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We used RIL in Livorno and in Rome. We had a guide, Emily for the Vatican. She was excellent. The whole experience can't be beat. The 8 of us met on roll call and were from all over the world and all different age groups. They tailored our days to met the wants of our group. It was worth every nickel and then some!(Janey you didn't hear that!) We didn't have to wait in lines @ the Coliseum or @ the Accademia. The restaurant suggestions were outstanding. Pompeii was an excursion that my dh and I set out on our own. We took the train from Naples heading to Sorrento, and got off @ Pompeii. It's not for anyone who isn't a very seasoned traveler. The trains are very different in Naples than they are in say France. For us though, it was a memorable day. Enjoy your journey!

We used RIL for 2 ports, Pisa/Florence, and Rome. In Rome we opted to have a Vatican guide, which I would highly recommend. I cannot say enough good things about our experience with RIL. We had Salvatore as our drive in Rome, and he kept us on schedule and got us to see what we wanted to see in Rome and then some. We even had a sing along on the way back to the ship. Our guide for the Vatican was Paula, and she was excellent. Our driver in Pisa/Florence was John. He was different type of driver than Salvatore, more laid back and easy going. But I think that drivers in Florence vs Rome needs different personalities. He listened to how we wanted to spend our day and planned accordingly. Lunches both days were great, and not too long or too short. And best of all, it was great food/wine that was priced right. As for tipping, we were with other cruisers that we had just met, so this was something that was a personal decision. I feel as though you need to tip people in a service industry to continue to receive a high level of customer service.

I will use RIL each and every time I am in Italy and in need of their type of service, and I would recommend them without any hesitation.

We just got home from a cruise that stopped in Naples and my dh and I took the train from Naples to Pompeii got off toured around there for a few hours and then used the same tickets to get back on the train to go on to Sorrento. It was very easy and affordable! We even walked to the train station, but I would not say that the walk is for everyone. The sidewalks are not the easiest to navigate(some construction), and it is about a mile from the pier.

The need to buy tickets in advance depends alot on the date and time of your visit. When will you be there?

We will be in Rome on Sept 30th, a Wednesday.

You can buy them online yourself here:

 

http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/index.html

 

Jany said they can also reserve Vatican tickets for us but it will cost 7 EUR more per person than if we just booked online. You'll need to find out from Jany what time to reserve the tickets and make sure everyone in your group gets the same time.

Thanks. I'll pass this along to my group.

Maybe someone has already asked this but with the thread so long, I couldn't be sure. We(a group of 8) have booked RIL for Rome and Florence. We have requested a guide in Rome but were told that because of the size of our group unless we wanted to go to the next size vehicle, we would just have the guide @ the Vatican. My question is do we need to get the tickets for the Vatican, and if so, how do I go about getting them? :confused:

We requested that Jany make reservations in Florence for the Uffizi and the Accademia and she said that she would handle that.

Thanks in advance.

We've booked Romeinlimo for our day in Rome and I was wondering if we need to make any special arrangements for tickets @ the Vatican, Colosseum, etc or will RIL handle any of that if requested? Do we need to hire a tour guide in order to have the ticketing part taken care of? Any suggestions?

Also, we are booking with them in Florence/Pisa and was wondering if they offered any discounts for booking more than one tour? I thought I had read that on an earlier thread. Thanks in advance.