Budget Trips to Italy

Paolo was amazing especially when one of the girls had her passport taken from her safe in her room-he helped her get what she could get done and then she went to Florence with us -- walking tours were a little long but all was good

Love staying in one hotel. Really enjoyed seeing the owner of hotel every day in hotel and around town. Paolo was fantastic. Genuinely cared about us. Great daytime tours. Love the added stop to see The American war cemetery You can tell the vendors / hosts enjoy their relationship with Collette.

My tour was fantastic. Everything about it. From our tour guide to the local guides, to the accommodations. To choose just one experience as my favorite would be impossible. Every day was a joy. Many times, after a couple of weeks you are looking forward to going home, despite a good experience. On our last day of this tour, and I know many others felt this way too, I found myself wishing we had more days and I wanted more. In the words of a famous American actor, I'll Be Back!

The tour was comprehensive, led by knowledgeable guides. Many days started earlier than I would have preferred, but that is the trade-off for including as much as this tour did. The farms we visited were among the best parts of the tour, with captivating demonstrations and excellent meals. The food throughout the tour was, for the most part, excellent, although meals at hotels did not measure up to those off-site.

1. Loved Murano Glass, felt they should have let us know they had discounted stuff in the lower level--believe more $$ would have been spent by the group. 2. LOVED the serenaded gondola ride. It felt magical and awesome!! 3. Loved the tours in Rome, but felt the Vatican did a terrible job of crowd control, and could have designated lanes for timed entry. It was scary when the crowds pushed and everyone shifted because we were so tightly packed in as we waited. And our group, dispite having a leader holding a "flag" was splintered into 3 as we struggled to move forward. Some not so nice people attempted to "snake" their way through the crowd by holding hands, moving single file and pushing forward. I had terse words with a man and his group that were doing that. Would NOT choose to go back in a Jubilee year again. 4. Disliked the hotel on the canal in Venice--can deal with no A/C by opening the windows, but we were on the second floor (convenient for walk up from lobby) but with windows open and no bars on the windows-someone could have climbed out onto the ledge that was on our side of the second floor-traveled down to our window, and climbed in through our bathroom---so I felt vulnerable going to sleep with the windows open, and and was uncomfortably warm with them closed. 5. LOVED the Castello del Trebbio visit. Pasta making was a fabulous and memorable event and tasted just as fabulous. Their environment was "happy-sigh" inducing. I was glad I volunteered to cut the pasta. The chef was informative, and collaborative, and did a great job teaching the pasta making class!! In the future, Collette could consider offering entry to the Duomo, or other Pay-entry churches as choices for excursions. 6. LOVED walking Assisi. 7. LOVED walking Cortona and Perugia. 8. LOVED the hotel in Perugia-Sangallo Palace Hotel 9. LOVED the hotel at Lake Como--Hotel Barchetta Excelsior. Would definitely go back to Italy again. Even though this was our second time to visit Rome-I was amazed that we saw different things this time.

The tour manager and individual tour guides did a wonderful job of giving us a good overview of each site we visited. No long rides - and in most cases good time on our own to discover each site. It would be nice to have more time in Florence - as in around 6 hours we only scratched the surface of the beautiful city and its museums and other sites. More specific recommendations on where to dine would also be helpful. The group activities were much more enjoyable than expected. The hotel was good (the one in Rome, even better.) All transportation went extremely well.