Should I pay for tours? Can you recomend me a tour company?

Question

We'll be in Florence, Venice and Rome for 3 days in each city? Should I take tours or explore on my own? I just want to get to see as much as possible for those few days in each city

Answer 1

I have traveled extensively, and often haven't much time to spend in a city. That's why I strongly recommend taking a tour first. This gives you basic orientation to the city and its attractions.  After your escorted tour, you may want to revisit some sights and spend more time.  

I generally like to read as many tour brochures or travel books (like the Lonely Planet series) to get a feel for what there is to see before arriving in the destination city.  Then, after a basic city tour, I'm ready to explore on my own.

Guided tours aren't perfect, of course, but they beat the confusion and frustration that can come with trying to navigate a strange city - and language - while the clock is counting down the seconds until you need to head back to the airport.

Look for tours on the Internet, of course.  Those affilated with Gray Line are fairly reliable. Don't have any Italian oprerators to recommend, though.

Answer 2

Of course it all depends on what kind of traveler you are and what kind of budget you have. Do you want to see everything? Or are you content to stroll, take in what you can and not worry about hitting every site imaginable.

If you are the kind of person that likes to do research before you go to a place and likes to be independent, then exploring on your own is probably the way to do. Although you may still benefit from a private guided tour.

However, if studying up on where you are going, or walking with guidebook in hand sounds like too much to you then some kind of tour is necessary.

There are a number of different kinds: private, groups, bus tours. I tend to recommend private (if you can afford it, you're talking 40-60 euro/hour on average) or small groups of walking tours. Florence and Rome have open top bus tours that are nice for orienting yourself in a city.

Whatever you decide to do, be sure that you reserve to get into all of the major museums in these cities. Otherwise, you will waste hours in line just to get in -- not a fun experience. Particularly important are reservations for: The Vatican museums and Galleria Borghese in Rome, The Uffizi and Accademia in Florence, and the Accademia Galleries and Doge's Palace in Venice.

Contact me if you would like more information on specific tours, guides and how to reserve museums.