we just arrived home from the January 6th to the 13th Italian Espresso.
My biggest complaint about the 8 day excursion was the fact that it was really a 4 day sight-seeing trip. After getting to our hotel in Rome on sunday evening, we didn't actually explore any areas until tuesday morning when we went into Venice. Monday was a write off with a 7 hour bus ride with 3 half hour stops. We left for Florence wednesday morning. 3 hour trip. we explore Florence wednesday afternoon and thursday morning. Now we leave for Rome thursday afternoon. 3 hour trip and we go on a walking tour of Rome. we check into our hotel around 9, then a dinner. by this time its 10:30pm. Friday morning we head to Rome again by the overly cramped metro. (long walk from hotel) this is probably the best day. You get to roam the city alone until 7pm. we have a dinner and walk the city till whenever.
Back to the hotel early saturday morning and get a few hours sleep before you fly home.
Holiday inn in Venice was great! Delta hotel in Florence was good with a fun bar, the hotel in Rome was small, no real bar, great breakfast, bad supper and no bath tubs. All hotels are a long way from the city centres!

Be careful with the extras, while some were good the dinners are pretty pricey. the free dinners at the hotel can be pretty bad too.
Venice and Florence dinners were good. the gondola ride is a must. the group pic is nice, the night club consisted mostly of the contiki group and not many locals. The final dinner was too pricey and not great. This was the last chance we got to see most of the people on the trip.
Remember this was just my observations but I'd like everyone to be prepared. Oh ya, the tour of the Vatican is cancelled..... we were Pi55ed

Safe Journey!

Thanks for all the information. I am leaving with 3 other girls on Saturday 1/27. Your reviews sound good, but the ride in the bus sounds dredful. I wish there was more time to sightsee. We are taking a seperate flight and arriving in Rome Sunday 8a.m. which is good. We will have a few extra hours before we meet our group. Why was the Vatican Tour cancelled? I'd be PI55ED too. The included dinners werent good either? I'm happy with wine, cheese and crackers anway, LOL! How was the weather? I heard it will be colder next week when we get there. Please let me know any other info before I leave that I should know. Can we wear jeans to dinner or black pants? Thanks so much for the info!!

as for me, i LOVE good food, and since ive never been to italy, im gonna be lookin to dine out as much as possible, even if it means skipping the "contiki" meals...

and from what im hearing, those meals arent that great...

hey meagan, if you and yer gang wanna come, let me know!

hey Meagan,
The bus wasn't too bad at all really. We would get off every 2 hours.
after you check in on sunday get a group of 4 and take a taxi into the city. its about 20 Euro. This is the only time you get to explore Rome till thursday afternoon. The Vatican tour is cancelled from now on. Contiki needs to book it a week in advance suppossedly. theres no way they can tell who will go and who won't. the included dinners in Venice and Florence were good. Rome sucked. weather was 8 Celsius in Venice, 12 in Florence and 13 in Rome. Lots of time you get free wine on the extra dinners but its house wine, and not at all good. the wine conoisseurs with us were very displeased. you can wear what you want to dinner. A lot of time we are sightseeing and head straight to the restaurant. no time to change. Only the last dinner is there time to get ready.

enjoy your trip,
Bill

How can we book the Vatican before hand? That SUX, I'm PI55ED. Well I'll be with 3 other girls so a taxi for 4 will be just fine. We did not book are airfari with Contiki. Too late of a flight and we did not want to have a 3 hour layover in London. We actaully found a $400 cheaper flight with Delta direct to Rome and we arrive at 8a.m. instead over later on, so we are really happy about that. The four of us are going to bring books as well so we can be sure to visit all the "Important spots". When I went to Ireland we had a very LONG bus ride too, was not that bad, slept a bit =). TX for all the info, much appreciated.

well the good news is that there isn't much of a line up in January the bad news is you can only go on the friday between 9 and noon. they close at 2pm be there around 730 and you're guarenteed entrance.
not nearly enough time for evrything important in Florence, but especially Rome. Map out whats close to the Colessium and then whats close to the Vatican.
5 euros to get your pic with a gladiator!

Thanks for the wonderful advice! I'm thinking of doing this tour with my BF and this will be the first time we have gone to Europe. I'm from Hawaii and he is from NY, so getting the inside scoop is very valuable. I was thinking of doing an extra day before and after the trip to help with the sight-seeing and the jet lag.

Since you've gone, were the Contiki tours really good? Should I try and do my own off the beaten path type of thing in Rome and then perhaps stick to the group in Florence?

Suggestions are welcomed!

Oh and Hello everyone!

hey william
thanks for the heads up....so what did u actually get to see as far as sightseeing stuff that was with the tour or is it all on your own? would you stay an extra day in rome to get everything in?

hi, just returned from the italian espresso as well. wasn't thrilled w/ this tour. i've been on the greek island hopping 2 summers ago w/ contiki. i highly recommend that one. this was not a vaction! u have to be up some days at 6:00 am. my biggest complaint is the hotels are literally in GUAM. they r so far from the city centers its ridiculous. the one in venice its a hour and ten min to get to san marco by train and then water taxi. then u have to rush b/c u have to make the last train which is 12:30 a.m. the one in rome is also so far, and they charge u an $8.oo sur charge at night, so on sat night it cost me $20 euro to get to campo di fori. so bring lots of euros, and it sucks if your going soon b/c the euro is so high. also brush up on your italian b/c they do ake advantage of the americans so watch out. and i recomend staying an extra night in rome when the tour ends to see what u want at leisure b/c u def. need it. oh and p.s. in rome if u do the last extra option which is the guided tour of rome go straight to the vatican and get on line for the sistine chapel b/c it closes early. we just made it in and the line was around 4 blocks and i went low season. oh and the included meals r gross. also i would eat out on your own, thats what i did. i have good recommandations if anyone wants. oh and don't do the nightclub in florence its just the tour and then upstairs its literally 12yr olds. iam not kidding. well if anyone needs anymore info feel free to ask! have fun! cioa!

William C,
Thank for you up front, forward, and honest advice. This is exactly what new participants want to hear.


AG
P.S I am also a fellow Canadian!

Tricia,
I am doing the Simply Italy tour but I would love to hear yours, or anyone's, restaurant or eating recommendations. Where we the optional dinners? I am wondering if they are at the same places on this tour as on Espresso...

Andy

Hi William C and everyone else... I'm planning on going on the Italian Espresso the first week in September. I'm thinking of staying an extra 2 or 3 days in Rome then flying back to Toronto. Does anyone else have feedback about the trip? I haven't booked the trip yet, just trying to read as many reviews and get as much feedback as possible. Thanks!

I'm going on the November 17-24 trip and would like some advice. I'd love to take a side trip to Pisa, if only to take a picture showing I was actually there. Would I have time to do that either on the day we get to Florence or the day we leave or is there not really enough time? I don't want to get left behind. I've done some research and it appears the train would take about an hour to and from and you have to get there before 4 to actually go in the leaning tower. Any advice from anyone? Also, I'm arriving a couple of days early so that I can take a trip to Pomeii. Does anyone have a recommendation for a tour to Pompeii or would it be easier to get there on my own?

Thanks!
Emily

Anyone interested in purchasing your own tickets can get tickets at
http://www.tickitaly.com/

Enjoy Rome and Angel Tours are also highly recommended. I'm going with Enjoy Rome in Sept for the Vatican.

For Emy :

I book a side trip to Assisi with Viatours I do believe they have one to Pisa. http://www.viator.com/

As far as pompeii there are tours but I also hear its quite easy by train.

I recommend getting the Rick Steves Italy or ROme book or just visit www.ricksteves.com great info.

MJ


Rome, Sorrento Athens Getaway Sept 21-30

Meagan K - One way you can book a tour of the Vatican (athough it's only the musuem is through expedia.ca/com. You click on Activities, slect Rome and your dates, then it shows you a list of things you can book. I believe the guided tour of the Vatican was 74$ Canadian.