Any Italian Travelers over here?

xjulietx Posted: Jul 30, 2003 12:30 PM

Any Italian Travelers over here?

I just posted on BHB and now I am picking your brains. For those of you who went to Italy on your honeymoon or any other long trip (10 days or so), what travel agent can you recommend and what what was your package? Thanks

Sonicstef Posted: Jul 30, 2003 12:44 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

We went on a guided tour for 14 days thruout Italy. (Rome, Florence, Venice, Capri, Assissi, etc..)

If you are doing only a few cities - Venice and Capri were at the top of the list. You have to go to Rome to fly in so you might as well see the sights there. Lots of people love Florence, it was not my favorite city but there is a lot to see there and closeby.

xjulietx Posted: Jul 30, 2003 01:12 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

Who did you book with or did you create your own vacation?

LisaT Posted: Jul 30, 2003 01:13 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

we create our own vacations...a few months ago we spent a week on the Amalfi coast (stayed in a villa in Positano but toured Capri and the other towns) and a couple days in Rome.

On previous trips, I've also hit up Venice, Florence and Milan.

LizD Posted: Jul 30, 2003 01:20 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

Jusat adding - LisaT pictures were amazing. We are going to try to go next year, and are going to try to hit the same spots

xjulietx Posted: Jul 30, 2003 01:23 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

Lisa: How did you do all of the booking? Expedia? Travelocity? Orbitz? Or did you just do net searches? I wonder if we want to make our own.

Sonicstef Posted: Jul 30, 2003 01:25 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

Juliet: I booked a tour which did everything for you b/c I really didnt want to be bothered doing all my own research and treking around after the wedding. But you can do it yourself pretty easily if you do a little research before hand.

I use a travel agent who usually gives me some good recommendations but it probably depends on how far off the beaten track you want to go. Email me if you want her #.

LisaT Posted: Jul 30, 2003 01:26 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

booked the airfare on aa.com (but used travelocity and expedia too)

found the villa on google searches and the hotel on a great site that I can't recall the name of - I may have it at home.

Also referenced Fodors and Frommers.

xjulietx Posted: Jul 30, 2003 01:30 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

Thanks Stef and Lisa!

ILT1221 Posted: Jul 30, 2003 01:42 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

i'm hoping to go to italy for my first anniversary. My friend went last year through a tour with expedia.com and she was very happy with her trip.

AlisonMT Posted: Jul 30, 2003 03:15 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

Just got back from our fabulous honeymoon there myself. We used Joyce Ackerman out of Rye, NY. 800-711-2388 if you want to call her.

LisaT Posted: Jul 30, 2003 03:21 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

venere.com was the greta hotel site...

xjulietx Posted: Jul 30, 2003 03:27 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

I knew the newlyweds could help me Thanks ladies! If anyone thinks of more, please do post them.

Heather Posted: Jul 30, 2003 04:12 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

We went through American Express travel, although not cheap, it was a once in a life time trip.We stayed for 3 weeks.

First stop- Sardinia, an island off of Italy. It was amazing there, beautiful blue water and white sand beaches! It is considered the Itailian Rivera.

Next- Capri. Another beautiful place! We stayed in Ana Capri (the very top of the mountain). The Blue Grotto is a must.

Then- Amalfi Coast, Ravello. Our hotel was out of this world (Palazzo Sasso). We traveled around while we were there to Positano, Amalfi, and other unknown (not commonly) traveled places.

Finally- we ended the trip with family in the deep south, about an hour outside of Bari.

We used all means of transportation (plane, train, boat, and ferry).
If you have any specific questions, let me know. All of the places we stayed have web sites if you want to check them out!

AlisonMT Posted: Jul 30, 2003 05:44 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

Also, where in Italy are you planning to go?

Here are some of the places we stayed...all fabulous!!

Villa Franca in Positano (Amalfi Coast, AMAZING 360-degree views!!)

Hotel Torre Guelfa in Florence (more great views from the tower!!)

Villa di Piazzano in Tuscany (WONDERFUL!!)

Residenza Zanardelli in Rome (a VERY small, privately-owned hotel right near Piazza Navona that you need to book way in advance, but costs less than 150 euros a night, which is excellent for Rome...this is the only one we did on our own, without the travel agent...the rest are her recommendations)

Hope this helps!

xjulietx Posted: Jul 30, 2003 11:13 PM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

All of this helps. FH and I need to sit down and figure where we want to go, but you ladies have a lot of good links

Meg9-20-02 Posted: Jul 31, 2003 09:06 AM

Re: Any Italian Travelers over here?

I went to Italy for my HM. We did all the research on our own but ended up booking through a travel agent - I wish we didn't. The only bad hotel we stayed at was the one the travel agent recommended. We booked our airfare through expedia.com.
Here's the details of our trip. . .
Flew into Naples
4 nights at the Hotel San Pietro in Positano - AMAZING!! I would definitely recommend stopping here on your trip and this hotel was beyond wonderful.
3 nights at the Quisisana in Capri - Liked Capri, hated the hotel - It was big and gaudy - Not fitting for the charm of Capri. I also could have done with only 2 nights there.
3 nights at the Palazzo Sasso in Ravello - Again, AMAZING!! I loved Ravello - Very charming, not too many tourists - You really got a feel for the Amalfi Coast there. The hotel was incredible - Brand new, amazing service, etc.
2 nights in Rome at the Hotel Intercontinental - Horrible hotel - Horrible service - Just left me with a bad feeling about Rome. It was nice to see the sights but I really didn't like the city. Not a good end to the HM (The travel agent talked me into spending some time there and I ended up caving and letting her book it)
Flew out of Rome

If you have any questions, feel free to FM me ~