Has anyone used this tour company in Italy before. VIATOR??

Viator is not a tour company – it's a vendor that sells tours conducted by other companies. And I'm surprised if they are proposing to do tour planning for you. I've seen them offer mostly day trips and some short trips that last a few days.

Willie
My husband and I had used Viator on quite a few occasions during our trip to Italy in 2011 and 2014. They are reliable as well as reasonable. Although they outsource their tours, the local travel companies are all very professional and courteous.

Regards,
L2C

I don't understand the numbers you included or what you're hoping for a tour/organizer to provide. Train tickets in Italy are pretty cheap to buy as you go. See an overview of standard, 2nd class fares on the map at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/italy-rail-passes or advance-discount deals at www.trenitalia.com. Transfers between a train station and most city center hotels are easy by taxi or vaporetto; a transfer from Naples to the Amalfi coast is a much longer trip.

I really do feel for people who are willing to shell out $7k-$20k for train tickets in Italy. Heck I just bought a ticket from Venice to Rome for about 30Euro, Rome -> Florence about 20Euro. Need a taxi to take you from the station to your hotel...allot 20E-30E. I hope the OP doesn't really have to spend that much money, but I guess if you just have no idea where to begin your planning then you're really at the mercy of over priced tour companies.

If you can use the web go to www.trenitalia.com to purchase your train tickets between your cities. Use www.toursbylocals.com to find a local tour guide to take you on a guided tour.

Willie, you have several months before your trip in October, which is a great time to visit Italy and not a really crowded season. You have time to plan. You are going to wonderful places, all very popular that many people on this forum can offer guidance about. The only unusual wrinkle about your planning is that you appear to have a group of 10 people, to satisfy, and who will sometimes want to travel and do things together, maybe other times not. I would suggest you put Viator on hold, at least, and certainly not commit a lot of money to them. Get and read over a good Italy travel book, if you have not already. The Rick Steves 2015 Italy book is really good and practical, although lacking in exciting photos and its maps tend to be so-so. There are other good guide books too. Then come back onto this forum with specific concerns or questions about how to best travel around, best areas to stay in each city, best picks for sites and activities, etc. One advantage of having 10 people is that you can easily arrange some private tours with excellent guides, and the cost would be very affordable on a per person basis, unlike when just one person, a couple or a family wants to book a private guide. Sounds like this approach could save your group some thousands of dollar or euros, enough for many, many delicious Italian gelatos.

Willie,

With a group of ten, I can appreciate that taking guided tours might seem like an attractive option. However, the cost will be higher than self-guided travel and it's certainly possible for you to plan this on your own (although it will be a lot more work). There are a LOT of excellent resources available, including of course this Forum but also guidebooks, etc.

One method that might work would be to handle most of the arrangements yourself, but use some local tours for specific purposes (ie: cooking classes) in some locations. Even if you buy Base fare rail tickets, they'll be a lot cheaper than $20K!

With a group of ten, you'll probably have to rent at least two vehicles. Another point to mention is that for driving in Italy, EACH driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year and can easily be obtained at any AAA office for a small fee. You'll also have to be extremely vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas which exist in many towns in Italy. Venturing through these even by mistake will result in hefty fines, which you may not know about until several months after you return home. Florence is just about saturated with automated ZTL cameras, so not advisable to drive there. You'll also have to consider speed traps (Traffic Tutor), high fuel prices, tolls, parking, CDW insurance (some of which must be purchased from the rental firms in Italy). Unattended fuel stations may only accept "Chip & PIN" credit cards, so if you don't have one of those you won't be fueling the vehicle. Finally, a GPS or at least a good Map would be prudent.

As mentioned in another reply, it would be a good idea to have a look at the Italy 2015 guidebook as there's a lot of good information there to plan touring, hotels, restaurants, etc.

Just for a general planning tip......

I would get everybody together to discuss your hopes and desires for the trip.....you will want to do some things together and somethings apart.....I would aim to commit to 1 big thing as a group in each location, and maybe 1 meal or time together per day......

As mentioned earlier, it would be very special and enjoyable to do a private group tour or experience with everybody.......

I usually look at Viator's tour descriptions and copy/paste to google and find the company who actually gives the tour....sometimes its cheaper with the actual company, sometimes not (but I would always go with them because I would rather the tour company get all of my money rather than Viator taking a fraction of it to market their tour)....

and share with your group that 4 months on the dot (Usually) is when you need to lock in those cheap prices for trains, so you should have a general idea of your locations and travel days by then to save the most money......super economy fares are sometimes around 2.5 tickets for the price of 1 base fare......a LOT of savings

and this is what Laura said in the cooking class topic,

"In Montepulciano, Rick's Italy book (pp. 702-3) recommends www.stradavinonobile.it, with class offerings depending on season and demand. Near Lucca (p. 597) he suggests www.italiancuisine.it. Also some options in Florence. "

that might be right up your alley!

The OP hasn't been back, but if she/he does come back here, I would be another one that has had reliable results with Viator.
As others have said, they are a vendor of tours who contract with local companies, has worked well for us. We've used them for day trips, where the overall trip we do as a self-guided tour.
Getting from point A to point B in Italy, as you asked in your last sentence, is best done by train in Italy, if trains serve the area you want to go to. If they don't serve a rural location, that's when a tour that provides transport would be essential, unless you are prepared to go to the hassle of renting a car.

Thank you all for your advise .i must say that I should told you we are only spending the first week in Lucca with the other couples . Then the rest of the trip is just me and my wife for two weeks, so if there were two must see or do things in Florence two in Venice and two in Rome what are they? I need to start planing this out and get some things off my plate
thanks
Willie

Willie,

To find the "must see & do" things in each of the places you'll be visiting, the Italy guidebook would be a good place to start. Each of us has their own idea of what is a "must see", so that would be the best way to find sights that most appeal to you.

Willie,

To find the "must see & do" things in each of the places you'll be visiting, the Italy guidebook would be a good place to start. The guidebook rates sights with one, two or three triangles, with the three being a sight not to miss. Each of us has their own idea of what constitutes a "must see", so that would be the best way to find sights that most appeal to you.

I'm using Viator for a day trip in Amsterdam next month and I've used them for a harbor tour in NYC last November. That harbor tour in NY was absolutely fabulous. I learned so much from our tour guide, things I never would have known just walking the streets of Manhattan. I think that's why we like to take organized tours. I can't speak for their Italy tour but the company IS reputable.