Drivers in Rome and Naples

[Wrigley]

We are going on Splendour of the Seas 11/5/05 and would like some recommendations for drivers for Rome and Naples/Sorrento/Poistano?

 

Thanks

[PINEY10]

We just came back from a med cruise yesterday. We took a tour in Rome with Claudio--probably one if not the highlight of the trip. He was fabulous--very informative and lovely. Very proud of his country and a wealth of information on Rome.

 

In Naples we took driverinrome.com but had someone who obviously was outsourced. There have been great reviews on Daniele and Remo and we wish we had them. Instead we had Guiliana--not good at all. Had the wrong program for us even though we told her otherwise at the beginning--she had us scheduled for Pompeii even though we did not want to go since we all had been before. We suggested she contact the home office which she did not. She had the tour planned the way she wanted, stopping where she wanted, and suggested places for us to shop where she wanted--probably because she got a kickback. Not a good experience overall, but I don't totally fault Daniele or Remo. Make sure who your guide is from the outset--these outsourced ones can be problematic. I have heard Salvatore from driveamalfi does a great tour.

[ClaudiaF]

We just came back from a med cruise yesterday. We took a tour in Rome with Claudio--probably one if not the highlight of the trip. He was fabulous--very informative and lovely. Very proud of his country and a wealth of information on Rome.

 

In Naples we took driverinrome.com but had someone who obviously was outsourced. There have been great reviews on Daniele and Remo and we wish we had them. Instead we had Guiliana--not good at all. Had the wrong program for us even though we told her otherwise at the beginning--she had us scheduled for Pompeii even though we did not want to go since we all had been before. We suggested she contact the home office which she did not. She had the tour planned the way she wanted, stopping where she wanted, and suggested places for us to shop where she wanted--probably because she got a kickback. Not a good experience overall, but I don't totally fault Daniele or Remo. Make sure who your guide is from the outset--these outsourced ones can be problematic. I have heard Salvatore from driveamalfi does a great tour.

Claudio is absolutely the best driver we have had in Italy!!!

have used Daniel before too .. and

I certainly hope you contacted Daniel and told him about that "tour" .

Another thought is why would you go if you had been before and put up with that.. I would have had Daniel on the phone immediately. :confused:

[PINEY10]

We didn't go to Pompeii but she did not like deviating from the "program" as she called it. We just felt she was doing her best to do it the way she wanted--but we did not put up with it and insisted she do it the way we had requested. She kind of reminded me of Charo. What I would recommend is to find out who the guide is before you commit so that you know who you are getting.

[trs3eb]

In Rome I used Stefano at Rome Cabs. We didn't actually get a tour from him, just transfers to/from the airport/hotel/port. During the drives, he gave us a lot of information about Rome and pointed out all the sights we passed. He also gave us helpful hints. I think a tour from him would be great. He can be reached by email at allagrande@hotmail.it

 

-Tina:)

[trs3eb]

In Rome I used Stefano at Rome Cabs. We didn't actually book a tour from him, just transfers to/from the airport/hotel/port. During the drives, he gave us a lot of information about Rome and pointed out all the sights we passed. He also gave us helpful hints. I think a tour from him would be great. He can be reached by email at allagrande@hotmail.it

 

-Tina:)

[Breezey]

In Rome I used Stefano at Rome Cabs. We didn't actually book a tour from him, just transfers to/from the airport/hotel/port. During the drives, he gave us a lot of information about Rome and pointed out all the sights we passed. He also gave us helpful hints. I think a tour from him would be great. He can be reached by email at allagrande@hotmail.it

 

-Tina:)

 

We also used Stefano just for transfers between the port and our hotel and a few days later from our hotel to the airport.

 

As far as Naples, we booked with DriveAmalfi and had the most glorious day with Adriano! He was flexible, charming, sang songs for us, shared recipes (he used to be a chef) and was a pleasure to be with. email is ***** Salvatore is the senior driver/owner.

 

But we booked months in advance. You are really cutting it short if you leave in a little over a month and suggest you contact them asap.

[kare8ear]

We hired Stefano (RomeCabs) for a tour of Roma and give him the highest recommendation! He made Rome absolutely wonderful for us.

 

Naples - Francesco Marrapese http://www.francescomarrapese.com/ . Again, the highest recommendation!!!

[Gypsy76]

Hi

 

We used Alberto www.aptours.it for the Amalfi coast, Sorrento and Pompeii 9 hour tour.

Absolutely great service, he did exactly what we wanted to do, he speaks excellent english and is so charming, he recommened a fantastic restaurant and booked us an official guide in Pompeii, best of all he has one of the most reasonable rates on the web, and we emailed alot of them.

[DD]

We just got back today from our Med cruise and post-cruise in Rome. Stefano was absolutely fabulous. I work as a TA and will definitely be recommending him to all my clients that go to the Med. He was prompt, knowledgeable, dependable, patient, and extremely flexible in adapting the itinerary to our needs/wants. We did transfers, a Rome sightseeing tour, and a full-day excursion to Pompeii & Vesuvius with him. I just cannot say enough good things about how well he treated us, how competent he was, and how friendly. I will write more about him and his tours when I'm not so jet lagged.

 

You know, when you book a guide/driver sight unseen based on internet reviews, it can be hit or miss. You just never know for sure how it's going to be. With Stefano, he was so above and beyond what we expected that I couldn't believe how we lucked out in finding him (thanks to cruisecritic!).

 

If you're going to need transfers or a guide, definately email him. He books up quickly--we didn't get our first choice of tour days because I waited too long to make up my mind.

[jcd3]

We did a tour of Rome with Stefano from Romecabs on Sept. 14th, and I highly recommend him. He picked our group of 4 up at the ship at 7:30 am and took us to see all the sights, and also got us tickets to the Colloseum and the Vatican, so we did not wait in any lines. He is everything you would want in a guide-dependable, polite, knowledgeable, flexible, and a good driver.His price was also reasonable at 360E for 4 people.

 

In Naples we went with Francesco Marrapese(www.francescomarrapese.com), and this was another great choice. His site has a good map where it shows all the towns along the Amalfi coast where he brings you. There are lots of stops to get out, walk around, and take pictures. He also brought us to a great restaurant in Ravello, with outside dining and magnificent views. He was very knowledgeable and had a good sense of humor His price was also reasonable at 400E for 6 people, He also brought us to Pompei for 2 hrs., and arranged a guide for us there at an additional cost.

[John&Betty]

We also can not say enough good about Claudio Caponera. His web site is on the "Rome' page of our Med web site. http://home.mchsi.com/~jbglenn3/cruz.html There is another driver who we feel is just as good in Sorrento, Mariano of Pleasant Travel. His web site is under "Naples." There are pictures of both of them under "The Pictures"

 

We also had a great guide in St Petersburg named Elena at DenRus. Thier web site is listed in "St Petersburg" in the page under "Photos" in our signature below.

 

John & Betty

[Queenk2]

We used Nelloin Naples...He is an amazing man! Very knowledgeable and very personable. is English is flwless and he was fun to be with. He was by far the best guide we used this past summer in the Med. You can reach him at info@drivesorrento.com tell him Karen sent you! Have fun!

[juliejoe]

We booked with Driver in Rome for both Naples and Rome and were with Piney10 touring the Amalfi Coast with the guide Giuliana. We were really disappointed in her. Her English skills need sharpening and she is inflexible. She had the wrong "program" for us and it was difficult for her to deviate. I don't think I've seen any other negative posts about guides supplied by Driver in Rome, so perhaps this is a first. We booked almost a year in advance, and I think we should have been given one of their tried and true guides. I do have to say the driver did an outstanding job on these narrow winding roads.

 

In Rome we had Fabrizio (sp?) who is Daniele's cousin. We were happy with him and he designed the day to be just what we wanted. He (as well as I) had problems with allergy or a cold and would have taken the day off, but when he called Daniele that morning, he was told that they were so busy that day, they really needed him. He shared his kleenex and meds with me and he was totally charming and fun - in spite of not feeling well early in the day.

 

Based on our experience, I would not advise booking Driver in Rome for Naples, unless you are guaranteed one of the drivers you have seen consistently recommended. Perhaps they are getting too big and too busy.

 

Julie

[ijkh]

from driveamalfi.com. He is the consumate guide bright smooth elegant and a wonder door to the Amalfi/Naples/Sorrento coast. We so enjoyed his drive and commentary. It was the highlight of our tours. Well worth the steep cost to enjoy Italy. He gets my vote for the best ever. No one seems to mention he is very handsome as well. Hey I am a married lady and by the way he is also happily married. It did add to the charm.

[virgenia]

OK, Ilene. Does Andy know about this secret crush you have on Salvatore???

[Seatravelers]

Rome tour: Without a doubt use Claudio Caponera - caponera.Claudio@tiscali.it or Claudio@limoinrome.com. He was excellent and we never waited over 5-10 minutes anywhere and ate at a wonderful restaurant he knows....He loves Rome and it's history and shares much more than you would ever imagine. Probably one of the highlights of our cruise in Aug.........

[Linda in MI]

We used Stefano from Romecabs in June. He was wonderful in every way you could imagine. He can be reached at romecabs@yahoo.com.

 

Linda

[midcape]

We just got back from 12 days on the Brilliance of the Seas including Naples and Rome. Salvatore from driveamalfi was the highlight. He was born and still lives in Amalfi. His family goes back 1000 years in the area. In Rome we had Stefano and I won't repeat what everyone else has said. He is great. The boat tours are cattle calls and very expensive.

[ijkh]

I think even the guys thought we was way cool. Be still my heart. We have a photo of Mauri and I with our hands over our hearts and Salvatore behind us. The photos don't do this guy justice trust me. Lucky you who travel the Amalfi with Mr. Lucibell.

[BrianandSue]

No one seems to mention he is very handsome as well. .

 

We also used Salvatore in September 2005. He is VERY good and very handsome!! We had a couple of people in our group of 8 that get very car sick. They did not feel the least bit sick with Salvatore's tour of the Amalfi Coast. It was breathtaking!

 

We used driveinrome for our Rome tour. Our driver was Giampaula (pronounced John Paul). He was also wonderful. Driveinrome also contacted us by email afterward to see if we were satisfied. I think this speaks very highly of the company.

 

We did NOT have such a good experience in Athens with Sprios Taxi Service. They wrote to us AFTER they saw negative comments here on Cruise Critic.

[virgenia]

Ilene,

If this is a digital, I think it only fair and just that you post it somewhere so we can all get our hearts going! Our tour guides were all wonderful, but wouldn't call them hunks!

[ucalegend]

We just got back from our Med Cruise. We used Daniele from www.driverinrome.com. I saw some people used Claudio. Claudio used to work for Daniele and they recommend each other. Daniele was funny and very knowledgable. He took us to an excellent lunch at a local place. Well worth the money for a driver. We had friends that used Claudio and they liked him too. I don't think you can go wrong. I would check out the website. I know Daneile's company has escorted some high political officials at times (at least the pictures on his website lead to that).

[fmax]

Just used driverinrome for Florence/Pisa (Daniele) and Rome (aldo). used seesorrento for Amalfi Coast/Pompeii. Didn't get Marcela but another driver Marco who was really good. Would definitely recommend both companies.

 

 

Frances

[Cinder]

I also used Stefano from Romecabs for a driver in Rome, as well as transportation to/from the ship to the airport. He was just great, on time, accommodating, and managed to get us to all the major sites in Rome in one day without feeling rushed.

I used Salvatore from DriveAmalfi and echo everyone else's positive reviews. The Amalfi drive was the highlight of our trip, and he took us to a resturant for lunch that had good food, a terrific view and cost us 60 Euros for 7 of us! We were the only english speaking folks around, so it wasn't so touristy.

Both drivers lived up to their contracts in every way, and I would use them again without reservation.