a group of us (7) will be traveling to Venice, Florence and Rome this July. Never been there before. Anyone have suggestions as to what type of tours to schedule---Roma Pass vs. private company? Are tour guides provided through the Roma Pass and Omnia Vatican Card at different sites ?
Any suggestions for tours to Pompeii/Naples from Rome and Pisa from Florence?
Thank you
Posted by
Indianapolis
291 posts
I am not sure if you are interested in a tour while you are in Venice, but if you are you might consider Alessandro Schezzini. He is recommended in Italy. We took both his city tour and his "pub crawl" tour. What I enjoyed and appreciated most about Alessandro's tours was they are not scripted. While he has sites and information he highlights, he is more than willing to answer any questions. He really did a great job of explaining the city's history while also helping us think about how the city is currently working. He is not a registered tour guide, so he will not take you into the "top sites". However, I appreciated this - I can explore those on my own or with an audio guide but to get to explore the city with a local was wonderful!
Sharon
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Thank you for this option. We will be in Venice for the Feast of the Redeemer celebration. sounds like Alessandro's tour would be a great introduction to the other side of Venice.
Has anyone ever participated in the Feast of the Redeemer?
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16766 posts
Regarding the passes?
No, tour guides are not provided with these but audio guides are included where noted on the info for individual attractions: see the pass websites.
Pisa and Pompeii are really very easy to do on your own by train from Florence and Rome, and we found just using guidebooks for everyday sightseeing. Nothing wrong with a tour if that's what you prefer but I thought I'd mention that.
The Vatican Museums/St Peter's offers pre-booked tours on their website:
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-Info/MV_Info_Servizi_Visite.html
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
In addition to the resources offered at musuems, don't forget that you can download several of Rick's free Audio Tours for Italy.
Posted by
Piedmont Triad, NC
176 posts
Since you are a large group, it may be more economical (and certainly easier logistically) to hire a private driver and guide for Pompeii. We did this a couple of years ago thru romashuttle.com. For eight of us, it was cheaper to hire the driver (the van seats 8 people) than to buy metro/train/train tickets to do the trip on our own. Plus, he picked us up at our lodging, drove us to Pompeii, arranged a tour guide there, then drove us to Naples to the museum, then straight back to our lodging. It was a long twelve hour day, and we were so happy to be dropped off and picked up! Best money we spent in the entire trip!