Rome in a Limo tours

[MamaQuack]

In June we made our first visit to Italy via cruise. We had a different company in Sorrentino who we liked very much. We were worried and nervous that no driver for Rome could compare. We were so wrong. A smiling Vincente was waiting for us on the dock. He ushered us to an immaculate Mercedes van and off we went. Vince was funny and warm and charming and knowledgeable but the main thing was he listened. He knew every back street and every alley, he knew where to park, he knew how to make the most of our time. He did not pressure us in to some pre planned tour. After a bit of touring he took us to a "locals" restaurant - something we had requested, It was the best food and the most unique experience of all our meals in Italy. We enjoyed it immensely. Vince could probably charm a gorilla. He impressed our 17 year old son as much as he did us. It was a wonderful, magical tour. We have taken over 12 cruises and always hire private drivers so we have much for comparison, have to say Romeinlimo ranks in our top 3 of all time favorites. They are worth every penny and more. Jany is definitely the most professional reservationist I have ever dealt with. She works hard and truly tries to make everyone feel at ease. Our driver, Vincente, put us at ease within 2 minutes. At the end of our day we felt like we were saying goodbye to a next door neighbor, an old friend or favorite uncle. Our only regret is we had but one day with him. Oh well, we will hopefully return June '09. So go and enjoy.

[New2cz]

We did 3 tours in Italy with Rome in Limo and were totally satisfied with every aspect of their service. All the drivers were wonderful-very well informed about any and everything we asked (What is growing in that field?...red wheat, specially grown for high quality pasta), flexible, friendly, etc. Because we did three tours we were given a discount on the price and found it to be about the same we would have paid to be on the big ship tours with a large (slow) group. We had only one day in each port and truly felt we made the most of every minute with romeinlimo. As an example, while the ship tour bus spent two hours in a traffic jam on the road to Florence, our romeinlimo driver Laura checked in by radio with the company and found out about the delay. She immediately headed off the highway to a wonderful rural road which took us by an olive oil coop and we made it into Florence with no problems. The smaller vans of romein limo are able to drive right up to all the sights, unlike the big buses which are kept at a distance. This company and its people are absolutely the very best ever! They made our time in Italy so wonderful and we can't wait to go back and tour with them again!

[travelnuts58]

We have booked Rome in Limo for a 8 hour tour of Rome for 7 people, the cost is 450 euros, with pick up and return to our hotel, this is for a driver/ guide and 8 seater van, hope this helps. I had first thought to do the hop on, hop off bus, but with two not so able ladies this seems a much better idea, thanks to Vicki for all her research on this. Kath

[Sunshinecrew]

We've booked Romeinlimo for three tours in early Sept. My biggest concern is carrying that much cash and how to convert it to Euros. Any suggestions?

[bellagirl]

sunshinecrew-We found Travellers Cheques the way to go. Through CAA(or AAA),they are free and we exchanged them before we left home. At the end of the tour, we just signed them over to the tour guide.

For us, it was easier and more convenient than carrying around a bunch of money. We copied the numbers of the cheques and left a copy at home in case anything should have happened to them.

Hope this helps! Shelly:)

[Sunshinecrew]

sunshinecrew-We found Travellers Cheques the way to go. Through CAA(or AAA),they are free and we exchanged them before we left home. At the end of the tour, we just signed them over to the tour guide.

For us, it was easier and more convenient than carrying around a bunch of money. We copied the numbers of the cheques and left a copy at home in case anything should have happened to them.

Hope this helps! Shelly:)

 

Thanks. Were you able to get traveler's checks in Euros? As I understand it, Romeinlimo wants to be paid cash in Euros. Our three trips with them amounts to about $2,400.

[bellagirl]

Thanks. Were you able to get traveler's checks in Euros? As I understand it, Romeinlimo wants to be paid cash in Euros. Our three trips with them amounts to about $2,400.

Yes, before leaving,I exchanged Can. money to Euros at the bank,then went to CAA and had the cheques done. I believe(and their policy may have changed) that rome in limo takes travellers cheques. Check with them,but we used TC last yr. when we used their services.

I empathize with you about the amount of money-no one wants to be carrying around that kind of money. Like I said, TC's worked for us as they were kept in the safe when not needed. Our tour of Rome was our big "splurge" of our cruise,so we only had to pull the cheques out once.

Hope this helps. Shelly:)

[drivers ed]

We will be in Rome, Nov 24th, with Celebrity Summit. To use Rome in a limo, do you just email them or do you call them. It sounds like many have talked to them. Since we are docked for 2 days. Would you go back to Rome the second day or see something else?

[bellagirl]

We will be in Rome, Nov 24th, with Celebrity Summit. To use Rome in a limo, do you just email them or do you call them. It sounds like many have talked to them. Since we are docked for 2 days. Would you go back to Rome the second day or see something else?

Hi-I communicated with Jany through e-mail which as you will see is so efficient because she answers your questions in no time. As for visiting Rome for 2 days, I would go for it-there's so much to see that one day will barely scratch the surface. That's just my opinion! Shelly

[cafe rose]

Family of 5 just used romeinlimo last week when we sailed on the Gem. They were fantastic!! Just go to the web site and you can book their services quite easily. They reply almost instantaneously. It is almost like magic the way Jany always has a quick reply. Their services are outlined on the web site. We got Euros here in the US.

 

On another note, I bought a Pac-safe bag on line. It was a back pack which was very comfortable to where all day. I used it from the time I left home until I returned. It fit everything and I felt very secure.

Have a wonderful time in Italy and don't forget to hire the guides through romeinlimo, especially in Pompeii. I waited until 2 weeks before to hire the Pompeii guide and I am so glad that I did--Lucia was marvelous and I don't think that we would have been able to get the full impact of the place without her. The Vatican guide, Julia, was also wonderful. Romeinlimo has quite a wonderful service. They are worth every Euro.

[bunnyscoot]

Hi Diane here...

Just back from the Seven Seas Navigator Rome to Monte Carlo cruise.

Used Rome in Limo for both Rome and Florence. Jany is marvelous to work with and very patient in answering questions.

 

Both Vincenzo in Rome and Alberto in Livorno were there on time with excellent signage. Then they took us to more places than one could possibly imagine.. all the key spots plus their favorite little surprise spots.

 

Mom had her walker and they were both very sensitive to getting us practically right next to the door at all the stops. Plus they were so gentlemanly helping up and down stairs, etc.

 

Totally professional and FUN.... we had great chats. And both made sure we had adequate water, food and potty stops. Very attentive to things we didn't even think about.

 

I'm sold on private tours and wish this company had more connections in other cities.

[newbie2468]

Question about touring Pompeii..

 

We are staying in Rome and want to go down to Naples.. do Pompeii (with guide) and the Amalfi Coast. I have talked with Jany about taking the train down and then picking up their tour people in Naples, etc. She also mentioned driving us from Rome.. but I am thinking it is a long day for someone to drive... Any thoughts? Would you take the train down and then use their guides in Naples, etc... or would you have them drive you from Rome to do the full day's excursion? Has anyone done it that way?

[ddoc]

for pick up at the airport, 2 tours of Rome then transportation to cruise ship all by Duman. In Livorno we met Jean Marie and did a wonderful

tour of Tuscany stopping in 5 different towns. At the end of the cruise,

taken to the airport again. I can't say enough about their wonderful service, it is truely first class.

[chipmaster]

Question about touring Pompeii..

 

We are staying in Rome and want to go down to Naples.. do Pompeii (with guide) and the Amalfi Coast. I have talked with Jany about taking the train down and then picking up their tour people in Naples, etc. She also mentioned driving us from Rome.. but I am thinking it is a long day for someone to drive... Any thoughts? Would you take the train down and then use their guides in Naples, etc... or would you have them drive you from Rome to do the full day's excursion? Has anyone done it that way?

 

We just got back and used Romeinlimo for Naples, Livorno and Civitavecchia.

 

Pompeii and Amalfi coast is a full day with lots of driving already. Pompeii is hard to do justice in less then two hours even if you walk fast. Then you have the long drive to Amalfi with stops along the way and you also need to adjust for what could be horrendous traffic. We planned for horrible traffic but the road past Amalfi to Positano was closed so traffic was reduced and we got more leisure time for lunch and Ravello, but regardless it was a very full day and I couldn't imagine adding additional time to and from Rome :eek:

[Shelby Cruiser]

Can anyone tell me which museum would be the best to tour or is it a must to do both of them. We are doing a pvt. tour w/romeinlimo & doing Pisa & Florence for a 9hr day.

 

There are many sights to see in Florence & wondering if should eliminate 1 of the above in order to have sufficient time to enjoy the rest of the sights. There is also time allowed for lunch & some shpg. + will be touring the beautiful churches, the old bridge, Pitti Palace, the Bell Tower, etc.

 

I know that at the Accamdemia you get to view David statue but which bldg. would be the best to tour in your opinion?

 

Thanks for any input.

 

Donna

[Henna7999]

I will be on a Med cruise 11/08 and have contacted RIL for availability in Naples (Amalfi Coast and Pompeii) and Florence/Pisa. Jany replied back that they are available and gave me pricing for the tour/driver.

 

My questions is - is it worth it to pay additional and get a "Tour Guide" for these tours, or will the tour be just fine having only the driver as guide?

 

Interested to hear how others have handled this and how it worked out.

 

Thanks.

[chipmaster]

I will be on a Med cruise 11/08 and have contacted RIL for availability in Naples (Amalfi Coast and Pompeii) and Florence/Pisa. Jany replied back that they are available and gave me pricing for the tour/driver.

 

My questions is - is it worth it to pay additional and get a "Tour Guide" for these tours, or will the tour be just fine having only the driver as guide?

 

Interested to hear how others have handled this and how it worked out.

 

Thanks.

 

We found our drivers from Romeinlimo for Naples, Livorno ( Florence/Pisa ), and Civitavecchia (Rome) to be simply superb!. They told us story, history, and pointed out sights all along the drive to and between attractions. I would recommend a guide for Vatican and Pompeii. Romeinlimo got us a great guide Julia for the Vatican and help us avoid the huge line too! I recommend them highly as they made the experience truely memorable! We choose to do Pompeii on our own and simply didn't get the same experience that we got with Guides for ( Acropolis, Ephesus, and Istanbul ).

[chipmaster]

Can anyone tell me which museum would be the best to tour or is it a must to do both of them. We are doing a pvt. tour w/romeinlimo & doing Pisa & Florence for a 9hr day.

 

There are many sights to see in Florence & wondering if should eliminate 1 of the above in order to have sufficient time to enjoy the rest of the sights. There is also time allowed for lunch & some shpg. + will be touring the beautiful churches, the old bridge, Pitti Palace, the Bell Tower, etc.

 

I know that at the Accamdemia you get to view David statue but which bldg. would be the best to tour in your opinion?

 

Thanks for any input.

 

Donna

 

Donna,

 

You will need to makes some choices.

 

Naples/Pisa/Florence is a very busy schedule. If you want time to do shopping and see the musuems you'll have to make some choices and give up something. In Florence you have Academia with David and some other great works, then you have the Uffizzi one of the great museums of the world. Academia can be done in about an hour. The Uffizi can't be done with justice in anything less then a couple hours and that would be walking really fast. Then you have to choose between the many historical plazas, Churches, and shopping to. If you are willing to give up Pisa you probably can get Uffizzi and Academia in, if you do Pisa ( very worth while ) you probably need to give up one of the museums.

 

We had a very full day 7:30-5:30 arriving right at the last boarding recommendation and didn't have Uffizzi and had very little time for shopping or additional leisure walking. That is the one huge downside of seing Europe by cruising. :mad:

[newbie2468]

We found our drivers from Romeinlimo for Naples, Livorno ( Florence/Pisa ), and Civitavecchia (Rome) to be simply superb!. They told us story, history, and pointed out sights all along the drive to and between attractions. I would recommend a guide for Vatican and Pompeii. Romeinlimo got us a great guide Julia for the Vatican and help us avoid the huge line too! I recommend them highly as they made the experience truely memorable! We choose to do Pompeii on our own and simply didn't get the same experience that we got with Guides for ( Acropolis, Ephesus, and Istanbul ).

 

 

Who/what company were your guides for the Acropolis and Ephesus? What did you do in Ephesus (time it took) I am trying to figure out what to do given the time we have in each port... Thanks

[chipmaster]

Who/what company were your guides for the Acropolis and Ephesus? What did you do in Ephesus (time it took) I am trying to figure out what to do given the time we have in each port... Thanks

 

We used EKOL in Ephesus / Istanbul; http://www.ekoltravel.com/

 

Ephesus guide was Ali and he was great!. Ephesus was 1/2 day started 7:30am - about 12pm. It was very tight as my father is a slow walker and Ephesus has a bit of walking though all downhill. I think you can do Ephesus in about 3 hours ( Terrace House included ). If you go, do the Terrace House, we would have but, ran out of time. Others try to squeeze in the Basilica and House of Mary. I think these are doable on a full day but not possible in 1/2 day.

 

Happy planning.

[ddoc]

for both Ephesus and Instanbul. He is the tour guide and provides a full time driver in addition to his guide services. He lives in Izmir and is very passionate in his work. His rates are unbelievably reasonable. Try his website (on google) using his name. All 10 of us were really pleased.

[Nitram]

Another excellent private tour company is driverinrome. After many hours researching this site & gathering suggestions, I contacted them by email & quickly received a reply back from Monia. Their website is easy to read & they are wonderful to work with. We booked with them for our stop in Rome. It was wonderful to step off the ship & see our very comfortable van waiting for us while the masses crowed on to a bus. Our family of 7 was able to go to every place we wanted to see. We did "Exclusive Best of Rome". For the small amount of time we were there, we wanted to see it all- which is hard to do in 1 day! We had an awesome driver (Palao) who made sure we were taken care of. I made a rookie mistake & didn't pack an extra set of batteries for my camera...figured I would just get reprints from my brother..while we were visiting the Colosseum, Palao went out & bought me batteries! Now THAT'S customer service! We were able to see so much because he was able to park so close to many stops where a bus wouldn't be able to get to (Trevi Fountain, Spainsh steps, Pantheon). Even though your drivers can't normally go into these sites with you, he's able to give you some info before going in. He also knows how to get you through the LONG lines. We were able to buy our Colosseum tickets at this place off to the side of the Colosseum (took all of 5 min.) & then we were able to walk past the line & go right into the Colosseum. This line had a wait time of 1.5 hours to buy tickets to get in! He knew exactly which places to see to avoid crowds- this helps when you're only there for 12 hours. We also booked a private tour guide for the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel - this is a MUST to get the full experience & worth the money. The only thing I would tell others to be watchful of is the lunch your driver may take you to. Make sure he/she understands if you don't want to spend a lot of $$. We went to a "cafe" right across from the Museum (I'm sure it's picked because of it's location) but for a group of 7 for lunch which consisted of sandwhiches, beer & a couple sodas, it was over $120 US. (ouch!) But hey, what an expereince right!?! Driverinrome made sure we had a wonderful day in their country. I would recommend using them to anyone & if we ever venture back to Italy, they will be the first I contact!!

[Shelby Cruiser]

Thanks for your input regarding the 2 museums in Florence. I knew we would have to make a decision & am thinking strongly of having them eliminate the Academia & if our schedule will allow, just do the 2hr time frame at Uffizzi.

 

Appreciate your comments. We had all ready asked romeinlimo to pre-purchase our tkts for these 2 museums & now will have to talk with our friends to make sure we eliminate the correct museum.We have plenty of time as we don't go until next Sept.

 

Thanks again

 

Donna

[Henna7999]

Those that booked with Rome in Limo - did you make your reservation via their website?

 

When I click on the link to their website, it does not appear to be a "secure" website. Therefore, I don't want to fill this form out on the web with my personal info.

 

Has anyone else come across this and/or how did you make your reservations?

 

Thanks for your feedback.

[bellagirl]

Hi-We've used their website in the past with no problem whatsoever. It is very secure. Shelly