I went on the trip and I thought I give my two cents. If your looking to see Italy but don't have much time than this is the trip for u. If ur looking to relax than this isn't the trip for u.

This trip was very exhausting. There really isn't much time to relax or rest. Its constant moving and travelling. You do get to see a lot of the cities u go to. I got in early the first day in rome so I had the entire day to sightsee before the trip started. I would get there really early or a day early so u have more time to do stuff.

The bus ride to Venice was the longest ride ever. Venice was very expensive. If you don't plan on buying much stuff then u really don't need to bring much money. I spent over 200 euros on the trip.

Rome had tons to see, but the public transportation takes a little getting used to. Expect to spend half a day in Vatican City or a full day.

Florence was the prettiest city of all the cities. Its very pretty there. Dont really get that much time there.

The hotels weren't that nice, but u just sleep there and thats it cause ur out all day in the city.

Overall, it was a very fast paced trip and very tiring, but u do get to see a lot in such a short amount of time. Let me know if u have any questions.

So you say you spent 200 Euro the entire trip? I'm doing the espresso tour in May and I'm just wondering how much money I should prepare to spend the entire time? Really is 200 Euro all you needed?

Hey-
The reason why I spent such little amount of money is because I only did two of the optional excursions so that probably played a big reason for spending such a little amount. Also, my friend and I didn't really do any sit-down restuarants. Morever, we didn't spend much on souveniers becauese everything was so expensive there that it wasn't worth buying it. That is why I spent that little amount. The public transportation is very cheap there so that is another reason why. Hope this helps you out. Let me know if you have any more questions.

are there any Contiki trips that arent fast-paced? i was thinking to do this trip b/c it generally covered 3 cities in 7-8 days. the others were 1,000 cities in a week!! i would def prefer to spend more than 1/2 day in one spot. i thought this trip offered that. what would you have changed/bettered in your experience if you were the trip planner?

I did the Greek Island Hopping tour a couple of years ago and that trip was really chill. On the espresso trip u do get to spend more than a half a day. It was a great trip, just really fast paced and exhausting. I would recommend it cause u do get to see 3 of those cities, which you really don't want to spend that much time in anyway. You can honestly see each city and what it has to offer in one day. Rome, is 2 days. I would get there on the first day early in the morning to explore Rome all day. I definitely would of gone to better restuarants if I was the trip planner and less bus driving. It would be better to take a train instead.

thanks for the advice. i was thinking i'd go into Rome a full 1-1.5 day sooner, and then meet up with the Contiki crew to finish off my trip. i am a SERIOUS fan of Roman history! how was the cruise through Venice? some of the "extras" sound REALLY cool but are pretty costly (when you consider the Euro-to-USA exchange rate); did you find that they were worth the buck?

Hello. The ride to Venice was quite long. Once you get into Venice you go to dinner and then crash. The only extras that I did were the gondola ride and the dinner in florence. If you are looking to come in a day earlier in Rome, I would not do the imperial tour because you probably will do most of that stuff the first day. When you get back in Rome, I'd go to the Vatican for half or all day. I didn't really think the optional excursions were a bang for my buck. I definitely do the gondola ride cause its much cheaper with contiki then it is to do it on your own.

I'm going on this tour from May17-24. Im flying in on the morning of the tour and at the end of the tour, I'll be staying an extra 2 nights near piazza Navona (in the centre of things)

Did people on your tour have time to visit the Vatican Museums or The Uffizi Gallery in Florence?

I think the optional extras are way over priced. I'll do the Gondola ride and the Tuscan Dinner.

Yes, there was time to do both. You can do Uffizi Gallery the next morning in Florence. The Vatican you can either do the first day you get in Rome or the last day you are there. As for the optional excursions, they are overpriced so thats why I only did the two that you want to do.