Has anyone used italytours.eu recently? Looking for recommendations

[bianks]

loving and appreciating all the feedback, keep it coming - we will be doing a fully private Pompeii, Sorrento & Positano tour with 2 children. I hope we've made the right decision with the children in tow! 

[Real NHDOC]

I would point out that on their website they have a description of the tour that differs significantly from that which is described in the lengthy confirmation email.  On the website it reads:
 

“Next, we will depart Sorrento and continue on to beautiful Positano, known as the jewel of the Amalfi coast. Explore the central Piazza dei Mulini, connected to a narrow downhill path and a few flights of steps that lead to the seafront. This must-see plaza allows you to appreciate the magnificent natural surroundings as well as local life and culture. Follow narrow streets leading to the Church of St Maria Assunta, a great example of medieval art. Time permitting we will also include a visit to the Emerald Cave”

 

And in the email it reads:

”Time permitting (depending on traffic), we will go to the view-point overlooking Positano. We do not plan to enter Positano unless stated otherwise in your reservation above. (on the vast majority of tours we manage to cover the Positano view-point but in case we won't, no partial refund will be issued).”

So, had we read the email more carefully we would have known that we weren’t going to get what was described in the tour description on their website. Is this a “bait and switch”? Yes. The email confirmation had 15 bulllet points and the section in which the Postiano visit is mentioned is just one part of bullet 5. 
 

They also described the “driver-guide” as providing us with advice as to what to see in Sorrento, which she did not do. 
 

We took several tours with their sister company in Spain and had no problems. So it appears that this tour is the one which is most problematic. As I had said if this one had been our first experience with them it would have been the last. 
 

So, overall I recommend using Italy Tours (and their sister company Spain tours) but don’t rely on the website description for what you’re going to receive. Read everything in the confirmation email (received after paying) and if you feel they differ significantly then cancel. 

[jlandz09]

Great news! They were able to switch us to the Classic Amalfi!

[fishiecrackers]

On 5/4/2023 at 10:52 PM, Real NHDOC said:

I would point out that on their website they have a description of the tour that differs significantly from that which is described in the lengthy confirmation email.  On the website it reads:
 

“Next, we will depart Sorrento and continue on to beautiful Positano, known as the jewel of the Amalfi coast. Explore the central Piazza dei Mulini, connected to a narrow downhill path and a few flights of steps that lead to the seafront. This must-see plaza allows you to appreciate the magnificent natural surroundings as well as local life and culture. Follow narrow streets leading to the Church of St Maria Assunta, a great example of medieval art. Time permitting we will also include a visit to the Emerald Cave”

 

And in the email it reads:

”Time permitting (depending on traffic), we will go to the view-point overlooking Positano. We do not plan to enter Positano unless stated otherwise in your reservation above. (on the vast majority of tours we manage to cover the Positano view-point but in case we won't, no partial refund will be issued).”

So, had we read the email more carefully we would have known that we weren’t going to get what was described in the tour description on their website. Is this a “bait and switch”? Yes. The email confirmation had 15 bulllet points and the section in which the Postiano visit is mentioned is just one part of bullet 5. 
 

They also described the “driver-guide” as providing us with advice as to what to see in Sorrento, which she did not do. 
 

We took several tours with their sister company in Spain and had no problems. So it appears that this tour is the one which is most problematic. As I had said if this one had been our first experience with them it would have been the last. 
 

So, overall I recommend using Italy Tours (and their sister company Spain tours) but don’t rely on the website description for what you’re going to receive. Read everything in the confirmation email (received after paying) and if you feel they differ significantly then cancel. 

Was this just the Amalfi Coast tour, or did it include Pompeii? That's not what my confirmation email says at all. Wonder if they've changed it.

[fishiecrackers]

On 5/3/2023 at 3:43 AM, Real NHDOC said:

We did a few tours with this company recently. Two were very good but one was pretty bad. It was the full day small group tour of Pompeii, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. The young lady who met us at the port was very inexperienced. Our “tour” was basically 5 1/2 hours mostly sitting in traffic with nothing interesting to see and 2 1/2 hours of actual interesting experiences.
 

We spent about 5 minutes overlooking Positano which we were supposed to be able to go to but because we hit so much traffic we ran out of time so just saw it from a distance. Our stop in Sorrento was 1 hour on our own, not even enough time to have lunch and sightsee. No guidance from our guide. She didn’t even know where the bathrooms were. Our first bathroom break was at noon after spending almost 4 hours in a bus.
 

Our tour of Pompeii had to be abbreviated because we arrived 30 minutes late for our appointment. The Pompeii tour was very good. after we left Pompeii the driver and our bus guide had a hard time finding each other resulting in our group crossing several busy streets only to land up back at the exit where we began. Again, a sign of inexperience. 
 

The only thing we arrived on time for was getting back to the ship at 4:30. I had sent an email to the company while the tour was going on to inform them of the disappointing service and never received a reply which is surprising since up until then they had been pretty responsive. 
 

I would say if this had been our first experience with Italy Tours it would have been our last. 

Yikes. That makes me nervous - we are doing the same tour. We are doing a private tour, so I was going to just request to skip Sorrento and go to Positano instead, but in reality I don't really know/care which Amalfi Coast city we go to, I just want to see some of those stereotypical Amalfi Coast views.

[DCGuy64]

I just found out about this company a short while ago thanks to the NCL Roll Call for our cruise this November. We hope to use Italytours at least once, if not twice, during our cruise. Both my wife and I speak Italian, I am completely fluent having studied it for many years and having traveled to Italy 27 times. (Sorry, I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging, it's just for context) Do they ever do tours in both Italian and English or just Italian?

[sherrihall128]

40 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I just found out about this company a short while ago thanks to the NCL Roll Call for our cruise this November. We hope to use Italytours at least once, if not twice, during our cruise. Both my wife and I speak Italian, I am completely fluent having studied it for many years and having traveled to Italy 27 times. (Sorry, I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging, it's just for context) Do they ever do tours in both Italian and English or just Italian?

It was my impression that their tours often cater to cruise guests, and that most of the tours are conducted in English. You may be able to see if they do any tours in Italian.

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, sherrihall128 said:

It was my impression that their tours often cater to cruise guests, and that most of the tours are conducted in English. You may be able to see if they do any tours in Italian.

Thanks. I was hinting at the possibility of Italian based on this post:

 

"On our bus there was a guide and a driver but the guide was very inexperienced and her grasp of English wasn’t great. The driver also spoke broken English. My understanding is the bus guide is supposed to give narratives along the way and at the stops but on our tour she was useless."

When I read the part about broken English, it made me think "hmm, what if I asked them to speak Italian instead?"  

[sherrihall128]

4 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Thanks. I was hinting at the possibility of Italian based on this post:

 

"On our bus there was a guide and a driver but the guide was very inexperienced and her grasp of English wasn’t great. The driver also spoke broken English. My understanding is the bus guide is supposed to give narratives along the way and at the stops but on our tour she was useless."

When I read the part about broken English, it made me think "hmm, what if I asked them to speak Italian instead?"  

I'm sure the drivers and Guide would love that!

[bianks]

I have booked a fully private tour with 2 adults and our 2 children aged 6 and 9. 

the tour will be for pompeii, sorrento and requested a swim and look around Positano 

given the traffic etc etc it sounds likely this might not even happen??? Any suggestions? 

[Real NHDOC]

On 5/7/2023 at 5:59 AM, fishiecrackers said:

Was this just the Amalfi Coast tour, or did it include Pompeii? That's not what my confirmation email says at all. Wonder if they've changed it.

It was the “POMPEII, SORRENTO & THE AMALFI COAST” tour. 
 

I sent a second email expressing my disappointment with the tour with a detailed description of our experience and received an automated response saying I’d receive a real response in 2-4 days.
 

That was last Friday. Today is Wednesday. And that’s the second time I reached out to them. So I don’t think they will bother to follow up. 

[upslash]

I'm second guessing the tour I booked in Naples now with all of these bad comments about it.

[sherrihall128]

3 hours ago, upslash said:

I'm second guessing the tour I booked in Naples now with all of these bad comments about it.

I think you'll be fine. Of course, they can't control the traffic, but I hope one person's bad review doesn't deter you from your booked tour.

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, bianks said:

I have booked a fully private tour with 2 adults and our 2 children aged 6 and 9. 

the tour will be for pompeii, sorrento and requested a swim and look around Positano 

given the traffic etc etc it sounds likely this might not even happen??? Any suggestions? 

 

The key to successful touring is to have realistic expectations. When you add up the amount of time you will spend driving (at least 2.5 hours, probably more) and the amount of time at Pompeii (again, at least two hours), there is likely to be limited time left. How many hours did you book the tour for? 

 

Getting down into Positano and parking and having even a cursory look around will take another hour, minimum. 

 

Getting to a beach may also take some time, it's not like you can just park the van beside the road and dash into the water. There are limited public beaches as most of the coast line is rocky cliff with few sand beaches. Plus the road is high up on the cliffs, not at sea level....

 

It is ever so tempting to try to stuff 20 pounds of sightseeing into a 12 pound bag, but it can sometimes result in just feeling like you've had a rushed day throughout to keep on schedule. Some people don't mind a 10-minute photo stop and a 15-minute walk down three blocks of a town to get an ice cream. To me, that's not a satisfying day.

 

 

 

[sherrihall128]

41 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

The key to successful touring is to have realistic expectations. When you add up the amount of time you will spend driving (at least 2.5 hours, probably more) and the amount of time at Pompeii (again, at least two hours), there is likely to be limited time left. How many hours did you book the tour for? 

 

Getting down into Positano and parking and having even a cursory look around will take another hour, minimum. 

 

Getting to a beach may also take some time, it's not like you can just park the van beside the road and dash into the water. There are limited public beaches as most of the coast line is rocky cliff with few sand beaches. Plus the road is high up on the cliffs, not at sea level....

 

It is ever so tempting to try to stuff 20 pounds of sightseeing into a 12 pound bag, but it can sometimes result in just feeling like you've had a rushed day throughout to keep on schedule. Some people don't mind a 10-minute photo stop and a 15-minute walk down three blocks of a town to get an ice cream. To me, that's not a satisfying day.

 

 

 

 

Very true! It's tempting to try to see everything in a short period of time. We just did Positano from a view point, Sorrento for 2 hours, and Pompeii for 2 hours. The amount of Pompeii was good as I felt overwhelmed with the size of the place, but I definitely wanted more time at Sorrento and Positano. Just having proper expectations for the amount of time you have and things you'll see is super important so you're not disappointed.

[bianks]

im confused I have read that Positano is just absolutely stunning but then all of these tours spend more time in Sorrento and just a quick photo stop in Positano - why is this? 

what would I be better off spending my time doing with the children? 

[marazul]

3 minutes ago, bianks said:

im confused I have read that Positano is just absolutely stunning but then all of these tours spend more time in Sorrento and just a quick photo stop in Positano - why is this? 

what would I be better off spending my time doing with the children? 

The problem is accessibility to Positano. If you really want to see it, skip Sorrento. Specify to your tour company that you want to visit Pompeii and Positano. 

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, bianks said:

im confused I have read that Positano is just absolutely stunning but then all of these tours spend more time in Sorrento and just a quick photo stop in Positano - why is this? 

what would I be better off spending my time doing with the children? 

 

Drivers tend to stop in Sorrento because it's easy and it offers more varied options (both in terms of cost and time spent) for tour passengers who want to grab something to eat, do a bit of shopping, walk around the town, etc. 

 

Sorrento itself is not so much. I've never understood why it is a major stop. Positano is pretty but small; there is less to do there but it is more enjoyable to do it (if that makes sense). In Italian it is the "dolce far niente" (the sweetness of doing nothing).

 

[marazul]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Sorrento itself is not so much. I've never understood why it is a major stop. 

 

More souvenir shops. . .

[bianks]

do you think for an 8 hour tour, we would have time for pompeii, a photo stop in Sorrento and a proper stop in Positano then? 

who has the better swimming beaches? would we have time to tell our driver to stop for a swim?

[crewsgirl]

On 12/3/2022 at 4:55 PM, psyfi said:

We used ItalyTours.eu in Livorno in Nov 2022 on our Transatlantic.  We were initially booked to go to Cinque Terre but our blue haired tour guide Stefano (who was channeling Hades from Hercules) said it was going to pour rain there so gave us the option to re-route, which we all agreed would be better than being in the rain in November.  He took us to Pisa, San Gimignano, and a tiny town called Certaldo in Tuscany instead. He stopped at scenic spots so we could take photos and gave us so much information.  He even made a stop at a local grocery store so people could get limoncello for €4 instead of €24 in the tourist area.  We had a fabulous day!

Hello there, I am really interested in San Gimignano and the smaller towns in Tuscany while we are in Livorno. Did you find enough to do there? Any chance he would have taken you to a winery if you had asked? I love the idea of stopping at local markets. How many people were in the vehicle and do you mind sharing how much you paid for that tour? 

[psyfi]

21 hours ago, crewsgirl said:

Hello there, I am really interested in San Gimignano and the smaller towns in Tuscany while we are in Livorno. Did you find enough to do there? Any chance he would have taken you to a winery if you had asked? I love the idea of stopping at local markets. How many people were in the vehicle and do you mind sharing how much you paid for that tour? 

Keeping in mind this was not the tour we were supposed to do, and we changed our day on the fly to avoid rain in Cinque Terre.  No one wanted to go to a winery. San Gimignano was lovely but it really is just a few streets with stores, we ate lunch, had some gelato from a couple places and that was it.  Beautiful views all around as it is the top of a hill.  We quite enjoyed our time, particularly as I like to take photos, but how much there is to “do” depends on if you want to shop, eat, wander around.  I think we were there 90 minutes?  Certado was a place to see but again, just quickly.  There were no stores even open there, but we were there in November. One thing that was really interesting were how different these villages were from Eze in France from a similar time frame. A lot of the drive was pretty as well.  And Pisa was more interesting than I would have thought although we were there too early to go inside.  We had 8 people in the van and the tour was €99 or possibly 109 per person.

[crewsgirl]

Great to know, thank you. I am just really concerned about the Mega Ships that will be in La Spezia and the idea that Cinque Terre will be crazy crowded on any regular day in June this year. Tuscany sounds delightful and I hope this turns out to be a good tour for us! Thanks for your words!

[mapleleaves]

On 5/9/2023 at 8:26 PM, bianks said:

I have booked a fully private tour with 2 adults and our 2 children aged 6 and 9. 

the tour will be for pompeii, sorrento and requested a swim and look around Positano 

given the traffic etc etc it sounds likely this might not even happen??? Any suggestions? 

With a private tour you can make your own itinerary, within reason. Just don't jeopardize the company's ability to get you back to port on time.  So give it some thought and decide what YOUR FAMILY wants to see and do.

Our group of 4 wanted to see Pompeii but wanted the Amalfi Coast more, so we made the tough choice to skip Pompeii.  We also had no desire to spend time in Sorrento as it would take away from our time on the coast.  We visited Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, probably 1 1/2  hrs in each town.

To maximize our time, the driver asked to meet earlier in order to get a head start on traffic so we met at 7:30am. And since we had a long port day I pd for an extra hour so we had a 9hr tour day.To avoid retracing our steps and getting caught up in the AC traffic jam, we took the back way home, thru the mountains. We got to spend time in each village and it broke up the day nicely so that we never sat in the car for more than 1 1/2 hrs at a time. 

We didn't use ItalyTours .... there are lots of recommended companies that provide the same tours.

 

[cruisergal 1]

We just came back from our Mediterranean cruise last weekend and used Italy tours.eu for Marseilles,  France, and Florence/Pisa. We thoroughly enjoyed both tours. Our tour guides were wonderful, very friendly, outgoing , gave us lots of interesting information, action filled. We would definitely use this tour company again, and recommend them. I have mobility issues and they showed great concern as to how I was doing, very considerate. The cost was very reasonable for what we got. They were very long days, but few saw lots!