12-Day Luxury Italy: Rome, Sicily and the Amalfi Coast

We had a beautiful week in Sorrento, with days in Pompeii, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast. Zicasso’s travel specialist planned the trip exactly as we discussed and we loved every minute!

The one thing that was a bit challenging was that all of our excursions were booked under my middle name, which I do not use, and we had to explain several times to the trip operators.

The hotel was lovely, our room was perfect, and the pool was excellent. Unfortunately, there was a very long ramp required to walk up and down every time we left the hotel, and even though all of the rest of the hotel was excellent, we would have preferred a little less of a distance from the lobby to the street. These items were not at all a big deal, but we are learning what sorts of things to be sure to discuss when planning the next trip.

The travel company was very responsive throughout the trip and communicated with us regularly, which we appreciated!! Overall, I highly recommend this trip and can't wait for the next one!

My husband and I were thrilled with our recent trip to Italy that Zicasso’s travel designer put together. We began by attending a family friend’s wedding, held in Ravello, on the Amalfi Coast. Due to my husband’s mobility issues, we were met by a driver and headed to the Amalfi Coast. The driver was first class and the trip was very comfortable.

After the wedding festivities, we were able to have the most wonderful experiences visiting the towns of Amalfi and Positano, and our base for one week was in beautiful Sorrento. We attended a cooking class and enjoyed eating what we prepared. We had in-depth learning opportunities in Naples and Sorrento. Every guide we had spoke excellent English and was so knowledgeable. We especially enjoyed Pompeii! A super-fun day was had on the small group tour of Capri. The crew was fantastic and very accommodating in consideration of my husband’s mobility issues.

From beginning to end everything went well. The use of a messaging app was great for making sure everyone was on the same page.

The only thing that was a disappointment was the pizza in Naples. It wasn’t the best.

The hotel in Sorrento was phenomenal - it couldn’t have been better. The view of Mt. Vesuvius from our balcony helped create memories we will have forever. The hotel in Rome was also very nice. It was right in the middle of the main attractions.

We are very happy with our experience with this travel company and would not hesitate to recommend it!

It was a wonderful trip! We could not have asked for a better honeymoon. We had time to relax and rest, but also had the flexibility to plan and book excursions and activities! Each location was so nice because we were able to easily spread out and explore other towns around it.

Zicasso's travel specialist was so great to work with and was very knowledgeable about traveling within Italy!

When we decided to plan a family trip to Italy, I did some research and found Zicasso. They were very highly rated, and we reached out to them. Zicasso’s travel agent responded very quickly. She was friendly, professional, and asked us questions to ensure she knew what we were looking for in our trip. The travel agent planned an exceptional family vacation for us with a customized itinerary that included traveling to Rome, Siena, Florence, and ending in Venice. She tailored our trip to include private transfers from the airport to the hotels, as well as traveling city to city.

Each hotel had an excellent location that allowed us to easily walk and explore. The hotels were beautiful, clean, and comfortable, each with impeccable service.

They set us up with private tour guides, who not only allowed us to skip the lines to major attractions, but also personalized the tour so we were able to spend time viewing the things that were important to us. The guides were friendly, informative and engaging.

Every aspect was meticulously curated and the travel company checked in with me via a messaging app daily to share the next day’s itinerary. They were always available if we had any questions or if any issue arose, which never did because of how well they planned everything. I reached out to them asking if they could please make a dinner reservation for me and they were quick to secure that for us.

I would highly recommend this travel company and will definitely use them again in the future.

Overall, I would give this trip 4.5 stars.

It was well planned and Zicasso's travel company was easy to contact and communicate with.

The itinerary took into consideration our interests and desires. The hotels and tours were very nice. Our private guides were knowledgeable and also catered to our interests.

When things came up, they were easy to contact and quickly corrected issues that arose.

Here is why I would give it 4.5 and not 5 stars:

Some transfer days were left open for free time, but we were new to each city and did not really know where to go or what to see. In retrospect, we should have had a half-day tour or introduction to the city that day and then maybe free time later to explore the parts that we liked. A few times, we had a tour right before leaving that left us wanting to come back to a particular spot, but we had no time to do so. An experienced travel company should know that and plan accordingly.

Specifically in Venice, a private transfer dropped us off in a small alley and we had no idea where to go, fresh off the plane with all of our luggage. The travel company guided us to our hotel, but this is not what a luxury travel company should plan for. It should be a door-to-door transfer, with luggage taken care of.

There were a few times when the transfer time or location changed and we were notified at the last minute.

Tickets to see Michelangelo's "David" had the wrong date on them and our guide had to scramble to get new tickets. This situation was resolved and was not a big problem, but the response by the travel company was not adequate. A simple apology for the inconvenience would have worked, but instead, it was played off as no big deal.

At the end of the trip, I reached out to offer a detailed review of the hotels, transfers, and guides to help them plan better for the future, but I received no response. The trip was over and it felt like they were done.

Overall, the travel company felt a lot less personal than companies we have used in the past in other countries.

All of these were very minor issues and overall the trip was great, safe, and pleasant. However, in the setting of luxury travel, small things matter.

Hopefully this helps the next traveler.