Guided tours are fully-escorted vacations that travel by bus. They're totally different from the packages we offer for travel by train or car.

Many people are torn between the relative advantages of group tours and independent travel, so we now offer the best of both worlds. You can start your trip to Italy with the security and predictability of a group tour to Rome, Florence and Venice, then finish with an independent stay, perhaps in Tuscany or on the Amalfi Coast. You can buy a group tour somewhere else, then can check back with us about adding an indpendent stay after the guided tour (minimum 4 nights).

There are many things you should know before buying a fully guided tour, including things the tour companies won't tell you. Check out the following characteristics of guided tours by motorcoach.

On a GUIDED TOUR....

~~ You will travel in Italy on a BUS
~~ You will be with a group of 40 to 50 people
~~ Very few tour departures are guaranteed ~ if there are not enough people signed up for the departure date you choose, your tour may be cancelled ~ if that happens, you will probably be offered the choice of getting your money back or going on a different tour date ~ this is not uncommon--we see many tour cancellations every year ~ but if your dates are important, as for an anniversary or the only time you can get away, the cancellation can be devastating
~~ You can buy a guided tour "land only" or with airfare included. HOWEVER, if you plan to purchase your own air tickets as opposed to buying your airfare as part of your guided tour, be aware that because the tour is subject to cancellation, you could get stuck with air tickets but no tour ~ because many people wish to get their own airfare, and because many tour departures do get cancelled, this problem is not at all uncommon
~~ If it's important to you to be in centrally located hotels, be very careful with your selection of a guided tour ~ unless you choose one of the more expensive guided tours--premium first-class or higher--some or all of your hotels will be in peripheral locations from which you cannot walk to the city centers ~ read the tour descriptions very carefully and make sure you know where the hotels are located ~ by comparison, with an independent train package at similar cost, you will have hotels in much better locations that are definitely central
~~ Most first-class and economy tours are set up to fly in and out of Rome, meaning that the tour makes a loop around Italy ~ this can be very inefficient and usually requires that the last day of your trip be spent simply traveling back to Rome as opposed to having an enjoyable final day in Italy ~ the bottom line is that you spend more time on the bus ~ the higher cost tours typically fly into Milan or Venice and out of Rome, or vice-versa, which makes for a much more efficient itinerary and use of your vacation time
~~ You will be on a fixed schedule that will require you to meet your tour group at times typically around 7 am on mornings when you're traveling by bus to new locations ~ in other words, you will not be in contral of most of your Italy schedule and may need to get up earlier than you wish on your vacation
~~ Bus seating is normally rotated so that no one gets stuck with seats they don't like ~ this also means that you will not be able to pick seats you want
~~ Most tours are designed to cover a lot of destinations ~ you don't get much time in any one of them ~ many people want more time in Rome, Florence or Venice than they can get on guided tours
~~ You must read the tour descriptions very carefully to be sure what you're getting ~ watch out for "drivebys," such as in "we drive to Bologna, then on to Venice" ~ there may be many places mentioned in the tour itinerary that you will not actually visit
~~ For the longer bus rides, you may find the bus confining ~ while you can walk around on a train or stop as you please when driving, the bus gives you little freedom of movement
~~ Most tour buses have what they call an "emergency" restroom ~ you should take the term "emergency" quite literally ~ try to imagine something smaller than the restroom on an airplane ~ you must be desperate to use it
~~ On most guided tours you will be offered optional activities including additional sightseeing as well as dinners ~ this is good or bad depending on how you react to being tempted with a lot of additional cost items you may not have known about when you purchased the tour ~ we've known many people who were unhappy at blowing their budgets on the extras
~~ You often get two twin beds in your hotel room as opposed to one larger bed ~ if this is important to you, be sure to inquire
~~ Unlike with independent travel by train or car, how much you enjoy your trip depends greatly on how well you get along with other people as well as what you think of your tour director ~ it's a very "cozy" arrangement ~ however it goes, you are out of control for the duration of the tour

If you DON'T think you're a candididate now for a guided tour, click here to check out our packages for independent travel by train or car or give us a call at 888 868 1150.

If you ARE a candidate for a guided tour, you will see that there is a bewildering assortment of guided tour options--more than 100 of them for Italy just from the major tour companies--so you should plan on some effort, or getting some assistance to select the right guided tour and tour operator.