Has anyone used italytours.eu recently? Looking for recommendations

[puppymama1]

6 hours ago, smitty3000 said:

I wander if it is how many ships that are in port that day.  We are going in November and they got us right in.  We are the only ship in port that day I believe though.

Does anyone have the website where you can see how many ships are in port on the days you are there?  I had one for Alaska this past May, but don’t know if there is one for the Mediterranean ports also…. Thanks!

[onivek]

We booked three tours with Italy Tours on our recent NCL Escape cruise - small group Etna/Taormina tour out of Messina, small group Amalfi Coast/Pompeii tour out of Naples, and a private tour out of Livorno to Florence and Pisa . Each of these tours was wonderful, and each was better than the last.  

 

In Messina, we got off to a bit of a rough start when other members of the tour went to the wrong meeting point (in their defense, the NCL signage and instructions definitely left something to be desired).  Our driver Gabriele was understandably stressed as a result of the delayed start, but he handled it professionally and successfully managed to find our missing people and make up that lost time. Gabriele was engaging and informative, full of fun recipe suggestions for me during our stop at Oro d'Etna, and did a great job showing us around the craters at Mt. Etna.  He was prompt and professional for our pickup in Taormina and we felt confident in his driving and navigation skills.

 

In Naples, we had Giuseppe as our guide and Alfredo as our driver.  In Pompeii, our guide was Gino.  All three were SO FUN!  We had such a great time with all the commentary, and they were informative and funny.  Pick up and transportation was smooth and prompt, and the tour itself was really wonderful and well run.  The Amalfi coast was beautiful, and although we didn't get as much time at Pompeii as we had hoped (owing to traffic, which they absolutely warned us about!), Gino did a fabulous job of hitting the highlights.  

 

And then Florence and Pisa ... We cannot say enough good about Carlo and Sylvia!  They were absolutely FANTASTIC.  Fun, engaging, informative, responsive, helpful... just everything we had hoped for in this private tour. They were lovely about making sure we saw and did all that we wanted to see and do, and we absolutely LOVED this tour!

 

Cristina was wonderful to work with in setting all of this up, and communication before, during and after the tours was excellent!

 

I also want to mention that we were traveling with my mom, who has some mobility issues, and every single one of these drivers and guides was patient, compassionate and kind.  I would, without hesitation, recommend Italy Tours and each of these drivers and guides.

[Bo1953]

Food Question:

 

We will be a group of eight (8) and will engage italytours for a private tour.

 

The question I have is, we have one vegan and one one person who has GI problems and require a special diet... will IT be able to assist in finding a restaurant which will be able to handle these special diets???

 

Or any other input about this??

 

gracie and bon voyage

[misha227]

9 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Food Question:

 

We will be a group of eight (8) and will engage italytours for a private tour.

 

The question I have is, we have one vegan and one one person who has GI problems and require a special diet... will IT be able to assist in finding a restaurant which will be able to handle these special diets???

 

Or any other input about this??

 

gracie and bon voyage

 

If you email ahead of time (I've been speaking with Christina by email) and let them know the requirements, they will absolutely do their best! Christina will pass this information along to the driver and/or guide. They might have to rearrange the order of stops or similar so that you're in a more populated area at meal time so it's best to let them know ahead of time.

[pompeii]

I've been trying to get a final confirmation for a tour that I paid for a week ago, with no response.  I used their payment link, the payment posted to my credit card, and...crickets.

 

When I originally emailed them to enquire about the tour, I got a response saying basically "we're busy, unprecedented demand, we'll answer when we can, etc" and then got an email with a reservation and payment link a couple of days later.  The email promised a final confirmation within two business days after payment.  I've emailed them twice to say I've paid and please send final confirmation.

 

How long did it take you guys to get tour confirmation after payment?

[indybelle]

We have booked 3 tours with them for October - made final payment on July 17 and received email confirmation today for all three..  

[pompeii]

On 7/18/2022 at 12:56 PM, pompeii said:

I've been trying to get a final confirmation for a tour that I paid for a week ago, with no response.  I used their payment link, the payment posted to my credit card, and...crickets.

 

When I originally emailed them to enquire about the tour, I got a response saying basically "we're busy, unprecedented demand, we'll answer when we can, etc" and then got an email with a reservation and payment link a couple of days later.  The email promised a final confirmation within two business days after payment.  I've emailed them twice to say I've paid and please send final confirmation.

 

How long did it take you guys to get tour confirmation after payment?

 

21 hours ago, indybelle said:

We have booked 3 tours with them for October - made final payment on July 17 and received email confirmation today for all three..  

I finally got it this morning.  I don't know why it took until the 19th to get a confirmation for payment that posted on the 12th, but I have it now so I'm happy.  

[GOTTODOIT]

There are many reliable tour companies and I would try one of the more reliable companies who wont let you down and leave you all standing on the pier waiting, waiting, waiting

[hong64us]

When I type ItalyTours, came up different website, can anyone share the official website link? thanks, we will be in Rome for 2 days after cruise, also we like to go to Pisa and cinque terra tour when our ship docr on Florence

[Metsbill]

Recently did two tours with Italy tours

 

Both tours were great

 

Gabby was very sweet on the Sorrento/Pompeii tour.  She told great stories and was helpful taking pictures

 

The guide in Pompeii was very good. 

 

 

Florence Pisa tour was very good too.  Driver was nice. People in the third row had trouble hearing him so we took turns ..  he could have used a microphone.  The guide to see David was excellent 

 

 

Both tours exceeded the 8 hours promised which was great

 

Price was good for what we got

[drega99]

I used them in May for Florence and Pisa as well and they were fantastic. We are doing a different Med cruise next week on the Regal Princess and have booked 2 more tours with them - Florence and Pisa again as well as Marseille. I have no concerns as they don't "confirm" with you until the minimum number has been met. 

[Diann24]

On 8/4/2022 at 10:31 AM, debradefreyn said:

We used ItalyTours twice on our mediterranean cruise July 2022.  We booked private tours both times (family of 4) and for the most part it was perfect.  For sure, we had drivers waiting for us and they got us back to the ship with about a half hour to spare (no worries there).  

 

The first tour was the Amalfi Coast & Pompeii.  Driver picked us up at the port in Naples and drove us straight to Positano.  He did stop for us along the way to make a photo too.  The only thing here was the driver directed us to go down to the beach area through the small town but once you got to the beach, it was all private.  I would have rather gone up along the road that leaves Positano and made better photos of the beautiful town!  So, be sure to ask your driver for the things you are interested in!  From Positano we went to Sorrento.  The driver gave us directions again for how to navigate the town and this was perfect.  We had lunch on our own (great!).  Then he drove us to Pompeii where we met with a tour guide specific for Pompeii.  She was AMAZING.  And seeing Pompeii was so awesome.  Unfortunately, as expected it was blazing hot - but the guide hit all the highlights and answered all my questions.  Then it was back to the ship on time.  We had plenty of time for seeing sights, shopping, eating, etc.

 

The second tour was the French Riviera.  The only slight snag here was that our ship was supposed to be in Cannes by 7:30am (or so) but they changed it to 10am.  We emailed Italy Tours multiple times about this but never heard back.  So, we were quite anxious about whether the driver would be there or not.  He was - but he had been waiting since 8:30am because he was never told about the change.  He wasn't the only one waiting, of course, and he was very friendly and did not complain.  His name was Philippe and he was the best!  He drove us first to Nice and told us how to find the wonderful market.  He always found the best (shaded) places to drop us off and was always waiting where he said he would be when he said he would be there.  Next he drove us to Eze where we had an hour or so to roam around this preserved medieval town on a hill.  We also had lunch there.  Then on to Monte Carlo where we had time for seeing the cathedral (very strict about dress code) and walking around the palace square and making photos of the sea.  Over to Monte Carlo next for photos outside the casino (it was after 2pm and we were not dressed for inside plus had minors with us).  And then back to the ship.  Despite the late arrival, we were able to see everything we'd hoped to see.

 

Just a last note that we were traveling with teenage girls.  The drivers spoke to us in very good English and the conversation was always respectful - which I appreciated.  I will note that they both smoked.  I am somewhat sensitive to that but it did not bother me.  You could detect the faint smell of smoke in one vehicle but not the other.  I just thought I'd mention that because I'm not sure if it bothered you if you could ask for a non-smoking driver?  I was very happy with my decision to use Italy Tours.  I do wish they had emailed us back about Cannes, but they did come through!  And this first summer of cruise traveling after Covid I understand they were just swamped.

 

 

When you booked the tours, did you have to put down a deposit?  If yes, how much?  How many weeks/months before the tour did you have to put down the final payment?

 

 

[konatyme]

When we booked several months ago, we had a choice of paying from $1 up as a deposit. I think we paid about half and the rest is due (I think) 10 days before the tours.

[CruiserF]

We booked 3 tours with ItalyTours-EU on our Mediterranean cruise in June 2022.  All 3 tours were excellent, and I would definitely recommend this company.  See below for specifics on each tour.

The Best of the French Riviera with Italy Tours
We did a full-day tour with Italy Tours, "The Best of the French Riviera" on a recent Royal Caribbean Med Greek cruise. We opted for the semi-private tour with Italy Tours, which meant that our driver was also our guide. The driver did a great job showing us the sights of Cannes, Nice, Monaco and Monte Carlo. He did not, however, have as much background and information as an expert guide such as we saw on other tours.
The only complaint we had was that the vehicle was much too small for 8 full-size adults. Two people had to sit in a rather cramped space in front, and three people had to climb in and out of the way back. I would highly recommend this company, because of the professional support and assistance received from staff in booking the tour. I suggest that you consider the private tour option, however, if you are concerned about having a professional guide, and/or if you prefer more comfortable space in the vehicle.

The Best of Florence & Pisa with Italy Tours
We did a full-day tour with Italy Tours called "Best of Florence and Pisa" on a recent Royal Caribbean Med Greek cruise. We opted for the semi-private tour with Italy Tours, which included a very experienced driver all day long, and an expert professional guide in Florence.  Luca Misuri of Unlock Italy gave us a fascinating 2-hour tour of Florence.  He was both knowledgeable and entertaining, and he kept us engaged and interested the entire tour. Luca showed us all of the major sites in Florence as well as the tucked away places that you wouldn't notice if someone didn't tell you about them.  The driver did a great job of navigating the highways and the city streets, and he kept us safe and on time all day.  All in all, this was an excellent tour, thanks to Italy Tours and Luca our Florence guide.

The Best of Rome & the Vatican with Italy Tours
We booked the semi-private full-day Best of Rome and the Vatican tour with Italy Tours and it was excellent.  Our driver/guide Valerio did a fantastic job of navigating the streets of Rome, and showed us all of the famous ancient landmarks, including Circo Massimo (Ben Hur movie was made there), Colisseum, Roman Forum, an ancient Roman House, Palassio Venezia (Musilini's house), the Wedding Cake building dedicated to a king and then later to dead soldiers, the Church of St. Ignatius (Jesuits), the Trevi Fountain (made famous by the old movie 3 Coins in a Fountain), and Vatican City.  Our private guide in Vatican City was Oresto, and he showed us the Vatican Museum, Sisteen Chapel, St. Peter's Church and St. Peter's Square.  He did a fantastic job of explaining everything to us.  Our only regret is that we spent too much time in the Museum, and then did not have enough time to thoroughly explore St. Peter's Church.

[TheHawk1]

On 8/9/2022 at 11:19 PM, drega99 said:

I used them in May for Florence and Pisa as well and they were fantastic. We are doing a different Med cruise next week on the Regal Princess and have booked 2 more tours with them - Florence and Pisa again as well as Marseille. I have no concerns as they don't "confirm" with you until the minimum number has been met. 

Curious which port you left from?  We are booked on the Florence/Pisa tour leaving from La Spezia and I understand it's a long drive to Florence.  Just wondering about all the time spent in a van, before you actually get to the sightseeing part.

[SWACK]

On 8/11/2022 at 8:24 AM, CruiserF said:

We booked 3 tours with ItalyTours-EU on our Mediterranean cruise in June 2022.  All 3 tours were excellent, and I would definitely recommend this company.  See below for specifics on each tour.

The Best of the French Riviera with Italy Tours
We did a full-day tour with Italy Tours, "The Best of the French Riviera" on a recent Royal Caribbean Med Greek cruise. We opted for the semi-private tour with Italy Tours, which meant that our driver was also our guide. The driver did a great job showing us the sights of Cannes, Nice, Monaco and Monte Carlo. He did not, however, have as much background and information as an expert guide such as we saw on other tours.
The only complaint we had was that the vehicle was much too small for 8 full-size adults. Two people had to sit in a rather cramped space in front, and three people had to climb in and out of the way back. I would highly recommend this company, because of the professional support and assistance received from staff in booking the tour. I suggest that you consider the private tour option, however, if you are concerned about having a professional guide, and/or if you prefer more comfortable space in the vehicle.

The Best of Florence & Pisa with Italy Tours
We did a full-day tour with Italy Tours called "Best of Florence and Pisa" on a recent Royal Caribbean Med Greek cruise. We opted for the semi-private tour with Italy Tours, which included a very experienced driver all day long, and an expert professional guide in Florence.  Luca Misuri of Unlock Italy gave us a fascinating 2-hour tour of Florence.  He was both knowledgeable and entertaining, and he kept us engaged and interested the entire tour. Luca showed us all of the major sites in Florence as well as the tucked away places that you wouldn't notice if someone didn't tell you about them.  The driver did a great job of navigating the highways and the city streets, and he kept us safe and on time all day.  All in all, this was an excellent tour, thanks to Italy Tours and Luca our Florence guide.

The Best of Rome & the Vatican with Italy Tours
We booked the semi-private full-day Best of Rome and the Vatican tour with Italy Tours and it was excellent.  Our driver/guide Valerio did a fantastic job of navigating the streets of Rome, and showed us all of the famous ancient landmarks, including Circo Massimo (Ben Hur movie was made there), Colisseum, Roman Forum, an ancient Roman House, Palassio Venezia (Musilini's house), the Wedding Cake building dedicated to a king and then later to dead soldiers, the Church of St. Ignatius (Jesuits), the Trevi Fountain (made famous by the old movie 3 Coins in a Fountain), and Vatican City.  Our private guide in Vatican City was Oresto, and he showed us the Vatican Museum, Sisteen Chapel, St. Peter's Church and St. Peter's Square.  He did a fantastic job of explaining everything to us.  Our only regret is that we spent too much time in the Museum, and then did not have enough time to thoroughly explore St. Peter's Church.

Did you have anytime  for your own in Florence, and were you just there for 2 hours?

[erby2283]

1 hour ago, SWACK said:

Did you have anytime  for your own in Florence, and were you just there for 2 hours?

When we were there in 2019, we had time to eat a relaxed lunch and shop for a good hour or so.  However, we were there on a Monday and Accademia in Florence is closed on Monday's - not sure if that contributed to the extra time because it's normally part of the tour. 

[erby2283]

On 8/25/2022 at 11:28 AM, TheHawk1 said:

Curious which port you left from?  We are booked on the Florence/Pisa tour leaving from La Spezia and I understand it's a long drive to Florence.  Just wondering about all the time spent in a van, before you actually get to the sightseeing part.

We docked in Livorno and it was about 1.5 hours.  If I remember correctly they showed a brief video in the van (on Italy).  There were only 6 of us on this tour and we made fast friends on this tour. We still talk today three years later.  If you stop in Pisa on the way home, it kind of breaks up the ride back a bit.  I think we all slept on the way to Pisa...lol. 

[Lillibee]

Yes ! As a group of 3 ladies, we had a custom tour with them.  We arrived in Naples on Wonder of the Seas. Salvador (Sal) met us at the carpark at Naples port with a clear sign of my name. Very friendly and warm welcome recapped on our itinerary and we rejigged it due to possibly friday traffic problems. First stop was positano, then Sorrento and Pompeii.  Comfortable and spotless Mercedes van. Sal informed of us the local history and fun facts about the area, I am a tour guide here in N.ireland and he had a wealth of knowledge,  I asked a lot of questions 😁.

We stopped at his friends fresh orange juice stand, we had never tasted such sweet oranges mixed with the fresh iced lemons our favourite experience of the day. I've experienced local guides using their contacts in restaurants etc for their own gain, this was not the case. Even in Sorrento Sal explained which type of food each restaurant was good for and left the decision to us.  A genuine tour with the guests best interest at the core. We were aware of time restraints to get back on board the Wonder, it was never in doubt , everything went to plan. Use this company and enjoy your day of sightseeing !!! 

[Ine]

On 8/8/2022 at 8:15 AM, hong64us said:

When I type ItalyTours, came up different website, can anyone share the official website link? thanks, we will be in Rome for 2 days after cruise, also we like to go to Pisa and cinque terra tour when our ship docr on Florence

In case you still need it: https://www.italytours.eu/

[dani negreanu]

Yes. Excellent communication with Cristina 👍

[drega99]

On 8/25/2022 at 11:28 AM, TheHawk1 said:

Curious which port you left from?  We are booked on the Florence/Pisa tour leaving from La Spezia and I understand it's a long drive to Florence.  Just wondering about all the time spent in a van, before you actually get to the sightseeing part.

We docked in Livorno so I can't comment on La Spezia - but stioll highly recommend as we used them again in August with zero complaints.

[ylouie]

We booked Best of CinqueTerre tour with  Italy Tours but cancelled out of concern missing the tour .

the instructions stated we have to take a shuttle bus to meet up at the terminal gate.

We are not comfortable what trouble that involves where the ship excursion  will avoid this extra step.

However I am happy Italy Tour wrote back timely my refund will be processed asap.

Anyone can share the shuttle bus process at Port of La Spezia (Florence)? Are there long lines involved?

 

[TheHawk1]

On 9/15/2022 at 1:56 AM, drega99 said:

We docked in Livorno so I can't comment on La Spezia - but stioll highly recommend as we used them again in August with zero complaints.

The drive to Florence and back from La Spezia was more time than I would have liked to spend in a car, but couldn't be helped.  Overall, the quality of the tour was excellent and both the driver and the tour guide were top notch.  I'm glad I chose this company.

[EFKaplan]

My wife and I just completed two tours with ItalyTours.eu. Both were shore excursions off the Celebrity Constellation. One was an all day tour to Rome, including the Vatican, coliseum, and much more, and the other was the all day tour to Florence and Pisa. Both were excellent. The guides were knowledgeable and friendly. The vans were very comfortable. Everything was exactly as advertised and our expectations were exceeded. One of the very best things about this company is their customer service. Cristina is phenomenal. I had numerous email exchanges with her and she was always prompt, helpful and friendly. The price for this tour was very reasonable and is a far better option that the Celebrity options. We highly recommend it.