I want to surprise my husband with a trip to Italy.....if you have traveled there or live there, please advise

Question

I am wanting to surprise him in th fall of 2007 with a trip o Tuscany Italy for our 1 year anniversary. However I am not sure if the best way to travel is via a tour guide..such as Perillo tours, or rent a villa and a car to see it on our own. The itenary is for 12 days. Advice is appreciated. Thank you

Answer 1

Do everything on your own. No tours. You must see Rome and also the Bay of Naples area. If you plan on renting a car be aware that the Italians are the most aggresive drivers in the world. Enjoy your trip.

Answer 2

I found it better when we did it on our own - then you aren't rushed or anything, and you can take time to be romantic. We found the Italian people to be warm and friendly and lovely, and lots of people in Italy seem to speak English - not all, but we didn't find the language barrier to be much of a problem at all. The only advantage I can see of having a guide is that they might know where to go, but if you do your research first or if you are happy to just meander and take it as it comes, then that isn't really an issue either.

Answer 3

dont rent or take a tour do it on your on

Answer 4

It all depends on who you are-me, I wouldn't go on a tour if it was free. I hate all the structure. Part of travel for me is the freedom to come and go and do as I please, when i please. If you want to be led around, then go on a tour. I also don't know about the car. Driving in Italy can be stressful. A villa sounds great, but I guess then you'd need a car. Just don't take it into cities. The trains in Italy are great. Rather then a villa, you might just stay at hotels along the way as you travel. Or, you might just want to kick back and just hang out and enjoy bella italia.

Answer 5

What a lovely idea. Rent a villa, you have plenty of time (don't wait too long, the good ones are snapped early). Take time to chose the right location (not a totally isolated place where it takes hours to reach any road) ask for pictures to be emailed to you or look at pictures and description carefully on the site. Rent a car. Fly into Milano or Rome (better Milano) read a good guide about Tuscany and have a sort of a time-table what you want to see in the area etc. A guide will cost a fortune better spend it on nice food.

Answer 6

It'd be much more romantic to be on your own; you can linger as long you like, and Tuscany is chock full of off-the-beaten-path treasures, like old monastaries, old hill-fort vilalges, Etruscan ruins and wonderful scenic vistas.

I recommend Greve-in-Chianti (about 45 minutes south of Florence/Firenza) and Volterra about an hour and a half west of Greve, or about an hour east/southeast of Pisa).

Florence and Siena are musts, of course.

I also recommend Perugia, in Umbria. Nearby Assisi is supposed to be nice, too, but I haven't been there.

If you rent a villa in Florence or just south of it, all of these places can be day trips.

Answer 7

I had a good tour with Perillo and the price was phenominal for what we saw and did.  I know people like to slam tours, but I'm grateful for mine.  I didn't know if  would ever be able to afford another trip to Italy so I wanted to make sure I saw all the sights I had dreamed of.  The Perillo Northern Classic Tour had what I wanted.  The good thing about it for me were these things.  Most costs were covered with the price.  The hotels were all excellent though I wouldn't generally need anything that fancy. We were centrally located in every city we stayed in.  The guides who lead our trips through Vatican, St. Peter's, St.Mark's, Pompeii etc knew so much and it was nice not to try looking everything up in a guide book.

We had free time to wander the streets of Rome and Florence and Venice.   Next time I would like to rent a place and travel around by bus or train or car, but this was a great first trip.

I hope this helps you.  Oh. I am going on another tour.  This time to Sicily, but as I'm going alone a group seemed comfortable.  Happy trip and happy anniversary!!  Star

Answer 8

I have visited and lived in italy and I have been on a tour before, in Spain. I can only tell you that tours work for people who have the personality for them they are presice, and timed,and well organized. If you like that sort of thing then go for it. I myself, would just go to Chapters get a book on Sites in Tuscany, rent a car and go from there, but hey thats me.. do you speak italian? Can you drive the same way italians can? If your renting a car then you have to keep up or your pulled to the curb. Good luck!