Private Tours/Excursions in Italy on the Med

[clairedy6]

I know this might not be the right place to ask this but I tried Trip Advisor and got no responses.

I've noticed the many different types of private tours in Italy. we are thinking of doing one with SeeAmalfiCoast. I was wondering if these tours are just the driving service and a bit of info shared by the drivers in the car, and just drop you off at the places they take you to or do they actually walk around with you and give you a tour?

 

[JOANNEL]

Try cruise critic. We are going to use Romeinlimo.

 

[misslissa]

Everyone recommends RomeInLimo

 

[clairedy6]

I am not looking for recommendations but rather just general information--do the private tours just drive you to the places or do they actually get out of the car and give you a tour?

 

[smithtj]

We used RIL for our DCL Med Cruise in 2011 (Rome & Naples) and plan to use them again this summer (7/13 12 night cruise). While the drivers are very good at providing commentary during the drive, or at roadside stops, they do not accompany you into specific venues. RIL will arrange for guides at such sites (e.g. Vatican, Pompeii, the Colosseum) but this is at additional cost, paid directly to the tour guides. Last time we paid 150 Euros for the private Vatican guide, and 100 Euros for the guide at Pompeii - both were well worth the expense.

 

[clairedy6]

We used RIL for our DCL Med Cruise in 2011 (Rome & Naples) and plan to use them again this summer (7/13 12 night cruise). While the drivers are very good at providing commentary during the drive, or at roadside stops, they do not accompany you into specific venues. RIL will arrange for guides at such sites (e.g. Vatican, Pompeii, the Colosseum) but this is at additional cost, paid directly to the tour guides. Last time we paid 150 Euros for the private Vatican guide, and 100 Euros for the guide at Pompeii - both were well worth the expense.

We got a quote for $375 for 4 people from Naples to Sorrento, Positano and back. Since we will not be going to Pompeii we don't need to hire an extra guide (heard that the guides for Pompeii have to be licensed). Based on this price do you think that the guide/driver would be giving us a private tour at the destinations?

 

[carpenta]

We got a quote for $375 for 4 people from Naples to Sorrento, Positano and back. Since we will not be going to Pompeii we don't need to hire an extra guide (heard that the guides for Pompeii have to be licensed). Based on this price do you think that the guide/driver would be giving us a private tour at the destinations?

I tend to believe in Italy the driver can only drive. Guides are a "seperate" union and are to be hired. Perhaps someone who has used this service can speak more accurately than I. Pompeii is amazing so I would not include this on your tour. The whole region is beautiful so it does pull you back time and again.

 

[misslissa]

I would think that price includes the driver only. For more information, you can check out the boards at Cruise Critic. Those are really popular ports. I ended up booking a 'coach' tour for Amalfi through Royal Caribbean because I have an aunt who has been there a few times and said you can actually see more 'cause you are higher up on the drive. I have to agree that it was a great way to see everything. Stops were short, an hour or so. We had one in Sorrento and one in Amalfi and a picture op in Positano but I was more than happy with that. We wouldn't have been able to fit anything else in. It was a very full day and we saw so much.

 

[clairedy6]

I would think that price includes the driver only. For more information, you can check out the boards at Cruise Critic. Those are really popular ports. I ended up booking a 'coach' tour for Amalfi through Royal Caribbean because I have an aunt who has been there a few times and said you can actually see more 'cause you are higher up on the drive. I have to agree that it was a great way to see everything. Stops were short, an hour or so. We had one in Sorrento and one in Amalfi and a picture op in Positano but I was more than happy with that. We wouldn't have been able to fit anything else in. It was a very full day and we saw so much.

Thanks for the info!

 

[WDW Princess 71]

We are using Easy Italy Tours for our day in Rome on the 7/13/13 Med cruise. Includes the mercedes sedan transportation from the port to the city (over an hour each way), driver guidance as we drive, and then a separate official guide for the Vatican portion. It had great Trip Advisor reviews and out of all the companies I researched and emailed for info, they were the most detailed and prompt to respond.

 

[Jeff Spencer]

We did the med cruise in 2007 and 2010. Here is a link to the page I created with links to different private tour providers. Drivers for the most part drive. For attractions such as Pompeii, only licensed guides can do tours there so you will have to pay extra for that. Your driver can and should tell you about the Amalfi coast towns that you visit - Sorrento, Positano, Ravello, etc. The best thing you can do is visit the tour provider site and ask them exactly what is included and what is not included in their tour.

http://5-15-10-medcruisers.weebly.com/private-tours.html

 

[goeva]

We did the med cruise in 2007 and 2010. Here is a link to the page I created with links to different private tour providers. Drivers for the most part drive. For attractions such as Pompeii, only licensed guides can do tours there so you will have to pay extra for that. Your driver can and should tell you about the Amalfi coast towns that you visit - Sorrento, Positano, Ravello, etc. The best thing you can do is visit the tour provider site and ask them exactly what is included and what is not included in their tour.

http://5-15-10-medcruisers.weebly.com/private-tours.html

Saving the link for future reference. Thanks for sharing.

 

[MinnieDiva]

Also using RIL this summer. It is possible to arrange to have a guide all day. We are doing so in Rome. Our original travel party was 8, and we had to arrange for the 15 passenger van so the guide had a place to sit. We advertised on our meet thread and found a family of four to round it out and share the cost. While some people found Rome easy to navigate, we felt overwhelmed in 2010 and want to be inundated with facts.

fYI, in many European countries, guides are licensed. They go thru extensive training over a certain time period to obtain their license. From researching this, I know that this is so in Italy, Greece and Turkey. Spain, too, I think.

We didn't know this last time, and our Dis-party of 14 (16?) were in 2 different vans and got far different commentary from our drivers. They were lovely people, but not necessarily informative, historically speaking.

Look at my siggie....I started a pre trip report and have a bunch of planning links in post one that may be of help.

 

[s3rndpt]

In my experience with tour guides, especially in that area, they may give you anecdotal information, but you're not going to get a "tour" per-se unless you specifically request it beforehand, and you're most likely going to pay for it if they do agree to do a tour. While I haven't taken a cruise to Italy, we do visit the Naples/Amalfi Coast area fairly often, and since we didn't rent a car last year(which we much prefer), we hired a guide for a tour of the Amalfi Coast from Pompei to Salerno for a day last year. It ran us about $300 for the 2 of us, and he stopped at several places, including an inlaid wood factory in Sorrento, a ceramics factory just north of Positano, lunch in Positano, an hour in Sorrento proper, and an hour in Amalfi. We never stopped for more than an hour anywhere, and the driver didn't go in depth into anything, but was full of random facts about sights on the drive.

I assume you saw the reviews of Seeamlficoast on tripadvisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...ast-Naples_Province_of_Naples_Campania.html)? It seems to be a pretty good company. Have you emailed them directly to ask? That would probably be your best bet.