Hello!

I am thinking about booking the Rome, Florene, Venice (11 day) tour of Italy with Globus, but wanted to know if the sightseeing listed includes admission into places that require an admission. They only provide 1/2 day tours as an "overview" I assume, which is fine, as we can go back later & visit those places, but just wondered if on the 1/2 day tour they actually take you inside the locations, and then if you go back do you have to pay admission a 2nd time? (What tourist locations require admission.. ..we've never been before?!)

Also - I have checked out the first class hotels they offer and will probably upgrade to the superior hotels, how does with work with the transfers from the rail stations to the hotels, if there are 2 different groups going to 2 different hotels?

Ok.. ..one more thing (sorry!). . We are booking our flight with our frequent flyer miles, so how will we meet our transport form the airport to our hotel? Any ideas?

Any comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Also, any resturant reccommendations would be great!!

We will be going to Italy next month with a Globus tour, so I don't have any first hand information, but here's what I have learned so far. In your itinerary, anything in capital letters will include admission to that attraction.

I would be surprised if Globus allowed you to stay in different hotels.. ..if they did, it would be up to you to get to the "Tour hotel" for departures, etc. When you arrive at the airport, there will be a Globus representative if you arrive on the same day as in the itinerary. You will be able to get transportation on the next shuttle.

I would highly recommend that you get a book on Rome and/or Italy such as Fodor's Rome or Rick Steve's Italy. They contain loads of information about places to see, how to get there and the costs. PLAN AHEAD!

Hope this will be of some help and have a good trip!!

Thanks for the advice. I have been searching the web for tips/suggestions for trips and have found a wealth of information. I actually found the Globus tour that we wanted to take on Atlas's website. I was just searching for rail journeys and their site came up.

I asked an Atlas rep. about the admission prices being included and she said everything listed under the "sightseeing" heading was included with price of admission. I don't see how though, they are only taking us on 1/2 day tours!! I guess I will need further clarification from someone at Globus.

Thanks for the advice on the travel books.. ..I will pick one up.

Do you know anything about traveling in May to Italy. Most people I see are either in April or September?? The weather averages look alright to me!!

May was my first choice in when to visit Europe but didn't work out. I knew we didn't want to be there in the summer.. ..too crowded and too hot! I don't place much faith in the "average temps". .. ..a friend of ours just returned from London when temps are suppose to average around 72 and she said it was miserable hot! And the further south you go in Europe, the hotter it gets. So, May should be fine, but maybe Aoril would be better? Don't know for sure!

Which tour are you planning? Is it the "Italy at Leisure"? Check out Globus' "From the Thames to the Tiber". .. ..for $200 more you get 17 days and London and Paris as well!!

Hummm.. ..that might be a good idea!! For only $200!! I'll really need to look into that one. We were planning on the Rome, Florence, Venice - 11 day tour. I think it's run by Monograms, who appears to be owned by Globus as I found it on Globus's website.

We debated on taking the DaVinci tour, which sounds so much fun since we both read the book (although not a lover of the movie). . Although, we both want to see more of Italy I think.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll look into the other tour!

I have been on several Globus tours and never heard of people staying at different hotels. I think the confusion comes in because they mention different hotels in each city however everyone always stays in the same hotel and you don't have a choice. It is the tours that determine which hotel you stay in. The Monogram Tours are more independent travel and I have not taken those tours at all.I think they sound interesting though.The Thames to the Tiber Tour is supposed to be a good one. I took the Scenice Delight Tour last year and it was wonderful. I do like the tours where you stay at least 2 days in each city.
You will only go inside on the attractions that are in in CAPITAL letter and the admission charge is included. Otherwise if it says look at or drive by that is exactly what you do. Check carefully the details and included items on the tours you are considering. Sometimes tours that appear much cheaper do NOT include as much in the cost of the tour. When you start paying your own admission charges and your buying meals it can add up quickly.However many times it is less expensive to do things on your own.
This year DH and I went to London on our own and had a great time. If I had not taken the other tours with Globus in the past I would never have been comfortable enough to go to London on my own and be my own guide.LOL

What I meant by staying in different hotels was upgrading to the superior class hotels. The Monogram tours give you the option of 1st class or the superior class. I looked up both sets of hotels and the superior class were in far better locations to the sites. Sorry, I guess I didn't state that very clearly.

I actually got onto the Monograms site and downloaded the official brochure for the Europe vacations (2006 though) so I could see exactly what site we would go into. The descriptions on the websites don't contain CAPITAL letters.. ..so I could not tell!

Thanks for all of the advice!!

Gottcha!!
Don't think any of us realized you were talking about the Monogram tours. You do have a choice on those independent tours of hotels. Monogram is advertised as a totally independent vacation and includes hotels and buffet breakfast,transportation between cities and a local host(for advice) and an orientation tour around the cities. Which is probably a 1/2 day bus tour in which you drive by everything to get an overview of the citiy..It would not include any inside visits or admissions.

If you want admissions and inside visits included take a look at some other Globus tours for example "Italys Great Cities" 9 days tour #Z," Italian Treasures",11 days,tour ZK."Italy at Leisure"11 days,tour LJ and" Leisurely Italy" 11 days tour LK. Sometimes when you figure the cost of what you would pay for on your own and what is included the overall cost might be cheaper to take a tour that includes more things. It just depends on how much you like to do your own planning.Half the fun for me is planning the trip and I like to have a lot of free time so probabaly on my next trip to Italy ,my 5th Europe trip I would do the Monogram or just plan it on my own using web sites like tripadvisor and guide books.I also think if this is your first Europe trip you would benefit from taking a tour of some type. JMHO
I suggest you go on www.globusjourneys.com and order their 2007 brochures. then you can really figure out what you want to do.Have fun.

If you do decide on Monogram I agree on the Superior hotels. Next time I go to Venice I really want to stay in Venice,not Mestre!

Venice is just magical.

I looked around for quite a while for a tour that allowed us the freedom to plan, but made all of the "essential" arrangements for us. I think this tour will be perfect. I LOVE to plan trips, but it will be nice for a quick overview of the sights of each city, that way we can plan on what we REALLY want to see.

I got on the Vatican's website and see that you can reserve guided tours (at a cost of course), but I was wondering if this would be worth it. I don't know how long the lines will be in May to see things like the Sistine Chapel and other Vatican museums. Any ideas?

I also picked this tour b/c it travels by train between cities, not on a bus. I would hate NOTHING MORE than to be stuck on a bus for 5 to 6 hours at a time on my vacation.. ..I've taken too many bus trips that breakdown, or someone gets sick and we end up stopping for hours on end. (I have sympathy for the sick people, don't get me wrong.. ..but I just feel a train would be faster & much more efficient!). .

When I reviewed the brochure for the 2006 trip they take you inside 2 places at each stop, which when I figured the costs on our own, it's still cheaper to take the our, plus there is a guide to help you out if you do have an emergency situation, or just need directions.

My major concern is what to do in Florence.. ..I know it's know for the arts, but when I look at tour books & such there are so many museums & I'm not a fan of lines, so I'd like to book tickets to "must do" things in advance at each stop.. ..any ideas for Florence "must see's"?