We will be in Italy for 10 days, staying in Florence for 3 days, near Siena for 3 days, and Positano for 3 days. We are considering taking a morning walking tour of Florence on Sunday, a private 3 hour tour of Siena on Wednesday, and a private 2 hour tour of Pompeii on Thursday. Should we do the private or group tours or should we explore on our own? We are a couple in our forties without the kids for the first time in way too long.
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
Guided tours can really add to the experience of a new place. I could see all three of those tours being very interesting.
If you have to cut it down the one tour I would NOT skip it Pompeii. That is a huge place with ruins that look like silent stones that don't tell you much with out an experienced guide. Yes, there are booklets and audio guides available at the entrance but even with those it's still quite difficult to navigate through the miriad of streets.
Posted by
Centennial, CO, USA
1895 posts
Walking tour of Florence is perfect, you can see where everything is, then go back. The private tour of Siena would be wonderful too, lots to see, and you probably will get into some places large groups cannot. (I've done a walking group tour of Siena)
We've explored Florence without a tour guide. Most everthing is walking distance. Get a good map and go out on your own.
For Pompei, you could go with a group tour, you won't miss much compared to a private tour, perhaps save some money here. Unless you are a big question asker....and need more attention, skip the private in Pompei.
Although I think that a tour in every location seems a bit much...Pompei would really be the only one I would pay for a tour, there is so much, and so much history, and the streets are a bit confusing...more and more is being uncovered!
The guides will take you to the most important sites and give you the history.
If you really like history and really want to learn about each site, then go with a tour, but I'd say you really could skip Florence and explore on your own!
Posted by
OP
philadelphia
4 posts
Thank you both for the info. Do you think we should do group tours for Siena and Pompeii instead of the private tours? Do we need to book in advance?
Posted by
Albert Lea
67 posts
I'd see if you could get smaller group tours of any area. When we were there in May my husband and I kept looking at the large tour groups and just kept saying to each other "aren't you glad we aren't with them?" I agree a walking tour can help you get oriented to a city then venture out on your own. Look into Artviva.com. They have guides in several cities and limit the sizes of the groups. We were impressed with the Rome tour.
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
The official tour guides that you can find at the entrance to Pompeii are actually quite affordable so that I'd really recommend such a private tour there. Can't remember exactly how much we paid but it was less than 50 Euro for 2 hours last year.
Posted by
shen, ca, usa
111 posts
I second Bea that the private guides at the Pompeii gate is great value. We stayed at the hotel Amleto and were told that the rate is open to negotiation and can be as low as 30 euro for 2 hour tour. We paid 40 and enjoyed the site so much that we wondered on our own afterward. For the two of us, it's actually cheaper than the group charge.