Italy in 12 days

Italy is a beautiful country, and the cities of Venice, Florence and Rome are historical gems. The side tours were very well done, especially Sienna and San Giamianco. Sight seeing expectations were met. The Tuscany area is entrancing.

Good and bad

We just recently returned from our trip to Italy. I had an OK time while I was over there, but it was not as fantastic as I was hoping it would be. The Good Our tour director was pleasant and knowledgeable the sites were nice to see the food was good the people communicated well in English The Bad 1. We do not stay on the main part of Venice. We were in a hotel on a small island off of the main section of Venice called "Lido". Lido was nice and quiet, but very small. This means that if you want to go do anything it requires a water taxi ride and an additional expense and it's about a 20-30 minute ride each direction which means you lose about an hour of touring time simply by sitting on a boat. 2. The transfer busses from city to city and between some of the attractions in the city are extremely small. i am 6'4" tall and I could not get my knees together behind the seat in front of me because of the lengh of my legs. I had to sit with my legs in the aisle the entire time. I was not the only person in our group that had this problem. These buses are not "deluxe" motor coaches ad the literature suggests. 3. The first night in Florence was very long and fast paced. We ran past/through so many things that you literally had to walk while taking photos. The local guide was well informed, but seemed to be in a hurry. It would have been a better experience had she slowed down. It wasn't as if we had other deadlines/departure times to worry about nor was it getting dark outside. 4. The radio devices they pass out to communicate with the local guide were mediocre at best. If you got more than 25 feet away from the guide the connection was lost. When we were at the Vatican, there were so many people using the same frequency that we often times heard other tour guides and they heard us, it was a mess. 5. When we got to Pisa, we had a good time, the local guide was pleasant and went about the right speed and stopped and talked and advised, etc. Then it was time to go, everybody in the group indicated they wanted to stay for another hour, but we were told we couldn't stay. Why? The next meeting time wasn't until 6 or 7 pm. We had several hours to kill if we wanted to. Instead we raced back to the Hotel and had several hours of down time. Doens't make sense to push a group when everybody wants to stay and there's no pressing deadline/departure issues. 6. Rome was OK, but we had the same problem....the Colloseum and the Vatican were rush rush rush...and when we were finally told we had "free" time at those two locations to wander around, we were given about 15 minutes at each place. 7. Hotels were small, elevators were even smaller, not the greatest locations. Over all, I was a bit disappointed in the experience...I'm not sure if it was a Go Ahead Tours thing or an italy thing...perhaps it was a little of both

Venice, Forence, and Rome

If you choose this tour, take side trips to Cinque Terre and Siena/San Gimignano. Along with Venice and Orvieto, these were true highlights.

Italian Dream Holiday

After years of planning and saving, Go Ahead did not disappoint! Everything was wonderful, from the airlines to the hotels to the itinerary and what made it so amazing was our wonderful tour director, Barbara Valloni.Like taking a trip with a friend-a very knowledgeable friend! I will recommend Go Ahead Tours!

D Smith

Had a wonderful trip. Only bit of advice I would offer is for tour directors. Allow more time for bathroom breaks. For example, when given 30 minutes in a gift shop at the end of a tour, I spent 20 minutes of that 30 minutes waiting to use the restroom! I think sometimes male directors forget the woman's line is usually longer than the men's! This example happened several times during my trip. Loved my tour director, wish I could have him for every tour I go on.

Getting to know Italy, the best trip!!!

This was our first experience with Go Ahead Tours, it was marvelous. First and foremost our tour director David Macchi was fantastic. His great personality, overall knowledge, Italian pride, enthusiasm and professionalism ensured that all our adventures were spectacular. The logistics for our stops, lodgings, meals and excursions were flawless. We brought back with us great memories and friendships. We look forward to our next Go Ahead Tours venture. Bravissimo!!!

Venice, Florence & Rome: 12 day dream trip!

Just returned from the 12 day Venice, Florence & Rome trip. We had been planning for this trip for 6 years and I can honestly say that almost everything met or exceeded my expectations. Barbara Valloni was our guide, and she was wonderful. Her endless knowledge, warm personality and sense to detail brought life to this trip. We did many excursions and loved each one. The only fault I can find with this trip, is with the hotel we had in Rome. The hotel was near-ish to the Vatican Museums, but quite a distance from the historic city center and was in need of some TLC. The other hotels were fine though and we especially loved the one in Lido/Venice. We loved every minute of this trip and would definitely recommend this tour to anyone interested in seeing Italy. Can't wait to go back!

venice. florence and rome

had a wonderful time!! Simone Tessitore was awesome as a tour guide. i have small complains, but nothing major that i couln't deal with. everything was satisfactory. we were very lucky with the weather, there were some cloudy rainy days but we made the best of it! thank you

Wonderful Adventure

This trip exceeded all my expectations. Tour guide David pampered us by taking care of even the most minute details with tireless good humor and enthusiasm. His love of Italy, and expecially Rome, was contagious. Photographs captured only a portion of the beauty of Venice and Tuscany, the frenzy of Florence, and the essence of Rome. The knowledge shared by David and local guide Giancarlo on art, history, architecture, government, religion was enlightening, educational, and entertaining. I cannot wait to return.

Wonderful trip!

We booked this trip to celebrate our 25th anniversary, and it was everything we had hoped for! In Venice, we added the private gondola ride that included our own accordionist and vocalist. It was magical and absolutely unforgettable. My husband and I were so impressed that we never had to wait in line for any reason. The bus driver was on time, the special tour guide was waiting for us, and we always went to the front of the line to start the tour immediately. (I'd say we saved at least 3 hours at the Vatican alone.) Our tour director, Barbara Valloni, was an absolute joy! Her insight and assistance were invaluable, and I highly recommend her. Two things to Note: We traveled in late April. During our 2-week trip the Italians celebrated 2 different holidays, so we were on vacation and they were on vacation. It was very crowded most days. I'd probably choose a different time in retrospect. Also, we added the 2-day extension to our trip and booked the Borghese Gallery Tour on day 13. Although we pre-paid, there were not enough people signed up for this excursion and it was cancelled by the time we got to Rome. If we had known before we left on the trip, we could have booked our own tickets online. Instead, the tickets were sold out for 2 weeks in advance, and we were stuck without an option to see what Rick Steve's considers a "Do Not Miss" opportunity. In my opinion, Go Ahead Tours should have purchased our tickets, without the extra excursion, and reimbursed us the difference so we would not have been disappointed. Overall, we were exceptionally pleased with the quality of this trip and would not hesitate to book another Go Ahead Tours trip in the future.