Italian Holiday

This is our second trip with Trafalgar and will be our last. The tour guide and the driver were great it. I believe it was the business plan that we did not like. Everything that should have been included in the trip was an additional excursion cost. Very little information of the days excursion, about how long and what are the options if we don't pay for the extra non included excursions, like having to sit at the hotel or on the coach and wait. Something went wrong with the tickets for the Vatican museum and the Sistene Chapel, so that day got moved to later in the tour. We were rushed through the Colosseum and did not get to walk around and see much. On the day that we were in Florence we were rushed through the Michelangelo's Acedemia so that we could get on the coach for 3.5 hours to ride back to Rome only to get rushed through the Vatican museum and the Sistene Chapel in a record time of under 3 hours. We missed out on half of the exhibits there. That day was a blur. Venice and the boat taxis were nice. The included turkey dinner at the hotel after Venice could not compare to the awesome pizza we bought for lunch in a Venice resturant. The dinner at the Fattoria olive farm was nice. The Pisa trip was good. We added another 3 days to our trip through a different company to see Sorrento, Positano, Rubello, and the Amilifi coast at our own pace. This was the most relaxing and enjoyable part of our vacation.

It's a good well thought out itinerary. You see a lot. Potential travellers should be aware that it is quite intense- unavoidable when trying to see a lot in a short period

The itinerary was great. We signed on for the optional experiences, which kept us busy every day but with enough free time to shop and explore on our own.

This trip was bad! The lodging options were always 30- 45 minutes outside of the cities that we were visiting. The Novotel Venezia was a dump in an unsafe area, and the staff was extremely rude. What made it worse was the sliced turkey dinner that they served for one of the provided dinner. They are so restricted with the menu that we could order anything even when willing to pay. Most of the fellow travelers we older than 60, and we were stopping for bathroom brakes every hour and the breaks would last for a minimum of 30 mins. We were constantly behind schedule, and with over 50 people in the group we were always rushed through the tour sites. We were at the Sistine Chapel for 15mins before it closed, and it was night when we visited Pisa. The only bright spot was our tour guide, she was great. Unfortunately I felt this was a big waste of money, and we will never travel with Trafalgar again, nor would we recommend it.

Our Italian holiday was absolutely amazing! The travel director was outstanding — knowledgeable, friendly, and always organised — and the driver made every journey smooth and enjoyable. We got to visit all the beautiful places on the tour, and everything ran perfectly from start to finish. The group was fantastic too, which made the experience even more special. A truly wonderful and well-organised trip!