I'm going to be travelling with my family on the Globus Italian Mosaic tour soon and I am just wondering if anyone has gone on that one and how did they like it? How were the hotels, traveling pace, food, service etc? Cleanliness is also a big concern of mine. This is our first time to Europe so we don't really know what to expect!

The ZI is an absolutely fantastic tour. You get to see most of the important centres in Italy as well as some superb sights. Rome is absolutely awesome, I personnaly love the place, and manage to get over there two or three times a year. Venice is even better, been there several times and look forward to going back every time. Don't miss out on the optionals in Venice especially Burano, the food is to die for. The route back south from Venice takes in Ravenna on the way to Assisi, the mosaics are great, and the drive up to Assisi is fantastic. The hotel standards on the tour are great, cleanliness will not be an issue, so don't worry there. The travel pace is not overly fast, departures are always arranged by your TD to suit the days travel, cases are loaded and unloaded onto the coach by the hotel porters and the driver, it is the responsibility of the TD to ensure that everyones luggage is onboard before departing. Listen to your TD they have the knowledge and experience of not only the tour, but also the country that will make your trip an absolute pleasure. Enjoy your tour, I know I look forward to every trip I make to Italy.

We are just back. We didn't take that tour but the one we did take had nights in Florence, Venice, and Rome.

I am a bit picky about cleanliness too and you won't have anything to worry about there. The hotels were all very nice and clean. If you travel in the US, you have nothing to worry about in Europe. The safety and cleanliness was on par or above what we have in our big cities.

I'd heard a lot about bathrooms before we went and had no problems there either. The ones we went to were all clean.

Debbie

Debbie,
Which hotels did you stay in? We are taking a the Globus Best of Italy & France in Sept. We will also be staying in Florence, Venice & Rome. I believe our hotels are Jolly in Florence, Jolly Villa Carpegna in Rome & the Plaza in Mestre (Venice). . I am concerned with how far the hotels are from the main sightseeing areas.

Hi Debbie,

I would also love to know which hotels did you stay at? I am also going on the Italy's Great Cities tour next month and I am a little worried concerning the hotels because I have read many positivwe and negative things on the tripadvisor website.

I haven't received my tour information yet but I was told it would most likely be ROME-Albani, FLORENCE-Raffaello, VENICE-Carlton & Grand Canal, ROME-Jolly Midas or Villa Pamphili.

Thanks

Here are the ones we stayed at:

London - Ramada Hyde Park
Paris - Mercure Tour Eiffel Suffren
Lucerne - Royal
Venice - Plaza
Florence - Park Hotel Alexander
Rome - Visconti Palace

If you have questions about any of those, let me know which ones and I'll tell you what I know about them.

Debbie

The Plaza Mestre is not in Old Venice. I was a bit concerned as something I read said to definitely not stay in Mestre.

I was satisfied with the hotel and location however. It was directly across the street from the train station and you could take the train into Old Venice. (Either one or two stops depending on the run - cost one Euro.)

One afternoon, I wandered along a couple of streets behind the hotel and shopped at some local stores - a bakery, a parfumerie, a grocery, etc. I enjoyed that. The people in those stores were less likely to speak any English but I found out that you don't really need a lot of words to communicate. Hello, thank you and you're welcome are the basics.

Debbie

Hi Debbie.

How did you come back to the hotel at nights, did you take the train or vaporetto? I am thinking that it would be less hassle to take a water taxi, than trying to figure out the train system at night. Was the hotel close to the water (for taxis)? What kind of breakfast did they offer or do you remember?

Thanks

The hotel in Mestre was not close enough to take a water taxi - it wasn't near the water.

The day that we took the guided tour, the bus took us to some sort of huge parking lot and then we took a boat.

We took the train both ways on our first night there. The second day, we went in with the tour and then took the train back. The tour group did some other things and weren't coming back when we wanted to.

You might be able to take a regular taxi to somewhere where you could catch the water taxi - I don't know since we didn't do that.

If you want to take the train - here are some tips. At Mestre, the tickets were sold by the same person who sold the snacks. We went on and bought our return ticket from the same person and were glad that we didn't have to worry about it on the way back. The second day, we only had to buy a return ticket and bought it from a person in the gift shop. There were machines to sell tickets but they didn't sell tickets to Old Venice - just to more far-away places. There was also a line to buy tickets from a real person. However it was really long and we didn't stand in it so I'm not sure how it worked.

After buying the tickets and before you get on the train, you have to insert your ticket in a machine near the trains. It stamps it with the time and then you have about an hour to use it. (Actually no one ever checked.) In Old Venice, there is a big sign above your head that tells the departing trains and what tracks they leave from - kind of like an airport.

If you need help, just ask someone. Look for touristy people like yourselves as they will be more likely to speak English and will be more than willing to help you. If the person you ask can't help you, just thank them and go on. Our language skills were limited and sometimes a person will try to help but even though they are trying to speak English, you can't really understand them. If you can pick up a few words of Italian, most people appreciate it. "information" is pretty similar. And the word for tickets is similar to the French "billet." You can show how many by using your fingers. Then you just need "Mestre."

I took an Italian dictionary but ended up just using words that we found in a small list of handy words to know.

The breakfasts that we had were all pretty similar. There was usually sliced cheeses, breads, fruit (cut-up and whole), cereals, and the like. I can't remember the meat selections as I never ate any of that - but I think there was something. I was very satisfied with all of the breakfasts that we had.

Debbie

The hotel in Mestre was not close enough to take a water taxi - it wasn't near the water.

The day that we took the guided tour, the bus took us to some sort of huge parking lot and then we took a boat.

We took the train both ways on our first night there. The second day, we went in with the tour and then took the train back. The tour group did some other things and weren't coming back when we wanted to.

You might be able to take a regular taxi to somewhere where you could catch the water taxi - I don't know since we didn't do that.

If you want to take the train - here are some tips. At Mestre, the tickets were sold by the same person who sold the snacks. We went on and bought our return ticket from the same person and were glad that we didn't have to worry about it on the way back. The second day, we only had to buy a return ticket and bought it from a person in the gift shop. There were machines to sell tickets but they didn't sell tickets to Old Venice - just to more far-away places. There was also a line to buy tickets from a real person. However it was really long and we didn't stand in it so I'm not sure how it worked.

After buying the tickets and before you get on the train, you have to insert your ticket in a machine near the trains. It stamps it with the time and then you have about an hour to use it. (Actually no one ever checked.) In Old Venice, there is a big sign above your head that tells the departing trains and what tracks they leave from - kind of like an airport.

If you need help, just ask someone. Look for touristy people like yourselves as they will be more likely to speak English and will be more than willing to help you. If the person you ask can't help you, just thank them and go on. Our language skills were limited and sometimes a person will try to help but even though they are trying to speak English, you can't really understand them. If you can pick up a few words of Italian, most people appreciate it. "information" is pretty similar. And the word for tickets is similar to the French "billet." You can show how many by using your fingers. Then you just need "Mestre."

I took an Italian dictionary but ended up just using words that we found in a small list of handy words to know.

The breakfasts that we had were all pretty similar. There was usually sliced cheeses, breads, fruit (cut-up and whole), cereals, and the like. I can't remember the meat selections as I never ate any of that - but I think there was something. I was very satisfied with all of the breakfasts that we had.

Debbie