Has anyone used italytours.eu recently? Looking for recommendations

[uncdds12]

We have had a change by them for one port. They are getting back to me within 24 hours. We leave in September. They also have a toll free number on their website.  Maybe try to cam them. 

[bigsky]

2 hours ago, uncdds12 said:

We have had a change by them for one port. They are getting back to me within 24 hours. We leave in September. They also have a toll free number on their website.  Maybe try to cam them. 

I don't see a toll free number. Do you have it? Thanks

[bigsky]

7 hours ago, mineski said:

ItalyTours.Eu assisted us with our offshore tours to Pisa, Rome and Naples. They were less expensive than the onboard cruise excursions. The instructions given were very detailed and easily understandable. Communication was a bit slow though because it was through email only. The tour guides were on time and knowledgeable. The office was responsive on the day of excursion for questions and concerns. We definitely recommend them and will use them for future excursions.

 

Don C.

Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas

06/25/2023 to 07/02/2023

I've heard good things about them. Yes, less expensive. Hope to hear from them soon!

[bigsky]

Heard back from them! They need one more couple with two of our excursions..August 9th to Florence/Pisa and August 10th Rome/Vatican excursion. Hoping we find another couple soon! We're so soon to cruising, I'm surprised it's taken so long for these to fill up. I need to post everywhere to find another couple.

[upslash]

12 minutes ago, bigsky said:

Heard back from them! They need one more couple with two of our excursions..August 9th to Florence/Pisa and August 10th Rome/Vatican excursion. Hoping we find another couple soon! We're so soon to cruising, I'm surprised it's taken so long for these to fill up. I need to post everywhere to find another couple.

 

They have probably already filled many groups. My guess is they added another tour and this tour just needs 1 more couple.

[bigsky]

10 minutes ago, upslash said:

 

They have probably already filled many groups. My guess is they added another tour and this tour just needs 1 more couple.

When I booked 4-5 months ago, they said I was the first person on all the excursions I booked. Wonder if they forgot me?!

[suezyq50]

3 hours ago, bigsky said:

Heard back from them! They need one more couple with two of our excursions..August 9th to Florence/Pisa and August 10th Rome/Vatican excursion. Hoping we find another couple soon! We're so soon to cruising, I'm surprised it's taken so long for these to fill up. I need to post everywhere to find another couple.

Hope it works out for you.  We loved our tours.  We took 4 total with them last month.

I would guess they have others booked, just looking to fill up another van.  There were a total of 4 vans the day we went.

[bigsky]

1 hour ago, suezyq50 said:

Hope it works out for you.  We loved our tours.  We took 4 total with them last month.

I would guess they have others booked, just looking to fill up another van.  There were a total of 4 vans the day we went.

Well I was actually the first person to sign up. So I’m wondering why I’m still waiting for them to fill up?

[3JCruiser]

Do Italytours allow you to pay in cash on the day of the trip like their sister company in Spain 

Or does everything have to be paid by C Card upfront ?

 

We have Euros to use and so dont really want to have to pay out on a credit card.

There's very limited info on their website .

 

Thx in advance

[Cambria2]

My family and I (6 of us) just returned from a Mediterranean cruise on Celebrity Edge.  We used Italy Tours and I am so grateful to them for making our visits to Rome, Florence and Pisa memorable ones and truly headache free.     On the morning of July 7 we landed in Rome and the driver was there waiting for us right at the exit door.  He grabbed the women's luggage and took us to an air conditioned Mercedes Benz mini van and drove us to our hotel the Marriott Gran Flora.  Great hotel with a beautiful rooftop restaurant overlooking the city. Our ship was departing the evening of July 8, so we had only two half days in Rome.  So at 1:00 pm that afternoon Italy Tours picked us up at the hotel and took us to the Vatican where we met an expert guide (Paolo) who then took us through the Vatican Museum and through St. Peter's Basilica.  The guide was very knowledgeable and very witty and kept the conversation entertaining throughout.  The following morning we checked out of the hotel by 9:00 AM and our driver Salvatore was there to take all our luggage and us for a 4 hour tour of Rome and then one hour plus drive to Civitavecchia to meet the ship.  That morning we reserved tickets to the Colosseum but before and after that we visited the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Circus Maximus, Piazza Navona, The monument to Victor Emmanuelle, The balcony where Mussolini gave his historic speeches, Napolean's Mother house, Trevi fountain, the Spanish steps, and Via Condotti the street with all the designer shops.  we covered all this and still made it to our ship by 3:00 PM.  Salvatore was very informative, he stopped and spoke about each location.  He gave us time to get out and take pictures at each location, and he was quite funny and kept the conversation going the entire time.

 

Three days later we arrived in La Spezia and we had arranged for an all day tour of Florence and Pisa with Italy Tours.  Again, our driver Francesca met us at the tender dock exit and took us on a full day trip to Florence (2 hour + drive each way) where she handed us off to an expert guide who walked us through the streets of Florence to see the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio bridge, Piazza della Signoria, the location of the film A Room with a View (1985) and more.  Then a drive to Pisa to see the leaning tower and then back to the ship by 5:00 PM.

 

Going to a strange country can be a little nerve racking not knowing what to suspect and if everything will go as planned.   Italy Tours was just outstanding in every aspect.   On time, professional and very caring about doing a good job for their guests.

[suezyq50]

22 hours ago, 3JCruiser said:

Do Italytours allow you to pay in cash on the day of the trip like their sister company in Spain 

Or does everything have to be paid by C Card upfront ?

 

We have Euros to use and so dont really want to have to pay out on a credit card.

There's very limited info on their website .

 

Thx in advance

We had to pay by cc 10 days prior to cruise departure.  Once the cc payment was processed, we received details where to meet, etc.  We did use Euros for tips.

[3JCruiser]

18 hours ago, suezyq50 said:

We had to pay by cc 10 days prior to cruise departure.  Once the cc payment was processed, we received details where to meet, etc.  We did use Euros for tips.

 

Thank you !

[CruisingSince1982]

Has anyone used this company for Sicily? 

[CruisingSince1982]

On 11/29/2022 at 1:37 PM, sherrihall128 said:

We just completed a 7-day cruise on the Norwegian Gem, and we used ItalyTours for 3 tours. We used them for Sicily (Mt Etna and Taormina), Naples (Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast), and Livorno (Florence only--no Pisa). I would highly recommend their services. The drivers were safe, spoke good English, and gave us some good insight on their towns. We only had 6-10 people per tour. We loved having extra guides in Pompeii and Florence. Without them, we would have missed a lot of pertinent info. ItalyTours provided a lot of extra value compared to the cruise line tours, and they guarantee a return to the ship. Some of the cruise members were a bit anxious to get back to the port, and some even tried to pressure our Pompeii tour guide to cut it short to get back earlier. We were back in Naples about 60 minutes prior to all on board time, so we had plenty of time.

 

Although this was not ItalyTours's fault, I would consider skipping Mt Etna and just going to Taormina and/or Castelmola. We live near volcanoes, we have seen craters/cones, etc.. and while it was cool because it was in Italy, I would have preferred more time in Taormina. However, the honey and olive oil from Mt Etna was delicious, so.. choose your tours carefully depending on what you really want to see. We were trying to see it all, so sometimes we only had 2 hours in 1 place (and if you want to eat in Italy, sometimes the service is very slow).

 

How long did you have in Taormina?

[seba1]

We just returned from a Mediterranean cruise and used this company for 3 days of tours. This is what we learned:
 

1. They were on time, professional and flexible. Cost much less than cruise excursions too. 
 

2. Drivers are not all the same. We pre-booked 3 tours and the amount of interaction between the drive and the passengers varied. Passengers had to ask questions to understand what they were seeing. Found out that this company sub-contracts out the drivers so many drive for several tour companies.

 

3. For two of the tours, we paid for private tours. This was a waste of money since we were 7 and filled a van anyway. The drivers were not guides and didn't really tell us what we were driving by. The non-private tour was the only one to include a guide and a walking tour of Florence. 

3. Guides are only provided for specific skip the line attractions that are additional purchases for tours. For example, during our private tour of Rome, we only had a guide at the Colosseum and Forum. This was the case for Pompeii too. 

 

Overall, I would use this company again, but wish I hadn't spent the additional money for the private tours. I also booked a tour of Barcelona through their partner Barcelona Day Tours and the experience was what we had thought it would be with a guide walking us around talking about what we were seeing as we drove to different destinations. 

 

Stephanie

[sherrihall128]

On 8/2/2023 at 8:10 AM, CruisingSince1982 said:

 

How long did you have in Taormina?

We had 2 hours there. We practically ran to the Greek theater (highly recommend), did a little bit of shopping, and stopped for a quick lunch (which is tough in Italy!). Our tour group only wanted 2 hours, but 3 would probably have been better. We were back to the ship 90 minutes before it left the port.

[mapleleaves]

35 minutes ago, Keithdarcy13 said:

We did the Positano view first, then Sorrento and then Pompeii. The admission to Pompeii is not included in the tour cost, but having done some research on it, very few tours include the admission in their cost. Enzo was our guide for Pompeii and he was excellent and very enthusiastic about his job.
 

The smaller group was great and as it was all in one language. Other tours we did were two languages and this was not as good as one language. I would recommend italytours for trips as they are better than other ones we used.

 

So your tour didn't actually go into Positano? It only stopped at the overlook?

How long did you have in Sorrento and Pompeii ?

[Loving life on the sea]

We used Italy tours for visits to Rome and Florence.  Appreciated being picked up directly at the port and having transportation to these cities.  The Rome excursion was a full day and included the Coliseum and Vatican museum.  Our tour guide of the Vatican was interesting and informative.  We arrived early to Florence and appreciated having the opportunity to snap pictures without large crowds.  Unfortunately we were there on a Sunday and couldn’t enter the basilica due mass.  Our driver in Florence was outstanding and gave info on the area and life in Italy. 

[uncdds12]

We are currently on a sea day back to Barcelona. We are a party of 2 couples and booked private tours for all days on the cruise plus Barcelona with both Italy tours and Spain day tours. I highly recommend them. They were waiting for us at each port.  In Barcelona, Marta was our guide.  We did Barcelona to include Sagrada and park Guell and Montserrat.  She also took us to a wonderful sandwich shop. Gabriel was our guide at Palma. He also took us to Valldemossa.  We loved that little town. He knew everyone since he lived there for many years. In Marseille, Paul recommended we change our tour due to traffic and we had a wonderful day visiting Cassis and Aix en Provence. Wonderful markets and the wife picked up some things.we had a wonderful day touring Florence and Pisa with Francesca. We had a guided walking tour in Florence.  In Rome, we met our guide Giovanni and we enjoyed the main highlights Rome, the Colosseum, Trevi fountain and the Vatican. We also saw where Julius Caesar was killed and some other things during the day. He also took us to a great pizza and gelato shop. Paulo gave us a private tour of the Vatican and we bypassed all lines. He takes you through doors and passages to bypass the throngs of people.  Yesterday, Caesar picked us up in Naples and drove us to a limoncello factory and Sorrento. He helped book a wonderful lunch in Sorrento. We had 2 hours to wonder the shops and streets. We missed Positano due to a local festival and traffic.   Highlight yesterday was our Pompeii guide, Ciro who grew up in the area and played in the ruins as a child. It was a very personal tour for him.   He takes you to the most important places so you don’t waste time wondering what to see.   Italy tours communicated with us each night to check in with us prior to a tour. We would not hesitate to use them again. Private tours are the way to go if you can afford it. You bypass all lines and the guides know how to navigate traffic and drop you off right where you need to be with limited walking.  They had all tickets ready for us with clear instructions.  They also will cater the tour to your wants and needs. We wanted more time for lunch and shopping and they made it happen. We got back to the ship without any worries. Hope this helps. 

Edited September 30, 2023 by uncdds12

[EFKaplan]

We used them several time last year and they were excellent. Highy recommend.

[vahey6266]

We were recently in Rome and had the opportunity to take the Twilight Trastevere Rome Food Tour with Italytours.eu.  It was spectacular!  Definitely go hungry as you will be full when the tour is over.  We had a wonderful guide, Edma and they were very organized.  Every stop was excellent from the food to the wine and beer! 

[bianks]

we had the wonderful VINNIE through ItalyTours.eu for a PERSONAL NAPLES/POMPEII/SORRENTO/POSITANO tour! A young family of four. 
It was a fantastic full day and they were very accomodating to us. 

The day was very full on and tiring but it was enjoyable. 

I do wish I could have done this over 2 days not 1. 

Vinnie is Italian but lived in NYC for 10 years making pizza. He likes American pizza. Shame shame (joking, not joking!!!!) His great english is a plus for tourists. 

[sharlon]

We just returned from our first Med cruise and used Italy Tours on our first port day in Livorno.  We did a tour of Florence.  

Our driver, who was amazing BTW, picked us up right at the ship.  We were able to get to Florence as the shops were opening, even after stopping to get a view of the city from a hilltop.  Once inside the city walls, we met our tour guide at the Piazza Della Republica.  Our tour group ended up being two vans of people, but it wasn't an issue.  Our ear pieces worked well and our guide did a great job of pacing our group.  We saw everything I could have hoped for and were able to beat most of the crowds, though the area around the Duomo was a bit nuts.  We had pre-purchased the tickets to see David at the Academie.  Our guide took care of the tickets and we were inside right on time.  

I will add that I asked our guide for some shopping suggestions and she was great with that info also.

Our return to the ship was right on time as well.  Oh, and he was great about saying if anyone needed to stop along the way, just to let him know.  No one did, but that was nice.

All in all, a great day and a great tour.  

[jeffnjoyce]

 

We were very pleased with all four small group tours arranged by Italy Tours recently while on the Celebrity Beyond.  The staff making the bookings were pleasant, informative and responsive to any inquiry.

 

Value/Duration.  The overall value for these small group tours is good when compared to the ship options. We could have booked a ship tour in advance with a 40% discount for a similar price but the duration was much shorter. These tours were generally 8 full hours and included many stops vs the ship tours typically 4 to 5 hours. We mich prefer the smaller non ship tours.

 

Vehicles- All four tours used either Mercedes or Ford 8 passenger mini vans. I was pleasantly surprised by how spacious and comfortable the vans were. The smaller vehicles can get to places that the big buses can not - particularly in Cinque Terra.   It also provides close contact with the driver and the other passengers. It worked out much better than expected.

 

Here is a brief summary of each tour.

Messina tour to Mt Etna and Taormina.  Very nice tour to both sites. My Etna was impressive with incredibly strong winds.  We then had about 2.5 hours in Taormina which is sufficient to get an overview and a nice lunch. Enjoyable day and interesting tour guide.

 

Naples visit to Amalfii and Ravello.  Due to construction we could not see both Sorrento and Amalfi, so the group decided on Amalfi.  Again a very nice day with sufficient time to get an overview of the area and feel for the towns. Beautiful lunch as a group in Ravello.

 

Liverno tour to Florence and Pisa.  We had an excellent tour guide to get a quick view of David and then a nice 1.5 hr walking tour of the city before another near 2 hours on our own for lunch. That obviously is not enough time to see all there is to see, but it gives a nice glimpse of this picturesque city. A 45 min stop in Pisa was also worthwhile as we had a beautiful sunset.

 

La Spezia tour to Cinque Terra.  Three villages visited were all extremely picturesque. Amazing waves breaking in Monarola. Great lunch in Vernaza. Given adequate time to again get a flavor of the sites. Driver  was again informative, friendly and a safe driver.

 

[roseybaby]

We also used them on the Celebrity Apex, La Speizia port.  They were punctual, had a superior and personable driver and met a knowledgeable guide in Florence.  We drove right past all the crowds and through narrow streets to get to the center of Florence.  This is something a tour bus could not do.  I will use them again.