Has anyone used italytours.eu recently? Looking for recommendations

[sherrihall128]

5 hours ago, nyletak said:

I have a bit of a silly question, but I emailed italytours.eu and they have 2 spots available on the day we want to do a tour. They emailed asking for my name and cruise ship etc and said they will "bill me asap". That was yesterday and haven't heard from them today. They haven't taken any credit card info so I'm not sure how they bill me. I'm just getting anxious because I really want this tour! lol. Do they send a secure link thru their email or?

It usually took them 2-3 days to send me the billing info and link. Not judging, because I'm an anxious person as well, but you might be stressing a lot. Send them a follow-up email if you don't hear anything after 2-3 days.

[Piper77]

20 hours ago, nyletak said:

I have a bit of a silly question, but I emailed italytours.eu and they have 2 spots available on the day we want to do a tour. They emailed asking for my name and cruise ship etc and said they will "bill me asap". That was yesterday and haven't heard from them today. They haven't taken any credit card info so I'm not sure how they bill me. I'm just getting anxious because I really want this tour! lol. Do they send a secure link thru their email or?

They send you a secure link. I emailed back and forth with them and they are so busy it usually takes 2 to 3 days. But they were good and I usually got an automated message after I emailed them saying it would be a few days before they got back to me - so i wouldn’t worry too much!

[suezyq50]

From first contact with them to the time I got the confirmation that my credit card payment had been applied and was processed, it took about a week.

[4Hzglory]

Hi Guys - Do we have to carry our passports when we go on the tours - or is a drivers license sufficiesnt for entry back to ship (as RC rqrs)?

[suezyq50]

5 hours ago, 4Hzglory said:

Hi Guys - Do we have to carry our passports when we go on the tours - or is a drivers license sufficiesnt for entry back to ship (as RC rqrs)?

I have read to carry passport, with copies in your safe on ship and at home.  That is what we are going to do.

[uncdds12]

6 hours ago, 4Hzglory said:

Hi Guys - Do we have to carry our passports when we go on the tours - or is a drivers license sufficiesnt for entry back to ship (as RC rqrs)?

In Europe, I always carry my passport in a front pocket that is hidden. I keep a copy in my pack and on my phone. I would not leave it in a safe.  You never know when you will need your passport. 

[upslash]

8 hours ago, 4Hzglory said:

Hi Guys - Do we have to carry our passports when we go on the tours - or is a drivers license sufficiesnt for entry back to ship (as RC rqrs)?

 

I would never leave the ship without my passport.

[jlandz09]

On the Best of Florence and Pisa tour, is it possible to climb the Leaning Tower? Even if it's not included with the tour itself, would we be able to get our own tickets to climb while we're there?

[bianks]

I feel like our passports would be safer kept on the ship than out and about foreign streets with our children in tow 😕  😕  😕  😕 

[Wineinhand]

We are doing a ships cruise to Pisa and Florence, it does say there isn’t time to go into the tower .

[18thGreen]

We just got back from a Mediterranean cruise and used ItalyTours.eu for a small group tour (6 people) of Tarquinia and Toscania from Civitavecchia. Driver (Giovanni) was excellent, friendly, engaging and professional. He took us to the doorstep of many sites and provided some overview information. We had a guide in Tarquinia to see the museum and necropolis. I'd would contact them again the next time we're in Italy for other tours. 

Edited May 1, 2023 by 18thGreen
wrong village for guided tour

[b2dave2003]

On 4/26/2023 at 5:06 PM, uncdds12 said:

In Europe, I always carry my passport in a front pocket that is hidden. I keep a copy in my pack and on my phone. I would not leave it in a safe.  You never know when you will need your passport. 

Next time you renew your passport get a passport card.  Easy to carry, official and you don't have to worry about losing your passport.  Also, always wear a money belt for the pickpockets.

[Real NHDOC]

We did a few tours with this company recently. Two were very good but one was pretty bad. It was the full day small group tour of Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. The young lady who met us at the port was very inexperienced. Our “tour” was basically 5 1/2 hours mostly sitting in traffic with nothing interesting to see and 2 1/2 hours of actual interesting experiences.
 

We spent about 5 minutes overlooking Positano which we were supposed to be able to go to but because we hit so much traffic we ran out of time so just saw it from a distance. Our stop in Sorrento was 1 hour on our own, not even enough time to have lunch and sightsee. No guidance from our guide. She didn’t even know where the bathrooms were. Our first bathroom break was at noon after spending almost 4 hours in a bus.
 

Our tour of Pompeii had to be abbreviated because we arrived 30 minutes late for our appointment. The Pompeii tour was very good. after we left Pompeii the driver and our bus guide had a hard time finding each other resulting in our group crossing several busy streets only to land up back at the exit where we began. Again, a sign of inexperience. 
 

The only thing we arrived on time for was getting back to the ship at 4:30. I had sent an email to the company while the tour was going on to inform them of the disappointing service and never received a reply which is surprising since up until then they had been pretty responsive. 
 

I would say if this had been our first experience with Italy Tours it would have been our last. 

Edited May 3, 2023 by Real NHDOC

[upslash]

13 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

We did a few tours with this company recently. Two were very good but one was pretty bad. It was the full day small group tour of Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. The young lady who met us at the port was very inexperienced. Our “tour” was basically 5 1/2 hours mostly sitting in traffic with nothing interesting to see and 2 1/2 hours of actual interesting experiences.
 

We spent about 5 minutes overlooking Positano which we were supposed to be able to go to but because we hit so much traffic we ran out of time so just saw it from a distance. Our stop in Sorrento was 1 hour on our own, not even enough time to have lunch and sightsee. No guidance from our guide. She didn’t even know where the bathrooms were. Our first bathroom break was at noon after spending almost 4 hours in a bus.
 

Our tour of Pompeii had to be abbreviated because we arrived 30 minutes late for our appointment. The only thing we arrived on time for was getting back to the ship at 4:30. I had sent an email to the company while the tour was going on to inform them of the disappointing service and never received a reply which is surprising since up until then they had been pretty responsive. 
 

I would say if this had been our first experience with Italy Tours it would have been our last. 

 

I am scheduled for this tour. Hopefully my experience is a little better! It sounds like you had a junior tour guide.

 

Out of curiosity, which tours were good experiences for you?

[jlandz09]

Same here. Just booked it two days ago, but was debating between it and the pure Amalfi tour. Would be interested to know if the traffic was an anomaly or typical. Also would like to hear from others if this was similar to their own experience. Definitely would like more out of Positano than just an overlook.

[Real NHDOC]

25 minutes ago, upslash said:

 

I am scheduled for this tour. Hopefully my experience is a little better! It sounds like you had a junior tour guide.

 

Out of curiosity, which tours were good experiences for you?

We did Florence/Pisa and Palermo/Cefalu. Both were very good. 

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, jlandz09 said:

Same here. Just booked it two days ago, but was debating between it and the pure Amalfi tour. Would be interested to know if the traffic was an anomaly or typical. Also would like to hear from others if this was similar to their own experience. Definitely would like more out of Positano than just an overlook.

 

It's not an anomaly. Traffic has gotten progressively worse on the Amalfi Coast drive in the past decade. As it is, most tours now only take you one way along the scenic coastal drive, then return via a less scenic but faster route. 

 

I've said it before and I will say again that trying to fit Pompeii plus Sorrento plus the Amalfi Coast drive into a day is an exercise in frustration. On a normal port day you simply do not have the time to do all of these places justice. What you end up with is 15 minutes here and a photo stop there. If all you want to do is say "I got the photo" then fine. But for a meaningful visit, please understand that you'll need to give up something. Focus just on enjoying the experience of driving the Amalfi Coast and getting brief stops in maybe 3 places. OR do Pompeii and Sorrento. 

 

I did just the Amalfi Coast drive in October (not even prime season as it was late in the month) and still wasn't really happy with the overall day IF I look at it in terms of spending time in the towns. But from the perspective of enjoying a sunny day driving along the coast, saying hello to the villages and eating a lunch overlooking the sea, it was a successful day.

 

[jlandz09]

So if our priority is Amalfi Coast rather than Pompeii, would you suggest we try to switch to the Classic Amalfi Coast tour that only does Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello?

[uncdds12]

https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187785-d17553097-Pompeii_Sorrento_Amalfi_Coast_Skip_The_Line_Expert_guide_Min_Walking-Naples_Provin.html

 

I am hoping for the best after reading the current reviews on tripadvisor.  Perhaps a few hiccups but I am on vacation and will enjoy the day.  

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, jlandz09 said:

So if our priority is Amalfi Coast rather than Pompeii, would you suggest we try to switch to the Classic Amalfi Coast tour that only does Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello?

 

That would be my recommendation.

[cruisemom42]

On 4/16/2023 at 2:02 PM, suezyq50 said:

We have 4 tours booked with them in June, NCL Epic cruise.  Someone made the comment to me they were a "glorified taxi"  I am wondering how the guide was.

 

Thanks

 

They ARE just drivers. You need to understand that. In Italy, a driver and a guide are two different roles. The driver's role is to drive you around. Sometimes they are very good and come prepared with additional info, printouts, history, etc. But it's not guaranteed. If you want a guide, you have to pay for that second person who is licensed and can accompany you into sites, etc.

[erby2283]

3 hours ago, jlandz09 said:

Same here. Just booked it two days ago, but was debating between it and the pure Amalfi tour. Would be interested to know if the traffic was an anomaly or typical. Also would like to hear from others if this was similar to their own experience. Definitely would like more out of Positano than just an overlook.

The traffic is normal. I too really wanted to see Positano but tempered my hope with the fact that they almost always never make it there. But they do state in their emails that Positano is usually only a view from the road so I knew that going in. Traffic between Pompei and Sorrento was the worst of it. But we had a wonderful lunch in Sorrento and beautiful scenery. 
 

My advice to anyone wanting to see  Positano is to book an excursion that specifically goes directly there. 

[Real NHDOC]

15 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

They ARE just drivers. You need to understand that. In Italy, a driver and a guide are two different roles. The driver's role is to drive you around. Sometimes they are very good and come prepared with additional info, printouts, history, etc. But it's not guaranteed. If you want a guide, you have to pay for that second person who is licensed and can accompany you into sites, etc.

On our bus there was a guide and a driver but the guide was very inexperienced and her grasp of English wasn’t great. The driver also spoke broken English. My understanding is the bus guide is supposed to give narratives along the way and at the stops but on our tour she was useless. 

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, Real NHDOC said:

On our bus there was a guide and a driver but the guide was very inexperienced and her grasp of English wasn’t great. The driver also spoke broken English. My understanding is the bus guide is supposed to give narratives along the way and at the stops but on our tour she was useless. 

 

Most of these agencies do not include a guide unless requested or unless your tour involves a stop in Pompeii. I was on the "classic" Amalfi Coast tour. I have also done a similar tour with another frequently mentioned operator and did not have a guide then either.

[jlandz09]

For the record, I did email them last night asked to switch to the Classic Amalfi Coast tour instead of the Pompeii tour. Fiance agreed that was the better move because we are more interested in the cities than the ruins. Fingers crossed it will be a easy switch since both tours are the same price even though we already submitted payment. Judging from everything I've read in this thread, they are a good company with great communication, so I'm optimistic we'll be able to get what we need.

 

Thanks everyone for your insights!