in the group.
A few days later we did a private tour with another company recommended by our hotel and it was much better.
Free I suppose means you get what you pay for.
Jason Graham
Boston, USA 12/02/2011
Vatican walking tours with Angel Tours Rome
Recently we visited the Roman Vatican Museums using the guys from Angel Tours Rome who did a splendid job getting us to the most interesting art works and rooms. The tour was 4.5 hrs but never boring or dragging. It was a hot crowded day but we still listened to the guide who was easy to listen to and understand. www.angeltoursrome.com
P Rudd
Detroit, mi USA 12/01/2011
Great Rome Tour with Private Guide
We [INVALID]ed a guide from Rick's suggestions for private tours in Rome and we were very pleased we did. Cristina Giannicchi at www.crisacross.com provided us with a morning tour of the Vatican. We loved her knowledge, easy-going style, and helpfulness. Well worth the money for a private tour!
Deb Levine
Lebanon, NJ USA 12/01/2011
Day trip out of Seville Spain
My wife and I took a trip with an Australian called Paul McGrath through the white villages of Andalusia. The gentleman was really informative and a good driver. Although he has an obvious affection for the area he does give an [INVALID]native view of Spanish life which I found refreshing. The website is www.theotherspain.galeon.com
John Walsh
Dublin, USA 11/29/2011
Vatican Museum -- "Roman Oddysey Tours"
Rahul, from Roman Odyssey tours, really knows his stuff. Perfect guide to the Vatican museum -- flexible, smart, funny. I'm a budget traveler, and this tour was my one minor splurge in Rome, but it was well worth it.
Brian
Boulder, CO USA 11/28/2011
Walking tours in Rome
When in Rome, make sure to book ahead your walking tours with
Micaela Pavoncello
JewishRoma Walking Tours
Mobile +39 328 8638128
We had two fabulous tours...one was a taste of ROme for over three hours with Lara....from the Trinity Church above the Spanish Steps through the city, ending near the Piazza Navona. She was smart, patient, energetic and knowledgeable about all things Roman and italian.
We then had a private walking tour with Micol of the Jewish Ghetto....again, a terrific young guide that knew her history, culture, geography and more. Like Lara, Micol was a pleasure to learn from and that we did.
You know one of the tests of really learning and absorbing is when you return home and go through your photos and can not only remember everything you saw but be able to retell what you learned. Hats off to Micaela for hiring such authentic and fabulous guides!
Cheryl D
Los Angeles, CA USA 11/28/2011
Wine Tasting in Rome
We thoroughly enjoyed our wine tour with Antiqua Tours in Rome. Ettore went above and beyond to ensure that we had a magical evening. He is well informed about his country's food and wine and did a wonderful job guiding us through the complex world of Italian wine. We are foodies, so we also enjoyed the food pairings with the wine. It was the best "tour" we took in Rome and really gave us a feel for local culture.
Sally Richards
Denver, CO USA 11/27/2011
Angel Tours Rome
We had two tours while in Rome using Angel Tours guides. Lindy gave an excellent kid friendly tour of the Vatican and Ancient Rome sites making our trip more enjoyable and memorable. Emails got answered fast which made booking very easy, we paid everything in advance and didnt wait in any lines. Over all I can recommend Angel Tours Rome for their knowledge and sense of fun on tours.
Kyle Richards
Maine, USA 11/27/2011
Rome with an Irish guide
Our needs in Rome included a kid friendly guide who knew how to get around with my happy go lucky Mother in law who needed a person she could understand and hear in a crowd. The guide from Angel Tours Rome a young man from Dublin was the best choice in our Italian trip. He was fun, educated and never rushed, we felt like we had a friend walking around with.
Tina Robertson
Jacksonville, USA 11/16/2011
Discover Parisan Gems Off the Beaten Track
I was recently on business to Paris and had just three hours between meetings to try and grab a bit of Paris. I had three objectives: visit some lesser known Parisian food shops, buy a few Christmas gifts at authentic boutiques and have key architecture pointed out along the way. Richard was able to accomplish all of this and keep a sense of humor given that it rained on us. I snagged a beautiful and unusual sweater for my daughter, incredible note cards from a stunning calligraphy shop, popped into see several private courtyards and closed out the excursion with an espresso and pastry. Richard has an easy way about him and is totally flexible. We are planning a return trip in the spring with my daughter. Check out Eye Prefer Paris Tours - http://www.eyepreferparistours.com/
Elonide Semmes
Portland, Maine USA 11/14/2011
Eco City Tour Rome
I found the Eco City tour when looking for a tour in Rome since my husband has trouble walking. Seeing Rome in an electric golf cart is the perfect way to see the city. This tour exceeded our expectations! Our guide Sean was extremely knowledgeable and made the tour interesting and fun. Our driver Regina navigated the traffic with ease so that we were able to see so much of the city up close while minimizing the walking. We enjoyed the tour so much that we contacted the company to set up something later in our trip to see a few more sites. Sean was not available but Regina was back and went out of her way to personalize a trip to several sites that we were unable to get to on our own . We highly recommend this tour company. They were professional and always responded to our needs. They made our trip!
Karen
New Orleans, LA USA 11/11/2011
Jewish Roma Walking Tour
Jewiah Roma Private Walking Tours - Definately worth the money and time. My husband and I and some friends were only in Rome for a few days and I would definately recommend this to anyone. Sara was our guide and we thoroughly enjoyed her knowledge and patience. We learned so much we had no idea about. This is definately a tour to take whether you are jewish or not as I was the only jewish member in our group and the others were facinated as well.
Annette Duffy
Addison, IL USA 11/08/2011
Rome in a day
We used Roman Odyssey, Rahul was extremely knowledge and had visuals to solidify the learning experience. He was very personable, not a dull moment. I wouldn't do it any other way. Definitely worth the money!
Laura Hedger
Norwalk, CT USA 11/08/2011
Florence Tour with Paola Migliorini
Paola was a wonderful guide; she was able to customize the tour within the tour due to her superb local knowledge. Not only were we able to have an excellent tour of Florence we were also able to have a quick visit to Pisa. Her English and communication skills were top notch!
www.florencetour.com
Tom Andrews and group
Kalamazoo, MI USA 11/07/2011
Istanbul guides
We had Cem Andic as a guide for Istanbul. He was wonderfulllll[INVALID]very well educated and a very diplomatic person. cemandic@gmail.com
He said both he and his wife are guides.
Lynn Crawford
Oro Valley, AZ USA 11/04/2011
Rome Tours
We took a great tour with Through Eternity Tours. They offer several (we missed a scheduled one for the Vatican, but a friend has used it, and I hear great things), but we did the Twilight Tour. The guide was well informed and it was a small group, so it still felt somewhat intimate. He recommended places to eat after, too, and the one we went to was fabulous. If you're looking for a good tour and at a reasonable price, I highly recommend Through Eternity.
*As a side note, we missed our tour due to the metro shutting down and not being able to reach our guide. Through Eternity was easy to deal with and refunded us the money.
Mindy
Kansas City, MO USA 11/01/2011
Florence Tour by Paola Migliorini
We had an amazing time on our day tour to Montepulciano & Pienza. The guide was so friendly and very accommodating. We had so much fun exploring the two different cities we visited and hearing all about the history of the region as we drove through Tuscany. In Pienza, he walked us through the town to get our bearing, even stopping to make us lunch reservations. I would recommend anyone to sign up for one of their many tours.
Jacob Flinck
Washington, DC USA 11/01/2011
Roman Odyssey Tour Rome
Wwell prepared used Rahul of Roman Odyssey for our Walking tour of Ancient Rome,Vatican and Pantheon and was the best money we ever spent.Not only was he knowledgeable but used an overlay from a book to show us what we were looking at the site during its time. It made it so much more memorable.
Edward & Olga Biehler
Marietta, GA USA 10/31/2011
Italy
Your guide book on Italy was fantastic. We received better directions from your book than in Italy.We traveled to Rome,Florence and venice. The resturants were also great,especially in Venice.This was our first time using you book and will always plan our trips according to your recommendations.Thank you for a great and memorable trip, couldn't have enjoyed it more.
Olga
Marietta, GA USA 10/31/2011
Chartres Cathedral
I did a wonderful tour of Chartres Cathedral with Sabine La Duault as our tour guide on the 14th of October. One of the highlights of the afternoon was a wonderful lecture by the British scholar and author, Malcolm Miller, who is a renowned expert of the cathedral. Sabine accompanied us on the tour of the crypt to translate the French tour guides talk ... which was not only helpful for her group, but also for the many other Americans and Brits in the tour group.
I highly recommend Sabine as a tour guide. She is very knowledgeable, speaks fluent English (also Spanish) and she does a great job of customizing tours for you – just tell her where you want to go and/or what you want to see and she will provide a wonderful tour with lots of history and background details. I have done many tours of Paris and the surrounding regions – including Bruges – with Sabine since 2005 ... she is THE BEST!
As an added bonus - her husband, François, often comes along on the tours as a driver – he is a wonderful presence.
Sabine's contact information:
Email: parisauthentique@yahoo.fr
Website: www.paris-authentique.com
Lee
Santa Cruz, CA USA 10/31/2011
Italian Days Food Experiences Bologna
An amazing day with a passionate "foodie," Alessandro was the perfect host to tour factories for parmesano reggiano, balsamic vinegar and proscuitto. It was topped off by a huge, fantastic meal at a secret restaurant in the hills outside Bologna where the hunters bring their catch. I would make a special trip to Bologna just for this tour and hope to return some day for another.
Suzanne
Greensboro, NC USA 10/29/2011
Florence for Fun--The Best of Tuscany
The tour was a good value for the money, but could have been better. We covered alot of beautiful countryside, but the movies shown on the bus to highlight italian scenery could have been better chosen (less profanity). We spent so much time waiting for late returns to the bus, that we lost alot of our free time in the towns. It was difficult to hear the guide and there was no translation of parts of the tour (winery museum).
The hosts at the wineries and cheese farm were delightful and provided an excellent experience.
Suzanne
Greensboro, NC USA 10/29/2011
Normandy Tour
Overlord Tours provided us with a fantastic 3 day tour of Normandy Beaches and Mont St. Michele. Tour Guide was friendly, made us feel at ease, catered to our needs and was so knowledgable. Highly recommend them
Jill
Glastonbury, CT USA 10/29/2011
Jewish ghetto tour/Roma tours
Jewish Roma walking tours a must and thoroughly informative and enjoyable. Personal, small group (or private) gives you a real experience of Jewish history and life in the ghetto and modern Rome. A memorable experience!
Doug & Mkchele Schwartz
New York, Ny USA 10/29/2011
Through eternity cultural associatio
I just want to say that Through Eternity was a wonderful tour company. We started with Stephano in the Piazzas and Fountains tour. He was knowledgeable and had a pleasing personality. He also took us to his favorite gelato hideaway. YUMMY Our tour of the Vatican and the Colosseum were equally enjoyable. I would recommend this company to everyone. Good value and wonderful guides.
Christy
Costa Mesa, CA USA 10/29/2011
Segway Tour of Rome
Italy Segway Tours-Rome
I don't know where to start with this tour, it well exceeded our expectations. We saw much more of Rome than we expected. We would never have walked up all of those hills so going by Segway was perfect. The views we saw were breathtaking! Capitol Hill was just awesome and the Orange grove allowed us to see all over Rome. The tour was absolutely amazing! I would definitely recommend people to do a Segway tour. You cover so much more distance than you ever would on a normal day and see parts of Rome you didn't know existed. Our tour guide, Debra was lovely. My partner said it was the best tour he has ever been on and I agree. We want to do it again and next time we travel we will look up this tour company for sure. Brilliant tour, definitely do it.
Laura Hudson
Lancashire, United Kingdom 10/28/2011
Vatican tour
Jewish Vatican tour in Rome was absolutely amazing! Our guide's name was Daniela Amar. We were with non-Jewish tourists as well as Jewish ones and all agreed that the experience could never have been as meaningful without her.
Ruth Poles
Phoenix, AZ USA 10/27/2011
Jewish Roma tour is a must
We used Jewish Roma to provide us with a tour of the Jewish Ghetto. We are so glad we took the time to arrange this tour, as it gave us a much more interesting and in-depth understanding of Jewish life in Rome now and in the past. Our guide was terrific and very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject matter.
Laurie
Boston, MA USA 10/25/2011
Private Driver Amalfi Coast
Recently I hired a private driver, Anthony Buonocore who owns Amalfi Transfers to take myself and a friend from Naples to Amalfi. We had THE BEST day with Anthony, not only is he born and bred in Amalfi, but he's charming, hilarious, an expert and safe driver, and handsome too girls !! Anthony will take you to all the best photo sites, drop you off in Positano for some retail therapy, drive you into the hills to a fabulous restaurant for lunch, and guarantee to have you back, ( in our case), to our ship in good time allowing for traffic. I found Anthony on the net and he's on YouTube, so you can see him in his smart Italian suit, see his car and hear what he has to say. We Aussie girls felt absolutely safe at all times, and where else would you find a driver to serenade you as we drove along the beautiful Amalfi Coast....absolutely heavenly !! His fee for 8-9 hrs is a reasonable 320 Euro which includes a tasting of Limoncello. I would definitely use Anthony again, he was just wonderful, he gave us a day that we hoped for and more. Anthony Buonocore is a great guy who is now my friend. You would go a long way to experience a better day on the Amalfi Coast.
VICKI KIMBER
BRISBANE, QLD AUSTRALIA 10/24/2011
Transportation in Rome-Roman Odyssey
Hey, You can believe what you read about recommendations in Rick's Rome book. Roman Odyessy is a great agency for personal guides and for transportation arrangements. We made three different transfer request and each was handled professionally and the drivers were competent and helpful. The agency had no problem giving us the discount for mentioning Rick Steves guide book. Which is how we found them six years ago during our first trip. Thanks for the great information!
N. Perez
Visalia, CA USA 10/24/2011
Eye Prefer Paris Walking Tour
Flying solo in Paris for a very short trip, I was lucky enough to book a tour ahead of time with Richard of Eye Prefer Paris tours. I am so glad I did. Richard was the local friend that you wish you had to see the hidden treasures in Le Marais. We took in the wonderful Bastille Food & Flea market and he then guided me through Le Marais. His insights, historical knowledge, his great sense of style and appreciation of food and his keen sense of what's happening now in the area was so helpful. I spent the next few days circling back to the very spots Richard highlighted during our tour. With a city full of choices, I highly recommend this tour to help you narrow your focus and glimpse a real slice of Paris with someone who is truly devoted Paris and all it has to offer.
L Capraro
Middleburg, VA USA 10/24/2011
guided tours
Through Eternity Cultural Association in Rome, Italy is terrific! We had the best experience- we had 2 tours, one with Luca and another one with Kathryn. Both are incredibly knowledgeable, fun and just a joy to be around. Our first tour was fountains and piazzas in Evening Rome with Luca. There were only 6 people including us. Luca made this tour so interesting. He then walked us to the bus stop to make sure we'll find a way back to the hotel. Next day we visited Vatican with Kathryn- she is very fun and has a great personality. We could not have had a better experience! Evgenia
Through Eternity Cultural Association
Rome, USA 10/23/2011
Jewish Roma Tours
We used Jewish Roma for two tours in Rome - the Jewish Catacombs and Walking Tour of Jewish Ghetto. Both were outstanding. Guides were very knowledgeable and passionate about area. They brought the history of Jews on Rome alive for us.
Paula
Louisville, KY USA 10/22/2011
Tour From Rome to Florence (Gianni Rossini)
Gianni Rossini the owner of toursaroundtuscany.com was amazing. He drove us from Rome to the hill towns of Tuscany, and then to our hotel in Florence. He has the soul of a poet and the humor of a comedian. He was informative, friendly and very kind, I would highly recommend him and can't wait to go back to Italy and spend more time in Tuscany.
Leslie
Northport, NY USA 10/22/2011
Segway Tour of Rom
Wow! This tour was the perfect end to our trip. We took over 8 tours in 3 countries in 14 days and this Segway Tour in Rome was by far the best tour we took.
If I am ever able to do another Segway Tour anywhere in the world, I will jump at the chance.
Pryscilla H Stam
Watseka, IL USA 10/20/2011
Italy Segway Tour - Rome
From sunny southern California. Clem and I just returned 2 days ago.
The Segway tour of Rome with Italy Segway Tours was one of our favorite highlights. I will tell everyone
who goes to Rome to do your tour! It was well organized, our leader was fabulous.... was that you Serena?
I was impressed and that is not always the case!
Thank you for providing a very enjoyable way to see the famous highlights of Rome!
I give you a 10!
Carol Claassen
Carol Claassen
Thousand Oaks, CA USA 10/20/2011
Jewish Roma tours
We are a family of 6.Two adults and four children ranging from 22 to 13 years.We went on the Vatican tour with Daniela from JewishRoma. We were really looking forward to it and we were not disappointed.Daniela kept us all enthralled for over 3 hours.She is very knowledgable and gave us amazing ,interesting and amusing facts about the Vatican.She was a wonderful guide ,and completely in tune with our needs .I would highly reccommend this tour -especially if you are Jewish due to the amazing newly discovered facts.Dont miss it!
Myra S
London, UK 10/19/2011
Jewish Roma ghetto tour
My wife and I attended the Roma Jewish Walking Tour -Ghetto and Jewish Museum-on September 22, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. The tour guide was exceptional-energetic, passionate, knowledgeable and insightful. This was an excellent experience. I only regret that we did were not in Rome longer so as to take an additional tour with Micaela's company. Do not miss this experience.
Irwin
Toronto, Canada 10/19/2011
Giverny tour-Paris Authentique
We did a tour of Giverny with Sabine of Paris Authentique. Her tour was great and I would highly recommend her. She also does other tours in Paris as well as tours in France, Web site is http://paris.authentique.free.fr/
Susan
NC USA 10/19/2011
EYE PREFER PARIS
Recently took a walking tour with EYE PREFER PARIS with Richard Nahem, and was a perfect way to begin our trip of a lifetime in Paris. Richard showed us HIS Paris and it quickly became ours...we highly recommend his tours...Richard is insightful and delightful...like spending time with a good friend! His fees are more than reasonable, and will provide lasting memories for sure! www.eyepreferparis.com [INVALID] check out his blog and schedule of tours! barb from texas
Barbara
New Braunfels, TX USA 10/18/2011
Roman Odyssey Tours of Rome
We took two tours with Rahul. I expected to be bored out of my mind but both were fabulous and we saw and learnt many things that we would have missed on our own. Highly recommended.
Michael Rocharde
Toulouse, France 10/17/2011
Thats Rome with Angel Tours
A history buff from England, an official guide from Rome with a strong Italian smile, and a trip in a golf cart with an Irish man covering sites of the city you never saw in any guide. Thats Angel Tours Rome guys.
J J Kinley
Glasgow, USA 10/17/2011
Florence/Rome
We recently took a Mediterranean cruise. Instead of paying the outrageous prices through the cruise line we booked excursions recommended by Rick Steves. In Florence we used Walks Inside Florence. In Rome we used Roman Odyssey Tours. Both went way beyond expectations. I would recommend these tour groups to anyone.
Tom Wolfram
SOUTH BEND, in USA 10/16/2011
Florence/Rome Italy
Italysegwaytours.com - great help and very friendly and accomodating. I had to make several chages to my itinerary and they were so helpful. And the events they set us up for were so fabulous.
Susan
Lee Center, NY USA 10/14/2011
Eye Prefer Paris Walking tour
Richard's walking tours of the Marais are a dynamic experience that makes the neighborhood and Paris simultaneously more intriguing and more approachable. My family's time in the Marais was much richer for the restaurants, bakeries, markets, shops, and architectural wonders, among many other sites, that Richard introduced us to during our tour. Richard is affable, clever, personable, and has a great sense of humor as he teaches about modern-day Paris through the history of the Marais. Paris is best enjoyed, in my opinion, in its patisseries, restaurants, and markets, and Richard can offer instant immersion in this world. The tour is time very well spent!
Todd Faubion
Seattle, WA USA 10/14/2011
Day tour of Tuscany
We took the Slow day in Tuscany from Florence and had a great day. We visited several small hill-towns away from the tourist crowds and a vineyard tour with wine tastings in the most beautiful setting.
The group we had was small with only two other couples and our guide Simon who was the driver, translator and guide throughout the day. We found it much easier to meet and get to know people in the small group setting.
I would highly recommend this tour for anyone who wants to experience the countryside in Tuscany and have a nice relaxed day. Their website is www.slow-days.com
Faith Avery
Seattle, WA USA 10/13/2011
Pompeii tour guide
We just had a FANTASTIC experience at Pompeii with a guide named Bartolo Giusto, who was recommended by another guide we contacted before the trip. Bartolo was very helpful in making the tour arrangements, helped us get ahead of the crowds, and had an endless supply of fascinating information. He was great about answering our many questions. We enjoyed his demeanor and professionalism, and his English is impeccable. Highly recommended. His email address is bartolo.giusto@libero.it. His website is http://www.tour-italy.net/tours.html.
Sid
Portland, OR USA 10/13/2011
Cordoba - Half day tour en route from Madrid to Granada
We had an amazing half day tour of Cordoba with a guide named Angel Lucena, who is recommended in Rick Steve's Spain Book. He met us when we arrived on the early train from Madrid, helped us stow our luggage, then took us on a 4 hour tour of the Roman walls and bridge, delightful old winding streets, and the Mezquita. His knowledge was vast and his company very enjoyable. He gave us a CD, that he and some colleagues had made, with beautiful pictures and explanations of many of the sights we had seen. After lunch at an excellent restaurant, El Caballo Rojo, he showed us the best place to get a cab back to the station, so we could continue on to Granada.
Traveling from Madrid to Granada and unable to stop for a whole day, we almost crossed Cordoba off our list. I had read the train station has no lockers and is a bit far from the old historical city. Don't let this stop you. The bus station is literally one crosswalk away, with luggage lockers just inside the door. The cab ride between station and old city was only about 10 minutes. Navigating the city was a breeze with Angel but, even on your own, it would not be too difficult and would be worth the effort. From Cordoba, we took bus on to Granada. OK. Cheap. 2.5 hours. Nice goody bag with water, snacks and earbuds for movie (Iron Man in English w/Spanish subtitles). Train ride is about same duration and is more expensive but is more comfortable and the station is much nicer.
June Keith
Maple Hill, KS USA 10/13/2011
D-Day Beaches tour guide
My husband and I hired William Jordan for a 9 hour personal tour of the D Day beaches in early October. He picked us up at the train station and took us on an excellent tour of the region. Being an author of several books on the subject, his tour was extremely informative and interesting. I would highly recommend his services.
Heidi Ferguson
Harrisburg, Pa USA 10/12/2011
Bike Tour in Rome
We did the bike tour on 6th September and thought it was simply the best thing we did! We thorougly enjoyed the tour, the sights and our guide Ferdinando was excellent!! It was excellent value for money and we saw all of Rome!
Thank you so much.
EIlean Hynes
Sydney, NSW OZ 10/12/2011
Rome Segway Tour
Amazing, Fun, So Easy, Best part of our whole vacation in Italy!!!! We are planning to buy one as they are so simple to use! The tour guide was great and really knew her stuff. She did a great job getting us safely across the roads on our two wheels and made the whole day so enjoyable. We will do it again when we come back next time?
We recommend this as a MUST DO for anyone visiting Rome, no matter what their age or physical ability, it is so easy!!!!
Sylvia
Gold Coast, Qld Australia 10/12/2011
Roman Odyssey Tours of the Vatican City
Roman Odyssey Tour of the Vatican City was fun and informative. The customer service was superb and friendly. Highly recommend this tour company and be sure to have lunch at the meeting place. Yummy!
Debbie
Spokane, WA USA 10/11/2011
Paris Gude
Paris Private Guide
My wife and i just returned from Paris after traveling France. We retained an independent tour guide, who holds a Masters degree in Medievall History- recommend without reservation.
Bertrand Blache
betrandblache@yahoo.fr
Jim
Palestine, Texas USA 10/10/2011
Bad experience with Bob's Special Tours in Salzburg
Took a Bob's Special Tour from Salzburg and it was the worst tour I've ever had. Apparently they were overbooked and brought in the driver from his day off and he was unhappy, complaining, and quiet. Many in the van had booked this tour months in advance. I'd check with the office to make sure that you don't get stuck with this situation, and just use the public transportation and guides.
Michelle
Issaquah, WA USA 10/10/2011
Berlin walking tours
We were in Berlin in May and the Insider's Tour to Berlin is amazing! It was very affordable less than 20 euro and it lasted almost 5 hours. Our tour guide was a local master's candidate in history and he was very knowledgeable. It's a lot of walking but well worth it if you can handle it
Pam
Hickory, NC USA 10/09/2011
Segway Tours
Just spent 18 days in Italy. Did "Rome in a day on a Segway"(have foot touble, so couldn't walk all day). Great fun. Also did Vatican tour w/Roman Empire Tours. Jimmy was wonderful tour guide. Couldn't hike so took boat ride to all towns in Cinque Terra...excellent way to do it when you can't hike.
Nancy Chamberlain
Flat Rock, NC USA 10/08/2011
Provence Tours from Avignon
We Just returned from a wonderful trip to Paris and Provence. We took the TGV
from Paris to Avignon-a wonderful experience! ( 3 hrs from Paris).
After arriving in the lovely&historical town of Avignon, we took a Van Gogh-Provence tour w/ Self Voyages( 61 Rue Grand Fusterie).
What a delightful and fun day! We had an 8 person a/c van and a wonderful tour guide, Anice.She was great! And a great group! We toured Arles, St Remy, and the beautiful hill top town of Les Beaux!! The ride through the Provence countryside was beautiful, fields of vineyards, wheat fields, grazing(french :) cows! Picturesque for sure!
We were very pleased with Self Voyages! ( PH. 33-490-14 70 02 )
Viva La France! :)
Kathleen McKernan
Berlin, CT USA 10/08/2011
Florence Segway Tour
I would like to extend my thanks to the Florence Segway Tour for an enjoyable afternoon. September 14, 2011 myself, and three of my children took the three hour private segway tour. On an extremely hot day we were able to visit many sights. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable as to the history of her city and each landmark, often adding interesting details. With a stop midway for refreshment, I (at 59) thoroughly enjoyed Florence via segway. Our thanks to Fredrika.
Phyllis Hayduk
Leduc, Alta Canada 10/07/2011
SEGWAY TOUR-ROME
The Italy Segway Tour was the best way to see Rome! It was so fun and informative. When you have a short time in either Florence and Rome, but need to see everything, the Italy Segway Tour is the way to go. We got to see sights that most people don't even know exist. A definitely must do on your sight seeing vacation!!!
Amy
Roslyn, NY USA 10/06/2011
Rome Tours
We did two walking tours in Rome with Roman Odyssey Tours - the Ancient City and the Vatican tours. The all day ancient city was tiring but our guide was great in finding places to rest and refresh and whenever possible tried to find places in the shade to talk to us. I guarantee that makes a big difference. Rome can be hot. He was also very knowledgeable. The Vatican tour was also very good. We spent a lot of time in the Vatican Museum before heading for the Sistine Chapel, which is very crowded and also talking is prohibited. The time in the museum gave him an opportunity to tell us all about the art and architecture so we would understand what we were seeiing. I would recommend Roman Odyssey to anyone.
John Paterson
Freeport, ME USA 10/05/2011
Roman Oddyssey tour of the Vatican
Roman Oddyssey: Wow, what a great way to skip the lines (which are HUGE) and get a high-lighted tour of the Vatican museum. Our guide took the mere 6 of us on a 3.5 hour tour... that didn't cost all that much more than the regular admission. She was very knowledgeable and promptly met us at the designated location outside the Vatican (on September 19th). Everyone inside seemed to know her! The tour was efficient, and to my way of thinking, the best way to see it all. I only wish I could remember the guide's name... who was originally from Spain.
Mark Kaminski
Portland, OR USA 10/03/2011
Tours in Rome
My husband and I and two other couples visited Rome in early Sept. '11. We took two Roman Odyssey Tours; the Ancient City Tour and Vatican Tour. They were both superb! Our guides were very knowledgeable and interesting. It certainly wouldn't have been the same experience without them. Ask for Ross or Rahul --- both were great!
Sandy
Windsor, CT USA 10/02/2011
Tour guide and B&B for layover in Iceland
We flew Icelandair and decided to schedule a 24-hour layover in Reykjavik, with a guide to get us to the mid-Atlantic Ridge exposures. Guðbjörg (Gugga) Bragadóttir took amazingly good care of us! Her tour included not just our geologic sites but included lots of information about Icelandic history, sagas, folklore, and language. And she recommended an excellent B&B (Eric the Red Guesthouse) which in turn recommended a restaurant at which we had the best meal of our 5-week trip (Vegamot). This slightly impulsive, brief layover turned into yet another highlight of our vacation.
Guide: Guðbjörg Bragadóttir: gugga@hi.is; kgb@kgbtours.is
Eric the Red Guesthouse: eric@eric.is
Susan Boundy-Sanders
Woodinville, WA USA 09/30/2011
Provence tour guide Mike Rijken
We agree with previous posts: Mike Rijken is an awesome guide for all things wine-related in Provence! Our hopes were high based on the recommendation in Rick's books, and Mike exceeded expectations. Here's what's different about Mike: You can attend winery tasting rooms in any wine region in the world and get a great glass of wine. They'll tell you about the history of the winery and the family, and the stories are always compelling and memorable. We've done that before, though not in a wine region we're as fond of as southern Rhone. What Mike added was all the detailed information about what makes the southern Rhone unique, the 95% of the wine-making process that happens before the grapes are harvested. He told us about the land, both the geology and the process of preparing and maintaining vineyards. He described the history of the southern Rhone emerging as one of the world's great wine regions. He gave us an overview of the strict rules that make the quality of Rhone wines so high. And he told us about the grape varieties used in southern Rhone wines, the different ways of caring for each variety, the character that each adds to the wine, and the microclimatic needs of each. Then he went on to teach us about wine and food pairings (a subject in which he teaches a week-long course). Mike did all this in such a way that it wasn't just a bunch of isolated factoids but a robust framework on which all the facts hung together, memorably. Mike is absolutely worthy of Rick's recommendation. Mike Rijken's email address is mikeswinesafari@wanadoo.fr
Susan Boundy-Sanders
Woodinville, WA USA 09/30/2011
Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Class
I had the chance to do a cooking class with Eye Prefer Paris last January. It was a cold winter day and there were two of us for the class. It turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with two Parisians. Richard, the owner of Eye Prefer Paris, took us shopping for the ingredients for our meal. Charlotte, the cook, then entertained us at her home. We had a great meal, learned lots of tips for cooking, and just had a fun time.
Judy
Victor, NY USA 09/28/2011
Fat Bike Tours-Paris
My husband and I did 2 wonderful bike tours with Fat Bike Tours while in Paris. Our first one was the Versailles Tour and the second was the night paris tour. Both were outstanding, Our guides, Brian and Jason, were both very knowledgeable and enjoyable. I would highly recommend the Fat Bike Tours.
Linda
Oxford, MS USA 09/27/2011
Victory Tours
My husband and I were in Normandy, France at the beginning of September, 2011. After lots of internet searching, we settled on Victory Tours with Roel. We cannot say enough great things about our tour. Roel showed us places that are not on a regular tour, at Omaha Beach, he gave us time to explore the beach and get the feeling of what the soliders experienced on that dreadful day. We both recommend him very highly and would repeat it again.
Linda
Oxford, MS USA 09/27/2011
Private Vatican Tour-Angel Tours
We had a great experience through ANGEL TOURS with our Guide (Lindy) including a tour of the Vatican and St. Peters on Sept 12. Lindy was absolutely superb and knew everything we needed to know (and her english was far superior to ours!). She adroitly maneuvered us through huge crowds to ensure we got to see the most interesting areas and spent extra time fully explaining vital facts and background. Given our time constraints, a private tour with this company was the best choice to optimize our time.
Angel Tours was easy to work with and I would most strongly recommend them.
Rick
Honolulu, HI USA 09/27/2011
Food Tour of Rome
I discovered EatingItalyFoodTours on Trip Advisor. The reviews were fabulous so I told my husband we have to do it when we are in Rome. Well neither of us were disappointed. Our guide Kenny gave us all kinds of local tips and took us to the best local places- some of which were foodie palaces and others were just old fashioned Roman style gems. Afterward we said we would have just walked right past everyone one of these places had we not been on this tour.
The places edible and cultural that we visited were just the types of spots that Rick Steves always mentions in his books. Like he says you should really get off the beaten path and experience what a place has to offer. Their tours give you a chance to do that without speaking a word of the language.
Amazing food but really so much more than that. Would highly recommend the Real Taste of Rome Food Tour to foodies and non-foodies alike. If you go hopefully you will have the same funny, older waiter at Da Bucatino he is really a trip.
The website for the tours is: http://www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com
Buon Appetito!
Sarah
Houston, TX USA 09/27/2011
Seqway Tour Great way to see Florence in 3 hours
We had a great time! My husband was a bit skeptical, but he really enjoyed it also. It was a great way to cover a lot of ground in Florence with a very small group of people (1 other couple). There's no way we would have been able to do the same on our own by walking in 3 hours. And since we were only in Florence for 1 day, the Segway tour was perfect. Rose, our tour guide, was very knowledgeable and did a great job.
Since we were 1 and 1/2 weeks into our European vacation, my feet were recovering from a couple blisters so the timing of the Segway in Florence could not have been better for us. Would highly recommend to other people that would typically avoid a "tour".
It takes all of about 30 seconds to feel comfortable maneuvering the Segway, and once you understand how to go, stop, slow and turn, you can just enjoy the sights and take lots of pictures.
Karen
Santa Rosa, CA USA 09/25/2011
Great walking tour of Londonderry
We only had one day in \londonderry/Derry and our B&B recommended the City Tours walking tour by Martin McGuinness. It was wonderful> Our guide, John McNulty, took us up on the city walls and gave us a very insightful look at the city's history and an explanation of what led to the Troubles. And they throw in a cup of tea at a local sandwich shop for free.
Beth Martin
Los Angeles, CA USA 09/25/2011
Fab tour of Paris-Eye Prefer Paris
I participated in one of Eye Prefer Paris's walking tours of Paris with two other friends. Richard designed a customized tour just for us based on the district we were interested in seeing – the Saint-Germain. It was a lovely morning of wandering, taking the concept and pace of losing oneself in a city and adding the benefit of having someone there who actually knows the way! Richard asked for our interests prior to the tour, and led us through a great array of beautiful homeware stores and the best of French fashion. The tour wasn't rushed – we had a timely rest stop for coffee and another for macaroons, culminating in a lunch at a charming tucked-away restaurant that specialized in soufflés. Great day of girlie fun!
Jen
Sydney, Australia 09/24/2011
Walking tours in Rome
We used Rome(ing) Tours romeingtours.com and thoroughly recommend them. They are very reasonably priced, knowledgeable and enthusiastic and keep it lively and interesting. We took all four of their tours, none overlap. They are licensed to do the Catacombs, which says a lot.
Leslie Sand
Decorah, Iowa USA 09/23/2011
Wine Tour in Rome-Antiqua Tours
We loved our wine tasting tour with Ettore from Antiqua Tours in Rome. Just an awesome way to get to know Rome.
Sharron Stevens
Phoenix, AZ USA 09/21/2011
Berlin Guide
Jeremy Minsberg (www.theberlinexpert.com) provided us with a day we will always remember. He is extremely knowledgeable, articulate, personable, energetic and fun. We spent six hours on bikes getting introduced to Berlin in a way that was totally catered to our needs. History, architecture, culture, geography all came to life. We intend to book another tour with him the next time in Berlin. I wish we could find a "Jeremy" in every city we travel to. You will not be disappointed.
Harvey Stone
Bellingham, WA USA 09/18/2011
Morocco Guides Worth it - Get two for the desert
I traveled for several weeks in Morocco with a full time guide that met us in Ouarzazate and drove us through Fez, Marrakesh, Rabat, Cassablanca, and out to the coast -Essouaira. He drove us and helped negotiate our meals and entertainment. We then hired a SECOND guide to take us from Erfoud out to the middle of the Sahara Desert. The whole trip was amazing and not as costly as it might sound...I would NOT do Morocco without a full time guide as a women alone. And especially would not go to Tangier which is just a tourist trap (went there one day from Gibraltar) and a lot of "fake" Morocco in my opinion. Really get into the heart of the country or out to the vacationing coast.
kathryn williams
ashland, or USA 09/17/2011
Tuscany Wine Tour - from Florence
I was traveling in Italy this last March solo. I stayed in Florence a couple extra days and wanted to get out to the wine region - San Gimignano etc. I randomly met a local who suggests Heliana Vogli from TuscanyDrivers (DriverGuide). She was 200 Euro cheaper than the major hotel tour and we had a private Mercedes drive for the whole day. She set up private tastings, had me meet with local owners and took me to several towns off the beaten path for gelatto or drink. AMAZING time, I'm glad I took the leap of faith to just trust that recommendation.
kathryn williams
ashland, or USA 09/17/2011
Tours in Rome
We took 2 tours with Roman Odyssey. Both were in English & were excellent. One was "Rome in a Day" & the second was "Ostia Antica". We highly recomment this tour company and these tours.
Robert Berger
E. Brunswick, NJ USA 09/17/2011
giuseppina esposito- Tour Review
I have toured all over the world. Giuseppina is one of best private tour guides we've ever used. I would not visit Pompeii or Herculeum without her. Her knowledge of the area is fabulous. We spent the entire day with her. Memorable-Fun-Perfect!
Pam Dubier
San Francisco, CA USA 09/16/2011
Great Tour of Marais & Paris
Richard was great - flexible, thoughtful and knows the great spots. We stopped for lunch and had the best souffles, sitting outside taking in all of Paris! The little candy, pastry and charcuterie shops are a must see and authentic Paris. Highly recommend Richard and his ability to show you authentic Paris
[Ed: To be more useful, please list all contact information and the name of the company when recommending tour guides.]
Amy
Chicago, IL USA 09/14/2011
Florence and Tuscany
A friend and I planned a 12-day tour of Italy, but had to cancel within the week before departure because my friend's husband fell ill. We had booked museum tours with Florence Tours by Paola Migliorini. Paola personally handled our tour arrangements, including pick up at our hotel, and was especially understanding about our cancellation. I am disappointed that I will not get to meet Paola. When we reschedule, I will definitely include her tours!
Judy Pennington
Vicksburg, MS USA 09/12/2011
Vatican Tour Guide
If you are looking for a tour guide for the Vatican I highly recommend 7 Hills Tours at www.7htoursrome.com for either a group or private tour. My husband & I had the pleasure of taking a private guided tour of the Vatican with Andrea of 7 Hills Tours in April 2011. I was acquainted with Andrea from a trip to Rome in 2007 and learned then of his marvelous & comprehensive knowledge of Rome and the Vatican in particular. The tour was everything we had hoped for and more! My husband is a photographer and Andrea was very good about giving him the time he wanted to take his photos. Andrea guided us through the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's all the while giving us a terrific narrative of what we were seeing. He has a marvelous way of explaining the art, architecture and history and of making it all come alive with his respect for it dosed with an appropriate sense of gentle humor. His English is excellent and when asked, he will help you with your questions about Italian words and phrases. Andrea is a true gentleman who cares about his clients. He welcomed our questions and gave us comprehensive answers to our queries. It was easy to book the tour through the web site and to meet up with Andrea for the start of the tour since the web site gives very clear instructions on the meeting location.
Teresa
Boca Raton, FL USA 09/12/2011
Roman Odyssee Tours
My husband and I booked a tour with Roman Odyssey Tours on line for August 9, 2011 based upon Rick Steves recommendations for tours in Rome. We arrived at the arranged location outside the Vatican Museum and met our guide Jeb and the other couple who was also on the the tour. We didn't realize how crowded these sights would be, but Jeb made it seem as if the four of us were the only ones there. He provided an indepth narration of all of the major and "must see" sights and gave unique insights to what we were seeing. We truly wouldn't have seen or understood what we were seeing by ourselves even if equiped with a guide book compared to being with Jeb! It turned out the other couple was also in Rome prior to the Star Princess cruise we were on. So we made some new friends while having a fabulous time seeing the Vatican, St Peter's and the Vatican Museum. We hope to return with our children and grandchildren and will definitely use Roman Odyssey Tours again.
Claudia Kavan
Fernandina Beach, FL USA 09/10/2011
WW2 D-Day Tours-Overlord
During our France trip this summer we spent 5 days in Normandy. Our home base was Bayeux at the Chambre d'Hote Le Petit Matin,,,..a very convenient, unique, reasonable B&B with a couple of great hosts. Medieval Bayeux was an excellent central location and our B&B was a short walk from the pick-up/[INVALID]-off point for Overlord Tours and other tour companies.
Having a long-standing interest in WW2, I chose Alain Chesnel's Overlord Tours and his 101st Airborne Tour (Tour #5) and British/Canadian Sector (Tour #4). My wife and the couple travelling with us opted to tour Bayeux sites while I toured with Overlord Tours. They subsequently accompanied me on Alain's Omaha/Utah Beach Tour #2. The tours had 6 to 7 people in a comfortable van and each tour lasted the entire day. The guides (Stefan, Jules and Sean) were simply outstanding, describing how unit mission objectives fit into the overall D-Day landing objectives. At each stop they related stories of individuals (with pictures) that brought the war to a personal level. My wife and travelling companions, even though they do not have a deep interest in WWII, thoroughly enjoyed the Omaha/Utah Beach tour. I have an above average knowledge of WW2 and found the selection of tours at Overlord to be an outstanding value.
Bruce MacLean
Clayton, CA USA 09/09/2011
All Things Garmisch
I was recently planning a trip to Garmisch and wanted to include a white water rafting trip. Because we were going by train, it looked like it was going to be impossible until I found All Things Garmisch. They were able to help me book a day trip rafting in Austria, that included transportation, all for what I thought was a great price - 58 euro per person. We all had a blast! Jake the owner was extremely helpful, and their website offers all kinds of tours and activities for the Garmisch area. I would highly recommend their services.
http://www.allthingsgarmisch.com/
Jo
Frankfurt am Main, Germany 09/08/2011
Quality Berlin Tour Guide
My boyfriend and I recent spent a long weekend in Berlin. Prior to going we had researched what to do and found a recommendation on TripAdviosr for a walking tour. Jermey came highly recommended as a guide. We can see why!! He was very professional and knowledgeable about Berlin, through all parts of its complicated history. He tailored the tour to our wishes and illustrated various historical events and landmarks through use of old photos and video clips on his ipad. We both found the tour highly informative, entertaining and felt we learned much about the past and present Berlin.
Luana Asiata
London, England 09/07/2011
Through Eternity Tours
I am thrilled to leave a review. STEFAN WAS FABULOUS!!!! He was the best tour guide I have ever had! He was knowledgeable, considerate, thoughtful of our very large group with kids of all ages, patient, informative...everything you could ask for in a tour guide. And he took us to the best pizza place ever. I took pictures so I could remember that lunch. I have never had pizza that delicious and I live in the Northeast (USA) where we think we have good Italian food.
He covered everything we wanted to do and more. We will always remember how fantastic our day in Rome went because of him.
Cheryl
Lincoln, RI USA 09/02/2011
Walks of Italy
We had a lovely tour with Amanda (Ancient City private tour). Our 14 and 12 year old kids loved it (and so did my wife and me). We would easily sign up again. We all learned quite a bit.
john r
St. Paul, MN USA 08/31/2011
Parisian Tours
Richard Nahem (r.nahem@gmail.com) EYEPREFER PARIS TOURS gives the BEST most personalized tours of Paris. I thought I knew Paris until I met Richard! And if it is your first trip, I cannot think of a better guide.
Tracey Jackson
New York, NY USA 08/30/2011
A Great Way to Experience the Numerous Attractions of Florence
My family and I really enjoyed ITALY SEGWAY TOURS(Firenze srl p.iva 05482110482 Cap. Soc. I. V. 10.000€,
Via dei Cimatori 9R, Firenze) Bike tour of Florence (Firenze).
Our tour guide most certainly possesses expert level knowledge of Firenze and conveyed this information in a very pleasant well managed professional tour.
We saw exactly what we wanted to see. An experience vastly superior to one of those hop on hop off bus tours. Looking forward to returning to Firenze and recommending the Firenze tour to my associates.
Jim
NJ, USA
James Litterini
River Edge, NJ USA 08/30/2011
Rome in a small car
My large teens, my wife and I sat into the open Electric car thinking we had made a huge mistake. Imagine riding around Rome in Rome traffic in a small slowish car, with all the Romans laughing at you as they race around you in front of the Coliseum. It was time and money spent with pleasure, the tour started in the center of Rome, then led us through the major sites to the upper hills over looking the Vatican and down again to the chaos. Our guide was a crazy Irish man to top it off. We walked often but never for too long, this was genuinely a great little tour in a big old city.
Sandy
NYC, NY USA 08/28/2011
Vatican Private Tour
In April 2011, my huband, a friend, and I arranged with Alessandra Mazzoccoli (alemazzoccoli@gmail.com) for a private tour of the Vatican and its Museum. While we appreciated her advice on pre-tour reservations and best days/times, we were even more pleased with our 3 1/2 hour tour. We are sure Alessandra would be equally impressive in her other tours.
Sheryl
Rock Hill, SC USA 08/28/2011
Vatican and Wine Tour in Rome-Sarah
We took two tours with Antiqua Tours including a 3.5 hr Vatican with Sarah and a wine tour with Ettore. Rome is a magical city which was enhanced with a guide. I don't know how we would have done the Vatican museums without Sarah. The highlight of our time in Rome was our wine tour. It was more than a tasting, it was an information packed evening that was fun and informative but also gave us an insiders view of what Romans do in Rome, drink wine and eat amazing food! Ettore taught us so much about not only Italian wine culture but Italian and Roman culture and history in general. We would take this tour again in a heartbeat. We can't wait to get back to Rome.
Elisabeth Conroy
Chicago, I USA 08/25/2011
Fabulous Jewishroma tours
We recently returned from a trip to Rome and a Holy Land cruise and participated in many tours during our 16 days abroad. The absolutely best tours we took were the ones offered through Jewishroma - the Synagogue/Jewish Ghetto/ Jewish Museum tour and the tour of the Vatican. From initial inquiry to the end of both of our tours, everything was handled in a most professional and courteous way. The tours themselves were incredibly interesting, and the fact that we were part of a small group allowed us to question the guides at length and gear the pace of the tour to our needs. The tour guides - Yael and Daniela were extremely personable, knowledgeable, and made the tours really come alive for us. It is true that these tours are more expensive than those offered by other companies, but you get what you pay for and these tours were worth every cent. We highly recommend them to anyone planning to visit Rome.
Gail
Pomona, NY USA 08/24/2011
Day Tour of Naples, Amalfi, etc.
We had booked a cruise to the Mediterranean and heard the best way to see Naples, Amalfi, Sorrento, Positano, Ravello - was through a tour guide. I googled various guides and found Amalfi Transfer. I was nervous at booking this but Anthony (owner) was amazing at email communications (quickly) and answering all my questions before I booked. I really appreciated that he accommodated all of our requests as we only had a short amount of time to tour that day. Finally, we met Anthony after offboarding our ship - immediately, we was warm, welcoming and funny! My 9 year old daughter instantly liked him and our day with Anthony was one of her most memorable (and mine) of our trip. We were unfortunate in getting rain but Anthony did not disappoint - he was insistant we saw parts of the the Amalfi Coast that were beautiful and a must see despite the rain so while all other tour cars were driving by, we would stop and he would do everything to get us to the point of view he wanted us to see - he would take off his jacket and cover us so we wouldn't get wet, and even asked a nearby shop owner to borrow their umbrella to see the view of the sea and went back to return the umbrella! He was kind, generous, funny and sweet. I can't say enough about how honest and trustworthy we is and I would book him again in a heart beat were I to visit again. Fair price, extremely comfortable vehicle and safe driver as well. I promise you - you won't be disappointed. Forget anyone else - just book straight with Anthony (amalfitransfer.com). I promise you I don't work for him or have any vested interest - this is just honest and genuine satisfaction with his service.
Shy
Toronto, ONT CAN 08/21/2011
Eye Prefer Paris
We had 3 generations of family on a Paris trip. Richard gave us a great tour in an afternoon. He even stayed with us through a great dinner at the end of the tour. We had a fantastic time.
Jim Koewler
Richfield, OH USA 08/21/2011
Vatican Tours
We used Through Eternity Tours in Rome for a 3.5 hour group tour of the Vatican in August. Family of 4, with 2 teenage kids.
It was an excellent experience. Our guide, Emma, was very good. She was deeply knowledgeable, managed the trip smoothly and made it a fun experience. Both of our teenagers (with wide differences in taste) enjoyed the exoerience.
I would highly recommend them to anyone wanting to get the most out of their Vatican trip and who does not want to pay for a private tour.
Key points - appx 15 people in our group - we met a few minutes before 1pm, and were done by 4.35 pm outside St. Peters, with the flexibility to spend more time on our own - skipped the long lines - which is a big deal, probably saved an hour - good explanations at major points, esp the Sistine Chapel and museums - excellent tour of St. Peters
Ajay
Chicago
Ajay
Chicago, IL USA 08/20/2011
Eating Italy Food Tours
My husband and I and our two daughters went on the Real taste of Rome Tour with Eating Italy Food Tours- www.eatingitalyfoodtours.com. It was fabulous! They took us around to seven different food tasting spots where we tried everything from buffalo mozarella, proscuitto, fresh pasta, homemade gelato and more. None of us left hungry not even my husband. My personal favorite stop was visiting The Tomato Man who had over 50 kinds of tomatos! The food wasn't the only part that we loved- we visited many cultural and historical sites and our guide told us some fabulous stories. The tour is definitely off-the-beaten-path as we would have never discovered any of these places on our own. I learned about it from an earlier person who posted about it here on the graffiti wall so I'm happy to continue to spread the word.
April
Lowery, CO USA 08/18/2011
wine tasting
Our host, Zeno, (I hope I have his name right...) was able to communicate his passion for wine with humour and lots of very interesting details about the region, the type of wines, the producers, etc. We ended up spendind a very good evening. We highly recommended the activity to our friends who are thinking of going to Firenze. If we ever go again, we will arrange another visit like this one. It was one of the highlights of our stay in Florence.
Diane
Montreal, Québec Can 08/17/2011
private guide in the Cote D'Azur
I can highly recommend Sylvie Di Christo, a Licensed National French Tour guide. Sylvie is personable and very knowledgeable about Nice and the nearby areas in the Cote D'Azur. Sylvie was recommended in Rick's books. I communicated with Sylvie by email from the U.S. before my trip and found her to be conscientious and thorough. She required a signed agreement for the days I requested but did not require a deposit in advance. She indicated that cancelling her services was possible if our plans changed. There were only two people in my group so Sylvie's fee was naturally higher than it would be if you have a larger group. There were no additional costs involved in her services. It was a flat fee for a full day. She did not use a separate driver for our small group and her vehicle was comfortable.
We had two very full days of touring with Sylvie in various places near Nice. She picked us up at our hotel in Nice on each day at about 9:15 AM and we determined our route for the day based on what we wanted to see and what she suggested. Each day ended at about 6:00 PM. Sylvie provided extensive French history and explanations of what we were seeing. She gave us choices for where to stop for lunch and knew many different places to go.
Sylvie was an excellent guide and a delightful person to spend the day with. More importantly, Sylvie was eager to share her country with us. I learned a great deal about the Cote D'Azur and its history. I must also add that after my return to the U.S., Sylvie has been kind enough to assist me through email in identifying places some of the many photos I took while touring with her.
B. Bromer
Augusta, GA USA 08/11/2011
Real Rome Tours - 5 Hour Vatican Tour
Me and my family of 6 did the 5 hour Vatican Tour with Real Rome Tours recently and our guide was Tiziana. Tiziana was very knowledgeable, patient, and attentive. Though the tour sounds quite long, we felt like we could have gone on much longer. That was how engaging Tiziana was. Besides that, we read so many bad reviews for companies that do a "3 hour tour" and how rushed the people felt, that we wanted something that was going to let us take our time and get the once in a lifetime experience that the Vatican truly is.
Tiziana's background in Art History (she has a PhD) made her the perfect guide for a museum so rich in art. Me and my family will definitely use them again if ever we are in Rome.
Jeff Price
St. Louis, MO USA 08/10/2011
Guided tours in Tuscany
We just returned from a group trip to Rome and Tuscany. While in Tuscany we retained Paola Migliorini of Tuscany Tours to take us on a day trip through the Chianti wine country. She easily accommodated a dozen of us, picking us up at our villa and driving us while educating us through San Gimignano, a wine tour of Sant Appiano, lunch in Colognole and a tour of Greve in Chianti. She was lovely in all respects and very reasonably priced. It was one of the highlights of our trip. You can find her in the guidebooks or at www.florencetour.com
Terry Price
Springfield, TN USA 08/09/2011
Guide in Prague
On our recent trip to Prague we used PragueWalker for guide services on 2 mornings. Our guide was very pleasant. Her English was impecable and she had an excellent knowledge of the city and the walk about we did was well-planned and comfortable. I can recommend this service without reservation--everything about it was excellent.
Paul E. Cooper
London, ON USA 08/08/2011
Free Walking Tour in Barcelona
I took the most fascinating walking tour with a guide from Travel Bar http://www.travelbar.com/es/free-walking-tour/index.php. He was a grad student studying urban design in Berlin and Barcelona and was doing this to make money. His understanding of the history and culture of Barcelona was so broad that the Spanish concierge at our hotel said they were taking the tour to learn more. Really great experience.
Oswald Norton
Bellevue, WA USA 08/08/2011
Versatile, charming Paris guide
Richard Nahem (r.nahem@gmail.com) took us on a fascinating tour of the Marais quarter, a "chocolate tour" and a shopping tour- appealing to our group ranging in ages from 10-65. Great company, extremely knowledgeable and very flexible. Got us away from the crowds so we could enjoy the "real" Paris. He also had great advice about activities and restaurants.
Mary McCutcheon
Greenbrae, CA USA 08/07/2011
VERY Worthwhile Vatican Tour
Do the 5-hour tour of the Vatican with Through Eternity tour company!! Stephan was a wonderful guide, with answers to every esoteric question our group sent his direction. His knowledge of art history and architecture and religion was very impressive, and we enjoyed the extensive education we received through this tour. The hours flew by like minutes, and there was always something to be thinking about, thanks to Stephan's wonderful manner of story-telling and history sharing. He kept the pace moving right along, but never felt like he was flooding us with useless or archane information. His explanation of the Sistine Chapel altar wall and ceiling were particularly captivating. Also, it was so wonderful to see the long lines of bored and sweaty tourists as we skated right by into the entrance!! Booking was a breeze. The meet-up point was easy to find as well. We will be recommending this tour!!
J Forth
Denver, CO USA 08/05/2011
Venicescapes Walking Tour
As art lovers we wanted to see and learn about the particular Renaissance art of Venice. So we took "The Splendors of Piety" walking tour with Michael and came away from the intense 4 hours with a whole new understanding and outlook on Venetian art and history. Michael made a complicated story clear and understandable and he tied events together so we understood how the art naturally evolved. He took us to see art in places we never would have known about on our own. Venice is a small town full of art treasures and Michael has carefully chosen the ones that best represent the best of 16th century high Renaissance art and what makes it different that art from other parts of Italy. Thank you, Michael, for a wonderful, eye-opening experience.
Carmen Mahood
Belmont, CA USA 08/05/2011
Rome Italy
On Saturday July 30th we had scheduled an in depth tour of the Vatican and St. Peters, unfortunately my husband got sick and was not able to attend.
I went by myself and had a wonderful experience with tour guide Gabriel. What a wealth of knowledge. Gabriel did an excellent job and was very concerned about my husbands health and even escorted me to a taxi cab. He also made sure I was properly on my way - he went out of his way to assure my safe return. It was truly an memorable experience and Gabriel made it that way - he is excellent! My experience with Through Eternity tour was excellent and I will recommend then to others.
JBlaha
Cape Coral, Fl USA 08/04/2011
Segway tour in Florence
We did a Segway tour in Florence. We were staying for 2 days and it was the best way to see the city and learn about its fabulous sites. It was very organised from the begining when we had the brief instructions on how to operate the Segway to the planned sightseeing tour which was very interesting, informative and fun! Federica, our guide, was very helpful, friendly and had excellent knowledge of the sites. Very well recommended.
Sam
UK 08/03/2011
Jeremy Minsberg - A great independent guide in Berlin!
Before our trip to Berlin last month, I did a lot of research on independent guides. After lots of reading and talking to several travelers who had toured with Jeremy Minsburg and emailing and talking with Jeremy himself who actually called us from Berlin and chatted with my husband and me for ½ hour about what we wanted during our visit, we decided to book three ½ days with Jeremy. We were delighted with his guiding – He is an encyclopedia of knowledge, with a passion for history, which he made come alive for us as we toured. We toured on foot and by metro and bus and, one day, in his car to the Olympic Stadium, the Wannsee House and Potsdam. Jeremy also shared "then and now" photos and videos in his album and on his iPad! We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Jeremy and would be glad to share more information with anyone seeking a guide in Berlin.
KR
Denver, CO USA 08/03/2011
WW2 Normandy Tour-Overlord
We took a two day, guided tour of the WW2 Normandy beaches given by Overlord Tours. Our guide was Sean and he did an excellent job! Very informative and knowledgible.
Bill Roubinek
San Diego, Ca USA 08/02/2011
Italy Segway Tours
We had a wonderful cruiser bike tour in Florence with Italy Segway tours. Our guide, Feddy, was knowledgeable and informative about the many sites we visited. The tour is the perfect (and fun) way to see Florence, especially at the beginning of your trip, to get an overview of what to visit on a more in-depth basis later. You will be so glad you did this; it was the best part of our trip. And the gelato at the end is the best in town.
Pamela
Boulder, CO USA 07/31/2011
Walkabout Tour Best of Tuscany
We don't care for big-bus tours, but for our recent trip, we needed to make some compromises. I invested a lot of money in a Vatican Tour (bad choice) and a personal wine tour to Montalcino (superb choice). We wanted to make at least one day trip out of Florence, but I just didn't feel like spending another 300 Euro on a small-group tour. And I didn't trust that they wouldn't be any more special.
The Walkabout Best of Tuscany Tour fit the bill. For 80 Euros, it included trips to Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa, along with lunch and a tour of a winery and farm near San G.
For a big bus tour, this was excellent. Extremely well organized with a fantastic tour manager (Sandra). They offer some nice extras, like exclusive access to this farm/winery, and use of the mini train in Pisa to transport you from the bus parking to the area around the tower. The food and the wine at lunch was as good as could be expected when you are serving 50 people and the view of Sam Gimignano and the countryside from the farm was beyond description.
Like any big-bus tour, you don't get as much time to spend in the cities as you would like. We had 45 min "free time" in Siena after we finished our walking tour of the city, but most of that was spent getting back to the piazza meeting point and looking for a bathroom.
But if you think a big bus tour of the region fits your needs, I cannot say enough positive things about the Walkabout Best of Tuscany Tour.
Rick
Lisle, IL USA 07/28/2011
Touring Paris: Eye Prefer Paris
Eye Prefer Paris...with Richard Naheem you will see everything that you might miss if you didn't have Richard to guide you, to give you the history, to take you to those places that only a parisienne knows about. My many trips to Paris left me familiar with only certain areas. Richard took me to arrondisements I'd seldom, if ever, visited. And they became favorites! He knows the cafes, the galleries, the history, the people...and combines it all with his charm and inquisitive nature. I shall book him every time I'm in Paris and recommend him for his "eye" and his love of the city of lights.
Helen
Helen Rogers
New York City, NY USA 07/26/2011
Rome tour with bestlimosinrome
Just got home from a great tour with this company - the driver is an english speaking guide, and most important for me, they took credit cards. They gave us a great tour, driving right up to the momuments and getting us in front of the long lines of waiting people. really worth it.
Melanie Wilkinson
Leeds, Yorksh UK 07/24/2011
Jewish Roma tours
Micaela is a magnificent storyteller and the stories she tells provide the details of Jewish existence in Rome since the Roman Empire. You hear frequently surprising information about historical figures and their relationship and treatment of the Jewish community. As you walk through the Jewish ghetto, Micaela places the sites and scenes in historical context and you hear about the hardships and resiliency of the Jewish people. Micaela's charm, witty personality and knowledge makes this a not-to-be-missed experience.
SeasonedTravelerz
Chicago, IL USA 07/20/2011
Evan Evans tour London-to-Bath
June 2011 - Taking one of Rick's recommendations, we took the Evan Evans bus tour, scheduled to stop at Salisbury cathedral, Stonehenge, then Bath as a way to get from London to Bath. It's expensive, but it's a way to see Stonehenge and other sights quickly and then leave the tour at Bath to stay for a few days. When we got to the chaotic tour bus station, we were told the tour would go to Bath first, then hit the other two sights on the way back. Needless to say, we were upset that we'd spent a lot of money to get to Bath but wouldn't be able to see the other sights! We quickly let the tour guides know and arrangements were changed. Everyday, there are several buses taking each tour they offer, so they could be flexible. But be aware of this possibilty and let them know you want to go to Bath last if you want to leave the tour there. Everything worked out well.
Jesse Tinsley
Post Falls, ID USA 07/18/2011
Rome Segway Tours
After we got back from our trip to Rome, I was trying to identify all the pictures I took. I wrote an email as follows: We had such an enjoyable experience with Fabio as our tour guide when we were in Rome last month. I took so many pictures when we were in Europe and now I'm trying to identify all the ruins. Can Fabio identify this building for me? It is close to the Coliseum. Fabio immediately wrote back and told me "the monument in your picture is the Basilica of Maxentius, one of the main monuments of the Roman Forum." The youngest person in our group that day was 57; Fabio was so professional, patient, humorous, and friendly--he made our experience a fantastic one. I highly recommend the Segway tour and Fabio as your guide
Teri Bitler
Chandler, AZ USA 07/16/2011
Amalfi Coast day tour
We just returned from Italy and were fortunate enough to have booked an Amalfi Coast day tour with Benvenuto Limos. What a professional company - a pleasure to deal with. Stefania our guide was amazing. She is an accomplished driver who handles those tiny hillside roads with ease. She was a pleasure to spend the day with and made excellent suggestions for "special" things to do - great meal. We will always have fond memories of our day. Highly recommend!
Cathie
Miami, Fl USA 07/11/2011
Day tours from Dublin, Ireland
The best day tour company we found out of Dublin was Daytours Ireland or www.daytours.ie They have a couple of offices in Dublin city centre and serve the Cliffs of Moher, Giants Causeway, Belfast, Cork/Blarney and also Connemara. Great guides. Thanks for a great few days. A little way of thanking you
Sophie Lefievre
Paris, France 07/07/2011
Rome-Through Eternity
Last month we had a wonderful tour of Underground Rome with Thomas of Through Eternity. Excellent guide and fascinating subject.
Also had a private tour of Rome with Jeb of Roman Odyssey. He was excellent. It was well worth it to have a private guide to see exactly what you want. Would recommend both companies.
Sally
Berwyn, Pa USA 07/07/2011
Rome in a Day with Real Rome Tours
We booked the "Rome in a Day" tour with Real Rome tours last month and our guides were Ferdinando and Claudia and they were fantastic. Ferdinando is an archaeologist and therefore probably the best person to tour the ruins with. And Claudia really felt like a friend by the end of the tour. All of the staff was very personable and knowledgeable about everything in the city. Their English was superb as well. Book with them and you will be happy.
John Cavaliere
Bethesda, MD USA 07/06/2011
Ireland Burren Walks
If you are in Western Ireland and plan to visit the Burren, I highly recommend Tony Kirby as a guide, a must for a curious traveler. Tony leaves most days from the Burren Center in Kilfenora, but also departs one day a week from Ballyvaughan, and provides a really informative walk about the history, flora, and geology of the area. He's also written a hiking guide for the area, and speaks English, Gaelic, and Italian. His Website is heartofburrenwalks.com.
Cynthia Eberhard
Wheat Ridge, CO USA 07/06/2011
Praguewalker guide in Prague
We used Rick's recommended tour guide Praguewalker (Katerina (Katka) Svobodova, owner). We took the 4 hour 'Prague at a glance' tour, with guide Gabriella. We were very pleased with our guide and the tour, and recommend that agency. There are longer more detailed tours available with PragueWalker.
Joy
Blairsville, GA USA 07/04/2011
Amazing Food Tour in Rome
My husband and I had the most wonderful adventure yesterday in Rome on a food tour with Eating Italy Food Tours. Every tasting was delicious and we loved the neighborhood they took us too- we would have never found it on our own. And our guide Riccardo was a blast he shared all kinds of really interesting tidbits about the community, architecture, and Roman culture. Definite thumbs up.
Julie Snyder
Pittsburgh, PA USA 06/28/2011
jewish walking tour of florence
we spent an enlightening morning with giovanna on our recent trip to florence. she is warm, charming, knowledgeable and imparted a great deal of info to us. the morning went by so quickly, we were sorry to have the tour end. i highly recommend this tour and giovanna to get the jewish side of florence!!
debbie
tampa, fl USA 06/28/2011
Jamal in Rick Steve's book 2011"Credible guide"
While travelling through Spain, we stayed in Tarifa-Spain and took the ferry to Tangier's. In my research on CC and on Trip Advisor, the same guides were mentioned (Aziz & Said) so I guess they're the main players in Tangier, But we must not forget that There are surely others we do not know!
BTW, We used a personal guide...his name was in the Rick Steve's book 2011(Jamal) email: jamaltour1@gmail.com many people seemed to know him.
"Rick Steves books are usually pretty acurate".
I don't know if there are any "don't miss" items, but we had almost a full day and saw and experienced a lot that we found enjoyable, Jamal Drove us outside town to some beaches/ resorts and gave us a good tour of the city, Cape Spartel (where we had the best mint tea ever), Caves of Hercules, took a camel ride, I would not do this tour with a large group or a bus load. Five of us was perfect and we had comfort mini A.C van. We were lucky that our prearranged guide was from there but had been educated in the Tourism Institute so his English was fabulous. You can also find him on the Internet, he is still doing tours He was very reasonable and professional. I would not do this port on my own, and would be reluctant to do it on a bus with 40 people. We toured the periphery of Tangier, driving through the main Interesting streets. in the Medina (old town), we visited the Kasbah, Got someone to open the synagogue. Never felt afraid and had a wonderful Moroccan lunch where we were entertained by Andalusian musicians. We walked a on this tour, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world. We saw so much more than you could ever hope for on the ship's tour.
Couple of safety notes: When we disembarked our ship in the Tangier port, we were approached by many people trying to convince us that they were our tour guide. My recommendation would be not to divulge any information to them. Your tour guide will have your information and should be able to supply all of the necessary information to you when you first meet.
Also, while in the Kasbah, we were approached many times by children trying to sell us items, but our tour guide ran them off. He also warned us of one area within the Kasbah where pickpockets were a problem and asked us all to stay together and to stay with him. We had no problems and had a most enjoyable day.
I would never do this port on my own, but I felt very safe with Jamal and would definitely recommend him, as our trip was made more enjoyable because of him. Rick and Nicola,
12 Cruises, 5 Continents, 35 Countries, 65 Ports!!
Boston, MA, USA 06/26/2011
Tour to Dali's house and museum
Just spent a fabulous day with Carlos from Letango tours going from Barcelona to Cadaques and Figueres. Dali's house was wonderful in a charming location. Cadaques lived up to all Rick Steve says. It was right out of a movie. So beautiful...beyond words really. I am so happy to be able to carry the picture of this perfect town in my mind...beach, sun, white houses, flowers, beach side cafe, boats, locals in the water!!!!!!! A chance stop to see a casteller competition and then Dali's bizarre museum. I am a mom with three teen boys and we all thoroughly enjoyed Carlos. He drove safely, was knowledgeable, funny, and an all around excellent guide!!!!
Stephanie
Marysville, WA USA 06/26/2011
Rome Cruiser Bike Tour
The May 29, 2011 10 am Rome Cruiser Bike tour and leader were great. Good overview of Rome. Nice group of 8 too. Bikes were a little beat up: some made unusual noises and pedal crank on my bike was bent, but they were functional. Recommended. Jim
Jim Pretty
Littleton, CO USA 06/24/2011
Best Moroccan tour guide ever-Ahmed
As I write this I'm in Tangier at the Hotel Minzah, preparing to begin the long journey home to USA tomorrow. I wanted to say that I have the best Moroccan tour guide ever, and I wanted to mention him here. yes, I thought I'd share this so fellow travelers can benefit from Ahmed Alami as a wise independent guide. Email: viamigoprivateguide@gmail.com
I first worked with him in 2009 for my first Tangier trip, Last week he met me in Tangier ferry terminal and we traveled together to Marrakesh and Fez. Ahmed is just a wonderful guide, and his English is very good..so his help with simple things like public transportation, translating etc is priceless. Ahmed is honest, educated and can easily talk about Politics, Religion, history, world Events and Is very warm, Kind and has a healthy sense of humor. he spoke intelligently about culture, both eastern and western and how they differ and compliment each other. also, the restaurants where we took our meals were usually places that westerners never visit.
After two vacations with my personal guide, Ahmed is more of a friend than just another tour guide. his rates are reasonable, especially given the personal service he provides.
All in all, I find the Moroccan people curious and very friendly and Ahmed is no exception to that. My holidays in Morocco would have been significantly less memorable, if not for him.
In the future I may visit Morocco again, but I'd never dream of going without Ahmed at my side. It's hard to find positive personal service these days, so when you're planning your Morocco visit remember that it will be much better if Ahmed is your personal tour guide.
Singles, couples, or groups....can't go wrong with Ahmed!!
Eric Hill
NYC, USA 06/24/2011
Madrid City Tour
My kids and I had the pleasure of spending time with Carlos Galvin from LeTango Tours doing a city Market and Tapas tour of Madrid. It was worth every penny. Carlos was our guide, he was informative, interesting, entertaining and fun to be with. My only suggestion is don't wait until day 3 of your trip to spend time with LeTango, book it on day 1.
Patrick Lockwood
Carmel, IN USA 06/21/2011
Sabine to Versailles
Versailles is a must see while visiting Paris, but I recommend you take it a step further and hire Sabine. She picked us up and [INVALID]ped us off at our apartment; provided a great deal of information about the palace and history of France; and (the best part!) drove us from the main palace to the Grand Trianon, Petite Trianon, and Queen's Hamlet. Her van was comfortable, her manner was pleasing, and her driving impectable. Her company is called Paris Authentique and she's worth every penny!
Colleen
Jackson, CA USA 06/15/2011
Ring of Kerry & Dingle Peninsula - Excellent Local Guide
My wife and I recently spent a truly memorable day touring the spectacular Dingle Peninsula with Moses Walsh – of Walsh Tour and Taxi Service. Moses is a local and offers a truly fascinating daylong tour of this incredibly beautiful area of southwestern Ireland. He obviously knows the region's history as well as the native Gaelic language, fauna, flora, and cultural highlights. He takes you see to prehistoric ruins, picturesque villages, breathtaking scenery, and landscapes filled with the famous stone walls and sheep. He also pointed out the known movie sets of the Dingle Peninsula including the beach where "Ryan's Daughter" and the landscape of "Far and Away" were filmed.
The day casually unfolds with stops for visiting the sights, strolling and/or shopping in the town of Dingle Moses is charming and the type of tour guide that makes you feel like you are visiting an old friend and yearning to return.
Wayne
Mountain View,, CA USA 06/13/2011
Wayne
Mountain View, CA USA 06/13/2011
Underground Rome tour
Brandon was our guide on the Underground Rome tour (Through Eternity Tours) and was delightful in every way. He gave us a full afternoon of touring, showed great personal enthusiasm and energy, and was a valuable source of historic information for us. He painted a lively picture of ancient Roma and helped us in every way to understand this turbulent time. Brandon is a great asset to the tour organization, and we will highly recommend him to our friends.
Paul Sinkhorn
Riverside, CA USA 06/10/2011
tour guides in Rome-Christina
Christina Giannicci.
We got Cristina's name from the Rick's guide book and took a 4 hour tour with that included parts of ancient and classical Rome She is an excellent guide. Her background is in archeology and was very knowledgible about all aspects of Rome. Very friendly, professional and very highly recommended. We will tour with her again when back in Rome.
frederick
beaufort, sc USA 06/09/2011
Tour Guide in Naqples/Pompeii
We hired a private guide to get around Naples and Pompeii. Her name is Pina Esposito. She is an archeologist that has actually worked at the ruins, She met us at the Naples train station and helped us buy our tickets to Pompeii. She rode the train with us to Pompeii and shared details about the volcano covered ancient city along the way. When we arrived at the ruins, because of her professional knowledge of the site she was able to gain access to an ancient bath area not open to the general public at this time. The insight and acess to this bath was incredible. She took us to the major sites in the ruins and shared information on events of daily life at that time and dates. After trhe tour of the ruins, she escorted us back to Naples and took us through the National Museum of Naples that houses many artifacts that were found in Pompeii. Here, Pina came even more alive and was so passionate about all tha the Pompeii people had accomplished and all that she coulld visible show us here in the exhibits. She spoke excellent English. She was esy to talk to and was kind and considerate of our needs and wants. We would definitely use her again! Thank you, Pina. We found Pina's contact information thru Rick Steves book on Rome.
Mary Rodriguez
Tulsa, OK USA 06/09/2011
Tour Berlin with Jeremy the Berlin Expert!
Jeremy was superb! From personality to knowledge, you will get the whole package when touring with Jeremy. Part of the beauty of seeing a new city and visiting the memorials, attractions, and historical sites is having an understanding of the story behind what you are seeing. Jeremy's ability to share the stories and provide historical facts, names, and data made it all the more interesting. I have been on guided tours before and would say this ranks at the very top. It was personalised to my family and we all look forward to returning to Berlin for another visit one day soon!
Judy Goldberg
London, UK 06/03/2011
A brilliant introduction to a fabulous city
It was my first time in Paris to celebrate a milestone birthday when we took Richard's walking tour of Le Marais. His insights into the architecture and history of this fascinating area, together with the contacts he has with the local proprietors & artisans made for a wonderful introduction to a city we are soon to return to. Richard was happy to tailor the tour to include our special interests and his consideration to our needs was very much appreciated.
Damian
Perth, Australia 06/01/2011
Spain Tours
As a professor at the University of Redlands for more than 20 years, I have had ample opportunities to take students with me for a study abroad course. Before meeting Carlos whose company is Letango Tours, I would not have considered doing so. Carlos spent a great deal of time over the months it took to submit a course proposal to the University and prepare my students for two weeks in Spain. I could not have done this without Carlos. Everything went smoothly. All accommodations, extra excursions, etc. were in place before we left. Any last-minute emergencies (we were without towels at a new hostel one night) were expertly handled. Carlos worked extremely well with my students, and he attended to their needs[INVALID]from minor issues with rooming assignments to organizing an excursion to a bullfight. I thought that taking 13 student to Spain would be a stressful experience (as much as I love Spain), but Carlos made it easy. Carlos and I are modifying the itinerary for the course next May, and I expect that I will be able to fill the course every year that Carlos and I can offer it.
Cheryl Rickabaugh
Redlands, Ca USA 05/22/2011
Fabulous guide in Malaga with Excellent day trip service "Secrets of Tangier"
I just wanted to write and express my appreciation for the wonderful tour Daniel provided the five of us throughout his beautiful part of the world! We had a very good time visiting Malaga-Spain and really enjoyed our day trip to Tangier Morocco arranged by our personal Spanish guide Daniel.
Daniel was both informative and personal, which we enjoyed very much. It was so much more enjoyable and enlightening than other trips I have been on. Morocco simply can't be compared to other countries in Europe. the people are good and the food is to die for(we enjoyed typical Moroccan meal a lot). It is a hidden treasure that the rest of the world should see. I hope to return soon.
Daniel is an excellent travelling companion, with broad knowledge, energy, and enthusiasm. I would highly recommend Him to others visiting Malaga and Tangier who would like a personal tour of the area. His contact email address is: tarifatravel@gmail.com
Dr. Juvencio Gonzlez Robles
Mexico 05/20/2011
Spanish Guides/Tours
As a professor at the University of Redlands for more than 20 years, I have had ample opportunities to take students with me for a study abroad course. Before meeting Carlos, I would not have considered doing so. Carlos spent a great deal of time over the months it took to submit a course proposal to the University and prepare my students for two weeks in Spain. I could not have done this without Carlos. Everything went smoothly. All accommodations, extra excursions, etc. were in place before we left. Any last-minute emergencies (we were without towels at a new hostel one night) were expertly handled. Carlos worked extremely well with my students, and he attended to their needs from minor issues with rooming assignments to organizing an excursion to a bullfight. I thought that taking 13 student to Spain would be a stressful experience (as much as I love Spain), but Carlos made it easy. Carlos and I are modifying the itinerary for the course next May, and I expect that I will be able to fill the course every year that Carlos and I can offer it.
Cheryl Rickabaugh
Redlands, CA USA 05/18/2011
Real Rome Tours Evening Tour
During our first night in Rome, my husband and I took the evening tour with Claudia of Real Rome Tours and it was perfetto! I had never been to Rome before and it was a wonderful introduction to the city and I felt like it was much easier to navigate. My husband studied there (many years ago) and even he said he saw things he never knew were there. We particularly enjoyed the gelato stop! Unfortunately we took a tour with another company at the Vatican and felt like we were really scammed. The guide didn't have any enthusiasm and there were many more people in the group than was promised. We wished we'd had Claudia again.
Jeanne M.
New Haven, CT USA 05/17/2011
great guide Rome - Gianluca
My daughter and I had a perfect day in Rome thanks to our guide Luca. ( Strano Gianluca
gail
deland, fl USA 05/15/2011
Rome Walks Evening Tour
Took the Rome Walks evening tour. It was my first visit to Italy and the tour was a fun and informative way to see tourista sites and get some good tips on restaurants, shops, and the "hot priest" fundraising calendar on sale in most outdoor magazine kiosks. Our tour guide, Marie, was a delightfully knowledgable woman from South Africa who interwove contemporary tips with Church and Roman architectural information into her witty monologue. Started at the Campo Di Fiori, ended at the Spanish Steps and saw a lot of fun stuff in between, including the Trevi Fountain. Good way to get tourist spots checked off efficiently and painlessly.
Maureen Bernas
Olean, NY USA 05/11/2011
Great day in Tangier-Aziz
We had a wonderful day in Tangier recently with Aziz Begdouri (aziztour@hotmail.com). He took care of everything for us, including the ferry tickets over from Tarifa. We were traveling with 3 kids (8,12, and 14) and my mother, who is 68, and he was very attentive to everyone's needs. We toured part of the city in a van with a driver, and then spent the afternoon wandering markets and the Kasbah, which is an amazing experience. Aziz showed us things in the Kasbah you would not be able to see on a standard tour. For example, a friend of his was renovating a home in the Kasbah, so we were able to tour a home, behind one of those non-descript doors, and see them actually making one of those fabulous tile fountains and see the view from the rooftop of one of the homes. There is so much more to say, but it was the highlight of our 2 week trip to Spain. If you would like to read more about our day, go to www.AreWeThereYetMom.us, click on "heidi's blog" and read "More on Marvelous Morocco".
Heidi Olander
Bath, UK 05/09/2011
Day Tour In Provence
Some friends and I took a 2 day trip to the Provence region in April and had a wonderful stay at Autour Du Petit Paradis in Avignon, France. Our rooms were very clean and the location was perfect for a restful sleep and easy walking distances inside the old city walls. Patrick and Sabine were helpful in every way and had great recommendations for dining and sightseeing. Our second day was absolutely the best as Patrick toured us through many of the local hill towns to include St. Remy, Baux de Provence, Rousillon, Gordes and Fontaine de Vaucluse – each different in its own way! I had such a fun time and would be willing to return for another visit with Patrick and Sabine to see more of this beautiful area.
Betsy
Bingelrade, Netherlands 05/09/2011
Hungary - Private Guide
From past experience, I know that finding a private guide, particularly on the internet, can be very difficult because you are never quite sure what you are going to get. Like many others, I rely on testimonials to make my decision. So for everyone who is considering a guide in Hungary, I want to let you know that I can't recommend Barbara Lang-Szabo (barbara.langszabo@gmail.com)enough. She is absolutely fluent in English, is highly personable, extremely knowledgeable, clearly enjoys what she is doing and is very pleasant and easy going. Moreover, since Barbara is the guide and not the driver, no time is spent looking for parking spaces or walking back to the van. The driver simply dropped us off and then picked us backed up with no fuss and no time wasted.
Eric G.
Pasadena, CA USA 05/09/2011
Tour of Prague, Czech Republic
We just returned from a visit to Prague. PragueWalkers was recommended to us and we were not disappointed! Katerina of PragueWalkers was an excellant tour guide. She was friendly and very knowledgable about the country and city. Her English is perfect and her smile constant. We took the Jewish Tour and was appreciative that Katerina did not sugarcoat what happened during WWII. The transfers that Katerina scheduled were equally wonderful. They picked us up on time and even took the extra time to help us with luggage at the Prague train station and explain the train schedule posted on a board so we would get on the correct train to Vienna. I couldnt find a negative about PragueWalkers if I tried!!!
Gayle Retske
Toledo, OH USA 05/02/2011
Marais Tour Paris
Richard's Eye Prefer Paris tours are like no other: he takes you on a walk through history, and tailors each tour to his participants needs. For example: I was interested in art and Judaism. We toured a synagogue where Richard told us the history from the 1700's to the present day; a gallery where we spoke with the owner about their current exhibit; a jewelry store/gallery where Richard knew the owner and he showed us his most stunning pieces and also told us how he made them; a bakery that was rated #1 in all of Paris for their macaroons; and a private garden that most parisiens were not aware of. And this was only the Marais! When in Paris,There is no better use of your time and money than Richard's tours.
www.eyepreferparistours.com
Susie
Los angeles, CA USA 05/02/2011
Wine and Tours in sienna
my wife and I planned to go to sienna, among other places in italy, during easter week. it was when we could and needed to go. we had done some research into some wine tours from sienna into the chianti/tuscany wine region. we selected WINE AND TOURS, which was recommended by RS. we did what they (W&T) told us to do: we confirmed the tour with them in an international call 2 weeks prior to the trip and went to their storefront in sienna, just off the campo, to pay them for what was to be a private 5 hour tour. they demanded cash; they had never told us we couldn't use our credit card. we paid them and set up a time to be picked up at our hotel the next day. they never showed!! we were very disappointed. especially that we could not contact anyone that next day. please be very careful with these people. i would not recommend them. we had a very difficult time getting our money back. and probably would not have if it were not for our hotelier, who was livid that this happened to her clients, and expressed her anger at these people. she got the money back for us. RS should reconsider his recommendation.
david virgilio
brockport, ny USA 05/01/2011
Cotswolds Tour Guide
My wife and I recently spent an amazing day touring the Cotswolds with Chris Peake, of cotswolds-tours, CJP Private Hire. Chris is a Cotswolds native and offers a truly fascinating daylong tour of this incredibly beautiful area of England. He obviously knows the region's history as well as geology, fauna, flora, architecture, and building methods such as the thatching of the roofs. He takes you see to castles, ruins, churches, picturesque hamlets and villages, breathtaking scenery, plus landscapes littered with sheep, cattle, horses, and flowers. The day breezes by but is interrupted with stops for strolling and/or shopping in the village centers and for lunch in a pub "with a view". Chris is charming and the type of tour guide that makes you feel like you are visiting an old friend.
Wayne
Mountain View,, CA USA 04/29/2011
Czech Republic Personal Tour Guide
We just returned from five wonderful days in Prague, CZ. Three of those days were spent with our private guide, Katarina Kruspanova. Our tours, two days in Prague and one in Kutna Hora, far exceeded our expectations. Katarina's English is perfect and she fills her tours with facts, legends and humor. She tailored the tours to meet our wishes and maintained a flexible schedule so that we could spend as much or as little time as we liked at each attraction. An added bonus with Katarina is that you can expect the unexpected. Because of her extensive knowledge and experience, we were able to see hidden parts of Prague that you would not normally see. Her company, The Perfect Package, also offers tours of Austria and Poland. We look forward to returning for these tours.
Melissa
Virginia Beach, VA USA 04/10/2011
LeTango Tours, Madrid Spain
Carlos was an outstanding host for our Tapas Tour. His sharing of his knowledge of the local areas, the people, food and history was very informative to my wife and myself. We found ourselfs repeating the steps of our tour over the remainder of our stay in Madrid. The information Carlos shared made our trip one that we will be talking about for many years to come.
John Andrews
Palmer, Alaska USA 04/08/2011
Official Guides in Rome-Angel Tours
Angel Tours mix guides, you have official guides from Rome and Guides from Ireland, both are entertaining, fab with kids, not too detailed but can offer detailed answers and over all are better priced than tour we had in other cities. The electric car tour was the best, which suprisd us becuase we thought the Vatican would impress us most.
Nancy S
USA 04/07/2011
ArtViva Tour Company
Your Florence & Tuscany book suggested ArtViva tour company and they did not disappoint! We were in Florence in March for our daughter's destination wedding and Celeste and her team arranged an unforgettable series of tours and experiences for our family and friends. We did a terrific day trip into Tuscany highlighted by visits to San Gimignano, Siena and a great wine tour & lunch at a small private vineyard. Our guide Sacha was a trained sommelier as well as expert guide. We also did the Highlights of the Uffizzi/Vasari corridor with Elisabetta who had the knowldege and energy of everyone's favorite art history professor. The Original & Best Walking tour of Florence was excellent and gave first time visitors or seasoned travelers to Florence insight into life in the city during the Renaissance. They even arranged a great pasta class for our daughter & friends and airport transportation for our guests. Whether you are a single travelor, couple, family or small group, this company will help you plan the perfect vacation. We look forward to returning to Italy next year and plan to contact them about services in Venice and Rome. Thank you Rick!
Janice Lempereur
Delray Beach, FL USA 04/06/2011
Go with Roman Empire Tours
Roman Empire Tours is fantastic- or really I should say our tourguides Alex and Jimmy are fantastic, because their personalities and passion for the subject is contagious. When one thinks of guided tours, images of large groups following a soft spoken guide who is repeating the same rehearsed speech over and over again; you definitely won't have that experience with Roman Empire Tours. Groups are kept smaller to maximize your experience. Both Alex and Jimmy have dazzling personalities that keep you interested and entertained.
Alex and Jimmy both have an enthusiasm for the Eternal City that can only matched by their knowledge of Rome's amazing attractions. As transplants to Rome you would expect the magic of the city to have worn off a bit for them, but it has not. I found it incredibly inspiring that after years of living in Rome, Alex and Jimmy are still in awe of the city. It is clear they love what they do, which is to share their passion and knowledge with others. And that's exactly what I felt as a tour participant. When I was searching for guided tours I was looking for an experience beyond the typical touristy activities, and that is certainly what I found. Roman Empire Tours isn't about capitalizing on the tourist industry, but about revealing the magic of Rome.
Courtney Brickwell
Phillidelphia, USA 03/29/2011
Loire Valley chateaux tour
Our compliments to the Acco-Dispo Agency for a wonderful day of "chateaux hopping". Pascal, our driver, spoke excellent English in his commentary as we rode in his van on our day tour visiting chateaux in this beautiful area of France. Besides his astute knowledge of the area, he accommodated us, making us feel comfortable and welcomed.
Lawrence Barnes
Stayton, OR USA 03/28/2011
Day One in Rome-Roman Odyssey
Roman Odyssey was great once you got started. The meeting location as a bit confusing to find but the directions were accurate once you were in the right place. We understood that transportation by bus would be included in the fees but we ended up paying for it ourselves (a few Euros, so no big deal, but make sure you have some handy for the two bus tickets). In fact if you get an all-day bus ticket, you can save some money getting to the meeting place and back to your hotel after the tour.
Watch out for the folks dressed in Roman gear/gladiator outfits. Negotiate a price up front (2 Euro) so you don't get stuck with a larger request (20 Euro).
The guides were very knowledgeable and helpful throughout the tour. The photo ops were great and we are still going through them a week later. What was nice was the hints of other things to do and see on your remaining days in Rome.
I would recommend ths for a new visitor to Rome on your first day. Then get a 110Bus hop-on hop-off pass to get you to other sights.
S. Thomas
Grapevine, TX USA 03/27/2011
Tuscany
My husband and I went to Florence for 3 nights and decided to d a 1/2 day trip to Tuscany with a wine tasting and dinner through viator.com. It was amazing. We saw beautiful parts of the country and met great people this way! We loved it! All the while never knowing that this would be the highlight of our Florence trip. They are easy to find, and ready to go. I loved the efficiency and fun and intelligence that viator offered. I learned a lot while experiencing even more. It was amazing!
Shannon Fonferko
Schaumburg, IL USA 03/21/2011
Walks of Italy
We HIGHLY recommend Walks of Italy (specifically the Twilight tour) to get a great snapshot of Rome. Our tour guide, Simona, was filled with fun, historical facts and kept wowing us with her command of the city and its history. Of all the tours we took, this was BY FAR the best!
Gabriella
Wynnewood, PA USA 03/19/2011
Tuscan Trails - AWESOME! (Todd Bolton)
My husband and I had the great pleasure to take the Chianti Wine tour on a Saturday via Tuscan Trails (www.tuscantrails.com) with Todd Bolton and a group of 3 others, a gent from Texas and a couple from Nebraska. Todd was very promt and from the moment we stepped into the van, we knew immediately that it would be a nice and relaxed day, especially since the people joining us seemed to be very nice off the bat.
My husband and I love wine and live in wine country in California, but even with the knowledge we have learned throughout the years, Todd was informative and we gained so much new information that we will forever be grateful for.
What we love most about the tour is the fact that Todd was very professional and can read his clients well. He was courteous and answered not only our wine making inquiries, but also those we had regarding Italy and the culture. With such a small group, I think everyone felt comfortable and fun was had by all. It really felt more like a day trip with friends rather than a tour.
Our lunch was at a family restaurant and I kid you not, the food was delicious! If I had 10 thumbs, I'd give Tuscan Trails 10 thumbs up, but since I only have two... I give it 2, very big and happy thumbs up!
Korinna & Steve
Grover Beach, CA USA 03/18/2011
Fabulous guide in Rome Jimmy
Jimmy from Roman Empire Tours was our exceptional guide for two days in Rome. Delivery was not only very well timed but the content was fascinating and humorous - he put on a great show and we look forward to the encore for my sisters wedding next year.
michelle Geran
New York, NY USA 03/17/2011
Excellent guide service in Romania
I recently spend about two weeks in Romania and used Cultural Travel & Tours Romania as my guide service. I can't say enough good things about this firm. The owner, Claudiu, was extremely helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable. E-mails were returned very quickly, and the prices/costs were very good.
Kevin McIntyre
Westminster, MD USA 03/17/2011
Great Wine Tour in Roman Countryside
I had SO much fun on this wine tour. It was a real pleasure to get outside the city of Rome, taste some local wines and see the countryside and some wine estates. The guides, Diego and Alessio, provide pick up/drop off and transport for the entire day. They are true gentlemen, very knowledgable and extremely entertaining. I definitely recommend this day trip to anyone visiting Rome.
Here is the website http://www.nebtour.it/English/Tours/Castelli_Romani/Struttura_eng.htm
Jackie Linh
Chicago, IL USA 03/17/2011
Carlos Galvin, wonderful Madrid guide
Our group of five friends booked Carlos Galvin for a walking tour of Madrid on our first night in the city. Our specifics: we can find the big sights on our own and we're not interested in shopping, but we want a look into Spanish culture and we want to find some good, local restaurants. Finding Carlos was the best intro to Spain we could possibly have had! He's charming, knowledgeable, and fun, and with his help we made the most of our 5 days in Madrid! I highly recommend him.
Ruth Fletcher
Roswell, GA USA 03/16/2011
Montmartre Eye Prefer Paris Tour
My husband, daughter and I took an exceptional tour of Montmartre with Richard Nahem of Eye Prefer Paris tours. He showed us the glorious Sacre coeur church and the famous artist colony on the Place terte square, where I bought the most beautiful painting of Paris (Richard bargained with the artist and saved us 25 euros!). the most special part of the tour was seeing the little offbeat side streets away from the tourist places. there was this one cul de sac with the most incredible private houses with gardens. He also took us down the hill to this really fantastic food shop street rue matyrs. I liked the fact that he showed us the things we wanted to see and then surprised us with things we would have never seen on our own. I highly recommend Richard to give you a fabulous tour if you are going to Paris.
Joan Cutler
Joan
St. Louis, MO USA 03/08/2011
Tours outside of Rome with Stefano Rome Tours
For those interested in Italy's ancient civilization prior to the Roman Empire, as well as medieval castles, wine and olive oil tasting, and the best Italian food ever, there are 2 daytrip tours we took with Stefano Rome Tours (www.StefanoRomeTours.com) that gave us a taste of the best central Italy has to offer.
The Etruscan Mystery Tour took us to the breathtaking painted tombs of Tarquinia (the only ones like these in the world!) that go back around 8th-3rd centuries BC, followed by a visit to the Tarquinia Etruscan museum to see some of the significant artifacts found inside discovered tombs....then off to Tuscania, a non-touristy medieval town on top of a hill with a view of a valley that can only be described as a fairy tale - and the best Italian food ever... afterward, we went for an olive oil and wine tasting at a local vineyard where they make all their products organically themselves.
The Castles and Lakes Tour started at Lago Bracciano and the famous Odescalchi Castle where Tom Cruise got married. There is an organized tour by the Castle that takes you through the different rooms and levels inside, along with stories of all the intriguing and shocking things that went on in there! The views of the lake both from the Castle and from the lakeside beach were spectacular. From there we went to have lunch in another medieval town, Ceri, that looks more like an ancient fortress with narrow streets, and an atmosphere that reminded us of a perfect movie set for a medieval movie. Lunch there was also amazing, very traditional and fresh - and reasonably priced considering how good and plentiful it was. There was nothing "touristy" or "typical" about any of the places we were taken to- we really felt like we were given an authentic Italian experience that you don't get in touristy areas. After lunch we went to Cerveteri to visit another Etruscan necropolis where we get to walk inside the tombs themselves! The entire place looked like a peaceful park in a forest-like setting, but with ancient mounds and streets that made up this ancient city of the dead. Our driver was knowledgeable about all the places we went to, and we were constantly informed about all the places we visited, as well as some we drove by. He also answered all our questions, so we were never left wondering about the places we were looking at, or had to reach for guide books. Not only were these tours educational and fascinating, but they beautifully blended different eras of Italy's rich history and culinary traditions to satisfy diverse interests. Just be sure to bring a camera because there are so many beautiful things and places to photograph and/or film!!
Pepito Santi
Tampa, Fl USA 03/07/2011
When In Rome Tours
Found boutique tour company "When In Rome" Tours ... had excellent tour of Vatican .. highly recommend them!
R. Steinberg
Stockbridge, GA USA 03/04/2011
The Loire Valley in a vintage car
My wife and I went to Paris to celebrate our wedding anniversay and were looking for something different and extra special.
We found a company called Loire Valley Time Travel http://www.tourtheloire.com/ on the internet and booked for a one day tour of the castles in the Loire Valley. We went to Tours on the bullet train and they met us at the station. We went to Chenonceaux and another castle with a hunting museum and a winery where we talked to the winemaker. We also had lunch at a restaurant we wouldn't even have noticed as we drove past, but it was really good. We had three courses - with as much moules frites as we could eat!
If you go to the Loire Valley go with these people. The guide's name is Susan and she knew all the details about how they organise the castles because she used to work in one in England.
The car is lovely and comfortable, and we had loads of photos taken of us with the car as well. travelling in a car like that on empty roads took us way back to the 1950s, even if we did spend the 50s in a different country
Paul
Cairns, QLD Australia 02/28/2011
Amalfi Coast taxi tour
Last year we booked with amalfitransfer.com for amalfi Coast drive with Pompeii because Anthony offered us the best tour for a better price as compared to the bigger companies.
Anthony Buonocore is the owner/driver and he had a very nice, new comfortable van. He was waiting for us dockside with a quick smile & joke as we got off the ship. We knew we were in for a fun filled day and were not disappointed.
For Pompeii he arranged a private guide for us who was full of enthusiasm and personality.
Believe it or not, we had time after Pompeii tour to see Ravello, Amalfi and Positano. Anthony also took us to a very nice restaurant on the cliffs for lunch and ended the tour with a private tasting at a Lemoncello factory. Our ship left from Salerno so from Naples I don't think this would be possible.
I should note that although the roads are a bit scary, I was very comfortable with Anthony's driving. He was born in Amalfi so he knows the roads like the back of his hand.
Anthony's phone # is 0039-3494410336 & email buonocoreanthony@yahoo.it
Monica
Culver City, CA USA 02/28/2011
private istanbul tours
Tom and I used private istanbul tours services last Sept. while in Istanbul. If they recall we were picked up at the Port. We had 2 wonderful private guided tours for 2 days. I booked online from www.privateistanbultours.com
We have friends, Kim and Karen going to Turkey Jun 25 - Jul 8. I am giving them their email address/name to make arrangements. Thank you private istanbul tours
Kathy
Toronto, ON 02/22/2011
Epic Rome Tours
Excellent day spent with Jimmy from Epic Rome Tours. Great pace, kids loved him and an endless fountain of knowledge. They book tickets in advance so no wwiting
Kelly
Beacon, LA USA 02/22/2011
Free Rome Tours (Stephano)
We had a freetour with a company named New free Rome tours led by a man named Stephano. We felt the tour might be of interest, but he was always stopping the tour to take time to fight with other younger guides from other tour companies. What a shame.
D Russo
Rome, USA 02/18/2011
Secrets of Rome
if your family wants to be driven through the narrow streets of Rome, brought into some old cafes and shown some sights most of you guys really will never see, some amazing little secrets I bet Rick doesnt know. Then find Eco City Tours in Rome, the guide was excellent the kind of person you feel you always knew. The car is small and eletric in every sense of the word the tour was electric. We all had a go at driving (in Rome) the pics are great and our teens enjoyed Rome which was a big plus.
Eco City Tours
www.ecocitytours.com
Ron Hayes
Dub;in, IIreland 02/07/2011
Rome Tours with Cristina Giannicchi
We toured Rome and Tivoli with Cristina Giannicchi as recommended by Rick Steves and she was wonderful. She brought everything to life - so much so that anything else we did was boring without her! Highly recommend Cristina. Her website is www.crisacross.com
Lauren Carnevale
Ledgewood, NJ USA 02/03/2011
Tangier private guide referral - Jaouad
Jaouad from private guides Services was AMAZING. Office Phone: +212.534850678 or email: academictourguide@gmail.com
an outstanding guide. He provided us with much historical information and knew how to plan a day to avoid crowds. he spoke English, took us to several local spots for great food, and knew the history of Tangier and the Culture of Moroccan people wonderfully. he took us to Mosques, palaces, museums, Cruising down the Casbah, Medina, the spice Berber market, Camels etc..
We did a full day walking and driving tour in Tangier, Jaouad was a wonderfull guide who made our trip much more enjoyable. JAOUAD WAS A FANTASTIC TOUR GUIDE!
Matt, Gina and Bill Kain
The Ohio State University, OH USA 02/02/2011
Private driving tour from Paris to Normandy
We just returned from great private driving tour to Normandy and the WWII D-day beaches with Christian (americandriverinparis.com). He was excellent - punctual, reassuring, safe driver; with loads of information and great stories! He's American, but has been living in France for a long like 20 years, so there was no problem communicating at all, and we were able to ask him stuff about the french, about life in France, and other general info we might not have felt comfortable asking another guide. I look forward to our next visit to France, when we hope to hire him again for a tour to the Loire Valley Castles....
Jean-Scott
Winnie, TX USA 01/30/2011
Beyond Paris to the Loire
Last August, my wife and I spent a day in the Loire valley and went on a cracking day tour with these guys http://loirevalleytours.blogspot.com/
The tour is based about an hour by train south west of Paris in the postcard perfect Loire valley.
They do tours in a classic 1950's Citroen Traction that they chauffeur you around the chateaus, villages and other sights in the area. The car made everything seem so much more dramatic; I felt a bit like I was in a Tintin story.
The tour guides (two expat Australians) had done a huge amount of homework to uncover the history and ecology of the area and provided a cheerful and informative commentary throughout the tour.
As part of the tour we stopped and had dinner at a small but excellent local cafe which my hosts assured me serve mostly local produce.
And that's where we ended an excellent day in the French countryside, sitting drinking vin rouge and watching the setting sun and the dragonflies dancing over the cool green river Claise.
Jon
Australia 01/28/2011
Florence food tour
Taste of Florence was a fun and tasty tour.
Sharon
Virginia Beach, VA USA 01/17/2011
Private tour in Paris
Elisabeth Hiest was our private tour guide in Paris for two days. She is a gem!! We had a group of 5 including a grandmother and teenagers. She paced the tour and having her made the Paris trip even better.
Her information is listed in Rick Steve's Guidebook. Elisabeth is wonderful!
Sharon
Virginia Beach, VA USA 01/17/2011
Lenny's Bike Tour / Discover Munich
When I travel I have a particular policy. If somebody recommends something I generally try it out, over the years this has paid dividends on many occasions. Well, this is one of those occasions I hope you take note of my recommendation.
'Discover Munich' or 'Lenny's' bike tour is a must if you visit Munich. There is no better where to see such a beautiful city. Cycling around Munich makes you wonder why anybody would even consider driving. So once you accept that cycling is the best way to see this wonderful city then 'Lenny's' bike tour is a must. I was in Munich in October with a large group. We were there to run the Munich marathon on 10/10/10 and raise funds for Cancer Charities in Ireland, Scotland and London.
We joined Lenny's tour on the Monday after the marathon. He gave us a wonderful tour, which showed Munich at its finest. On top of this Lenny made the most incredible gesture. When we explained the reason why we were in Munich Lenny donated all the funds from the bike tour to our cancer charities, which raised €550. It was a wonderful heart warming gesture. Lenny's bike tour will undoubtedly be the highlight of your visit and you can take comfort from the fact that the person showing you around Munich is such a kind hearted individual.
Conor
Conor
London, UK 01/13/2011
Angel Tours in Rome
Our best tour in Rome was our tour of the Colosseum using Angel Tours Rome, they use native english speaking guides and tour only with small groups. Passing the line we already felt our fee was well spent, but the guides was also excellent. We booked other sites with other companies but wished we had all our tours booked through Angel Tours in the end.
J Davis
USA 01/08/2011
wine tours in Tuscany
My extended family went to Italy for Thanksgiving and spent several days each in Venice, Siena and Rome. I've been to Siena before and hired Franco Fadda for a wine country tour. He was fantastic before and he remains equally wonderful. Everyone in my group absolutely loved Franco and the day he created for us. He chose the perfect restaurants, the perfect vineyards and the perfect sites to see. His English is wonderful, his knowledge of the area and history complete and the atmosphere he creates for the day is superb. You will not find a more pleasurable or memory-making filled day anywhere or with anyone else!
Cathryn
Charleston, SC USA 01/08/2011
Florence Tour and Cooking Class
Paola, of Florence Tours, did an excellent job of shepherding our large group (4 adults and 7 children, ages 7-15) around Florence. She has a background in art history which she put to good work as we wandered through the Accademia and the Baptistry and Santa Croce. Being a mother herself, she was tuned into the attention span of the kids and also worked in a visit to a shop that makes special paper. The younger kids each got a chance to paint paper. On another day, we met up with Paola again as well as her mother and another assistant for a market tour followed by a cooking class. Paolo gamely worked with us to prepare several dishes, working to accommodate allergies and picky eaters. We made pasta, pizza, a vegetarian and non-vegetarian appetizer, vegetable side dishes (one vegetarian and one with meat garnish) and two desserts. It was a marathon session and a lot of fun, also very reasonably priced.
Paola and her husband offer other types of tours in Florence and surrounding Tuscany as well.
Their contact email address is info@florencetour.com
Niki
Tacoma, WA USA 01/06/2011
Great tour guide in Tangier, Morocco (Abdelhamid Idrissi)
Took the FRS ferry from Tarifa to Tangier for a day. Contacted Abdelhamid Idrissi by email before going and he met us at the ferry station as we arrived and spent the entire day with us, shuttling us around Tangier and showing us all the sights. Abdel spoke perfect English and gave us a wonderful overview of Morocco and he is extremely knowledgeable with history and current events of Tangier and Morocco itself, also a wonderful personable guy. Abdel spent the entire day with us and took us for a Camel ride and visited the Caves outside of Tangier as well as walking thru marketplace and every other sight you will want to see. We had a great time and enjoyed our visit, wonderful place to see if you've never been and only have a day to spend like we did. When we visit Morocco again, will definitely visit other areas such as Marrakech or Fes as Abdel suggested. At the end of the day, Abdel took us back to our ferry and helped us into the terminal. Our roundtrip ferry trip (45-60 min. ride) was approximately 50 euros and our guide only charged us 30-35 euros per person... Would highly recommend Abdel as your guide. His Cell: 00212668702424. He can be reached by email at: tangiertour@yahoo.co.uk
dlejae
San Diego..., USA 01/05/2011
Private Guided Tour of Prado
Madrid & Barcelona - Oct 8-15, 2010
Highlight of our week long trip to Spain was a private tour of the Prado Museum with the director of Madrid-Museum Tours, Mr. Hernan Amaya Satt.
(www.madrid-museum-tours.org)
An elegant, well spoken man, Hernan made each piece of art we viewed come to life as he spoke about each artist and its' subject. Unlike many guides we have encountered, he spoke very good English and happily answered any questions we had.
The Prado was packed with tourists and could of been a very daunting experience but Hernan swiftly took us to the exact areas of our interests and covered alot of artwork in the 2 hours.
Our group of 4 adults could of listened to Hernan all day!
Don't look anywhere else when searching for guided tours of the Prado. This company is first class and worth every penny!
Anna Coghan
Belle Mead, NJ USA 01/04/2011
private tour of Berlin
The Berlin Expert, Jeremy Minzberg, is a top notch private guide who knows as much about Berlin history as he does about the current scene. See the monuments and traces of the Prussian,Nazi and communist eras,as well as the hippest neighborhoods, the best restaurants, and out of the way sites filled with unusual, wild and moving stories. This is the way to get an intimate, fascinating peek into this hopping city. It will transform your experience. He is worth every penny!
Emily
New York, NY USA 12/23/2010
Suprised by our Guide-Sky Tours Rome
we booked a tour with Sky Tours Rome which we felt was not so expensive, it turned out we had booked a guide for one whole day as a private tour with an Eco car. The guide and price was very fair and we loved the tour. We saw the Vatican, Ghetto, colosseum and much more in an 8 hour tour with hardly any walking since the car can drive and park any place. well worth it
www.skytoursrome.com
Conor Crowley
London, 12/21/2010
Romania Private tour with Compass Travel Romania
We took the Romanian Rhapsody Tour in late October. It simply was one of the best journeys ever. Romania was our 56th country.
We'd like to recommend Romania as one of the most vibrant places we've ever been to. We sure think Rick should have this place listed amongst his destinations.
Our focus was the folklore and rural traditions and Romania has them in abundance. The tour operator suggested we visit Maramuresh on a Sunday and that was memorable.
We covered a good 1,300 miles in 12 and half days after having spent two days on our own in Bucharest.
Below is our itinerary
http://www.romaniatours.us/romania_rhapsody.html
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John and Vivian March
Los Angeles, CA USA 12/20/2010
Berlin Walking Tour
We could not have had better guides in Berlin than Jeremy and Cooper. For 2 days they guided us on foot and via public transportation to see the highlights of East and West Berlin. During a pre-tour briefing Jeremy ascertained our interests and customized our tour. We learned the history and developed a great appreciation for the city while avoiding the heavily touristed areas. His knowledge and visual aids gave us an in depth perspective not available through a standard pre-packaged tour. We highly recommend the "Berlin Expert." http://www.theberlinexperts.com/
Diane & Herbert
Charleston, SC USA 12/19/2010
Ring of Kerry Tour
I highly recommend the Deros Ring of Kerry tour that leaves from Killarney. It was well worth the money paid, especially since I went in December and we were the ONLY bus on the route. We also had some gorgeous views with the blazing winter sun descending over the mountains as we came down back into Killarney.
Memories to last a lifetime!!
Laura
Seattle, WA USA 12/10/2010
Tour of Pompeii with Anna Maria Esposito
While in southern Italy, we couldn't book Gaetano Manfredi so instead, we toured with Anna Maria Esposito, i.e. Pina, and she was GREAT! We toured the National Archeological Museum in Naples with her a few days before Pompeii and the combination turned out to be perfect. Both sites would have been overwhelming without an experienced guide. She supplied an outstanding combination of history, relevance and local savvy!
SUSAN
BELLAIRE, TX USA 12/08/2010
Real Rome Tours (Richie)
We only had one day in Rome and we booked a tour with Real Rome Tours. We were so glad we did. We had a small group of six and Richie was our guide. He was professional and very knowledgeable... plus he made the tour fun. Gerard provided great service in getting us from the cruise ship to the city. We would recommend this tour company to all.
Jim
Las Vegas, NV USA 12/08/2010
The best tours of Rome, and the Vatican!
We had gone on 3 tours with Roman Candle Tours and they were all great! We were given very precise meeting point for each tour where the guide and rest of the group were waiting. All of our groups were small, the largest being 10 people and we had no difficulties hearing and understanding each of the guides as all spoke perfect English! Our tour leaders were all very passionate about each of the sites on tour and everything was very well explained. Would highly recommend Roman Candle Tours!!
Carl Lovenburg
Richmond Hill, Ont Canada 11/26/2010
Mad Max Cotswold tour
My wife and I loved this tour and would recommend it to anyone going to England. Chris, our guide, was knowledgeable, thoughtful, and entertaining. The villages and scenery were stunning.
Steve Read
Madison, WI USA 11/23/2010
Timberbush Tours
My wife and I took the St.Andrews and the Fishing Villages of Fife tour and loved it. If you are in Edinburgh, Scotland, this tour we feel is a must. The scenery was beautiful and the villages were charming. Billy, our guide, has a wonderful sense of humor and a thorough knowledge of the area.
Steve Read
Madison, WI USA 11/23/2010
A trip to remember to Rome - Angel Tours
We travel every holiday we get, a few months back we booked with Angel Tours who are in Rick's book. Everything was made easy, the website was cunningly simple, we paid with our chase account to Angels USA chase bank. They answered our calls everytime, we never got the answer machine we spoke to a man with a nice clear Irish brouge. Email replies came within the hour from the same Irish guy. Our guides in Rome with Angel Tours spoke perfect english, as they are all from Ireland, we found them to be as well organised as the webiste, emails and booking. We passed a 2 hr line to the Vatican Museums and a 1 hr line to the Colosseum. Our kids never complained but spoke often about the guides, especially Angel Kenneth. At the end of tours we felt very tired but not at all ever bored. The guides are very well mannered, educated and fun.
check them out the work only through word of mouth
www.angeltoursrome.com
Mike L Waring
USA 11/20/2010
Wine Tour in Tuscany with Donatella
Wine Tour in Tuscany is the BEST!!!! We just had the greatest day of visiting Tuscany. From small wineries that produce to Chianti to meeting the locals. Donatella is great to work with the whole way. She gives you a true local experience that you will not find on your own. We considered renting a car but we would have never had the experience that we had with Donatella!!! This tour is a MUST if you like wine and want a great Tuscany experience. I cannot wait to go back and go on another wine tour!!
cyberbucca
Pittsburgh, PA USA 11/18/2010
Paris Tours
Richard Nahem of Eye Prefer Paris Tours (http://www.eyepreferparis.com)
was our Paris Angel. My friend, who was celebrating her 60th Birthday, and I took off for Paris with great excitement, but speaking very little French. Richard arranged a wonderful taxi service (hard to come by) and gave us great tours of the Marais and
St-Germain-des-Pres. In his warm, friendly way, he gave us the history of the areas as he showed us stunning architecture, beautiful gardens, the most amazing chocolatier and macaroon shops, great restaurants, as well as arranging a special tour of the Louvre. He helped us get oriented and feel at ease exploring Paris. I highly recommend Richard as a guide and can't wait to get back to Paris and see our Paris Angel again.
Gayle
Fairfax, VT USA 11/15/2010
Rome Fiat 500 tour with Angels
We had a tour of Rome once with Angel Tours which was more than we expected, this year we will do their Fiat 500 tour and Christmas day tour which we did before. I am not sure if you can ask questions here?
*Editor's note: Questions are to be posted on the Traveler's Helpline only. Thank you. ETBD*
Tom
Dublin, ireland 11/13/2010
Vatican and Sistine Chapel tour
We visited Rome this Oct. Using your recommendation we reserved a tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel with Roman Odyssey. We were a group of four joined by four others and our small group made it easy to move around and to hear him. Our guide was from St. Paul, MN which was nice for us we are from the Minneapolis metro area. As an art history doctorate student he was able to make the art and history come to life as we moved from room to room and area to area.
Karen and John Prew
Chaska, MN USA 11/11/2010
Roman Empire Tours
Someone here, I do not recall who, recommended Roman Empire Tours. That recommendation was glowing enough that we booked two tours with the company.
The first tour was the Colosseum and Forum. Our meet-up spot was the same as just about every other tour company. We watched with mounting concern while those groups grew in size, but our little group remained only my wife and I...
But, boy, are we glad for it. When Jimmy finally showed up, 1 minute before he was due, the other groups were now 10 or 15 people. In essence, my wife and I had a private tour, one benefit of booking with a new company. And Jimmy took care of the rest: a history major in school, he had narrowed his interest to art history, with a resulting wide and deep knowledge. So we had a private tour that not only showered facts down upon us, he told us stories as only the better historians can. Being somewhat knowledgeable on these topics as well, I was able to fact-check him real time.
Jimmy's knowledge was equally deft during the Vatican tour; finally the place came alive with meaning.
Rome with Roman Empire Tours? A no-brainer! (Thank you to the person who made the original recommendation.)
David
Summerlin, Nevada USA 11/10/2010
new rome free tour
My wife and I were recently in Rome and took the New Rome Free Walking Tour our first night in town. Our most excellent guide was Andrea (male). We visited the three major attractions as mentioned in the other posts, Spanish Steps, Pantheon and Trevi Fountain but also other smaller churches with hidden secrets in each. One of the more spectacular sights was a flat ceiling painted to look like a 3-dimensional dome. You won't be able to tell the difference. It was amazing. We would never have gotten to see this on any other tour. Andrea was not only informative but also very passionate about the eternal city and the use of licensed vs. unlicensed guides. You owe it to yourself to take this free tour. I urge you to do this before booking with any other guides.
The tour is totally free but if you don't feel compelled to tip at the end then there is something wrong with you. After our tour was over Andrea stayed behind and gave us many tips on where to go in the city knowing full well that we had already hired a driving service the next day. He has so much insight. One of the places he recommended was a drive down a street called Via Picolomini (?), where as you drive away from St. Peters Basilica you observe an optical illusion as the dome appears to get larger instead of smaller. Our driver said that he had heard about it from colleagues but had never experienced it. He was so impressed that he turned around and did it again and said that he would show his daughters the next time that they were in the city.
My wife and I were so impressed with Andrea that we hired him as a private guide for a tour of the Coliseum and the Forum. We kept passing other guides and local officials along the way who all knew Andrea. He even helped us navigate the subway to avoid taxi charges. We told him that we could only afford 3 hours but his reply was "I not a bureaucrat". He stayed with us for 4-hours and did not charge us extra. If I haven't convinced you to take the tour yet let me say one last thing. We hired a private guide for the Vatican who wasn't licensed. She couldn't go into Sistine Chapel with us or could not even speak inside. While she was quite knowledgeable about the Vatican in general, we missed way too much by not having someone available to point out all of the unique and hidden aspects of the chapel while inside. Andrea was so considerate and passionate that after our tour of the coliseum he pulled out a photo of the Sistine Chapel and showed us all the hidden details that our unlicensed guide failed to tell us about.
If you don't take the free walking tour before you hire any other guide service in Rome you are missing the boat. This is by far the best thing you can do in Rome without spending all your Euros!
this is what i found on a famous website and is totalt true
you cahttp://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187791-d1549786-r84851665-New_Rome_Free_Tour-Rome_Lazio.htmln read more on
dmntri
saint petersburg, russia 11/09/2010
Madrid/Spain Tour Guide - Madrid Museum Tours
My wife and I recently returned from a memorable trip to Spain. Since we had not been for many years, we hired Madrid Museum Tours for three days of sightseeing. Owner Hernan Satt took exception care of us. His walking tour of Madrid, especially his unbelievable knowledge of the Prado, was a highlight. We found him to be knowledgeable, thoroughly professional and creative in terms of showing us both touristic and off-the-beaten path sights.
Greg
McLean, VA USA 11/08/2010
Prague Tours - Praguewalker.com
In early October my family and I spent a week in Prague visiting my son who is studying at FAMU. We had heard from a friend who had taken a Praguewalker tour that they were a great resource and that the architectural tour they took was fantastic. It was only later after sending Katerina Svobodova an inquiry (with an almost immediate response from Katerina) and then buying Rick Steves book on Prague that I noticed that he recommends them as a tour company. I can see why he does. Katerina and the tour guide (Lucy) were at every step responsive to emails and phone calls as well as shifting schedules. We had actually been in Prague for two days before our tour and our guide simply adjusted our tour to accommodate what we hadn't seen. It was great! Lucy was extremely knowledgeable about every place we went, patient with our slow pace at times when we were taking photographs, and just a joy to be around. I would book another tour with them in a heartbeat.
Dennis
Portland, OR USA 11/07/2010
Roman Empire Tours is the best way to see Rome!
Met with Jimmy recently on a tour of the vatican With Roman Empire Tours. (only went on tour cos Mother told me to) best tour ever. Jimmy was such fun and had such knowledge. He brought Rome to life. I enjoyed it so much that I did the Ancient Rome trip with him and the coliseum. I have been to many European cities but Rome will always stand out because of your wonderful guide Jimmy and Roman Empire tours.
Philip Little
Dallas, Texas USA 11/04/2010
Great Paris Guide
I recently went to Paris with my sister and hired Richard Nahem of www.eyepreferparistours.com to take me on an insiders tour by a local. I had been to Paris once before and seen al the tourist things and wanted to see the real Paris and some of the interesting neighborhoods.We chose the charming St/ Germain des Pres area and Richard was warm, friendly and so knowledgeable. Not only did he know the history of the area but his knowledge of modern day culture and practical things about the city was impressive and so helpful. Richard is a foodie like me- he used to be a chef in New York- ad he took us to this department store with the most incredible food and gourmet department i had ever seen. he also took us to a patisserie that had the best macaroons in Paris and we sat in cafe munching on them with coffee and we felt like real Parisians. I highly recommend using Richard and his tours and we were so happy with our first one we did another one of a great area called the Marais, which is where richard lives and is his specialty. I feel like i have a new friend in Paris now.
Susan
San Francisco, CA USA 10/26/2010
Madrid tours
We traveled through Madrid last summer and used www.madrid-museum-tours.org and their guide Hernan. We took a day trip to Segovia and Avila with him. He was very informative and gace us thorough tours of both places. In addition he stopped by two additional places on the way home that we had not even asked for. I would highly recommend him as a guide.
Susan
W Palm beach, FL USA 10/24/2010
Taxi tour of Amalfi Coast
We took Rick Steve's advice and contacted Carmello Monetti before leaving for Sorrento Italy, to schedule a day tour of the Amalfi Coast. Carmello's warm and outgoing manner made that day one of our favorite memories! He stopped at fruit stands, every photo op we could ever want (and would never had been able to do on a bus tour), and played Dean Martin songs on the way home. His Mercedes taxi was spotless and he doesn't smoke and was happy to turn the air conditioning on or off as we wanted. He was honest and made sure we weren't taken advantage of while shopping. We mentioned that we didn't have time to see the Blue Grotto and he took us to The Emerald Grotto on the way (same thing and less expensive). He gave us time alone in each city along the coast and arranged lunch at the Ristorante Garden while he visited with friends outside. Carmello is the last of the respectful Italian gentlemen and makes you feel like part of his family. Despite his non-stop inventive English, he manages to convey a lot of history with photocopies. I would take Rick's book along too. Just relax and let him do his thing on the way there-he has a lot of info to share and will let you do as you wish on the return. We will never forget his charm and his funny songs "Ay Carmello, Cha-Cha-Cha"!
Kim Adalis
Spring, TX USA 10/24/2010
Florence Tour - Giuseppi Migliorni
We just returned from Italy and found the BEST guide through Rick Steves Italy book. His name was Giuseppi Migliorni, he and his wife Paola operate Florence Tour, and they can be found at www.florencetour.com. Giuseppi picked us up at our hotel in his very comfortable van and gave the most wonderful tour of Tuscany. He is very knowledgeable, helpful, and kind. You can't go wrong with Giuseppi and Paola.
Sheryl Danner
Norcross, GA USA 10/20/2010
Tuscany Wine Tour (Donatella)
We recently took a tour with Wine Tour in Tuscany. After reading all the rave reviews about Donatella, we were dismayed when another guide arrived to give us the tour. However, at this point it was too late to do anything about it. The plan was to visit 2 wineries, have lunch, and visit San Gimignano. The first winery we went to was closed. The included lunch was quite mediocre, with no choice for appetizers, and limited to a choice from the less expensive pastas on the menu. After lunch there was no time to visit San Gimignano. All in all, the worst tour of the trip. An email to Donatella voicing our displeasure was not answered.
Allen
Hamilton, Ontario Canada 10/19/2010
Rome's Bob's Limo and Roman Odyssey Tours (John) Excellent
We were extremely pleased to be taken care of so professionally by both companies. Marco with Bob's Limo was prompt, personable, and very accommodating on the way to the Vatican from the port of Citavecchia. John (MN) with Roman Oddysey was extraordinary with his vast knowledge,and care to take us through the throngs of people afterwards to our waiting car. They were messaging each other! Amazing!
Karen
FL USA 10/13/2010
Professor Furio from Madrid Museum Tours
Our group had a wonderful visit of Madrid with Professor Furio from Madrid Museum Tours. I would highly recommend them.
Dariusz Dudzik
Groton, CT USA 10/12/2010
Guided tour of Napoli, Pompeii & Herculaneum - Giuseppina (Pina) Esposito
I lived in Italy for over six years yet never visited Naples. My wife and I started our most recent two-week Italian vacation with three days in Naples. We contacted Giuseppina (Pina) Esposito who is a licensed guide, has a Ph. D. in Greco-Roman Art History & Archaeology and, finally yet importantly, is a native of Naples. We told Pina we wanted to see Naples through the eyes of a Napolitano and she did not disappoint us during our day in Naples nor the following day at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Her command of the English language, personal knowledge of Naples and her Greco-Roman Art History & Archaeology degree afford her the unique opportunity to provide her guests with an exceptional behind the scenes look at areas normally off-limits to the public. She arranged for transportation to Pompeii and Herculaneum and when we mentioned purchasing a cameo as a gift, she took us to one of the last shops where the cameos are hand-carved on the premises. We met one of the artisans who had been with that shop for over 65 years. Pina is a wonderful and delightful guide; she is informative and able to engage her guests, making them a part of the history of Naples, Pompeii and Herculaneum. We would, without reservation, use Pina in the future and highly recommend her services.
Wilson
Gainesville, FL USA 10/12/2010
Provence wine and cooking tour
We just returned from a week in Provence where we enjoyed a one day tour with Olivier Hickman's Wine Uncovered (www.wine-uncovered.com) listed in Rick Steve's guide to Provence. The morning half was a cooking class conducted by Sabine Suter at her beautiful farm house just outside of Vasion la Romaine, named La Grange Vieille. My wife and I are strictly amateur cooks, but the class was a lot of fun and very informative. There were only four of us in the class, and Sabine is an excellent teacher. After eating all the wonderful food we prepared for lunch along with excellent wine from Sabine's father and brother's vines which surround the farm house, Olivier picked us up for our winery tour. Olivier is indeed passionate (as described by Rick) and knowledgeable about wines and particularly the Cotes du Rhone wines. He introduced us to several fantastic and very affordable wines, and also educated us on the French wine system. We highly recommend this tour. It's a day well spent in Provence.
Bill Parsley
Reynoldsburg, ohio USA 10/09/2010
Walks of Italy
We discovered Walks of Italy just before leaving on our two-week trip. Immediately we booked a Twilight Tour of Rome and Tour of Vatican City but we were hestitant to commit to much more than that without having personal experience with the tour company. Our first night in Rome, we met up for the Twilight Tour and it was a great introduction to the city. It gave us unique perspective on several of the most famous sites in Rome and also presented history (and misconstrued history) on each location. In talking to Jason during that tour, we discovered that he might be able to assist on a day trip to Naples and Pompeii. He arranged a small tour (5 people) with our guide Illaria who met us at the train station in Naples and gave us a wonderful perspective of the Archaelogical Museum of Naples and the site of Pompeii itself. Finally, we enjoyed an afternoon tour of Vatican City with Jay. I don't know how anyone could attempt to see the Vatican without a knowledgable tour guide. The lines alone are daunting, as are the immense collections of art. Jay was very knowledgable and provided great information that was relatable to all in our group, even those of us who didn't have much background in art history. I will definitely hang onto the information for Walks of Italy and recommend them to friends and family. Someday I hope we can return and use their services again ourselves!
RoseAnn Martin
Littleton, CO USA 10/09/2010
Guides Versus Drivers
First of all, kudos to Justin at Roman Odyssey tours for our fantastic Vatican tour in early September. We had another great day out with Through Eternity touring the Forum and Coliseum the next day when Roman Odyssey added our group to theirs (actually, Rick Steves' son was along as a guest on that tour which was a nice surprise). These types of tours just about guarantee a knowledgeable, intelligible guide but that is not always the case without specific recommendations. We were on a cruise and joined a tour arranged by a fellow passenger which involved a driver and van for 12 people touring the area around Monte Carlo and Nice. It was a fun day out but we were surprised when the driver (who chatted away the whole time we were driving) left us at the various places and arranged to meet us in two hours after we were through touring on our own. He made out like a bandit on that one - 700 euros for the day and not too much effort. I think the best way is to have a driver and a guide when the situation warrants, but, of course, this can be an expensive proposition without enough people to share the cost. The local drivers can be fun but sometimes hard to understand as well. English speakers work the best for us and it is worth determining this ahead of time.
Carol Singler
Seatlle, WA USA 10/07/2010
Pompeii
Our tour of Pompeii with Gaetano Manfredi was the perfect choice for our group of eight. He arranged for a driver (Daniele) to pick us up at the port in Naples and deliver us to Pompeii. The hours spent with Gaetano were magical to say the least. His passion brought Pompeii to life for all of us. He moved us along at a brisk pace around other tour groups, answered our questions and used shortcuts to make the best use of our time. There were lots of tour guides leading groups but we felt especially lucky to be with Gaetano. Afterwards Daniele took us on a tour of the Amalfi coast and a great dinner in a family run restaurant high in the hills of Positano. Not only was the view amazing but the meal served was authentic, tasty and reasonably priced. I highly recommend having Gaetano Manfredi arrange a perfect day for you!
Karen Lafleur
Ottawa, Ontari CANADA 10/06/2010
D-Day Battle Tours
Being a retired history professor, I had certain expectations about a Normandy tour. Those expectations were not only met but greatly exceeded by the day my family and I spent with Mr. Ellwood von Seibold and his D-Day Battle Tours. Not only does Mr. von Seibold have a professional grasp of the facts as a serious student of the conflict and the European Theater of the war, but his weaving of personal stories from both the Allied and German perspective throughout the day's narrative made for a very exciting "you are there" experience. I learned a great deal from the day's activities, but perhaps even more important, was the sense of being with someone who truly respects and admires those who gave their all during those bloody but glorious days in 1944. This is the one must take tour for the Normandy battlefront.
Randall Butler
Cleburne, Texas USA 10/03/2010
Rome and Vatican Tour-Antonia
Best day tours of Rome ever experienced lead by Antonio Palladino. His passion for history and sharing his love of so much fascinating in depth and interesting knowledge of Rome's foundation and evolution have inspired us to learn more when we get home. We didn't feel like customers...we felt like we got to share time with our favorite teacher and wished we could visit his classroom (Rome) every day. The best tour we were ever on! Google him to contact him via his website...
Joe Barry
Las Vegas, NV USA 09/30/2010
Ancient Rome Walking Tour
Roman Odyssey tours is the best! Ask for Jeb. He lead our private tour of 4 throughout Rome. Saw all the highlights plus extras we didn't expect. Very knowledgeable, personable, keen, engaging and approachable. He answered every question posed and was keen that we were keen. We asked to stop for lunch and he took us to a great wine bar with full kitchen, oh what a fabulous lunch, guided us in purchasing paintings in the square, took us to the "best gelato" in Rome etc. Our 5 hours tour turned into 7 wonderful hours. If you need a tour, you can't go wrong with Roman Odyssey and ask for Jeb.
Trowell
Calgary, AB USA 09/30/2010
Best Birthday in Rome with Epic Rome Tours
Unfortunately we don't have any feedback on Turkey, just Rome. Fifteen of us recently made the trip to Rome to celebrate my 50th birthday. Our experience in Rome was one of highlights of any traveling experience I have had and I have travelled allot. This was mainly down to Epic Rome tours. Alex and James were our guides for our entire trip and they did an outstanding job. Each tour was delivered as if their life depended on it and they were generally just a pleasure to be around. We will be spreading the word about them so we can't really say any more of that. I hope we will be able to return again. Rome is magical anyway but with guides like these it becomes Epic.
Paul Waldron
Toronto, Ont Can 09/28/2010
Siena, Italy wine tour
My wife and I took a one day tour with Anna of Tours By Roberto in September and had a great time. She took us to two vineyards, a hilltop town and lunch. She picked us up at our hotel in Siena. She was very knowledgeable about the history of the area and we learned a lot about wine. We would highly recommend hiring her for a tour when in Tuscany. Their website is: http://www.toursbyroberto.com/index.html
Terry
portland, OR USA 09/27/2010
Tour Guide in Rome
Just returned from two weeks in Italy and took Mr. Steves' recommendation for a tour guide in Rome. We hired Cristina Giannicchi. She took us through the Vatican the first half of the day and Ancient Rome in the afternoon. She's fabulous - knowledgeable, articulate, energetic, and entertaining. Background in archaeology and art restoration. She'll customize tours too. I'd recommend her to anybody.
Olga Troxel
Cody, WY USA 09/26/2010
Istanbul Tours
My wife, my child (10 years) and I were in Istanbul beginning of the agust. Before going to istanbul friend of mine who has been there recommend a person who name is Erkan is perfect travel expert that I have ever seen in my travel life. I just sent e-mail to him what to do in Istanbul. He created an itinerary according to our desire. It was fabulous tours of istanbul and our guide who was Funda was knowledgeable and polite. Erkan offerd us some regular group tour but we would like to be independet that's why we got private istanbul tours. We visited all the major sights in istanbul like Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia Musem and more. Also we did bosphorus cruise and visiting undiscovered place with our guide Funda in istanbul. I highly recommend Erkan www.privateistanbultours.com if you would like to go istanbul. Also, we did daily Ephesus tours from istanbul as well. If you have time, do not leave from Turkey without visiting Ephesus. It was fascinating.
Dr. Denise
Texas, USA 09/25/2010
Tour Guides - Rome
My wife and I enjoyed several days of tours in Rome. We got our guide from Rick's recommendations. The guide Larissa Alaverez covered an extensive itinerary, while providing diversions from the tours with local topics and spots of interest. We toured the usual list of must see sites in Rome (Navona's square, The Pantheon, Trevi fountain Capitoline Hill, The Roman Forum, and Colosseum) and then a more off the beaten path tour of ancient underground Rome. Larissa provided just the right amount of information in a colorful way to fill our imaginations, but she also had the great ability to keep the tour fresh, at just the right pace, while leaving us thoroughly satisfied with the day. Her willingness to volunteer interesting modern Roman items of interest along the tour route allowed us to experience the best of both ancient and modern Rome. We highly recommend her for any tourists travelling to Rome. Thanks Larissa.
Tim M.
Pleasanton, CA USA 09/24/2010
Reifenstein Castle Temp Closure
Travel Alert: Reifenstein Castle in Vipitano closed until Spring 2011. Phone is disconnected as well. Bridge to castle is under repair.
Casey
Orlando, FL USA 09/24/2010
Jimmy is the man for Vatican Tours
I tool my honeymoon in early September and had a brilliant tour with Jimmy. If I could go back I would probably do the very same tour with him again, he is not only brilliant guide and clearly lots of knowledge, he delivered it in a way that made the group enthralled from first minute till last. Roman Empire Tours and jimmy thank you
Brendan Sparrow
Bermuda, Bermuda 09/22/2010
Vatican Tour- Emma
Our tour of the Vatican with Emma as our guide was the highlight of our trip. Emma was fantastic. Such an accomplished individual. My wife and I will certainly recommend Eternity Tours to our friends.
Frank Coulter
Norman, Okla. USA 09/21/2010
Driver for Day Trip from Vienna
I traveled with my mother to Vienna and we hired Johann Lichtl to drive us to Mauthausen Concentration Camp and then to Melk to visit the abbey. On the way back to Vienna we drove through the Danube Valley. Johann isn't just a driver for a day. He is exceptionally nice and informative. He points out sites of interest along the way, gives you as much information as possible, walks you to the entrance of the sites and is the most helpful driver. If you want to avoid the time and hassle of the trains and transportation connections to go to Mauthausen and Melk, then Johann is the guy for you. Johann would be great to have Johann drive you around the Danube Valley so that you have more time to explore all of the little gems along the way.
Amanda
San Francisco, CA USA 09/18/2010
Ephesus Tour
We took a private tour in Ephesus with Emre of About Ephesus. He was great and knowledgeable. Highly recommend him.
Annette
Los Angeles, CA USA 09/16/2010
Best Tours in Europe
Our group just got home after a trip to Europe, we used Context in Paris, London Walks in the UK and Angel Tours Rome in Rome. All gave a top standard service, Angel Tours got us into sites without standing in lines and all the guides we used spoke native English.
Edward Szczyglnski
USA 09/13/2010
Prague Walker tours
Our experience with Prague Walker tours in Prague, Czech Republic was fantastic! We were travelling with 6 adults and 2 young children, and Katerina and our tour guide Irena were fantastic with accomodating our needs. We did the four hour Prague at a glance tour and it was well worth the money we spent. It was a very memorable day for us, and I'm so happy we arranged our tour through this small, but well run company.
Zareen
Chicago, IL USA 09/12/2010
Angel Tours Rome
On our recent trip to Rome we used Angel Tours. The first day we drove around Rome in an old Fiat 500, the next day we saw more of Rome in an electric car which gave us a deeper insight to the city because we could drive and park any place the guide wanted. Our private walking tour on our last day brought us to the Vatican and Colisseum passing lines and seeing all the important art and sites. All the guides gave us a feeling of comfort and ease, they are witty and factual. It was perfect to see Rome with some mature, official guides who knew how to let their hair down. www.angeltoursrome.com
Agnes Wierzbicki
DC, DC USA 09/07/2010
Walks of Italy Tour
I highly recommend Jason Spiehler with Walks of Italy Tours! He gave the most amazing, energetic, and informative tour of Rome.
Fran O.
Lafayette, LA USA 09/07/2010
England, london, Normandy Guide
We used Simon Good to tour London and Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath (two days of touring). Excellent tours, wonderfully informative. A top Blue Badge guide I would highly recommend. Lucky for us he also had an 8 person van and could accomodate my group. Use him!! You will be extremely happy
Lesley Esquivel
Dublin, Ca USA 09/07/2010
Italy
We loved Jason Spiehler's Walks of Italy for our day in Rome. He was so knowledgable and entertaining. Worth every penny.
Nicole
Lafayette, LA USA 09/03/2010
Best Driver/Guide in Rome
Had the best driver/guide we have ever had in Rome. Gianluca Strano (Luke the Driver) was outstanding. He really knows the city and the best places and times to visit. He is absolutely first rate. He really looks after every detail. He can be reached at www.lukethedriver.com.
Ken Perich
Oak Hill, VA USA 08/31/2010
Amsterdam Red Light Tour
Highly recommend Randy's Red Light Tour in Amsterdam. It is not "X" rated as some might think.
Wes
OR USA 08/31/2010
The Berlin Expert, Jeremy Minsberg is AMAZING!
My cousin and I traveled to 5 different countries over the span of 16 days and this truly was THE highlight of our trip! Jeremy Minsberg is an amazing, knowledgeable guide that made the tour individualized to what we wanted (even with the little guidance we gave him about what we wanted- since we didn't really know what we wanted because it was our first time in Berlin!). We had blast, learned a ton, and left feeling like we had a very different view on Berlin than what we got from tour books. I cannot recommend The Berlin Expert enough! Thanks, Jeremy!
Carrie
St. Paul, MN USA 08/31/2010
City Tour of Volterra
My family and I went on a tour of Volterra, Italy led by a very sweet American-born woman, Annie Adair. Her amazing story and her passion for Volterra made everything she informed us about more interesting. It was also very nice to have a tour in English. I highly recommend this tour if you are visiting Volterra. Our family thoroughly enjoyed the tour.
Ashley
Minneapolis, MN USA 08/30/2010
Private tour
My family and I came to Italy for the first time and while there's lots of information on the web about other cities there's not a lot of private tours that seem to be offered in Venice. I was lucky enough to find Sabrina who was great and showed us all the best sites downtown. She showed us all the cafes that were the best prices, said hi to all the gondolier drivers and even got us a deal on some murano glass! Her email is sabrinascaglianti@libero.it. Be advised of course as Venice is the most expensive city in Italy that even with good advice prices are always high. But it's a beautiful city with a lot to offer and it doesn't smell like everyone says.
Anne Murray
Boston, MA USA 08/28/2010
A big"thumbs up" for Mike Rijken of winesafari.net
We connected with Mike Rijken through the tourist information office in Avignon. He's a pro, a really talented wine and food guy. We all enjoyed our afternoon Chateauneuf du Pape adventure with him. He can handle big tours or small ones. Check out his site www.winesafari.net
Steve Boyle
San Francisco, CA USA 08/28/2010
Heart of Burren Walks
If you're anywhere near the Burren district in Ireland, you owe it to yourself to take the Heart of the Burren Tour with Tony Kirby. Tony is a passionate tour guide who seems to be an expert in botany, geology, and history. His tour is incredibly educational and fun. He explains the regions unique floral diversity along with interesting topics such as transhumance. (He'll tell you what that is.) It's supposed to be 2 hours long, but it turned out to be closer to 3. He's a delightful and bright guy.
Roger Peltzman
New York, NY USA 08/26/2010
Cooking Classes -Rome
There is a great cooking class in Rome that's much cheaper than the others I'd seen so far. It was excellent! Only 50 euros per person and lasts about 4 hours. The chef Andrea is wonderful. I found them at www.cookingclassesinrome.com
J Fields
Los Angeles, CA USA 08/23/2010
WALKS OF ITALY
Just returned from a two week vacation in Italy. During our stay we used six different tour agencies and WALKS OF ITALY WAS BY FAR THE BEST! Jason has tour guides that are passionate, knowledgeable and truly enjoy sharing that knowledge with the client. We never felt rushed and at the end of each tour could not wait until the next tour with them. Consider yourself lucky if you have the opportunity to visit Italy. You are even luckier if you can experience all the sites with WALKS OF ITALY.
Susan Billings
Croom, MD USA 08/22/2010
Rome tours - Samina and Jason
Use Walks of Italy! After seeing numerous posts on this site about Jason Spiehler and his new company, we booked both the Ancient Rome (ruins) and Vatican tours and were not disappointed. We had Samina for the first and Jason himself for the second, and both were absolutely wonderful people and gave wonderful tours. We could have seen these same sights ourselves and never fully realized what we were truly looking at. They had such a wealth and depth of knowledge; I noted several times that people on other tours actually lingered near our group at certain spots to listen to Jason instead of their own guide! HIGHLY recommended!
Dan Anderson
Pleasanton, CA USA 08/21/2010
Rome Tour with Children from Port - Michael
Michael Keris with Roman Odyssey Tours gave us a wonderfully entertaining, educational and fun 6 hour customized tour of Rome from Civitavecchia (NCL cruise). Our boys ages 9, 10, 12 say Rome was their favorite city because of him. Michael definitely is a teacher, and knew all sorts of interesting info to share, including where to eat quick and cheaply, where to buy souvenirs for a good price. Our driver, Sam, was courteous, friendly and promt. Would love to tour with them again. If looking for an educational experience, you can't go wrong with Michael.
Sarah Barlage Bilott
Crescent Springs, KY USA 08/20/2010
Antiqua Tours in Rome
We had two great tours in Rome with Antiqua Tours. On our first night in Rome we went on a Rome by the Glass tour with Sarah, a certified Sommelier and it was fantastic. We tasted a variety of wine and amazing food over the course of the evening, while visiting 2 wine bars in the historic center. I don't think we could have had a more ";Roman";experience. We also booked a private tour of the Vatican with VIP tickets, which allowed us to skip the line, which was LONG that day. I felt I covered at least two semesters of art history with our guide, a lovely Italian girl who is working on her PhD in art history, I forgot her name though.
Samantha Pallus
CO USA 08/19/2010
Walking Tour of Prague
In late July my wife, two children (7 & 9) and I visited Prague and, through another guest at the hotel where we stayed, learned of praguewalker.com. One phone call to Katka, the owner of praguewalker, had us scheduled for a private four hour walking tour the next morning with a wonderful guide, Wendy. The tour was excellent with Wendy being extremely knowledgeable, informative and gracious. She kept us very entertained and kept the pace of the tour such that the kids did not complain a bit (tough to accomplish after four hours with kids that age). After over a month traveling through Europe the tour with Wendy will always be one of our cherished memories so we certainly recommend praguewalker.
Doug
Vancouver, BC Canada 08/17/2010
Walks of Rome
In June my friend and I toured Rome with Jason from Walks of Italy. I cannot tell you what a wonderful experience we had. We saw more of Rome in 2 days than most people do in a week and did not feel rushed at all. He made everything so interesting and had an answer for any question we asked. I would highly recommend Walks of Italy and look forward to having Jason guide us around Rome again in the future!
Virginia Wilkinson
Chicago, Il USA 08/03/2010
Romaround Tours in Rome
Romaround Tours in Rome
Although not a complete scam, we did find Romaround Tours to be less than honest when offering tours of the Colosseum in Rome. They misrepresented the cost to get into the Colosseum without the tour. They made it sound more expensive than it was. They also compared the price you would pay them to a combo price available for entrance to the Colosseum, and Palatial Hill and Forum. Be careful and check on line before you go for the actual fees.
Deb
Nottingham, NH USA 08/02/2010
Angel Tours
Last week while in Rome we used Angel Tours after a recommendation from some friends in our office, on the tours we chatted with bodies around us who all booked because friends or family gave the same good word of mouth. Angel Tours have never advertised, they work only through word of mouth. Well we had very impressive tours of the Vatican and Colosseum so we are now passing on the good news.
Angel Tours
ps their Florence guide was worth every cent as well
www.angeltoursrome.com
Peter Clarke
Dublin, Ireland 08/02/2010
When in Rome...go where Alex goes from Roman Empire Tours!!!
Our tour of the Roman Forum & Colosseum with Alex was the highlight of our time in Rome, and the best tour we’ve ever had! He takes personal pride and real interest in the content, rather than the other people who just do it as a job. The passion in presentation and detail to unknown little facts makes it YOUR tour, as opposed to a scripted walkthrough. He was funny, intelligent and knew random facts that no other guide would have been able to tell us. We truly enjoyed every minute of our time with him, and just wish we could have taken another tour with him or Jimmy while we were there…
Aimee & Adam Kaufman
Ramsey, Jersey USA 07/31/2010
great colosseum and vatican Sky Tours
We booked a last minute flight to rome for a short week-end and found this great small hotel near campo dei fiori hotel smaraldo, we didnt book any tours but the guy at the reception raccomended to go with skytours rome, he gave us their contact details and we rang my wife and I took both the Ancient Rome and Vatican tours with them. For the Ancient Rome tour it was only 8 or 10 people in the group we didnt stand in any line Kenneth did a great job of explaining the history behind everything along the way as well as answering our questions. If it wasent for the guide I dont think we would have enjoyed the colosseum or the other archelogocal site as you dont really understand what you are looking at For our Vatican tour it was only 6 in our group we passed a very long line as they had a reservation made with the vatican Julia was great and knew a lot about the history of the Vatican and made the tour quite interesting. I would definitely recommend sky tours rome due to the small group size and the great tour guides.
Ellen
07/26/2010
Tiber Tours Rome-justin
We met Justin Southern, our guide, one night while dining near Piazza Navona. Me and my wife like to do things on our own, and so we never booked a tour. But Justin was eating at the table next to us and we started talking to him and found out he has been working as a guide for 4 years in Rome. If he had been trying to sell us a tour, we probably wouldn't have done it, since Rome is filled with people hawking tours to you. But Justin seemed to just be a friendly and conversive guy. We took his business card and ended up booking a 4-hour tour of the city center with him. My wife and I both agree that it was one of the best experiences of our trip. Justin was professional, funny, smart, and easy to get along with. We wish him the best of luck.
Chad Green
San Diego, CA USA 07/24/2010
Walks of Italy tours
We had a fantastic Vatican tour from Steve at Walks of Italy. He was so knowledgable about the artwork, tapestries, and sculptures. We would have missed all that and headed straight to the Sistine Chapel. Even then, we wouldn't have known what we were looking at without his great insight. We highly recommend him!
Jim & Cheryl O.
San Diego, CA USA 07/22/2010
Walking tours of Paris
My wife Jodi and I recently spent a glorious week in Paris. Per the recommendation of a friend in the travel industry, we contacted Richard Nahem about walking tours. Richard is an American who has lived in Paris for the past 5 years. We initially booked a 3 hour walking tour in the Marais district. He took us through the neighborhood, and he was both very knowledgeable about the historical elements and very engaging. He took us to many of the old mansions that the Marais is famous for, and in particular showed us the beautiful courtyards that are often hidden behind those huge doors. He was very helpful in pointing out terrific food spots and to the joy of my wife, great shopping places.He listened to what we wanted to achieve in our tour, and discovered what our interests were. After our tour was finished we went back through the Marais with much greater purpose, and had a fantastic afternoon! We enjoyed ourselves so much that we booked another tour with Richard later in the week, this time in and about Montmartre. It was equally fun and informative. I would highly recommend Richard Nahem to anyone who is planning on touring Paris. He can be contacted at eyepreferparistours.com.
David Schiff
Atlanta, GA USA 07/20/2010
Private Tour of Tuscany
On our first trip to Italy in 2005, we didn't want to bother with a car so we hired Gianni of Tours Around Tuscany (toursaroundtuscany.com) to take us on an all day exploration of the area and we can honestly say that it was the highlight of our trip. It was a little pricey but worth every penny. He picked us up in Siena and we spent the day at a castle tasting wine, lunch at a wonderful, 'locals only' restaurant over-looking the golden hills, in mid-size towns wandering down cobbled streets, and in tiny towns no bigger than a city block. Through it all, Gianni kept up a running commentary of anything from the local heirarchy of which women get to be first in line at the bakery in the mornings (oldest to youngest) to the wars between Florence and Siena. He's from Siena and obviously loves what he's doing. September, 2009 we made a trip back to Siena and hired Gianni to take us to some of the other towns around Tuscany and once again it was the hit of the trip. If you're looking to spend a day getting to know the essence of Tuscany with a native Tuscan who enjoys talking, laughing, eating, and sharing his beautiful countryside, you won't be disappointed.
Linda Necci
Waukesha, WI USA 07/18/2010
Wine tour in tuscany
This past Spring my husband and I went on an all day wine tour with Donatella Nonni from Wine Tour in Tuscany. Prior to the tour, Donatella was very good at communicating and making sure she understood our likes/dislikes/allergies. She picked us up from our hotel in Sienna, drove us through the Tuscan countryside with 3 tastings at different wineries, educated us on the Chianti Classico, fed us a full tuscan lunch at a great restaurant in a tucked away village, and dropped us off at our hotel in Florence. She was delightful and easy to talk with. Her tours are private and will cater to your every whim. We loved it and would love to take another tour with her in the future.
Jacinda
Alexandria, VA USA 07/13/2010
Rome in a Fiat 500 vintage car
We had a driving tour in an old Fiat 500 car through Angel Tours in Rome. The car is tiny, the roof folds back with the wind screaming in as you race around Rome with an Italian guide. We saw some great sites but mostly laughed at our pics on our facebook page, its a real experience.
Donna and Peter
CA, USA 07/12/2010
Lauterbrunnen day trip
In Luaterbrunnen Switzerland, we had a really good day with Miriam Wette who owns Flying Wheels. The weather wasn't too great and I saw her ad posted at the Hotel Staubbach. She picked us up, took us to a river gorge with roaring water, took us for fruit cake (which we know as a tart), took us to Brienze for a short walking tour along the lake, then into the woodcarving museum. It was a great day! Miriam smiles so much, is so happy, ones' spirits just automatically lift. Flying Wheels refers to her electric bikes which sound like a whole ton of fun, especially for older legs, like mine. If we return, I want to take advantage of her electric bikes. I cannot imagine much more fun than tearing along Alpine roads and trails without killing myself pumping.
Ann Romer
Vacaville, CA USA 07/09/2010
Mountain Villages from Nice--Med-Tour
In April I enjoyed an all-day tour of 6 French villages, leaving from my Nice hotel. We visited 4 mountain villages plus Antibes and Cannes. We even visited a perfume factory. Our driver was excellent; the tour was efficient yet leisurely, with 8 people in a van. MedTour. My hotel had a brochure and made the reservation for me. It cost about $100.
Swan
Napa, CA USA 07/06/2010
Monetti Taxi tour of Amalfi Coast
We just returned from three weeks in Italy. One week was spent in a rented villa near Sorrento with 3 generations of our family, including three children ages 15, 9 and 2. We hired Carmello with Monetti Taxi in Sorrento (recommended by Rick Steves)for a day-long tour of the Amalfi coast. It was one of the best days of our trip! Carmello was wonderful with the children and had much information to share. We arranged this before we left home by e-mail (monettitaxi17@libero.it). We recommend him to anyone going to this area of Italy.
Bonnie Johnson
Acworth, GA USA 07/05/2010
Amalfi Coast tours
My husband and I took the advice of earlier recommendations posted here and hired Mariano Fiorentino of Pleasant Travel to drive us around the Amalfi Coast road in mid-June, 2010. We cannot recommend him highly enough. He communicated with us in detail beforehand about a suggested itinery and we could express our interests (ex. not shoppers but interested in churches and photos ops) which he incorporated into the day. We saw more than we ever expected, all with narrative and history and down time for coffee and the most fabulous and inexpensive lunch just past Positano in Praiano. He gave us space to wander the cities and filled us in on people important to the area not just places. Please don't hesitate to use him. We consider that day the highlight of our trip. By the way, you don't want to drive the 57km with 1200 hairpin turns yourself!!
Kathy B
Columbus, OH USA 07/05/2010
Tangier-Morocco, Local Guide Nezha - the best!
My wife, four friends and I just returned from a trip thru Portugal, Spain and Tangier-Morocco using Rick Steves' guide book. We contacted Nezha via email: nezhatour@gmail.com before leaving home and she emailed me immediately with our itinerary for the "private Tour" which included the catamaran from Tarifa.
In Tangier we spent the afternoon with local guide Nezha. What a treat - the kind of travel experience that fits so well with the Rick Steves philosophy. My wife and I both feel privleged to have spent some time with Nezha and look forward to going back for a longer stay in Morocco, it was very smooth, All-in-all a great trip. go to Morocco and have a great time...we did!!
Jennifer Elasri
In Federal Way, WA USA 07/03/2010
Tours from Lisbon
We used a company from Lisbon last year "Tours for You" for a 5 day private tour. They were very professional, arranged our hotels, and provided us with a wonderful nationally certified guide (Ines). I highly recommend their services. Their website is www.toursforyou.pt.
Karen Medeiros
Laguna Niguel, CA USA 06/21/2010
Private tours around Italy
www.driverinrome.com
We used this family run company to meet us at three different ports on a cruise we took. Rome, Naples, and Florence. There were 8 of us and it was the best decision we made regarding our trip. Daniele picked us up at the port and for 9 hours he showed us Rome. We got to see everything we wanted to but knew we would not be able to on our own. It was also much cheaper than the ship excursions. In Florence he took us to Pisa and Florence. Naples he drove us to Sorrento, Positano and Almalfi. He was there waiting for us and got us back to the ship on time. We had the most wonderful excursions. Each day was just great. We were all very impressed with the professionalism and knowledge he displayed with very good English. Would recommend this company to anyone.
Joby Daniel
Newcastle, CA USA 06/19/2010
Great drivers in Italy-Driver in rome
We would use driverinrome.com again without a doubt. The two drivers we used were the best ever!!!!! They were both flexible, dependable and knowledgeable.
Heide Rutman
Boca Raton, FL USA 06/14/2010
Essence of Rome: The must see sights - Private Tour
We took the “Essence of Rome: The must see sights" private tour on Tuesday, the 25th, which was our first full day in Rome, and it was one of the best decisions we made. We arrived on Monday and were fairly overwhelmed with the size and confusion that is Rome. Following the tour, we had a logistical perception of the city which allowed us to accomplish more than we could have without it.
Our tour guide, Brandon, was wonderful. He was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the subject matter, he gave proper insights that we could have never gotten on our own. He made it interesting with his anecdotal comments and perspectives and provided the proper pace, which in turn provided sufficient time at each site. The ability to skip lines (especially at the Coliseum) was huge, in that we saved enormous amounts of confusion and time.
I would highly recommend the tour and I would highly recommend Brandon as a tour guide. It was one of the highlights of our Italy trip.
The only downside was that it was lot to do in one day, but we knew that going in and prepared as best we could. Even so, we were pretty tired at the end.
David Dunning
Philadelphia, Pa USA 06/14/2010
Frog's House- Guide St. Jeannet France
We recently returned from a trip to Nice, France and while there used Benoit Couvreur of the Frog's House bed and breakfast in St. Jeannet as a guide for a private day tour of the French Riviera area. Benoit is a wonderful guide, very knowledgeable, excellent English and fun to be with. We were able to set our own schedule for a reasonable rate. Find the reference to Benoit and the Frog's House on page 401 of Rick's guide to Provence and the French Riviera.
George and Colleen Smith
San Antonio, TX USA 06/12/2010
Champagne Tour
You can save a lot of money by avoiding a guided tour and taking the train to Reims where you can visit the cathedral and then walk to a major producer. With research you could probably visit smaller producers via bus or taxi.
Otherwise you could pay about 150 euros/person for the privilige.
Charles Faulkner
Arrington, TN USA 06/04/2010
Giverny
If you go on the 820 train from Paris, you will find a mob waiting to board the bus from the train station. It takes forever to load and you will then also wait in line a long time at the Gardens to purchase an admission ticket. I recommend you buy your admission ticket in advance from a train boutique in Paris and also take a 15 euro cab to the Gardens from the train station. It will save you lots of time and give you more mob-free time at the Gardens. You can take the bus back for 2 euro at the bus stop near the roundabout 5 mins walk from the Gardens.
Charles Faulkner
Arrington, TN USA 06/03/2010
Fantastic tour with Roman empire Tours
thanks to Alex from Roman Empire for sensational tour of the Vatican. So insightful and lighthearted. We wanted to do more but did not have the time. Roman Empire Tours were really worth it.
Loius
Freeman, Ny USA 06/01/2010
Paris Champagne Tour
This company has class. When our tour was canceled at the last minute due to illness of the guide we were presented with 2 fine bottles of French champagne as "compensation." We will use them next time we are in Paris.
Charles Faulkner
Arrington, TN USA 05/31/2010
Giovanni Angel Tours in Rome Italy
Our guide Giovanni with Angel Tours was the best guide we have used in a long time. He entertained the kids, spoke perfect english and gave us a tidy little private tour of the vatican during our trip in Rome. All the vatican staff knew him well, and by his name as we passed the line to enter the museums.
Hugo M
USA 05/20/2010
Tours in Bath and Edinburgh
Just returned from stops in Bath and Edinburgh.
The Mad Max Stonehenge Tour from Bath was great, except that the coach was cramped and uncomfortable since the 16-passenger coach that was mentioned has been changed to fit 20 (4 seats per row instead of 3). Paul was a great driver/guide, though, and the tour was a highlight of the trip.
The Rabbies Highlands Tour from Edinburgh was much more comfortable in a true 16-seat coach, but the tour itself was my biggest disappointment of our trip. The Highlands were beautiful, but I wish we'd had a mix of stops and our driver seemed distracted. Perhaps he'd had a fight with his wife that morning.
Marie
Seattle, WA USA 05/18/2010
Berlin Guide-j.Minsberg
Our best guided tour ever,was with Jeremy Minsberg,in Berlin.His warm enthusiasm,broad knowledge of history and culture,and a genuine love of sharing, taught us more about ourselves and Berlin than we could have ever imagined.He's a real people person,appealing equally to our 22yr old daughter,as well as to us. Check him out at www.theberlinexpert.com
Susan
Toronto, Ont Canada 05/15/2010
Seville Walking Tour- David
If you visit Seville for the first time, then I can thoroughly recommend that you book a walking tour with Really Discover Seville www.reallydiscover.com We joined this informal and fascinating tour at the start of our four days in this beautiful city. Only taking small groups, David, our English guide is both charming and knowledgeable. Being a local resident, he not only inspired us to look beyond the usual sights but was so helpful in telling us about where to find the tastiest and often the best value food in Seville. We loved it and my only other advice to you, is to book it as early in your visit as possible.
Angela
Manchester, UK 05/11/2010
Rome Driver Guide-Eco CityTours
The driver guide we had with Eco City Tours picked us up at our hotel, took us through Rome on a tour which lasted 7.5 hours in total. He was a young Dutch man who spoke perfect English, his knowledge was outstanding and his sense of humor took the tour to another level. The car is a small electric car which we found comfortable as we got out so many times to walk along the route. The sites he took us to visit just blew us away each time. Ask for Remco www.ecocitytours.com
Jay Mills
USA 05/08/2010
The Best Amalfi Coast Day Tour- Carmelo
We just returned from a week long stay in Piano Di Sorrento a suburb (if you will) of Sorrento. We had the great pleasure of an Amalfi Coast tour with Carmelo Monetti. Carmelo comes highly recommended by Rick Steves and now we know why. Carmello truly loves sharing his knowledge of the region. He has great sense of humor and genuinely wants you to have a memorable tour. His tips on shopping and eating are invaluable. For unforgettable day, book a tour with Monetti Taxi 17. Ask for Carmelo personally. His email address is monettitaxi17@libero.it
Lori
San Diego, CA USA 05/06/2010
Bad tour (Through Eternity) in Rome
We used Through Eternity in Rome and it was not a very good experience. We took their Vatican tour and the guide did not take us into the Basilica saying that guides were not allowed into the church. We saw countless other guides going into the Church and asked to join one. The guide told us only people with permits and visas to live in Italy can do the tours in the church. I felt like we had been duped. In the museum the tour was only ok. I felt like the guide spoke more about himself than about the Vatican. My sister booked this tour, so I had no control. I would not have chosen them and I would not recommend them. Waste of money and time. We have limited time in Italy. We are on our way to Venice and I hope the guides will be more knowledgeable and use time better.
Tamara Jones
Dublin, Ireland 05/02/2010
Madrid Museum Tour: Prado & Reina Sofia Museums w/Susana Jarabo
We spent a delightful morning with Susana Jarabo susanjarabo@yahoo.es touring two museums in Madrid this year. We found her in Rick Steves Guide Book and she was an excellent guide with a great personality.
Bob Male
Mount Laurel, NJ USA 05/01/2010
Alhambra Tour: Miguel Angel, www.alhambratours.com
Miguel Angel took us through an enjoyable morning touring the Alhambra recently. He was most pleasant and extremely professional.
Bob Male
Mount Laurel, NJ USA 05/01/2010
Day in Tuscany with www.florencetour.com
We just returned from a beautiful trip to Italy. During one of the days we were in Florence we booked Guiseppe from www.florencetour.com to take us into the beautiful Tuscan countryside. I had asked for castles, wine, lunch and beautiful views as I am a wedding photographer wanting to just shoot away! I was not disappointed. We got just that! The beautiful landscape coupled with Guiseppe's vast knowledge of all the monasteries, castles, villas, history of the Etruscans and Chianti wine area added to the beauty and intrigue of the area. I would highly recommend Paola and Guiseppe for anyone looking for a relaxing day trip out of the city of Florence. I had found their name in my Rick Steve's Italy book and their communications overseas in setting up the prefect trip was impeccable. Very happy. Thank you Guiseppe and Paola. Sincerely - Michele, Doug and my sister in law Andrea
Michele Walworth
Griswold, CT USA 04/30/2010
Original Best Tours and the Artviva Festival
Rick was spot on when including this outfit. We just got back and wanted to recommend the best of tuscany tour and the festival with artviva aka the original best tours. We could not have had a more special welcome to Italy than having the privelege to meet such interesting people as the Prince Corsini and the writer Lisa Clifford. we were not expecting at all the possibility to learn about wine in such company and to be able to hear about life in Italy first hand. The countryside tour to siena was great, there was only one other couple in our tour and everything was better than we expected, the food was good, the wine was good, the views fantastic. we visited a leather factory in the end and the people were lovely. Make sure you look up www.italy.artviva.com if planning a trip to Italy.
Gerald
Chicago, USA 04/30/2010
Best of Tuscany Tour
The Best of Tuscany Tour (Walkabout Pass) was absolutely wonderful and I would highly recommend it if you have limited time and would like to see bits of Tuscany with a great guide (thanks Becky!!!) It leaves Florence at 8:30 and spends 12 hours taking you about the countryside with lots of info from the guide- stopping in Siena for a few hours (including a stop at the Piazza del Campo and entry into the Duomo with a local guide), lunch at a farm outside San Gimignano (probably one of the highlights of my entire 10 days in Italy! The wine seemed to flow freely, and we had beautiful views and great food), a stop in San Gimignano itself (they will point you towards the World Champions of ice cream on the PIazza della Cisterna), and ending the day in Pisa before taking you back to the train station in Florence around 8:30 (we had plenty of time to catch our 9:10 train back to Rome, and they even stowed our luggage on the bus so we didn't have to check it at the station!) All of this cost only 80 euros per person! I am so glad I booked this tour for our last day in Italy so we could just soak up a little bit more before heading home. Highly recommended!
Kelly
Chicago, IL USA 04/28/2010
Rome Tours and Tuscany
We used Through Eternity Tours in Rome for The Forum/Colusseum, Palentine Hills, and The Vatican Museum/ St. Peters tours. They were highly recommended to us by friends who were previously in Rome. We could not be happier with the guides and the service. They all worked overtime to make our experience complete.
Bruce Gustafson
Cypress, CA USA 04/28/2010
Walking Tours of Paris
My wife, daughter and I wanted our trip to Paris to be an interesting and fun experience. We did not want the humdrum tour buses and mob of tourists. By a fickle finger of fate we learned from a local French teacher about Richard Nahem, a former New Yorker who resides in Paris and gives walking tours. We visited his blog at http://www.eyepreferparis.com and contacted him at http://www.eyepreferparistours.com to sign up for a walking tour. In the pre-trip planning he asked about our interests and tailored a tour for us. On our first day we took a walking tour and visited the Montmartre area and the beautiful Catholic church build on the highest hill in Paris. We then walked along the narrow streets and Richard told us interesting stories of architecture and life from 600 years to WW II. He was humorous, captivating, knowledgeable, and tuned into our interests. We had so much fun we signed up for another tour which took us to the Marais area. This is a neighborhood that the aristocrats lived in before they moved to be close to the royalty at Versailles. It was fascinating. It was so much fun we signed up for another tour that took us to the St. Germain des Pres area. Richard showed us where Julia Child lived, the market she shopped in, the wine shop that delivered cases of her favorites, and so many other places of interest and historical significance . He showed us fascinating architecture and told us stories of things that happened in that neighborhood. In all of our tours Richard made the streets of Paris come alive with stories and scenes from the past. Thanks to him our trip to Paris was very interesting and lots of fun.
Dick Kirschman
St. Louis, MO USA 04/26/2010
Paris Photo Tours with Randy Harris
Hi all! Just wanted to give a little input for Paris, as I see most of these reviews are for Italy. First of all, Photo Tours in Paris is easily the best tour of Paris, simply because Randy is an American living in Paris who understands what it's like to be a tourist in a foreign city, and he's also very knowledgeable about photography. He knows how to tailor a tour (which can go anywhere from one hour to several days) to fit YOUR needs based on YOUR level of understanding about photography. I am not kidding about that, he's friendly, on time, and very smart. The cool thing about the tour is that it's relaxed; he sets out a route ahead of time but then tailors it to what you want to see. A lot of ground is covered in the regular tour, which is three hours. The best part about the actual tour is that Randy shows you sights you may have seen before, but through different angles and perspectives that you might not have thought about. He explains all settings on the camera, includig aperture, F-stops, AV, etc., and is definitely not stingey with information about what's helped him to learn more! There's no fancy jargon here, folks, just a great guy who does either group or private tours. I would definitely recommend his day or night tour. Happy Travels!
Here is the website: http://www.phototoursinparis.com/
and currently he is rated number 3 out of 799 things to do in Paris on Tripadvisor.com:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187147-d1495134-Reviews-Photo_Tours_In_Paris-Paris_Ile_de_France.html
Merisa Martinez
Bellingham, WA USA 04/26/2010
Apartment rental in Madrid
We rented an apartment from Carlos and Jen Galvin on the Calle Gobernador in Madrid. You can see Carlos w/ Rick on his Madrid DVD. The location is great, very close to the museums, palace, Atocha Renfe station and the metro. Plenty of markets, tapas, bars etc. near by. Quiet at night. Highly recommended.
Pete Martelly
Swansea, MA USA 04/18/2010
Driver guide in Rome
Eco City Tours in Rome met my family at the airport, took us to our hotel, then after a short break drove us around the city to see the sites. We also did the Vatican and Colosseum with them during our two day stay. The driver and guides spoke perfect english, and seemed to enjoy their time with us as much as we enjoyed our time with them. Rome was the perfect holiday for all of us and I would recommend a week there at least.
Jay Pirkle
wi USA 04/18/2010
False reviews
Why are criticisms of false reviews deleted? All I asked is why Roman tour companies are constantly being promoted here, with no verification system.
If you want to continue to delete my posts because I point out that a company RS is dealing with is mis-using this page, I will simply write a negative review for every company that receives a positive one here. Maybe that will help.
Seehow Easyitis
Beverley Hills, 90210 USA 04/10/2010
Private tour of Normandy -same price as big bus!
Sabine Le Duault is a lovely local Parisienne who runs a private tour service for people who really want to see Paris (*and the area) through the back door. She was delightful and flexible - and customized our DAY TOUR OF the D=DAY Beaches. No other tour was able to customize the day for both the Americans and the Canadians in our group. She also invites people back to her quaint home for a meal of delicious local food. THE BONUS is that the price was very similar to what we would have paid for the Big-Bus trip (with no customization).
We will definitely use Sabine's services again - and do not hesitate to recommend her. ~Salut!
www.paris-authentique.com
Shelley Roberts
Bothell, Wa USA 04/03/2010
walk tour of prague
we recently hired a tour guide thru prague-walker.com and had a wonderful experience.the tour was a half day walking tour of old town,lesser town,jewish quarter and the castle area.we were there this past jan.09 and i would recommend this company.very knowledgeable,personable and easy to talk with.enjoy your trip to prague.
steven dipiero
san miguel, gto mx 04/02/2010
American Driver/Guide in Paris
Just met an amazing sightseeing guide in Paris - He's American, but has been living in France for something like 20 years...
He picked us up at the hotel, and drove us through the Loire Valley in his minivan, where we got to visit the fabulous Renaissance castles of Chenonceau, Chambord, and Chaumont (his personal "favorite" suggestions).
he was such an interesting person to have as a guide! He grew up in the US, but his parents were French, and they taught him the language while he was young, and he later moved to France and Married a French woman.
When he gives his tours he has a wealth of knowledge on local customs, and such an interesting perspective on life in France - I'm sure we would never have learned any of the stuff he told us - from a French guide...
It was such a great tour that we decided to hire him the next time we go to France - for a tour to Normandy, and the WWII invasion beaches - as he said it was his most popular excursion.
We found him online: http://www.americandriverinparis.com
Kri Mayer
Taos, NM USA 03/28/2010
Tours in Rome-Antiqua Tours
WE just got back from a glorious week long trip to Rome. What a magical city! I can't emphasize enough how helpful having a guide is in this city. We used Antiqua Tours for 4 tours. We all agree that our top two tours were the Vatican City(so much to see!!) and the wine tours. The wine tour was the highlight of our trip. We visited local wine bars and learned the ins and outs of Italian wine with an expert. I think we all enjoyed it mostly because it was a break from the rest of the touristy must see things in Rome. We ended up being on the tour with another couple from our town, so we all went out the night before we left. I will use Antiqua Tours again next year for our Wine tasting tours in Tuscany.
Sharron Klein
Boulder, CO USA 03/27/2010
Superb private-guide Morocco
You must contact Jamal Jamali in Morocco for the very best attentive care. We have traveled through several countries and never before had such personal involvement and help. Jamal arranged our private tour including a camel ride for the kids, personal guide for the Moroccan museum and Sultans Palace, and even he himself took us for a private(look-see) in one of the oldest Mosques. His email is: jamaltour1@gmail.com Jamal stayed in contact with our private driver and guide to ensure our safety and that our wishes were being met" unbelievable! Be sure and email him before your trip! Jamal Jamali provides tour experiences.
I've been on two tours with Jamal. The first was in Tangier where we traversed along the gran mountain & Hercules Caves , visiting ruins and taking in the spectacular vistas, and then descended deep into the Red Marrakesh. The second tour was a relaxing weekend gateway from urban life to Taroudante, Agadir (four and a half hour drive from Marrakesh). Both trips were thoroughly enjoyable experiences, and I plan on booking trips with Jamal again. Happy traveling!
Beverly Hills, California (CA),
Alex Hogan
USA 03/24/2010
Driver guide in Eco tourism Rome
We agree, using a driver guide is the way to go especially one which has passion and a special type of energy for the city. We booked Eco City Tours Rome for an airport pick up, then a whole day tour of the Vatican, Colosseum and central sites of Rome. The car was Eco friendly which allowed us to drive almost any place and closer than other cars can get to the sites. Our guide Ken from Scotland was so funny, we all loved him on all our tours that day. We ate near the Vatican in a place Ken knew well, its called Spinosi, the owner was real "Italian" she fed and entertained us non stop, often insisting that we finish the pasta she gave us without asking if we wanted it or not.
The whole experience between tours with Ken and Spinosi was a good find.
Ken M
USA 03/16/2010
Rome and beyond with RomeCabs
I see a lot of valuable information here on travel related companies and I'm very particular about quality and value (getting your money's worth). So I'd like to share my experiences in Rome since it seems to be such a hot topic.
My first visit to Italy was in Rome in May 2005, and I didn't mind doing the Coliseum/Vatican tours independently at my own (slow) pace with my Rick Steve guide books (I never travel without them!). But aside from the obvious attractions, there were many other amazing places I didn't know about without a knowledgeable local guide, or had access to by public transportation - and I never dare drive in Rome! I found out about RomeCabs (Romecabs.com) through Trip Advisor, and so far I've been on multiple tours with Stefano Costantini (owner of RomeCabs) over the yeas. My favorites have been touring the Etruscan places like Cerveteri and Tarquinia, Tivoli, Medieval towns outside of Rome like Vulci and Volterra, and off the beaten path places in Rome that are a schlep to get to on foot or difficult and even impossible by public transportation. I found his tours to be a great value because in less than 1 day we covered more places that it would've taken me 3 days to do on foot and on public transportation. When you consider the expenses of hotel, meals, taxis, buses, trains, etc...you really save more than just time booking a tour. Just not having to worry about buses, taxis, and the legwork (not to mention me getting lost half the time!) it's more than worth it!! But what I like most about Stefano Costantini aside from his great and informative tours - he's a lifelong local of Rome and very knowledgeable on everything from history to culture, food, restaurant recommendations, travel tips, you name it - it's his enthusiasm for sharing his county, city, and culture with his "guests", who like us, often become friends. On every occasion he went far and beyond the call of duty to ensure we had a fabulous time. He's articulate, knowledgeable, speaks great English, punctual, professional, trustworthy, and a whole lot of FUN!!! I look forward to our next trip to Italy and another tour with Stefano.
I also agree with Geraldine's post from Rome. I've heard many complaints about fake reviews on travel forums - either positive fake reviews posted by companies themselves to boost their popularity, or fake negative reviews against legitimate companies by scrupulous competitors. It's a shame because most people post their honest experiences, and fake reviews takes away from that. And I'm not sure there's a concrete way to establish what's legitimate and what's fake without tangible proof. I can only suggest you use your common sense and do a bit of extra homework when choosing a touring company (or even a hotel or restaurant) and not rely only on one source's reviews. Many touring companies are also on twitter, FaceBook or YouTube, so it's worth searching for them there too.
Robert Sim
NYC, NY USA 03/12/2010
Mont st. michel daytour
I had always wanted to visit Mont St. Michel, and this trip we finally decided
to do it. We hate packing and unpacking, so we tried to find a tour that would
allow us to use our Paris hotel as a base. An Internet search put us in touch
with www.westcapades.com, and we emailed our queries . She took care of everything, and before we
left home we had all the necessary tickets and materials in hand.
On the morning of the tour we rose very early, took the Metro to the train
station, and boarded the train to Rennes. Upon our arrival, we were met by a
gentleman holding a sign with our names ! He turned out to be our guide, Marc,
and he was wonderful throughout the day. We boarded our spotless, modern van
with two other couples (that's right...no crowded bus on this tour) and we were
off. First stop...the beautiful town of Dinan. Set on a hilltop near a river,
this ancient walled city was wonderful to visit, although if you are not a good
walker, it's not for you. Have an apple tart in Dinan...an area specialty and
rightfully so. After a leisurely visit to Dinan, we drove to Mont St. Michel.
Marc was the perfect host and guide...he even provided us with books and
pamphlets to supplement his thorough and enjoyable commentary.
Mont St. Michel is just as amazing as it appears, and we had plenty of time to
explore it, although again, if you are not a good walker, it's not for you.
When we had seen it all, Marc was waiting to take us to our next stop. The
drive through the countryside was almost as interesting as the visit to Mont St.Michel.
We arrived at St. Malo with plenty of time to have a good dinner (local Mussels
and fries...a regional specialty) . The entire town is encircled by a wall with
a walkway on top, and we walked it all, enjoying the wonderful water views and
sea air. We again boarded our van for the trip back to Rennes, said goodbye to
Marc, got on the train, and were back in our Paris hotel in time to have a good full night's sleep.
I highly recommend Westcapades.com and the Mont St. Michel Day Tour. They took
really good care of us, and the tour itself is very well planned. It is a quite good price, and you get your money's worth and more. We'll never forget this wonderful day !
Jane Radford
San Francisco, CA USA 03/10/2010
Berlin walking tours
In Berlin, there are really good 4 hour walking tours in English. You hit all the important spots, and they go on year-round. My tour had us in 19 degrees F snow. But it still was nice since the tour group was really small. But prices will be 15 Euros or less. www.berlinwalks.com is the site for the tour we used. Highly reccomended. Also, our tour guide was an East Berliner, so she brought a really nice historical perspecitve to the tour.
Ryan
Indiana, PA USA 02/27/2010
Madeira
If you are lucky enough to be in Madeira, I found a wonderful Taxi driver who provided my group of four with a delightful and informative day exploring the island. Daniel was recommended on another website and does a great job as a driver and tour guide for a reasonable rate. He has a website and can be contacted at daniel@danielmadeirataxis.com His wife Eusebia handles the scheduling and you will get a very quick reply.
Jodi
CT USA 02/26/2010
Rome Tour Scams
We got totally scammed at the Colisuem, we had a tour sold to us by a young girl of about 20 from the US, she seemed really nice. But the guide, a blonde body builder gave a very dumbed down tour to a group of about 37 people. We know our history inside out and let me tell you this guy was only playing to the crowd who didnt seem to enjoy his tour anyhow. As we left we saw other guides more or less doing the same thing. Stay well clear of these street style tours in Rome.
Alex
CA, USA 02/21/2010
Rome Guide - Ron in Rome
Our family group of four has just returned from Rome where we spent a wonderful day touring with Ron, of roninrome.com. Ron met us at our hotel, gave us a lesson in using the Rome buses (pointing out sights and giving us history lessons as we drove along), and started the day with a visit to a Roman market. (That was an eye-opening highlight of the day! Our supermarkets are terrible by comparison.)Then we had a wonderful tour of the highlights of the Vatican museums (Miles and miles of unbelievably great art.), a relaxing lunch at a local trattoria, and an afternoon tour of St. Peters and the Sistine Chapel. By the time we returned to our hotel (more history lessons along the way!)we were exhausted, but happy. We could not have done so much, or learned so much in one day without Ron. His company is well worth his reasonable fees and we highly recommend a day, or more, in Rome with him.
Dianne
Corrales, NM USA 01/19/2010
Driver/Guide for Amalfi/Naples area
I highly recommend driver/guide Mariano Fiorentino (contact him at pleasanttravel.com, his family business)for the Campania area. Mariano took four of us and lugguage (he has a very comfortable van) on a driving tour along the Amalfi Coast, to Paestum, and delivered us to the Naples train station at the end of the day. He is a friendly, endlessly helpful man, who went above and beyond requirements to make our day enjoyable. (Just one example: not only did he find a travel agent for us to buy our train tickets, in case there were lines at the station, he didn't leave the train station until he had helped us get our luggage on board and found our seats.) He is local and knowledgeable about his home region, and it was special to hear him talk about his family and life among the lemon groves of the Amalfi coast. You can feel totally confident using Mariano's services. His fees are reasonable and he will make you feel welcome and well taken care of.
Dianne
Corrales, NM USA 01/19/2010
Tours of Romania
We are impressed! We returned from an 12 day trip to Romania (took in October 2009) and I was amazed. What a learning experience that was ! We are long-time independent travelers and this is the third time I used an on-line travel agency. The name of the Romanian tour company is Tours of Romania in Bucharest, Romania: www.tours-of-romania.com This company did come well recommended.
Our tour guide was Andrei Nicolau, a seasoned traveler himself who often likes to compare various places in Romania to others abroad. Andrei has a superior knowledge of the country and is able to bring Romania to life in a very special way through both his stories and the places (and some of them real special) he likes to include in his tours. Unlike some other guides we met, Andrei Nicolau delivers a sophisticated yet easy to understand version of the country's history with a special focus on the recent years' changes in both Romania and the ex Soviet block. We felt very luck to have met a tourguide who had eye witnessed episodes of the Anti Ceausescu revolt in Bucharest and able to passionately describe those memorable days. Andrei has a great sense of humor and his English skills are just fantastic. He is very easy to listen to.
Andrei will go above and beyond to accommodate travelers the best way possible and respond to special requests and interests. Just as an example as I am interested in spinning and weaving Andrei took us to a couple of homes in the area of Maramures to meet local women making carpets in their homes.
The Romanian Rhapsody is a well balanced tour. We customized it by adding extra villages in Maramures and a day in Bucharest due to our flight schedule. We found this private tour of Romania to offer a great deal of value as it kept us two nights in a row in no less than three locations/areas -- that is Maramures, Bucovina and Sigisoara. It kept the balance between town/cities and countryside villages and we believe adding a day in Bucharest only made justice to a wonderful and vibrant city.
The hotels were all well chosen, most of them four star located in the heart of town and cities and enabling us to go on walks on the early evening right before dinner. We stayed at the Berthelot Hotel downtown Bucharest which a brand new four star with excellent service and then: Imparat Romanilor Sibiu -- a four star Transylvanian renaissance palace with a great charm located right in the heart of the Old Sibiu. In Maramures we stayed with a local family in the village of Iza and they could not be friendlier and more personable. We enjoyed talking to them during our dinners there. Their home was beyod expectations when it came to the facilities and athmosphere. For our days in Bucovina area we opted for Hotel Passiflora which is a rather new traditional Bucovina four star hotel in a village which offered great hiking oportunities while the hotel restaurant served us very tasty local meals we loved the rooster peasant style soup). Once back to Transylvania we enjoyed Hotel Sigisoara in the Upper Town of the UNEsco Sigisoara. Our last accommdaotion was in Sinaia mountain resort in the four star Palace Hotel with our room facing the park.
Our Romania tour came with no less than 16 meals out of which three were dinners and two were lunches. We thought this to be a very good deal taking into account very few tour companies barely include any lunches and/or dinners. We have enjoyed the dinner with foklore show in Bucharest which we chose to take on the day before last rather than on the arrival day. The best dinners were the Maramures home cooked ones with incredibly different menues from one night to the next. For the meals which were not included, Andrei gave excellent reccomendations and joined us for a couple of dinners -- the cellar restaurant in Sibui was particularly good.
Amongst the highlights of the tour were meeting with the locals in Maramures and the folklore show there. We admired the wonderfully embroidered costumes there people wore. The entire Maramures two day program was special from the very beginning -- a blend of culture and traditions which happily! are still alive in this forgetten corner of Europe. We have also enjoyed the egg painting demonstration in Bucovina in the home of the local artist herself. She could not be more personable and eager to please us with her knowledge and charm.
A note on Bucharest Romania's capital: this city IS different from many others we have visited in our many travels. Before arriving we read travelogues and travel articles, checked various forums and found out Bucharest is not even comparable to Budapest, Prague or Vienna. Well, it is not, simply because it is just different. It is one of a kind. Having been to all three of the above we found the Romanian capital to offer and incredible array of architecture with the styles of the early 20th century quite well represented and to have a sophistication we would have never though of. It's a vibrant and very cultural city (the Treasury Gold Collection was out of this world).
Our Romanian Rhapsody Romania private tour with Andrei Nicolau was way beyond expectations. It was a great learning experience filled with a new adventure each day. We would reccomend Romania with Andrei as a tour guide without any hesitation. You may get in touch with Andrei via the web site: www.tours-of-romania.com
Laurie and Tom Calhoun
Baltimore, MD USA 01/16/2010
Panthoen ROME
Our family joined Angel Tours for the free Pantheon tour which runs every day and is featured in the National Geo Traveler. The tour was 40 mins long with a Scot guide who entertained us all the time with factual key information. we thought this church was well worth the visit, in fact its not to be missed. What a pity we didnt have time to visit again on our own to take more pics.
JJ KIng
USA 01/12/2010
Private Guided Tours-Paris
Sabine Le Duault is a local tour guide in Paris. Sabine guided us for 2 days during the New Year’s holiday of 2009/10. Our tours included many of the important sites in Paris and included visits to sites outside of Paris including Chateau de Vaux-Le-Vicomte, Chateau de Versailles and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres and the town of Chartres, France. Sabine finished our two days of tours by welcoming us into her home in Chevreuse, France for a glass of wine and fine company. She made each of those days special for us by both providing knowledge of the sites and some free time to explore them on our own. She made sure to nourish our stomachs with stops at two great Persian eating establishments. I would highly recommend Sabine to others visiting Paris who would like a personal tour of the area.
John S.
Chicago, IL USA 01/11/2010
Rome
This past summer we booked 4 tours with three different companies in Rome. Since we had never been in the city, we decided it would be best to book through different companies based on what we read here and in the book and also from personal friends experiences in Rome. However to play it safe in case a tour was not great, we had "back up" by booking with different companies.
We booked an Ancient City tour and Wine Tour with Antiqua Tours, a Real Rome City Walk with Presto Tours, and a Vatican with Context Tours. All of our tours were excellent. Each guide was very educated in his/her field, well spoken, and engaging. Our groups were small, I can't really complain about any of our tours.
I really don't think one can visit Rome for the first time WITHOUT a guide, to be honest. All of the tours were wonderfully informative and really gave us the context we needed for our free time in the city. We especially loved our wine tour with a young man named Ettore from Antiqua Tours. While the other tours were amazing, this tour was more "off the beaten path." and we loved the wines and cheeses selected. It was more "real" Rome than tourist Rome. Really, the only difference in our tours was the price.
John Devon
NYC, NY USA 01/09/2010