France and Italy Tours and Trips

This is the best way to enjoy Rome, Florence and Venice in a relaxed and well thought out way. I learned so much more about each city than I did when I cruised to Italy years earlier. The hotels are in great locations, and our Tour Director made our trip so special. It's a wonderful vacation, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Ciao Bella!

The tour was excellent. The choice of cities was outstanding. Our guide. Elena is totally amazing. Her knowledge of each city and all the events was incredible. Simone, the bus driver is an incredible driver and kept us safe the entire tour. Although it’s a quick pace tour, there was no problem for older adults to keep up. The optional tours were definitely worth the money. The experts tour guides were amazing. My only complaint is the first hotel in Rome in my opinion was not up to the level of all others.

Rome (and Pompeii - a must see), Florence and Pisa, Venice - local guides were outstanding - bought to life the traditional sites and not so traditional Our tour director was great (as was our bus driver) - he was very knowledgeable and entertaining

It was nice to stay in each city for 3 nights. (We have taken many tours that change hotels and cities every night.). That’s the part that made it Easy pace. The days were full of activity which were more moderate pace. Which we like. Our tour director, Philip, was excellent. He did a wonderful job “herding the cats” since we were a big group of 40. That was not my favorite part. Way too many people at different fitness levels. Frequently we were broken up into two groups with the local guides which made it more manageable.

The cycling was graded as "easy" and I was pleased that was indeed the case as I had never done a cycling holiday with Explore before. The group of 16 looked rather daunting at first, but we all got on really well together and had good fun, especially all mucking in to make an unexpected barbecue in the grounds of our accommodation. The accommodation was appropriate for the places and areas where we were, and the tour leader organised everything well to see the most interesting places, have good meals and a wine-tasting, and stop for appropriate breaks. The "optional" harder day was the most enjoyable, the beautiful scenery and stunning village of Minerve more than making up for the uphill ride.

I would change the name to reflect that this tour allows members to customize their experience with planned sites and events and optional events or open time. Easy Pace tends to infer a lower activity or walking pace which it isn’t. Individuals with mobility issues may struggle to keep up with some of the walks, sidewalks and stairs. Overall we had a great time but noted the above.