Best Tour Guide/drivers For Nice, Rome & Athens

[ABCruiser]

My husband and I just returned from our June 6th med cruise on Millennium and was fortunate to have the best guide/drivers for Nice, Rome and Athens. We thank each of them for making this trip so memorable.

In Nice we booked with Sylvie di Cristo - www.azur-guides.net. It was a wonderful full day with Sylvie who showed us the highlights of the Riviera - St Paul, Eze, Monaco, Monte-Carlo. She also stopped at the best views, which was breath taking during the drive for us to have pictures taken. We also had the best crepes for lunch. After the end of the day it was like saying au revoir to a best friend. I highly recommend Sylvie to be your tour guide.

In Rome we were thrilled to have Claudio as our driver – www.limoinrome.com. He too was great. His passion for his work was very much apparent. He was already waiting for us when we exited the gate and was ready to go. First he took us to St Peter’s before the crowd. Then onwards to the Forum, Coliseum, Pantheon, Mouth of Truth, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps. During most of the sites and visits to the churches Claudio was with us giving us his own narration. We learned so much history with him. If you’re fortunate to have Claudio with you in Rome it certainly will be a highlight of your trip, it was for us!!

In Athens we had the pleasure of having Spiros – ******************** as our driver. Spiros wasted no time in showing us the highlights of Athens. We stopped off at the Acropolis first. The entrance fee also included 5 other sites which we visited afterwards. The roads were a little congested that day but Spiros took us through the side streets and got us to places quicker so that we can see more. One stop we make was at the highest hill in Athens for a photo op and what a view that was! It was truly magnificent. After that he quickly drove us to see changing of the guards at the Presidential Palace. He was also our photographer, Spiros took pictures of us with one of the Guards. For lunch he took us to a restaurant for authentic greek cuisine. It wasn’t at the touristy trap and the price and food was great! I can’t say enough great things about Spiros. If you get a chance to go to Athens book Spiros and I guaranteed you will have a great day.

[Grandtravelers]

Do you have any contact info for Spiros? Right now I am doing a ships tour in Athens and I would rather hire a private driver. The catch is that we are a family of six, so I would need a van. Thanks for any info you can provide.

[MVPinBoynton]

ABC,

We just came back from our Med cruise and can't rave enough about Spiros. It was just a wonderful tour. We also loved our day with Sylvie in 2003. So I second those two recommendations.

[MVPinBoynton]

Grandtraveler,

Just do a Google search on Spiros tour. It will be the first link.

[Grandtravelers]

Thank you for the info!!

[MVPinBoynton]

If you book Spiros, you will really thank ABCruiser and me.

[Crusier98]

For Nice it has to be Michel Legrand of Revelation Tours WWW,revelation-tours.com

[nco4242]

I used <www.*****> in May, Super service, nice vehicle, went where we wanted not totally canned tour. 250e full day for 4.

[medcruiseplanner]

Sylvie sounds great - how much does she charge for a full day and half day tour?

[CAPinBoynton]

The review of our latest Med. cruise is now online at www.thepreismans.com The link to the photo album is in the review. This cruise was so fabulous that we had to do a very long review, and I'm putting the extra pictures into two separate albums. Mike and I took over 4,600 pictures! :eek: No, I didn't put them all on line! A few of the pics within the review are also in the album, but most of them are different. The album is best viewed in the "slide show" format.

 

Mike and I hope that you will read the review and enjoy the albums.

[Cruising50's]

After reading both of your Med cruise reviews, we took notes and emailed each of the tour guides you used. We were able to get confirmed tours with Marco and Spiros as you suggested. Your reviews are awesome.

By the way, what type of camera do you use ??? Those pictures are amazing !!!! We enjoyed reading every review.

[MVPinBoynton]

Hi Cruising50's,

I am glad you enjoyed the reviews and were able to book Spiros and Marco. Both of the cameras and lenses we used are on the bottom of the both parts of the most recent review. For the 2003 Med cruise, I was not using a DSLR. I believe I used a Canon S45. The Canon XT and lenses I am now using provide me with much greater capabilities.

[Cruising50's]

Thanks for the information on the camera. That is one awesome camera !

The pictures are better than any photography in the travel books. You are very talented. The website is outstanding.......very organized and informative. We have been planning this trip for over a year....... for a very special celebration. Since we had never been on a Med cruise before, we wanted to take advice from someone that honestly knows what they are talking about. We based our whole trip from your recommendations. Now, I don't have to worry that we made a bad decision from making a random selection of tours. This trip is too important to have regrets later on. Thank you for sharing your experiences and tips to the rest of us. I look forward to reading all of your reviews in the future !!

[Love Cruis'n]

ABCruiser,

 

Thanks so much for your post. We are also booked with Limoinrome later this month, but got virtually no feedback when I sought recent comments. You give me the reassurance I was seeking. I think when I get home tonight I’ll email him to let him know how much you enjoyed his work, and to let him know how much we are looking forward to seeing his Rome.

 

May I ask what sort of gratuity you offered? I understand the custom in Europe is very different from the states. I was thinking of asking him if there was anything special he (or a member of his family ) might wish from our home (Chicago). Perhaps they follow a local sports team (Is it too brazen to assume that there are fans of “da Bears” everywhere?:o ) or if there is some other “unique” item we might be able to bring (in lieu of a cash tip).

 

We’re also booked with AP Tours in Naples – maybe I’ll drop them a line with the same questions.

 

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Terry

[jnickolite]

We just got back from a Mediterranean Cruise out of Rome. We had the best tour guide in Rome, Naples and Livorno. We used Italy Limousine. I cannot say enough about them. My 78-year-old father lost his leg in January and is just starting to use an artificial leg and this was a trip of a lifetime for him. My experience from the start when arranging our tours with Josephine by email was nothing but positive. She always emailed me back right away and had great suggestions. Marco from Italy Limousine picked us up from Hotel Alimanda on Friday for our trip to this ship. He arrived in a new van and was very friendly. We told him we wanted to see the countryside on the way to the ship. He took us to a ruin of the Villa Adriana you could just imagine roman emperors here. We then went to the town of Tivoli, which was our first taste of small town Italian life. We really enjoyed walking around the village of course we had to purchase a couple of bottles of wine for the ship. Then it was off to the ship. Marco took us straight to the luggage drop off. Unloaded all of out luggage and then took us back to the check in counter. This may not sound like a lot but you have to remember we had 7 bags of luggage and my father’s electric scooter. Every time we stopped and my dad got out he had to take out a couple of pieces of luggage and get out the scooter, then put the luggage back in the van. All was done with a smile. He never made us feel like it was an imposition. The next day at our stop in Naples we used Italy Limousine again. This time Reno picked us up in a sedan again fairly new and very clean. We started out the day driving the Almafi Coast Line. Reno was very friendly and told us many stories about Italy and this area. We stopped at some great places for photos. Reno even took some of the photos so the three of us could be in the pictures. We then stopped in charming town called Positano for a little shopping. Reno walked the streets with us so my father was not alone while us women went into the shops to do some shopping. What a neat town with some great shops. Dad told Reno he wanted to get some good wine to take back to the ship with him. Reno said not to worry he would take care of him. Reno then pulled me aside and said that he was working on something special for my Dad and that was to get him reserved seats for the papal audience. I was like WOW that would be great as my Dad’s wish was to see the Pope before he died. I will tell you more about this later. We were then off to Sorrento for a little more sightseeing and shopping. Purchased some great sausages and pasta here. When we got back to the car Reno had a gift for my Dad, two bottles of wine. We drank them on the ship what great wine. Now we were off the Cameo Factory. Of course my Dad did not want to go in so Reno arranged a private tour for my mother and myself and took my Dad to an old church and then to the gates of Pompeii. Even though this was not handicap assessable Dad got to see the outskirts of the ruins and really enjoyed it. Then it was back to the ship. When Reno left us we had truly formed a new friendship. The next time we were with Italy Limousine in Livorno. Guido picked us up at the ship. We told him that we wanted to see the Pisa and then Tuscany. He thought that was great since a lot of time he does Pisa and Naples and Tuscany is were his home is. So off to Pisa we were. Again in an immaculate and newer Van. Guido dropped us off right at the leaning tower of Pisa and we spend an enjoyable two hours there. Then were off for a drive through Tuscany. While driving through Tuscany Guido told us about the history of the area and we talked about the wine business. We stopped for lunch in a great restaurant in Tuscany and had some great local dishes then it was off to taste some wine. Guido took us to a small winery in the area. We had a private tasting session of very good wine and ended up buying four bottles of wine and some olive oil. Once you have Tuscany olive oil you will not want to have any other. You can really taste the olives. Again when Guido dropped us off it was like saying good buy to a friend. The last day we spent with Italy Limousine was when Marco picked us up from the ship. He had a great surprise for my Dad. Italy Limousine was able to get VIP seating at the papal audience for my Dad. Dad set in the front row and was only about 15 feet away from the Pope. Was he ever excited. I could no believe he had such great seats. After the Papal Audience Marco drove us over to the Coliseum and dropped us off at a great restaurant called the Gladiator. Had a great lunch then walked over to the Coliseum and the Forum. On the drive over Marco told us things about the city of Rome and the Coliseum that we could not have gotten out of guidebooks. After the Coliseum we spent an enjoyable hour and half driving around Rome seeing the sights and learning more about Rome from Marco. At the end of another enjoyable day Marco dropped us off at our hotel again we said good by to another friend. I cannot say enough about Italy Limousine. If you want an excellent tour guide, that is dependable, reasonably priced and will make you feel at home you can’t go wrong with Italy Limousine. Our tablemates on the ship could not believe the things we saw when we were with them. Contact Josephine and you will enjoy your trip to Italy. We already would like to go back to Rome and spend a week in the Rome area and I can guarantee we will be using our friends Italy Limousine to show us around.:o