Italian Elegance

This is a very interesting tour and covers a lot of ground. Some of the hotels left a little to be desired but they were always clean. I loved Tuscany and the Tuscan hills. Venice was also an excellent experience.

We saw and experienced the best northern Italy had to offer! Spectacular! , our guide was fun, informative, upbeat, and full of energy! Our driver, was a highly skilled driver who made us feel safe at all times. If we could specifically choose these two for another tour, we book it!

Perfect itinery , maybe add one or two more nights at say lake Como to break the big 7 hour drive from lake Maggiore to Dolomites , plus would be nice to see lake Como

We thought the itinerary was packed with great places in Italy. We covered central Italy starting in Rome then proceeding Florence. From Florence we enjoyed the Tuscany area which included a stop in Pisa. We went on to Cinque Terra then after that we stay on Lake Maggerio. Lastly we drove up to the Dolimite mountains then on to Venice. It was a true essence of italy tour

The itinerary was the best. We went to all the major cities like Tome and Florence but we also went to the smaller towns which were the best. We love Cinque terre

Same itinerary with one extra day would be great! All of the optional experiences were so good, but doing them all meant there was little time to explore on our own. It was a wonderful trip! We arrived two days early to take separate tours of Pompeii and the inside of the Coliseum. If these could be added, the itinerary would be perfect!

Excellent itinerary if you want to get a feel for northern Italy.

in Rome, the golden tulip hotel was subpar to say the least. There was scuff marks 1/3 of the way up the wall from former guest suitcases and peeling paint. The furniture would not be accepted in a secondhand store! All mismatched and extremely unstable. we had one wooden chair in the room and I asked for another chair, even if it was a folding chair so my husband and I could have a place to sit and they told me that was impossible With all the hotels in Rome. I’m sure you can find something better. It was concerning that this was the first hotel we went into and I was skeptical of what the others might be like on the tour. All of the hotels were exceptional.

The itinerary was perfect! Some of the tours could be a bit shorter to allow for more “on your own” time to explore. The most notable for this tour was our Travel Director and Bus driver ! The were very very fun, knowledgeable, prompt, helpful, organized, you name It, they were the total package and I would not hesitate to book again if I knew they were leading us! Add to this, we had a great group of travelers with us which also made it super fun! It was an unforgettable trip for me and my 15 year old granddaughters birthday! We enjoyed it immensely!

Action packed planning which will keep you moving through numerous events and the most sought out attractions all arranged with precision and comfortable accommodations. Wonderful tour director and coach driver who coordinate to make the trip fun and enjoyable.

An extra day in Rome and Lake Maggiore.

With this number of cities in 12 days, it starts off fast paced but slowed down towards the end. Given that Italy is a tourist hot spot and with lot of last minute changes with road closures, the Pope's itinerary - it was necessary to have a tour director that could pivot with last minute changes. We traveled with my 70 yr old parents and was glad we did the majority of the additional excursions. There is no way that we could have seen all that we saw on our own.

The scheduled itinerary in Rome, Florence, and Venice were very weak; selling opportunities. We did not like spending our time in Florence with the Tour Director guiding us to two 3-minute demonstrations; leather and jewelry. As well as 3 hours for a 2-minute glass blowing demonstration in Murano. All felt like wasted time - selling opportunities for the vendors. Time would have been better spent seeing the sights with a list of the vendors for our leisure time. Also, the accommodation in Rome Golden Tulip Rome Piram, was not acceptable, certainly in our opinion not a 4-star hotel. First Insight Vacations Tour and we were not impressed. The hotel was not in our opinion centrally located; i.e. near the Pantheon like most other guided trips. Guests were abundantly complaining throughout the first part of the trip about the difference in accommodation types. Some had rooms with great views; bigger rooms while others did not and felt claustrophobic. With a group of 17 equating to 9 rooms, all guests should have had the same accommodation types. I have taken many Trafalgar Tours and have never heard such complaining about the room types. It really wasn't fair and honestly quite unexpected. Santa Margarita Ligure - sleepy/ghost town - many restaurants/stores closed. Best Western Regina some guests complaining about no view, no balcony. A real bone of contention. Some even asked for an upgrade. The Best Western was not centrally located. The food at that hotel - dinner & breakfast were not good. For dinner on night two we had to walk a mile to find a decent restaurant. There is nothing to do there. On to Cinque Terre - again too much transportation time and walking to even have time to enjoy it. There were two individuals who had trouble keeping up with the fast-paced Tour Director. We understand there are time constraints, but these two people were visibly hurting trying to keep up; it was upsetting. Overall, our Tour Director was friendly, and extremely knowledgeable. But there were too many "vendor selling opportunities" built into the Interary. It was uncomfortable. The optional dinner in Tuscany was wonderful - but again the serranid which felt so special turned into "buy my CD and give me tip". They gave us a wine list expecting us to buy wine. It really took away from the experience to end it like that. Not sure I would book another Insight Vacations Tour.

The itinerary is excellent. You get to see many different locations without any overly long bus trips. I would have preferred to stay longer in Florence and skip Pisa.

We saw an incredible cross section of Italian life, geography, and culture. If I had to do it over I'd skip Pisa. Not worth it. I would also have like to spend more leisure time in the Tuscany area. The hotel we stayed in was ideally suited for such an option.

A well-planned itinerary from the famous, but busy cities to the quiet and beauty of the countryside, shore, lakes and mountains. A very nice paced trip with 2-night stays almost everywhere. Good hotels and meals.

It covered the main locations in Northern Italy with an outstanding leader. Group was small and the bus was modified for more room. Accommodation was all very good and the organization far beyond expectaton.