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Has anyone used italytours.eu recently? Looking for recommendations


angelik
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We just returned from our Med. cruise on Norwegian Epic and used Italytours EU for Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast and also for Pisa and Florence and had very good tours on both days. We got to see everything that we wanted to and more. I especially enjoyed the free time in Sorrento to shop and have a wonderful lunch. We also used Barcelona Day tours on our debarkation day to go to Montserrat and a Cava Winery. They picked us up at the port and dropped us off at our hotel near the airport after, as our flight home was the next day. Very convenient. I had booked with the ship for that but cancelled as they only drop at the airport or downtown. Worked out perfectly.....Just found out they are a sister company to ItalytoursEu and I got my advice from this site, so thanks to all on Cruise Critic for helping make the trip great!.....Patti

 

Patti,

I'm so glad you had a wonderful cruise on Epic, and that you enjoyed your ItalyTours.EU. We will be cruising the Epic in September. Any tips, insights, favorite do not miss things either on Epic or the ports to share? I'm traveling with my parents, age 70, who have never been to Europe and I want to make this the most memorable trip for them.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Christy Paterson

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I just booked my Colosseum skip the line tickets and was not given any information from the website where I booked them regarding a time slot, nor was I able to say what day I wanted them to be used. When I got a reply back from Italy Tours, they indicated there should have been a time slot given. Has anyone else booked these and have any advice? Thanks!

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We used them for Rome and Lucca and Pisa. Drivers very prompt, knowledgeable and informative.Guide we had at the Vatican was fantastic, so amusing and engaging.Definately recommend, a fraction of cruise ship cost and more personal service

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Hi there,

 

We just returned from our 20 day cruise on the Konigsdam in April and we used Italytours.eu for tours of Florence (Best of Florence, no Pisa) and Pompeii/Sorrento/Amalfi Coast.

 

They were very responsive to our requests via their website and very clear with all communications. They provided good instructions on where to meet and they had our name on their signs so we had no trouble finding them. The vans were very clean, had AC and looked well maintained.

 

Both our drivers and guides spoke excellent English and our driver did an amazing job getting us to all the sites quickly so we didn't miss a thing on our itinerary. (the ship's tour had to skip the Amalfi coast portion because the larger bus got stuck in traffic)

 

In Florence, we stopped at the iconic overlook to get a view of the city and the river..breathtaking. Next, our driver maneuvered very close to the Accademia museum so we could stop and see David. We then walked to the Duomo and past Dante's house over to the Ponte Vecchio. All the while, the guide was stopping and giving us great commentary on what we were seeing. We had free time for shopping and lunch, but we headed to the Boboli Gardens for a nature fix and to lounge under the Tuscan sky. (these are not formal gardens in the French style, but impressive never-the-less).

 

Our tour of Pompeii started with an excellent guide giving us the overview of the area and life during that time. She expertly guided us through the ruins and shared all the little nuances that we would have missed if we went alone. Next we drove to Sorrento for free time and lunch. Our driver clearly knew his way around because whenever we hit congestion, he zigged or zagged down a side street to get us through. We then drove the Amalfi coast to Positano...thrilling scenery. He made a quick stop at a local turn out with very little room for parking for a jaw dropping view. We stopped at a Limoncello factory on the way back and were fortunate to see a delivery of lemons come in while we were there. The scent is intoxicating!

 

They got us back to the ship in plenty of time so we didn't feel rushed. (We even had time to walk over to the Castel Nuovo area to get pizza...it is Naples after all!) We had 10 on our Pompeii tour and 7 on our Florence tour. I HIGHLY recommend these smaller tours because of the personal attention and excellent care that the drivers/guides provide.

 

We also did a day tour of Barcelona with Barcelonadaytours.com which may or may not be affiliated with Italytours.eu. as well as a tour of Seville with Spaindaytours.com.

 

Both of these companies also deserve high praise for the professionalism and the quality of the experience. All the vans were clean, had AC, comfortable seats and we didn't feel packed in like sardines.

 

In Barcelona, we did a 1/2 day tour to the Park Guell, saw La Sagrada Familia and several houses that Gaudi designed as well as the Palau Nacional museum and Olympic sites from the 1992 summer games. Again, our driver and guide took great care of us and I learned so much!

 

The April Faire was happening in Seville on the day we visited so we saw many people dressed in traditional finery and horse drawn carriages everywhere. The women's dresses were stunning! Our highlight was the Plaza Espana and the Alcazar Palace with it's amazing tile mosaics and gardens. We had free time to shop and explore the narrow streets of the Barrio Santa Cruz.

 

Sadly, Italytours.eu doesn't operate in Greece, so we went with olympictours.gr . Their tour of Olympia and the museum was first rate. The guide was very knowledgeable and made history come alive. The grounds are beautiful and our guide was very good at anticipating the movements of other groups so that we were able to be avoid piling up on one another. We toured the original site of the Olympics and the museum first and then we went for a wonderful greek brunch with wonderful home made offerings (even for us vegetarians).

 

Hope this is helpful!

Sharon

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  • 2 weeks later...

We very much enjoyed our tour of Pompeii, Sorrento, and Positano! It was my favorite tour out of my two weeks in Europe. The Amalfi coast is breathtaking. Nicholas was a wonderful tour guide. He made sure we were all happy and taken care of. His recommendation for lunch in Sorrento was perfect. I can’t believe how much we were able to see in one day. I would definitely use Italytours.eu again and highly recommend them.

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We had a wonderful time on two the tours we booked with ItalyTours.EU in May 2018. The first was a tour of Florence and Pisa from Livorno. The lovely young woman, Virginia, who guided us through Florence and the Accademia was outstanding. We will always remember the stories she told and the explanations of the art and architecture of Florence. I would highly recommend the Florence-Pisa tour from Livorno to anyone. Pickup at the port was on time and we made it back to the ship with plenty of time to spare.

The weather did not cooperate with us during our Naples-Pompeii-AmalfiCoast tour but we had a wonderful time anyway. It was cool and rainy as we made our way through Pompeii so we moved along fairly quickly. A suggestion for improvement is to ask the guide to use a microphone with earbuds during the tour similar to the one used by the guide in Florence. I could hardly keep up with the fast pace and missed some of her expert commentary. This would probably not have been problem if it had not been raining. Our drive along the Amalfi Coast was incredible! Our driver was Gianluca and his commentary about Positano and Sorrento was amusing and informative. I still can’t believe how he was able to navigate the narrow, twisty road and still have a sense of humor. Now, that I am home I regret I did not buy more at the Limoncello factory. Again, I would highly recommend this tour.

For both tours, the drivers were prompt and courteous. The guides were knowledgeable and friendly while keeping control of the group. The vehicles were modern, clean and comfortable. Prices were significantly lower than those offered by NCL. You won’t go wrong using ItalyTours.EU.

 
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  • 2 weeks later...

Since I used this thread as part of my search for tours during our planning I wanted to come back and add my review! (This is the same review I posted on another site...because I'm lazy...)

 

Our multi-generational family of 10 took three separate tours with ItalyTours.EU during our recent Western Mediterranean cruise and each one was equally amazing. We selected the Pompeii, Sorrento & Positano tour at Naples, the Best of Lucca & Pisa tour at Livorno (and we are all totally in love with Lucca now!!), and the French Riviera tour at Cannes. On each of the tours our drivers were waiting where expected when we disembarked from the ship and were friendly, knowledgeable and fun (Salvatore, Simona, and Yannick). We have zero complaints from any of our experiences!

 

A true highlight of our trip was our guided tour of Pompeii with Sabina. She was equally lovely, passionate, and completely engaging. The kids (and the adults!) were tired and hot but not once did anyone complain because we all wanted to see what was next and hear what she had to say! We all agreed she made the experience perfect and made Pompeii come alive!

 

I am very happy we selected ItalyTours.EU for our adventures! My only regret is not using them for our Rome excursion as the entire day ended up being a debacle with the company we used...lesson learned...stick with ItalyTours at all ports next time!!

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ItalyTours.eu, great company. They were so responsive prior to our trip. We did an Amalfi Coast tour with them from Thr Naples Port. I’m always nervous when I do an independent tour about getting back to the ship on time. I was reassured before our cruise that they have never been late. Indeed we were returned with plenty of time to spare. You won’t be disappointed with this company. Ask for Cristina when you contact them. I am very particular they were great a five star tour company.

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I would like to give 5 stars to Italytours.eu during our recent cruise in the Mediterrean.

 

We booked 4 tours with them and each tour was great and very memorable. The pickup in each port was on time; each driver spoke English and was very knowledgeable in the local history; we were always given time to eat lunch and do a little shopping; we were always back to our ship with plenty of time to spare. The land guides were professional and very informed.

 

Port of Marseilles - Tour #1

Our driver Simon was wonderful. He knew the local history and culture. We loved the four Provence towns of Arles, Les Baux, St. Remy and Avignon. I think Les Baux was the best for shopping but we loved Arles and its Roman, French and Spanish influences. It was a long day but Simon kept us laughing and moving along on schedule.

 

Port of La Spezia - Tour Best of Florence

Our driver Francesco was terrific. He spoke great English, was personable, very knowledgeable and gave us lots of local information during our drive to and from Florence. Our land guide was also very good and took us on a walk thru the historic central area of Florence and down some wonderful medieval streets. We had skipped the museum tour so we had more time for lunch and a little shopping.

 

Port of Civitavecchia - Tour Best of Rome

Our driver Alessandro was also exceptional. Professional, he spoke very good English and was very informed. He gave us a wonderful driving tour of Rome where we saw many great sites. After our driving tour he took us to an area for lunch where we had a choice of good restaurants. Then he turned us over to Sabine for our Vatican tour. She was wonderful and gave us so much information about the Vatican and its history, including the history of a lot of its art. The Vatican tour was overwhelming and not to be missed.

 

Port of Naples – Tour Pompeii, Sorrento & Positano

Our driver Luca was very good. He spoke good English. At Pompeii we were turned over to our land guide Gino who was very experienced as a guide and knew a lot about the restoration and history of Pompeii. We really enjoyed visiting this incredible restored ruin and Gino made it even better. We continued our driving tour down the Amalfi coast to Sorrento where we had a wonderful lunch and then we were off down the coast to see the town of Positano. Enough time to stop for lemoncello and souvenirs before heading back to the ship.

 

In summary, please consider choosing Italytours.eu as your preferred tour company when cruising or travelling in Marseilles and Italy. We never worried about getting back to the ship on time. We were given precise instructions to our meeting location when arriving at the port. Each driver was courteous and informed and spoke very good English. The small groups were a plus. I don’t think we would have seen as much as we did if we had taken the larger groups from the ship tours.

 

I would never hesitate to use ItalyTours.eu, whenever I am in Marseilles or Italy again. Thank you for the great hassle free memories.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Very important information that Italy Tours does not tell you in correspondences when booking. They will make you aware of this and even highlight and make sure you understand AFTER you have booked.. This information should be given before you book so here it is......

 

Due to increased security by the authorities followed by the terror attacks in Europe, delays are possible at ports and when entering sites. Even with Skip-the-line-tickets, it’s the security checksthat may create long lines and extensive waiting times.

On a few days in the high season, the skip-the-line 'queue' may last up to 45 minutes in the Vaticanand 60 minutes in the Colosseum. Unless stated otherwise, this tour does not include an expert guide in the Colosseum. You may hire a guide on the spot in order to shorten the waiting time for the security checks at the Colosseum if wanted, however:

·No refunds will be issued If you decide to hire a guide on the spot.

·No refunds will be issued if you decide not to wait the security lines.

Guests traveling with kids need to pick up the tickets at the ticket office since the Colosseum management wants to confirm that you are traveling with kids. You will then have to stand in the security line. If you want to skip this procedure, kindly ask us to charge you the adult fare for your kids instead.

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We used the semi-private option and it was a great value. About 8 of us in nice new, clean mini vans with excellent, friendly and extremely knowledgeable drivers/guides. We used them for 3 tours this past September: Florence and 2 ports in France. They were fantastic and very responsive with questions, directions, etc. I will be returning to the Mediterranean this summer with my mom and daughter and enjoyed their tours so much will be using them again... very highly recommend them!

 

I know this is the Italy board, but could you tell me (please) which ports you used them in France and what you did. Thanks.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Hello everyone I will be in the Mediterranean at the end of August and I have booked 3 tours with Italytours. I just received my final confirmation email and I’m undecided about the skip in line colosseum tickets? I haven’t purchased them yet can I get some feed back from anyone who can help me?

 

 

 

We did purchase them for our June visit. And, we were very glad we did. Normal walk up lines were quite long. But, we essentially got right in. I recommend buying them if you plan to visit the Coliseum.

 

 

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Hello everyone I will be in the Mediterranean at the end of August and I have booked 3 tours with Italytours. I just received my final confirmation email and I’m undecided about the skip in line colosseum tickets? I haven’t purchased them yet can I get some feed back from anyone who can help me?

 

Buy them now. It is very crowded at the Coliseum, you won't regret it.

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  • 5 weeks later...
Hello everyone,

 

I got quotes from 2 companies thus far: romeinlimo as well as Italytours.eu.Rome in limo is a bot pricier, but if I put that aside fro a minute, which company would you recommend> I saw rave reviews for romeinlimo on this site. Italy tours.eu has some reviews, but they are mostly a bit older. They do offer a tour guide included in their price, but I just want to make sure the excursion is high quality and I will not be missing anything out. Thank you in advance for your help. This is my first time booking something independently , so I want to make sure we get what we need from the tours. Thank you in advance

Hi Angelik,

I'm leaving on a HA cruise in 6 weeks and traveling from Italy to Spain and we are looking into some tours with Italytours. Could you let me know if you did use them for any excursions and how you liked them? I hope ya'll had a great trip. Thanks so much. Beth

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We just returned from Naples and used ItalyTours to see Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. Gianluca was our driver and tour guide and he was exceptional. His driving skills on the mountain roads was amazing and his recommendation in Sorrento for lunch was wonderful. We had Margherita in Pompeii and she spoke fluent English and showed us the highlights of the area. Be sure to wear comfortable shows and a hat! We really enjoyed our tour!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Has anyone had trouble with them responding to emails? I sent a request over 24 hours ago and have gotten nothing back, even an email saying we will get back to you.

 

 

I have booked tours with them for October....remember the time difference. I usually received the replies about a day and a half after sending. Very helpful and will answer all your questions. Looking forward to touring with them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My wife and I were absolutely delighted withthe overall experience of the day—from the time we were met at the pier until our return there (Pompeii, Sorrento, and Positano tour).

 

This was our first time in Naples.

 

Pompeii is a‘must see’, and our guide (Enza) tried her very best to show us as much as possible in two hours. We realize that we could spend many days there and still not see it all.

 

I must say that the trip to Sorrento was a bit concerning giving the traffic congestion from Pompeii. We were worried about having to cut short a visit to Positano. Our driver/guide (Salvatore) was not worried, and he expertly managed to provide us with the full experience and still get us to our ship with time to spare. The drive along the coast provided spectacular (and scary) views. We are so glad that we did not try to drive the itinerary ourselves.

 

We consider the whole tour to have been a good value. We have already recommended your agency to others who may be traveling there.

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My wife and I loved the Best of Tour. Francesco was an excellent guide, very friendly and responsible. He took us to San Gimignano and Sienna via the scenic roads of Tuscany, getting us right into the heart of Sienna. He also took us to Montreggiano, an unexpected pleasure. He made an effort for us to have lunch at a winery, but that did not work out. We were extremely pleased with service and the tour.

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We used ItalyTours.EU in late August for their Best of Tuscany tour from Livorno. It was a wonderful tour. It was advertised for primarily taking us to San Gimignano and Sienna. But we also made a stop in Monterigianno - a beautiful walled city between the two. Had a wonderful driver in Francesco. I highly recommend them.

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We just came back from a great tour with Italy tours. We were on a cruise and Emiliano was the driver he was waiting for us when we docked. We had a great tour he took us to all the sights we only had 8 people in the very clean comfortable van. He told us where to go when he stopped. He was very knowledgeable and told us about each stop He then gave us time to look around told us where to met him. When we arrived at the Vatican Isabella the guide was excellent and walked us through ways to avoid some of the crowd. We were returned back to the ship in excellent time no worries about missing the ship we went on a Wednesday so we went to the Coliseum first then to the Vatican we recommend this service and will use them again.

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We just got back from the Vision of the Seas. Used this company in Rome and again toured with them in Florence and Pisa. They were wonderful and we were back on the ship in plenty of time ! I would not hesitate book them.

 

 

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