Best private co. in Italy for customizing tours

[travelgenie]

I have been doing research for our Italy/Croatia trip in September. We have done private tours before and were very satisfied but this time around we would like to customize the trip from the what is described on the different sites I have looked at. For instance, in Naples we would like to do the Amalfi Coast and instead of doing, let's say Pompeii maybe spend a couple of hours in Positano or just stopping along the way to shop, decide when and where we want to have lunch or whatever at a more leisurely pace. Can anyone recommend a particular company who has done this before? I have contacted two companies and they either don't understand or just want to stick to the itineraries that they offer. I would rather set something up in advance, rather than hiring a cab at the port, any help would be appreciated.

[hylasgirl]

I have been doing research for our Italy/Croatia trip in September. We have done private tours before and were very satisfied but this time around we would like to customize the trip from the what is described on the different sites I have looked at. For instance, in Naples we would like to do the Amalfi Coast and instead of doing, let's say Pompeii maybe spend a couple of hours in Positano or just stopping along the way to shop, decide when and where we want to have lunch or whatever at a more leisurely pace. Can anyone recommend a particular company who has done this before? I have contacted two companies and they either don't understand or just want to stick to the itineraries that they offer. I would rather set something up in advance, rather than hiring a cab at the port, any help would be appreciated.

 

 

We are using http://www.romeinlimo.com for all our ports. They have a great reputation and we have been happy with their service in the past. Talk to Jany... they will arrange anything you want.

 

MUCH better than anything you can get on the ship!

[rusticfurnituremaker]

I have been doing research for our Italy/Croatia trip in September. We have done private tours before and were very satisfied but this time around we would like to customize the trip from the what is described on the different sites I have looked at. For instance, in Naples we would like to do the Amalfi Coast and instead of doing, let's say Pompeii maybe spend a couple of hours in Positano or just stopping along the way to shop, decide when and where we want to have lunch or whatever at a more leisurely pace. Can anyone recommend a particular company who has done this before? I have contacted two companies and they either don't understand or just want to stick to the itineraries that they offer. I would rather set something up in advance, rather than hiring a cab at the port, any help would be appreciated.

 

We used DriveAmalfi and they were wonderful. We chose what cities we wanted to visit, how long we wanted to stay, where we wanted to eat, etc. They just provided us with a wonderful driver (who entertained us as well and really knew spots to see that the typical tourist can't find).

Amy

[AZjohn]

Highly recomend Stefano who own Rome Cabs www.romecabs.com

[monkeyinhat]

AZJohn=

I have written to romecabs but not received answer. do you have any idea of their tour rates. not listed other than transfer rates, which look reasonable. Would love to have a company to give us a day highlite tour and a night drive me around and see lights

would love to know any price range. even a per hour range.

What did you do and approx rate did you pay

thanks for any help.

[samavarcruiser]

I have been doing research for our Italy/Croatia trip in September. We have done private tours before and were very satisfied but this time around we would like to customize the trip from the what is described on the different sites I have looked at. For instance, in Naples we would like to do the Amalfi Coast and instead of doing, let's say Pompeii maybe spend a couple of hours in Positano or just stopping along the way to shop, decide when and where we want to have lunch or whatever at a more leisurely pace. Can anyone recommend a particular company who has done this before? I have contacted two companies and they either don't understand or just want to stick to the itineraries that they offer. I would rather set something up in advance, rather than hiring a cab at the port, any help would be appreciated.

 

Private tour company question :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=904788&highlight=italy+private+tours

[chipmaster]

I have been doing research for our Italy/Croatia trip in September. We have done private tours before and were very satisfied but this time around we would like to customize the trip from the what is described on the different sites I have looked at. For instance, in Naples we would like to do the Amalfi Coast and instead of doing, let's say Pompeii maybe spend a couple of hours in Positano or just stopping along the way to shop, decide when and where we want to have lunch or whatever at a more leisurely pace. Can anyone recommend a particular company who has done this before? I have contacted two companies and they either don't understand or just want to stick to the itineraries that they offer. I would rather set something up in advance, rather than hiring a cab at the port, any help would be appreciated.

 

Every private tour company I researched prior to our cruise last summer published a "standad package" They market these packages and make sure they have all the "key" highlights to draw people in. People seem to forget that its "private" and that you and your party are paying them to do what you want, very different from the cruise ship mass market bus tours :rolleyes:

 

Do your research and tell the driver/guide what you'd like to do for the day at the beginning of the day. Often the booker has little knowledge and often at time of booking won't even know who your driver/guide will be so their commitment or other comments is rather useless. Not saying you can't do it as every driver we met this past cruise was totally accomidating to our every whim.

 

We customized with Romeinlimo in two ports and also with Greektaxi and EKOL and the guides/drivers had no problems changing midstream or doing what we wanted.

 

Good luck.

[LegalCat]

We also used Stefano... he was really good about responding to our emails, I was glad I didn't have to worry about calling... I dont recall how much we paid because we took several different tours but it was very reasonable... we hate taking cruise organized tours... you waste so much money... at the same time, you get what you pay for... I'm all about paying a good price but the tour has to be fantastic as well.. I think you get a much better experience if you can book independently... we would definately use Stefano again and have and would recommend him to friends who are travelling...

[Cruzer Two]

I can recommend two companies that we have used for touring in Italy. Both do a fantastic job.

 

Roman Odyssey http://www.romanodyssey.com specializes in tours in and around Rome. We used this company for a two day tour of Rome that included the Vatican and transfers to Civitavecchia

 

Driver in Rome http://www.driverinrome.com will arrange tours from any of the Italian ports. This company arranged our custom tour of the Hill Towns of Tuscany from the port of Livorno and the Hill Towns Outside Rome tour from Civitavecchia.

 

Click on the link below for information on viewing some travel videos that I uploaded to YouTube highlighting these and other excursions in the Mediterranean.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=926243

 

I hope this helps.

 

CruzerTwo aka CruzerToo

[AZjohn]

AZJohn=

I have written to romecabs but not received answer. do you have any idea of their tour rates. not listed other than transfer rates, which look reasonable. Would love to have a company to give us a day highlite tour and a night drive me around and see lights

would love to know any price range. even a per hour range.

What did you do and approx rate did you pay

thanks for any help.

 

Hi monkeyinhat,

Looks like several other posters replied to your post. I'm sorry I can't remember the exact price we paid for Rome Cab but it was reasonalble. But we asked for more of a pick up and drop off then return trip as we wanted to do a lot of walking around in Rome. But they did take care of tickets for us also, so that is why I can't remember the exact price.

Have a great cruise!

John

[ddavis539]

I sent two e-mails to RomeInLimo last week via their website and heard back with an hour, even when it was really late on a weekend there. I'm looking forward to the Rome tour I booked with them for June.

[ghia007]

I just returned from Rome and cannot say enough good things about romeinlimo. We did an all day with driver & guide and a morning with a guide at the Vatican. Excellent service all around. We saw everything on my list plus things that I had not even thought of. It was well worth the price paid and made the trip an unforgettable experience.

[highseasbabe]

I have been doing research for our Italy/Croatia trip in September. We have done private tours before and were very satisfied but this time around we would like to customize the trip from the what is described on the different sites I have looked at. For instance, in Naples we would like to do the Amalfi Coast and instead of doing, let's say Pompeii maybe spend a couple of hours in Positano or just stopping along the way to shop, decide when and where we want to have lunch or whatever at a more leisurely pace. Can anyone recommend a particular company who has done this before? I have contacted two companies and they either don't understand or just want to stick to the itineraries that they offer. I would rather set something up in advance, rather than hiring a cab at the port, any help would be appreciated.

 

I have had very good success with La Dolce Vita Tours. Fabrizio responded very quickly and will arrange for you to do whatever you would like to do, not just a set itinerary. You can contact him at www.ladolcevitatours.com

[avacruiser]

I just returned from Rome and cannot say enough good things about romeinlimo. We did an all day with driver & guide and a morning with a guide at the Vatican. Excellent service all around. We saw everything on my list plus things that I had not even thought of. It was well worth the price paid and made the trip an unforgettable experience.

 

 

Who was your driver and your guide :confused:

[rusticfurnituremaker]

The cost last year for DriveAmalfi in Naples and RomeCabs in Rome was around 70-75 Euros per person for the 8-9 hour day. Both companies were extraordinary in every way. We had a van with 8 people, so maybe that made it a bit lower. (Definitely find someone on your roll call to join to make the cost cheaper). Even at that cost, it was much lower than the rates offered by the cruise line. And......you don't have to wait for 50+ people , you go where you want and when you want, and you don't have to stop at the cheesy kick back shops that the cruise lines make you visit (and which totally waste your time).

 

I will never take a cruise line sponsored excursion again, unless it is one that cannot be accessed by the general public.

[markberg]

so many companies to choose from :confused: !

[onemoretimeagain]

We used RomeInLimo for a two day tour of Rome and it was letter perfect! They picked us up at places it seemed like no one else was allowed to go! It really was door to door service. We totally planned our own itenerary as our time was limited, and got to see things that would have taken a week with a tour company!

 

You cannot go wrong with their responsiveness and professionalism. RIL knows how to do it right and is worth the price (which by the way, is way lower than the cruise ship costs).

 

We are using them again in Rome, Florence and Naples this time.

 

PK

[Shecky]

We used Sorrento Silver Star to search for relatives (successfully). They worked with us on an itinerary. I e-mailed 9 different car/tour companies and Sorrento Silver Star was the most responsive, most helpful and least expensive. I highly recommend them.

[mountainmare]

I will recommend Fabrizio from http://www.allarounditaly.net who I have used for more than one cruise. I know he does the Amalfi Coast because just last week when we saw him we were talking about doing just what you proposed since we have already seen Pompeii and Herculanium.

Everyone here will give you a different answer and feel they had the best guide ever. Since you want something different follow your gut instinct, from the e-mail responses back and forth you should get a good idea about who will give you the day you want.