Just about perfect!

This was my first time taking an organized tour and it was wonderful. I traveled with my 14 year old granddaughter and I didn't want to have to hassle getting from place to place and organizing tours myself. I was so completely delighted with everything, ESPECIALLY our Tour Director. He was attentive to everyone's needs and readily available and responsive. Not to mention extremely knowledgeable and experienced. The hotels were very nice, meals were good, especially the breakfast buffets. The local tour guides were also very knowledgeable and informative. Of course, GO AHEAD can't assure the congeniality of any group, but our group was very cohesive and congenial and everyone helped me keep track of my granddaughter!!

A Great Experience

Just returned from our tour and wanted to say a few things for those considering Go Ahead. I traveled with my husband and it was a first trip to Europe for both of us. We were hesitant to go with an organized tour as we are pretty independant and like to move at a quick pace. This tour was perfect as there was just the right amount of organized activity compared to free time. Our tour guide (Monique) was excellent as were all of the local tour guides. I learned much more about Italy than I would have on my own and our group was not only enjoyable but everyone kept the same pace with no significant complaints. The only down side was the hotel chosen in Florence which was substandard. Also, the customer service between the time we booked the trip and the time we arrived in Venice was lacking (phone calls gone unanswered, date commitments not kept). Some of our fellow travelers had difficult airline experiences. While I can't blame Go Ahead for this I would caution anyone considering a tour to look at the chosen airline itinerary closely. It is not "set in stone" and I found better options on the internet which Go Ahead agreed to book at the same price (it pays to ask!) Lastly, go on the optional tour to San Gimignano! It's a lot of fun and you will still have plenty of time to see Florence.

Great group & guide

Our guide, Marcellus, was fantastic! He was very knowledgeable, worked hard and made it fun. We had a great time with the group, even though we had never met before, and I think that is in large part to Marcellus and the tone he set for the tour. We've been back almost 2 weeks and we are still emailing each other about it. None of us want to let go.

excellent!

taking this tour was absolutely the best way to see italy! in each city we were able to see amazing sights and suggestions were given for a multitude of options on our free days. our tour guide was considerate and devoted to making sure our trip was everything we wanted it to be! he was accomodating and insightful and extremely knowledgeable! i would highly recommend go ahead tours to anyone wanting to see the best a destination has to offer!

A Wonderful Trip

Overall the trip was well planned and had decent pricing. Much of it's success was due to the outstanding efforts of the tour director, Marcellus.. He was willing to accommodate the group in every way possible to make all of our vacations successful. If there is a way to keep the price at the same or close to the same, it would be so much more efficient to have a hotel in Venice rather than on Venice Lido. Taking the boat back and forth can be a nuisance. The hotel in Venice Lido was very nice, had good food and a welcoming staff. It was only for the boat that I make this suggestion. Also, It would be wise in the future for Go Ahead to avoid having a tour group arrive in Rome on a National Holiday-Liberation Day. The traffic jams, road closings and crowds became difficult to deal with and were for the entire time we had in Rome. During the planning stage or our trip I was very pleased with the helpfulness and efficiency with which all the agents assisted us and made information available.

not happy

i was not happy with my accommodations in venice. if i wanted to get a shoe box room that would have been great ..i could not even turn around in the shower good thing i only way 175 pounds. the twin bed was hard as a rock i should have tried the floor..you can not find any where to exchange your money there like you had suggested .the banks would not do it .and your tour guide "did not care"..she treated all of us like we were in school.i did not pay all that money to be treated like a school kid ..and i payed the same money as every one else.. i would have expected the same kind of room not a shoe box. i will not use go ahead tours again..it is not what i thought.i feel like i missed out on the trip i wanted...

Florence, Venice, Rome

We just finished our tour Florence, Venice, Rome. I loved our guide Katiana. She was very pleasant and very knowledgeable. She kept everyone on time and under control. She was very kind and helpful. For her services she gets a 10 plus. I thought the provided meals could of been better, and some of the hotels could of been better. Our first night in Venice the food was not very good and at the hotel in the bath, the radiator was 6" from the toilet. We also had a draft thru our door. I would of liked another day in Venice as the day we had was cold and rainy and we did not get to see all we wanted due to the weather. Florence was lovely, but a bit rushed. We had better meals in Florence, but we found this steak place our second night which would of been better than the provided meal. I loved the tour, we went to the museums and wish these were included with the tour. Rome was great, the hotel was better than Venice. I would of liked to see the museum Borguese included. We did this on our own. The dinner with tenors was delightful and the food was great. Only negative about Rome was our last night dinner. This was gastly!!we had some sort of veal stew. I love veal, but this was awful, please do not include in the future. Other than this it was delightful. I met very many nice people and had a very nice time. I would like to go again and take my husband, he would enjoy.

Amazing scenery - not enough time

The privilege to visit these 3 cities was beyond imagination. Even though I'd seen many of the places in pictures, until you're there and "feel" the experience, it's hard to describe. The benefit of being on a tour was the safety of places we went (with a group), we had tour guides at the major sites to tell us history etc I would have had to research on my own, and the tour director could make suggestions for free time. The detriment was that there were places I would have like to stay longer or places I'd like to have gone but because I was with a tour group, I could not "be on my own". This was especially true when visiting the Vatican. We were rushed through like cattle and did not spend time in the museum part at all. We only had a short time in the Sistene Chapel and I felt I was shorted in this place. We had 15 minutes by ourselves in the Coliseum too. Hardly enough time to explore. This might be my only time to come to Rome and I would have liked additional time. Overall, I'd give the tour a 4 - graded high for the part God contributed (scenery, history, talented artists) and 4 for the tour itself.

Want to go back!

I greatly enjoyed my time in Italy, and am ready for a return visit! This was my first time travelling in a group, and I enjoyed not having to worry about the logistics of things such as hotels, getting from place to place, or arranging my flights. Our Tour Director Giorgio was absolutely fantastic! It was evident that he loves his country and enjoys sharing it with others. He was very knowledgable, and fun to be around. We were disappointed that we were unable to go on the Pompeii excursion as there was only 7 of us wanting to go and 10 is the minimum required. Getting 10 who want to go when the group only has 12 members is difficult to achieve. We also didn't get to go into the two museums in Florence we wanted to go see because the line ups were huge. We were not aware that we could have booked reservations months in advance - this is something that would have been great to know in advance. In general I was very happy and will definitely travel with Go Ahead again.

Venice/Florence/Rome

This was my first trip to Italy, and my first experience with GoAhead. Both were PRICELESS! My tour guide Sabra was unbelievable, and I MISS HER!!! Thank you for making my dream come true. I had been planning this trip for several years, and had looked at many tour groups. I'm glad you proved my final selection to be correct. There was only one dinner I was not pleased with, but that certainly is no big deal. Flying through JFK was a nightmare, so maybe when booking flights for your customers that could be brought to your clients attention. Many thanks for a perfect trip! Eleanore Dreher