Italy tour vs. Me trying to tour myself

Italy is one of the places that is very easy to do things on your own. there is a great deal of info available on the internet and through guide books for the do-it-yourself tour.

In Mantova, you will be an hour to two hour train ride from several lovely places to visit. You won't have to pay for extra hotel rooms if you do daytrips and you will be able to see a lot if you choose.

We have always gone on our own, but many, many people enjoy the tours.

Rick's tours are great, and most everyone who goes on one is a lifelong fan, who feels they got their money's worth. But I would not recommend going into debt to go on one. We all have to have good economic sense these days, right? The "General Europe" section of the helpline has a topic titled "a little bit disappointed..." that is currently in the midst of a hot discussion over the value of Rick's and other tours. It might be of interest to you. And also read the "tour feedback" section of the Graffiti Wall.

If you haven't been to Italy before the tour will give you great travel skills that will allow you to return to Italy, or virtually anywhere in Europe, and travel like a pro. The tour guides are superior and in my experience the people on the tour have been very nice. If you haven't already done so, read one of Rick's Italy guidebooks, which will give you an idea of his travel philosopy, which his tours pretty much follow. But, if you follow his books closely you can do it yourself too!

I have always been disappointed in guided tours. You are stuck with people you may not like, LONG dinners, with menu selections that might be to your liking. Waiting for people who have no respect for the group - etc.

Italy is a pretty easy country to get around in. Pick a few towns and spend a couple of days in each.

In group tours, you never get to spend the time you really want doing the things you really want. You have to go with their schedule.

you do see a lot on a tour, but that is not my goal, I want to really get into a town, see all there is there to see, enjoy slow travel, meeting people, watching people.

You can easily plan for 9 days on your own. Any chance you have a friend that might join you for those days so you aren't alone? Sharing expenses with just one other person, would make the journey a bit more enjoyable for you.

Karen,

If I understood your Post correctly, you'll be departing for Italy in a few weeks? Given the short time frame until departure, my suggestion would be to take the tour this time. Not only will that provide a good "introduction" to Italy and somewhat of a foundation for future trips, but you'll also have a fun group to enjoy the experience with. Taking the tour will also be a good way to compare how you like that sort of travel, as opposed to doing everything yourself. While the price is certainly a factor, that seems like a very reasonable cost but you'll have to do some "number crunching" and figure out how much less the cost may be if you travel on your own (I suspect the costs will be somewhat similar).

I'll be taking another RS tour this spring and really looking forward to it. I find the RS tours to be a very efficient way to cover a lot of ground in a relatively short period of time, and for me they are well worth the cost.

Happy travels!

Hi,
While guided tours are always tempting, I always feel that I'll be stifled with regard to eating at certain time/places, or being shuffled to and from a place when I'm not ready to go. I think the beauty of an independent vacation is getting lost, searching for places to eat, and stumbling onto sites that are off the beaten track. Plus the prices are so much cheaper on your own. Do your research and you'll get to know enough about where you're going to get the most out of it. I love using the RS guidebooks and would highly recommend them, but save the $2675 and put that toward another trip for you and your husband. :) Just my opinion!

Karen...you need to ask yourself some questions:

How do you feel about traveling by yourself for nine days?

Do you feel you could, with help from people here, plan a nine day trip by yourself--deciding where to go, where to stay, how to travel? (it can be done but you have to ask yourself if you feel confident in doing it in a short time period. (You don't mention your travel experience.)

How do you feel about going into debt with this?

Where do you want to go in Italy?

Here are the basis of each type of travel:

independent: you make all the plans...where to go, where to stay, how to travel, how much time to spend everywhere. Basically you are free to do what you want.

Tour: they take care of your hotels, transportation and have guide to tell you what you ar seeing. On the downside you travel at the tour's schedule regarding how long you stay places and where you go.

Karen - please give us a bit more background. From your other post I got the impression that your husband was going to be tied up with business in Mantova for the entire trip. Will he have the opportunity to travel on weekends or is he changing locations during the trip?

I would still suggest staying with him for the larger part of the trip and doing daytrips with a possible overnight or two. You will have the extra travel cost for the trains or bus but not rooms.

Mantova is well located for daytrips.

This is a hard call. I really agree with BG's statement: "Rick's tours are great, and most everyone who goes on one is a lifelong fan, who feels they got their money's worth. But I would not recommend going into debt to go on one"

However, as someone who has taken two RS Italy tours and planned one week of sightseeing out myself (went with my dad)...given that you have NEVER been out of the country before, and you are leaving in a little over a month, I would lean towards signing up for the tour.

If you feel like you have time over the next month to devote to researching and planning, then do it solo. But for your own peace of mind, I think you will be much more comfortable on a tour. I would devote the next month to doing everything you can to pay off the tour and have as little debt for as short a time as possible.

I think Liz has made some good points. You don't have as much time to do exstensive research on your own as many of us would have allowed, and you have never been to Italy before,, and I am also going to assume you are not fluent in Italian( which is NOT nessesary but would make things easier).

I agree that going into debt for travel is not particularily bright either,, but, I wonder if there is some way of economizing in the next month( and subsquent months after return) that might make a difference to you taking the tour. The RS tours are very good, and once you have paid there are not alot of extra charges ( like many tours that SEEM cheaper) ,, in fact I never paid for any extra actitivities, but did have to buy my own lunches and half my dinners, but, found many cheap ways of doing that, plus guides are great at giving you suggestions.

Rick says to allow 100 euros per person extra a day,, ha, we ( my dd and I ) spent less then that combined ,, many days.. I don't shop for stuff, so a picnic lunch and a cafe dinner never set us back more then 30 euros each ( roughly) .Many sites are free( churches etc) so we found we could get by on 50 euros a day or less. Of course some people in our group went hang gliding at 250 euros each,, bet that blew their budgets,, but you see, thats the point you can spend as little or as much as you want during your free time.

PS Drinks on the bus were only 1 euro, I always brought one or two off the bus to drink while walking around or in hotel room as you won't find beer or soda cheaper anywhere else!! The bus fridge was great!

Thank you so much for all of you who have taken time out of your busy schedules to let me know your opinion.

Hi - Ron! You asked for some more information. We are flying into Milan on Friday and that weekend my husband will be off of work. We are planning day trips around there on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday evening we will drive to Mantua - his company is renting us a car for the remainder of the trip - and stay there. He will be working during the day and I planned to take the car and go on day trips around the area. Then I will have to get to to meet the tour, if I take it. It is the Heart of Italy tour for nine days.

My husband will then work all week, through the weekend and the next week, so on Friday, April 3 he was planning for us to turn the rental car in and take a train to Rome. It is Easter weekend so we thought that would probably be best. The tour actually will be ready for Day 8 on Saturday which is the DAY BEFORE EASTER! What an unbelievable opportunity! Spend Easter at the Vautican! He would then join me for the last real day of the tour and pay his own incidentals. We think...RS's travel people are checking on whether this will be ok or not. We fly home on Monday, April 14.

thanks for the info. I still am of the opinion that you can manage to have a wonderful experience on your own. BUT I'm not you.

In Mantova, you are about an hour train ride away from Verona, only slightly longer to Vicenza. The train to Venice or Florence is about three hours. All very manageable for day trips or an overnight.

The area south of Mantova, Parma and Piacenza has a bunch of castles that look lovely.

http://www.castellidelducato.it/CastelliDelDucato/firstPage.action?codeLocale=UK&currField=homepage

I would use the car, if you feel confortable driving, to go to smaller places and take the train for larger cities.

Lake Garda has some wonderful spots you could drive to. Sirmione is one at the bottom of the lake.

Good luck with whatever direction you decide to go.

Some tips, either way.

1. Both of you stop by a AAA office in the US and get an International Drivers Permit, about $15. You need one in Italy if you encounter any of the authorities while driving.

2. Be sure to make both of you authorized drivers when you rent the car.

3. While others may argue against it, I usually get the full collision damage waiver insurance, pricy but just walk away without hassles if problems arise.

4. Be flexible. If your husband is working with locals, you may be offered the chance for a guided tour of the area from a spouse of someone.

5. Pack light.

Karen,

Ron provided a lot of good info on the "technicalities" of driving in Italy. Having an International Driver's Permit (which must be used in conjunction with your home driver's license) is essential. You might also check recent posts here regarding the Zona Traffico Limitato areas, as if you unknowingly drive through one of those, you'll receive an expensive ticket in the mail a couple of months after you get home. I'd also suggest a GPS with Euro maps, as well as a Michelin Map for "backup".

I agree with the others that going into debt for travel is not always good, however given the circumstances and especially the very short time that you have to arrange this trip, I still think the RS tour is the best idea in this case. It will provide you with an excellent learning experince for future travels.

Cheers!

My evaluation of RS tours (I have taken 2, Paris and Provence and city tour of Paris): I found that there was enough free time, I never felt that there was too much time with the group. There are usually completely free days, or free half days and some free evenings, where you are on your own. On my first tour, I traveled with 3 freinds, so we ventured out on our own and sometimes met up with other tour members and ended up having a meal with them. I went by myself on the Paris city tour, I ventured out on my own in the free time and really enjoyed myself; I was prepared and had a plan for where I was going to go and what I was going to do in my free time. I didn't always keep to the plan, but I felt good about having something planned but when I veered off the plan, that worked for me. I did take a small spiral notebook (dollar store kind) where I listed what markets were open on each day of the week, so if I was in that area of the Paris, I could take in an open air market. I made a list of which sites were near others, so when group went to the Marais then had free time, I had an idea of where I was going to roam after the tour portion ended for the morning. (hope that makes sense, it is hard to describe).

I felt very comfortable with the tour since I was travelling solo. I really like people, so having the group to visit with was a big plus for me. The RS tours had a good mix of group activities vs free time. If someone opted out of a group activity, that was ok too; everyone did watch out for each other which was also reassuring (when it came to departing for tour activities, the guide made sure we were all present and accounted for).

I do agree that travel is as individual as we are. I do enjoy reading the posts as there are many experienced travellers out there willing to share the good and bad experiences. Happy Travels.

Karen--you've been given some great suggestions to help you decide. Have you decided? By the way, to help with your planning, April 14 is Tuesday, not a Monday! Hey, I think you just found an extra day to spend in Europe!

Karen, on Ricks tour site under the 10 committments link he says "Value is more important than ever. I define a successful tour as a finely-crafted, maximum-experience trip for the same price a traveler would pay to go independently."

I've traveled independently, including to Italy, and also took a RS tour. I think his statement is accurate. Day per day a RS tour costs more, but I think it would take about 1/3 more time to do on your own what a RS tour does. In other words, his 9-day tour would take you 12-14 days to do on your own.

On the tour you get guided tours around cities you visit, and often to museums and sites. This is much more informative, IMHO, than reading 5 pages out of a guide book as you walk around; if you hire the guides yourself while travelling independently or join scheduled guided walks the costs start to add up. And the scheduling issue comes into play; on a RS tour the guide meets you at a time that fits well into what the RS tour is doing; if you look up a Florence guide, for example, you change your schedule to fit when the walks are offered. There are just so many other efficiencies; show up in a new city and the bus drops you at the hotel, your guide takes you right to the museum and sites. Its fun to wander on your own and try to find things, but it takes time.

As for going into debt, I don't know how much it would be for you or how hard to pay it off. But I'd suggest thinking about the cost as for about 12 days of independent travel; would 12 days in Italy sightseeing be worth $2675 to you?

My husband & I had been to Italy 2 times already when we then decided to take a RS tour.I agree with June about the balance of group time vs free time on the RS tours. My husband & I both thought we had a good balance. There are things that the guide had planned that was not actually listed on the website. Some stops at small out of the way places that we would never have known about. She also had made sure that at the group dinners there were plenty of choices so people with dietary restrictions or dislikes were well taken care of.You may not have time to make reservations on your own. Have Fun!

I wrote a lengthy reply yesterday but it wouldn't go through. If this goes through, I'll try again.

We have taken organized tours (although not Rick Steves)& toured on our own. We do not go into debt for vacations & wouldn't advise anyone to do so. Here are some thoughts, & experiences, to consider:
1.How fluent are you in Italian?
2.Who will you call if you have car trouble/flat tire, etc?
3.How comfortable are you as a female, in a foreign country, eating and sleeping in a hotel by yourself?
4.Do you have a GPS, with the Europe data base, & know how to use it? When you get lost, is your Italian good enough to understand the directions an local can give you.
5.Have you studied the Italian driving laws to know what is against the law? Do you know what their highway signs mean? Do you know the signage that forbids driving in many villages and leads to gigantic fines?Do you know which lane is for high speed driving only?
6.Have you researched the areas you would like to explore & planned how to get there as well as researched where you will stay?
7. By all means get full coverage car insurance. Your US car insurance won't cover you in Italy. You will also need an International drivers license.
8.Easter in Rome is high season, for obvious reasons. Have you made your reservations yet?
9.Even if you don't take RS tour, the value (or lack of)of the dollar adds to the very expensive nature of traveling in Europe.
8.If you haven't done extensive research on traveling in Italy, won't have someone with you to navigate while driving, & are a female driving alone, I'd reconsider. I've been to Italy 5 times & I would not consider driving alone to see the beautiful country. I'm the adventurous type but I'm also judicious.

Karen,

Be sure to let us know which travel method you decide on. I'm sure those that have replied will be interested.

Cheers!