Poll: Guides & Drivers in France & Italy

[Live the good life]

Both Michel Legrand from http://www.revelation-tours.com and Daniele Melaragno from http://www.driverinrome.com were very professional, reliable, and had a good sense of humor. For VilleFranche, we had Michel himself but I heard his other guides were also very enthusiastic narraters...For Tuscany and Amalfi, we had Daniele (very charming) and Fabritzio (very funny) Melaragno. If you enjoy a guide who is very accommodating and hilarious, he would be the one. He even took us to this 5 star hotel on the Amalfi coast http://www.hotelsantacaterina.it at our request (a very beautiful place with fantastic views)... Both my mom and teenage daughter had a great time. Both Claudia and Driver in Rome were booked for Rome, so we had to use a different company in Rome, (whose owner we feel did not care much about taking care of their customers)...Enjoy the sight and sound of hotelsantacaterina, a prelude to your Med experience...

Kim-LTGL

[Mike Andrews]

Salvatore of DriveAmalfi (*****) worked for around Twenty years at the Santa Caterina Hotel (hotelsantacaterina.it) in Amalfi,it looks a great place to stay.

[grabbit97]

WE just got back from a cruise on BOS RCCL, and used DANIELLE in ROME. I must say for 500 EURO, he was NOT the greatest... we got to see the main sights, but he was not what I would call a great guide. He did not give us alot of the history of the area... he lacked pizazz.... and for that kind of money, I would look elsewhere.. perhaps his father REMO is better.. dont' know. Would NOT recommend this person.. for sure.

[MaseratiCruiser]

WE just got back from a cruise on BOS RCCL, and used DANIELLE in ROME. I must say for 500 EURO, he was NOT the greatest... we got to see the main sights, but he was not what I would call a great guide. He did not give us alot of the history of the area... he lacked pizazz.... and for that kind of money, I would look elsewhere.. perhaps his father REMO is better.. dont' know. Would NOT recommend this person.. for sure.

 

Sorry to hear he did not work out for you. For 500 Euro I would expect more also! It's a shame that once someone builds up such a good reputation, that they feel they can then take their customers for granted. Thanks for letting us future Med cruisers know about this.

[zebra]

We got back home yesterday off the Millenium and used Claudio of Limoinrome.com He was truly wonderful!!! He picked us up at both Livorno for Florence and Civitavecchia for Rome. He has a very comfortable Mercedes mini-van which seats 3 couples plus himself. He is extremely knowlegable and will also give you the exact tour that you want. He's very prompt - we met him 15 minutes before our designated time at both ports and he was already waiting for us. He also avoids most of the travel routes that are swamped with tourists and tour busses, this was great!!!! Another plus was that he pre-booked our tickets for the Accademia - no waiting in the long long line!!!!

Claudio certainly comes highly recommended by us!!

[Luvcrusin']

We just returned from our cruise to the Med aboard the Millinnuim. I cannot say enought about Michel Legrand of Revelation Tours for your tour in France. He is a gentleman, he has a wonderful sense of humor, he is very informative and he was one of the highlights of our trip!!

 

In Naples we used Salvatore of DriveAmalfi. After the traffic of "organized chaos" in Rome, Salvatore made us feel safe as he slowly drove the winding roads of the Amalfi Coast (where he lives) and guided us with the history & best views!! He took us to a restaraunt overlooking the sea that had the most fabulous food!!! It was quiet & reasonably priced, not to mention DELICIOUS!!

 

After all of the ports we visited, isn't it interesting that we want to revisit Nice, St. Paul, & Eze in France and the Amalfi Coast?? Could it be our guides that we were enchanted with?? Ha! Ha! :)

 

Kathy

[Live the good life]

Kathy/Luvcrusin', glad to hear you've also really enjoyed the above regions of Italy and France...

 

Mike Andrews, Salvatore is a lucky man to have worked at the Santa Caterina hotel for that long...When I corresponded with him in the past, he was very polite, courteous, and replied quickly to my e-mails...We would not mind trying out his services in the future...We still have the 16 pages Hotel Santa Caterina color brochure with us to enjoy the spectacular breathtaking views!!!

 

Kim-LTGL

[zebra]

Great to see you on the board. Gosh we miss seeing you guys!!! How was Venice post cruise?

Tony and I are still getting over the jet lag. Yes we agree the Amalfi Coast is a definate to return to - we were also head over heels in love with Santorini (especially Oia and Camari Beach). Oh I wish I was back on the Milennium!!! Whe do you think you'd do the Med again?

Jackie

[LINGBER]

Hi Becky,

 

I just booked Papillon. Who was your driver? How would you rate your day compared to your tour with Michel at Revelation or Salvatore of Drive Amalfi?

Thanks in advance for the info!!!

[bob278]

My wife and I just returned from the Galaxy transatlantic. We used driverinrome and revelationstours.

 

Both companies were outstanding in helping get things arranged. We had three people coordinating transfers and tours and the details got complex. Both of them performed flawlessly.

 

In Rome, two of us arrived on Tuesday and 8 more came in Wednesday morning. Then we did a 5-hour tour on Wednesday after the 8 dropped luggage off at the hotel and picked us up. Thursday, 10 of us took an 8-hour tour. With all of this, they coordinated everything, including selecting itineraries so those of us who toured both days did not duplicate anything.

 

For the tours, we had Remo. Oh what a delightful person he is. Full of information and energy. And he loved to sing for us and play his accordian. Finally, 16 of us were taken to the pier at Civitavecchia for the cruise. All of us agreed that we could not have been treated any better or seen more. We saw so much, but never felt rushed and my goodness, the lunches. Remo took us to two off-the-beaten-path restaurants for some fantastic food. And I can't forget the gelato!

 

In Villefranche, there were two groups of us touring. One group wanted the full deal from Cannes, to Monte Carlo with 3-4 stops between. They had one van (and had Michele as their driver). They said the tour and Michele were both great. 16 of us decided to do a little less and cut out Cannes. We went to Nice, Eze and Monte Carlo/Monaco, taking about 6 hours. We had two vans and the drivers were informative and very nice.

 

I would recommend either company to anyone, but most especially, driverinrome.

[RHayes8793]

We were with the well known Marcello-seesorrento.com in Naples for Sorrento/Pompei,and Amalfi Coast three weeks ago. It was the highlight of our trip; he was quite aware of the "stir" about him earlier this summer. Cannot say enough good things about his personal service and attention, and we are looking for places to rent in the Amalfi Coast area next fall. We had Pepe from driverinrome. com for Civitavecchia-very competent and polite-it's just tough to relax when trying to squeeze so much stuff in one day. He was very informative and saved us at least an hour getting into the Colliseum area. We thought enough of Marcello to give him an 80 euro tip on top of his 500 euro fare. A memorable trip-and that doesn't even take into account Venice,Villefranche, Dubrovnik, and Corfu-all were memorable, but we did these on our own. We also used Marco in Livorno for Pisa/Florence-not quite what we expected compared to the other two. Were on BOS out of Barcelona-two nights pre stay. Would do it all over again next week.

[zebra]

RHayes8793... yes wasn't Marcello great - we had him as our guide mid-Sept As you say totally memorable!! I'm interested in your remark about looking for a place to rent on the Amalfi Coast - we have the same thoughts. Where and which town are you interested in staying in?

[CruisingCatherine]

This will be my first cruise to Europe. I booked private excursions in the Caribbean for under $75.00 per person. Maybe I am missing something in the conversion but as I am understanding it these tours cost between $350 to $500 per port. Am I wrong? This seems extremely expensive.

[mert461]

This will be my first cruise to Europe. I booked private excursions in the Caribbean for under $75.00 per person. Maybe I am missing something in the conversion but as I am understanding it these tours cost between $350 to $500 per port. Am I wrong? This seems extremely expensive.

 

You're right, CruisingCatherine. With yesterday's conversion rate, a 500 Euro excursion is $625 US. I think it is high also, but if you look at what you're paying for, it makes a little more sense.

 

The cost is covering a drive from the port to the city (Rome, Florence especially), which could be more than 90 minutes of driving. Then they are taking you around for the entire day. Most of these excursions last 8 to 9 hours with, from what I've heard on these boards, excellent narrations of the area you are visiting.

 

I have also done private excursions in the Caribbean for much less money, but I think there is no comparison of the Caribbean to the Mediterrean. At least IMHO.

 

Donna

BOS - October 15, 2005

[zebra]

Catherine, the price you're quoting for Europe is per vehicle, not per person. It's worth it to advertise here on CC and get other people to join you. We were three couples per minivan on each excursion - which is roughly 80 Euros per person. On this subject, an equivalent ship's tour will cost in the vicinity of $135 each and trust me there's no comparison. They travel in huge busses which can't negotiate most of the streets in the cities, so one get's dropped off and has to walk in a huge group to view the various sites. Your private tour guide will take you whereever YOU want to go - and give you as much time as you need to shop and eat as well. Also there is absolutely no comparison between a tour in the Caribbean and a tour in Europe. Yes the distance to Florence for instance is 1 1/2 hours travel one way - the narration is amazing - (they're not merely talking on passing scenery) all the dates and historical facts are totally mind blowing (by the way we were there last month and gas was 8 Euro's a gallon!!) We felt we got more than our money's worth out of our tour guides - they were amazing. Anything I can answer for you - I'd be glad to.

[CruisingCatherine]

Zebra;
I have so many questions I don't even know where to begin. I am traveling with my Aunt and my Mom and they have left all of the planning to me. (It's sad to say but planning is my thing) I haven't been to Europe since I was a child so I don't remember much. I would like information on transportation, museums, guides in each city that are highly recommended but somewhat affordable, cathedrals, what not to miss, ect. Fire away with any and all info you might have.;)

[zebra]

Catherine, First of all which cities will you be doing?

I presume your itinerary is going to include Rome and Florence. If so, Claudio was our guide in both these cities and he was fabulous and extremely punctual!!! So much so, that we've booked another cruise for Sept. next year and have rebooked him. He is extremely knowledgable and flexible, he is out to please and will do whether you require of him. In Livorno he took us to Pisa first which was awesome and there were no crowds that early. We then proceeded to Florence where we told him that he must set the schedule as long as it included a "real" Florentine lunch and shopping at the leather market. (This is a must - the leather is so reasonable priced and excellent quality). He also booked out ticket to the Accademia - where we saw the David (The highlight of Florence for us!!) Florence is beautiful and he takes you through all the back alleys to magnificent churches and cathedrals - his knowledge is amazing.
On the Rome day we pretty much told him the same thing. He was born there and knows every nook and cranny - also all the mind blowing history. We started in Ancient Rome before the crowds - what a sight and then proceeded to lunch at his friends restaurant and then on to the Vatican City, which again he timed perfectly as we got there after all the crowds and tour busses. We never even stood in a line!!! He has the time schedule for both of these ports down to a science. Oh you're in for such a treat. when he said "Ciao" to us at the dock in Civitavecchia he handed each of us a bottle of Chianti from his region which we had fallen in love with!

[CruisingCatherine]

Zebra;
Could you give me some idea of your itenerary in each port? Also would you mind telling me how many were in your group and what you paid for his services? I am sorry if I am being too nosy. We will be in Barcelona, Marseille, Nice, Florence, Pisa, Rome, and Naples.

[joan24]

Zebra,
It's wonderful to read another good report about Claudio. We booked a tour with him from Citavecchia to Viterbo and Orvieto in May and we're really looking forward to touring with him.
Joan

[zebra]

Catherine, We found 2 other couples on the CC Board who joined us on our tours of Florence, Rome and Naples. Florence and Rome as if said previously we used Claudio and it worked out to approx. $80 per person for each tour. Much less than a ship's tour! If you're interested in using him I suggest you book him now at [email="claudio@limoinrome.com"]claudio@limoinrome.com[/email] he books up fast! He will also email you an itinerary to go over - you can amend anything on it to suit yourself. You pay him in euro's at the end of the tour.

In Naples we used Marcello of seesorrento.com He took us to the Amalfi Coast for the day. The highlight of our trip!!!! He would also be prepared to take you to Pompeii as well as the Amalfi Coast - we wanted to spend as much time on the Amalfi Coast as possible - so much to see!!! Marcello is etremely passionate about his area (he lives in Sorrento) and gave us an amazing tour - also took us to a friend's restaurant up in the hills of Ravello for the BEST lunch.

The good tour guides get booked a year in advance - so if you're interested in them I suggest you book soon.
Jackie :D

[Mike Andrews]

If you are going to invest in private tours then I recommend that you invest in the best and I agree you will need to book early to ensure you get the he best. We have done most ports in the Mediterranean on our own but for somewhere like the Amalfi Coast the services of a private driver are almost essential to get the most out of your day and it is a place we have never tired of visiting. I recommend the services of Salvatore Lucibello of DriveAmalfi (driveamalfi@hotmail.com) for tours of Pompei and the Amalfi Coast out of Naples whom we have used twice and would say he is the best without question. We have also used Paola Migliorni of Florence Tour (info@florencetour.com) for an indepth Tour of Florence and Pisa and if there is a more knowledgeable guide in Florence then I would like to meet them.

[RHayes8793]

Zebra-sorry for the delay in replying. The best site I've found so far is [url]www.italianrentalvillas.com[/url]. I think Marcello convinced us not to stay in Positano or Amalfi. I think Praiano would be ideal, and you can take the local bus into the other towns for groceries, etc. The biggest "variable" is how many steps up or down to the place and luggage logistics. My email is [email]rh10mile@cs.com[/email] if you need further info. I am an ex Tampa Bay resident, and we usually go to the Indian Rocks area for a week in March. USF graduate.

[marajim]

We used Daniel, and we were with 2 couples who had used in twice previous.

We were on the Splendour of the Seas, last week of August 2004.

He is Italian, lived in Canada for a few years, and his English is very fluent.

He loves Chips Ahoy Cookies and Peanut Butter, both of which can't be found in Rome, and the couples who had used Daniel before knew this, so to score points they loaded up a duffle bag an brought with them on the cruise a bunch of Chips ahoy cookies and peanut butter for Daniel.

We lucked out and Daniel was able to get us into an indoor auditorium at the Vatican to see the Pope on a wednesday. He is very clever in parking, and even more clever in time management. I'd give him a solid A.

[Joanandjoe]

In Marseille we can take the ship's tour to Avignon and Chateauneuf du Pape for $98 per person ($392 for 4 of us), including lunch and a winery tour. Private tours cost around 450 Euros (approx. $562), not including lunch or the winery tour. [b]Is the extra cost of a private tour really worthwhile[/b] (assuming we can't get a third couple to share the cost)? We have a posting seeking another couple, but that's unlikely: Windstar cruisers don't seem to read these boards.

[johnfas]

We just returned from a Med cruise on the Splendour. I researched and sort of got an idea who everyone was high on using as private guides. We settled on driverinrome for Florence (Pepe was our driver) and driverinrome for Rome (Remo). For Naples we decided to use Salvatore from driveamalphi. All were very good, gentlemen, excellent drivers and tour guides. All were very knowledgeable on the areas we toured. Never had to wait in any lines with any of them. When there was a traffic jam going to the Amalphi coast, Salvatore took an alternate route and hardly any time was lost. He was probably the most informative, I would highly recommend Salvator for Naples. Be sure to reserve him well in advance, we did about three months ahead and he guaranteed he would be our driver, my wife was happy about that. He was soft spoken, a great driver (you did not have to hold the seat while he was driving), and knew every detail about the area you were in. He took us to a small village (Pontone) for lunch, it was unforgettable, I guess you had to be there.
Pepe and Remo were also very excellent both had their own ways of touring, Remo more of a comedian, and musician. All spoke excellent english. Any other info you may want please email me at, [email]jfasc@adelpia.net[/email]