Tour Guide who doesn't like to Shop

[mert461]

I remember reading a post about one of the tour operators from either Villefranche, Rome, Naples or Florence who doesn't like to take his clients shopping.

Does someone remember who that tour operator was? I've done a search of the past posts, but can't seem to find it. :confused:

Thanks!!
Donna

[ClaudiaF]

That would be Marcello of
[url]Http://www.seesorrento.com[/url]
It wasn't that he didn't like shopping -he told us he felt it was a waste of time for tourists (all of us) to do that- and to waste money on useless junk that was being sold by his countrymen ;-) Although he did find time to stop so we could buy olive oil and nuts ( ?) which we didn't at a road side stand -so go figure.
You know.. you are paying for the tour and if you want him to stop so you can shop then that is up to you. I think after many of us here posted about his tour ( which by the way was terrific) many mentioned his outspoken thoughts regarding shopping so it became an issue. Recent posts say he now asks if you want to stop and shop ;-)
There are some amazing ceramic stores dotting the Amalfi coast and if you are interested have him stop.

[Sandy R]

I think you're referring to Marcello... [email]marcellomaresca@tin.it[/email]. Hope his e-mail address comes over to you. He's with [url]www.seesorrento.com[/url]. A poster said... Marcello doesn't like tourist traps or pricey shops that take advantage of the visitors. He feels if you spend time shopping, you're taking time away from seeing more of his beautiful country. We liked his slant and booked him for June 2005.

Sandy

[RHayes8793]

You'll have a great day; and he will give you 30 minutes in Sorrento to shop-the roadside stand is great as is the restaurant. Sorrento was wall to wall tourists.

[desertheat]

We also booked Marcello for our cruise in October 2005. In his emails he said exactly what previous posters have said . . . that he doesn't like to stop at tourist traps because he wants you to see and experience the beauty of Italy. He seems like a very straightforward kind of guy who wants to keep his clients very busy and very happy.

[jhannah]

I think you'll find that most drivers have connections with shopping places. They could care less if you buy, what you buy, or where you buy ... unless they get a cut from those whose establishments they bring people to. I have heard this "don't shop the tourist traps" thing before. In the majority of cases, it's because they don't get a cut in those places.

[alborn63]

We booked Marcello for out tour back in June of this year. We had absolutely the best time with him. My daughter who is 17 and like a lot of teenagers can find fault in most anything at anytime said she had the best time of her life. She talks about him to this day. He made her laugh all day long. He is very knowledgeable about the area and makes it a very memorable day.

He does ask you several times if you want to shop and what you want to shop for. We personally did not want to. I can shop inthe United States. I am not dragging a piece of pottery on a 9 hour flight back home to save 15.00 from what it would cost in the US. Other people have not problem doing it we just did not want to.

You can not go wrong in booking with Marcello, you will have a fabulous day.