Hello all

I'm travelling on the Highlights of Sicily and Southern Italy tour in June and I've never been on an organized tour before (I've done mostly independent travelling). .

What kinds of things should I be prepared for (aside from the early morning starts)? What are some pieces of advice that people should definitely know about?

I have visions of cattle and being herded from one place to the next.. .. .. .

Thank you in advance,

I'm wondering about this too. Hubby and I are taking the Best of Italy tour in July and have mostly done independent travel. Looking at the general itinerary, I already know that in Capri I'd prefer not to do what the group is doing as I've already been there and done those things. As long as I let our tour guide know, would it be acceptable to strike out on our own?

The being cattle isn't far off, but it works for your benefit and gives travelers (especially new ones) a sense of greater "Comfort". . Generally the times you are "herded" are when being given a walking tour by the TD or local guide or are moving ahead of the que. When there is no guided tours they will give a quick synopsis of the area and when & where to meet for departure. You can go out on your own and skip the guided tours if you choose, just ask what time to be back. We always find at least 1 tour visit that we want to visit/see someting else, instead of the tours choice and always manage to see it. It can be quite fun when in the groups as you are travelling with new friends and dont have long lines to stand in.

There are tremendous advantages to being on a guided tour.. .. .
1. You have a guide to tell you where you are and what is historically important.. .
2. They set up all the hotels and accomodation arrangements for you
3. They arrange all the transportation and tell you what's safe and what's not
4. They will answer individual questions
5. If you want to go off on your own, you are free to do so
6. You get special passes into the museums so you don't have to wait in line
7. Local guides are arranged so you don't have to figure things out for yourself, if you don't want to
8. The above advantages make being "herded" a little easier
9. You have some groundwork done for the next time you go back to the place on your own.

Dear Newbie,

I've done lots of tours with various companies and it just so happens I did this very tour in January of this year.

If Globus is arranging your airfare you will have a transfer to the hotel in Rome. Be advised that the transfers are at set times only. I was not willing to sit around the airport for 2 and a half hours while Rome was waiting for me to explore it so I paid extra and had the company rep who greeted me at the airport, arrange a taxi for me. It cost 38 euros but since I had read my tour material I was prepared for this and no big deal.

I arrived at the hotel (Visconti Palace), checked in, used the bathroom and took my camera on a tour of the Trestevere area after having a brief discussion with our Tour Director who was waiting in the lobby. The hotel is in a great location and if you do a bit of researching with maps and tour books you can set out a nice little walk for yourself . .

You will have local guides in Rome (Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, Forum and Coloseum) and other locations. This is common in Europe. It is customary to tip the local guide 50 cents to a euro (per person) for each half-day tour.

It turned out that we only had 19 people on our tour so we had lots of space on the bus. But, we were travelling in January. In the warmer months you probably won't be that lucky.

When you have a 2-night stop in a hotel, that's when you can do some laundry (on the first night). . I take a plastic hanger with me because hotel hangers are usually the type that don't come off the rod in the closet.

If you prefer down or feather pillows, you will probably be disappointed unless you pack your own.

Dinners together in hotels are usually local cusine but toned down for the tourist group that will have a wide range of tastes. If you are vegetarian, be sure to let the Tour Director know and speak up at the dinners.

There were not that many optional excursions on our tour. I took the evening walking tour in Rome and was very pleased about that as our guide was knowledgeable, the dinner was very good and the entertainment wasn't bad either. My notes say, "Everyone at the table was having fun and the unlimited wine was very helpful." I recall that one optional dinner we were to have done had to be cancelled because of a death in the family of the restaurant owner. My total expenses on optional tours for this particular tour were just over $120 Canadian.

One day our lunch was at a hotel in a small town where truck drivers usually stop. Sometimes you have a rest stop at an Autogrille which is the European highway restaurant chain. The procedure at the Autogrille is to give your order to the cashier and then take your ticket to the food counter to request your food. Your Tour Director will explain that to you. If you have lunch at an Autogrille it will be the larger type that have very nice buffets where you can select salads, soups, sandwiches, pastas, and other hot or cold entrees. We rarely drove longer than 2 hours before stopping for either lunch or a rest stop. Be prepared for the inevitable lines at the ladies' toilets while the men's have no such problems. We kept things civilized and things worked fine - especially when the ladies took over the men's when necessary. (not often)

With an organized tour, you are spending your entire time with the same group of people. In order to facilitate getting to know one another and to give all group members equal opportunities to sit in the different areas of the bus, there is SEAT ROTATION. Depending on your tour guide, you will move forward (or back) 2 or 3 seats every day. That means you're sitting across from different people every day and you don't get stuck at the back for the entire trip. It takes a bit of getting used to but is well worth it.

People on the tour are generally very friendly. Tours I have been on have been a mix of Canadians, Americans, Australians and New Zealanders with, every once in a while, a few Brits. At one point the Tour Director will send around a sheet on which everyone will scribble their names and addresses (especially e-mail). . If this is done on the bus, the copy you end up with will be very hard to decipher. If you really want to contact people afterwards, get their info on your own.

There isn't a lot of storage space on the bus/coach for carry on stuff but on the Globus bus there is enough room for a (nonrollerboard style) overnight bag at your feet and other stuff in the shallow compartments overhead. You are entitled to have one suitcase portered. I found that I was constantly repacking the suitcase. Next time I will take my slightly larger case so that can organize things better. The good thing is that no one really dresses up on the tour so a casual wardrobe will do you just fine.

If you have a sweet tooth, be prepared for the cannoli and gelato - especially the cannoll in Sicily! I'm drooling just writing about it.

You will do lots of touring (especially churches) but not too much. You will get time for shopping. In Palermo, the hotel (Jolly Hotel Palermo) has a shuttle bus that provided guests free transportation to downtown so those of us who wanted to use our free time to visit specific sites or do more shoppiong, went as a group and did that.

We had one day when the bus broke down (near Agrigento) but within an hour they had a replacement bus for us and that night our Driver had had the repairs done and had our own bus for us again. The company has a good network of supports, ready to deal with a variety of situations.

There is an expectation that you will tip your Tour Director and Driver at the end of the tour. I take along a couple of thank you cards, write a quick note and put my gratuity money (in euros) in them. The ideal opportunity to thank them and tip them is the dinner on the last night.

The itinerary on this tour is excellent. The scenery is fabulous and the pace is good. The only place where I felt we were rushed was in Capri. But then I took time to have lunch at a restaurant. If I could have done things differently, I would have picked up a roll and some cheese or something else to much while walking around. The tour is an excellent introduction to this area of Italy and you will seeing it from the bus where we have the advantage of being higher up.

I seem to have written a lot. I hope it is helpful. Have a great trip!