Need private tours - help!!

[Kiks28]

http://www.allarounditaly.net --- Fabrizio is you BEST bet, just did 2 tours with him and was VERY pleased!!

[Big Snack]

We did 3 tours with Fabrizio two weeks ago and he was the best! I can't imagine anyone better and recommend him highly.

[ann135]

We have just returned from our Mediterranean Legacies cruise on the Celebrity Summit.

 

We joined up with two other couples on Roll Call for two private tours. One in Naples and one in Rome.

 

We went with Salvatore of Driveamalfi for a truly wonderful and memorable days tour along the spectacular Amalfi coast. The fantastic scenery is not to be missed. Salvatore was excellent and gave so much information on the whole area and stopped for photo shoots along the way. He had also organised our tour of Pompei with a private guide who again was brilliant, very informative and he bought the whole place alive for us.

 

:) I would recommend Driveamalfi to anyone considering taking a private tour. It cannot be compared with ship organised tours, as, because you have a small group, it is a much more personal experience. Salvatore was very professional, pleasant and gave us a real feeling of the area. He was also absolutly gorgeous!!!! Looking at him certainly kept us ladies very happy!

 

:mad: Unfortunately our tour of Rome with Romeinlimo was nowhere near as good. We felt we were rushed around, missing some things and the driver gave us little information. We must have caught them on a bad day as I read good reports on their internet site. However, we would not personally recommend them after our experience.

[magiceye]

We used Salvatore of DriveAmalfi last Thursday for our Pompeii/Amalfi drive. We had a wonderful day and everyone in our group agreed that it was the highlight of our cruise. I would not hesitate to recommend Salvatore, who is an Amalfi native, to anyone looking for a professional and knowledgable driver.

[dorakk]

We just got back from our Med. Celebrity Cruise a week ago. For the port of Naples, we have booked Sorrento Silver Star and we are extremely happy with the service.

 

I was a bit worrying at the beginning because their price are must lower than what others offer, but then we decided to give it a try base on good feedback from others on this board.

 

Louisa has been very responsive on email communications. She replied promptly and provided us with lots of info.

 

On the day of embarkation in Naples, her driver and her were right there waiting for us at 8:00am sharp (I later on found her she actually arrived at 6:30am). She greeted us friendly, introduced her driver to us. Then she briefly told us about the different itinerary options. We opt for the Amafli Coast, Postiano, Raviello & Pompeii.

 

For the whole day she keep feeding us with lots and lots of interesting information (btw, her english was excellent). In times where we would like to walk on our own, unlike other tour guides who will only drop you off and go, she always lead us to the main part of the tourist attraction area and gave us clear directions before she leave us; moreover, she also warn us about possible pick pocket alert when we are in Pompeii. When it comes to time of meeting back again, we always found her waiting for us in her van.

 

I have tried other tour guide in this cruise. Louisa is the best I ever had, you just can't believe how good her service can be, and also she offers very competitive price (400Euro for 5-6 pp).

[drsb]

I'm being vigilant/maybe paranoid about 2 hours 8:30/10:30am in Pompeii and then drive to Amalfi and Ravello with lunch probably at the discretion of the driver (Mariano Fiorentino of Pleasant Travel). Did you have time to visit Positano (on the way to Amalfi, or on the way back to the ship). Do you automatically drive through or around Sorrento?

 

 

David:

 

We just returned yesterday and used Mariano on Friday. He was absolutely wonderful! We got off the ship as soon as we were cleared and were therefor on the road before anyone else. We got to Pompeii before it opened at 8:30, so Mariano took us to a coffee shop and bought us cappucinos and sweets! After a few grueling days of trying to tour on our own, we emailed him from the ship and asked him to arrange for a guide for Pompeii. He arranged for Salvatore to bring us around, and that is not a decision we will ever regret. We ended up getting into Pompeii at 8:25 and there was no one in site for about half an hour. Salvatore brought us in from the "back" side of the site and told us so much information. We ended up going over our 2 hours but he did not charge us extra. In fact, while we had our coffee he went and bought our tickets! We did not have to pay him until the end of the tour.

 

Then Mariano took us to Sorrento. He stopped at a family place for fresh olive oil. If you are interested in inlaid wood products, let him know. He took us to another family run place he knows and two of our group of 5 got beautiful medium sized music boxes for 60 or 65 Euro which we saw similar ones at other stores later for no less than 100 euro. We had about an hour and a half or so in Sorrento, where we had lunch, then he drove us up the Amalfi Coast. He stopped for photo ops two times before Positano, then gave us about an hour in Positano. We decided ahead of time to turn around at that point and not go to Amalfi or Ravelo. I do not think we missed anything by doing so.

 

On the way back to Sorrento we decided to take the hydrofoil back. He stopped at a place for us to try (and buy) limoncello on the way. He pointed out his family farm, but we did not get a chance to stop. He got us to the hydrofoil stop and helped make sure we got the right tickets. We took the 4:15 hydrofoil back to Naples, but had planned on doing the 4:45. He even deducted the price of the hydrofoil from our cost to him since he did not drive us back to the ship. Our all aboard was 5:45 and the hydrofoil took about 30 minutes, so we had time to spare. He said that in July or Aug time would have been much tighter, but I don't know about June.

 

He was very professional, obviously very proud of his home area and I think you will have a wonderful time with him. He was always chatting with the other drivers at our stops, so if there are any issues, he will be aware of them and will take care of getting you back to the ship the best way possible.

 

Deb

[jmarie]

We just returned from our cruise the first week of Nov. and I will agree with previous posts recommending Fabrizio from All Around Italy. We booked him for three tours: Amalfi Coast/Pompeii, Rome, and Florence. He is prompt, professional, knowledgeable, and most of all fun. We all had such a good time. He really knows his way around, and can recommend great places to eat. We had the best lunch in Positano at a little place overlooking the beautiful town, all homemade by the family who owns the restaurant. He made sure we saw everything we wanted, arranged for tickets, guides. Private tours are definitely the way to go, worth every cent, and Fabrizio is fantastic. We saw more than we ever imagined.

[dreamzcometrue]

We used http://www.francescomarrapese.com/, in September 08 he was absolutely fabulous.

 

We went to Sorrento, Positano and then had lunch in Ravello, the Amalfi Coast is the most breathtaking place I have ever been.

 

Francesco, was great, his van was clean, his english great and he let you decide what you want to do. He made the trip easy and memorable.

 

I highly recommend him!!!