Essence of Italy Tour: Cities, Ruins, Canals, History & Beauty

The travel professionals at Zicasso’s travel company worked with us for over a year to plan the most amazing 14-day tour of Venice, Florence, and Rome. They were beyond patient and kind, fielding my endless questions and providing assurances for every detail. Every day was jam-packed with guides and travel. Well, one really doesn't know until you get to Italy, right?

Upon our late-evening arrival to Venice, we had our personal escort waiting for us at the airport, with private transport to our hotel in Venice. She did not leave until we had our bags in the lobby. I knew right then and there we had made the right choice with the travel company.

We found that everything was taken care of by the travel company, down to the smallest detail. Every guide, and there were many, came to our hotels to greet us and escorted us back to our hotel upon conclusion of our tour. Every single guide was a treasure. We never had to hail a taxi, which to me was the most amazing thing, as the travel company had private drivers picking us up or waiting for us at hotels and train stations.

Upon leaving Venice for Florence, our personal escort from the airport was waiting for us at the hotel, with a water taxi to the train station. She walked us through the train station and showed us how to find our gate for our train to Florence. Upon arrival in Florence, we had a private driver waiting for us for transport to the hotel. Same from Florence to Rome, Rome to Naples (for Pompeii and back to Rome).

We had multiple food tours and they were all amazing. We spent every day with private guides. Believe me, the travel company knows the very best guides in Italy. They are there 24/7 for you if things don't go as planned. Trust me on this.

In Venice, our tickets for St. Mark's Basilica that were reserved for our guide disappeared. There we were, no access. Our guide tried to secure tickets on her own and access was sold out. She called the travel company, which somehow secured access, even to the second level, where we could visit the four bronze horses.

Did I mention our day in Tuscany? The travel company insisted we were spending too much time with tours and insisted we take a day in Tuscany. We visited a vineyard in Tuscany for what turned out to be a private tour and lunch hosted by the vineyard owner. We had a table set up overlooking the vineyard and indulged in what may have been the best food we experienced in all of Italy. Everything was made on-site and perfectly paired with the vineyard wines. We were entertained by her three wonderful dogs, two of which were lovable and goofy Labrador retrievers. What a perfect day!

Without a doubt, the travel company is the finest travel agency we have ever had the privilege to work with. As I said earlier, everything was taken care of, nothing was missed: drivers, trains (business class), guides, food tours. The best vacation we have ever had.

We had a great trip to Italy. Zicasso’s travel specialist was very helpful. We set a low price target for Italy and that may have affected some of the hotels.

Our hotel in Palinuro was great, with a huge pool, beautiful views, and a good location. Our B&B in Castellabate was in a great location, right across from the water and a beach area, but it was very basic and didn't offer breakfast. Our hotel in Maratea was way up the mountain by the Christ statue, but not near any shopping or restaurants, and the food at the hotel was very expensive and by far the worst we had on our trip.

The Volkswagen included with our tour was a perfect car for the three of us. The tours were nice to have pre-arranged for Pompeii and Paestum, and we really enjoyed the boat tours, especially the one where the son fixed a delicious lunch and served it al fresco on the boat.

Our final night at our B&B in Naples overlooking the bay was perfect and the owner recommended a wonderful restaurant for our final dinner in Italy. A terrific end to a great 10 days.

Thank you for arranging another customized trip for me, Zicasso and this travel partner. I'm getting spoiled! (And loving it!)

We had an absolute dream trip to Italy with the help of Zicasso's travel specialist! Traveling as a family of five, we visited Rome, Florence, San Gimignano, Greve, Siena, Cinque Terre, and Venice, along with many beautiful towns and smaller areas throughout the country.

The wonderful vacation rental accommodations were thoughtfully chosen and every detail of our trip was carefully planned. The local tour guides were incredibly knowledgeable and gave us a truly authentic experience. Our private transfers, train transfer, and private tours were efficient, informative, and made traveling from place to place seamless and stress-free.

The communication between all tour guides and transportation providers was great, as was that of each vacation rental host, who contacted us in advance to prepare us for our arrival.

One of our favorite parts of the trip was discovering the smaller, less-touristy areas within the larger cities, places we likely never would have found on our own. We enjoyed exploring Tridente for shopping and Trastevere in Rome for a private pizza-making class (highly recommended), artisan shops, excellent restaurants, and a vibrant nightlife.

Florence was wonderful, but we had the opportunity to travel to a few other areas, such as Siena, Greve, and San Gimignano. We even had a private vineyard tour and chef's meal while in Chianti. A must-see is the walk to the Boboli Gardens across Ponte Vecchio and, on the way back to our apartment, a stop at Piazzale Michelangelo.

While staying in Cinque Terre (Monterosso al Mare), be sure to take a private boat to visit all of the other villages and maybe even snorkel. The water is so clear!

Venice had great history, but we also enjoyed our boat tour to Murano to watch the glassmaking process and Burano, filled with gorgeous multicolored homes and artisan shops.

Every experience felt personal, meaningful, and special.

This trip was truly an absolute dream and we are so grateful to him for helping make our family vacation to Italy unforgettable. We highly recommend him to anyone looking to plan an incredible, seamless, and memorable trip!

On the whole, we enjoyed our trip. However, we want to make note of a few things that could have been done better. When we landed in Naples, our driver was waiting for us. But instead of bringing the car to where we were, the 4 senior adults had to walk with luggage in the heat to get to his car. On our first full day in Naples, we were picked up for our cooking class. The driver did not speak any English, and when we arrived at the address, he expected us to get out of the car. We did not know where to go, and he was not able to assist us. Lucky for us, we met a nice lady who spoke English and was able to help us. The cooking class was wonderful. One of the highlights of the trip. The Capri boat tour was enjoyable. The tour of Pompeii was fascinating. The day we were taken to the Amalfi Coast was a holiday, and we mostly sat in traffic. Not anyone's fault but not very pleasant. On June 3 we were picked up very early to go to the port for the Hydrofoil to Ischia. At the port, we had to wait around for almost 2 hours. We were not sure why we were picked up so early. On June 6 we checked into our hotel in Naples, looking forward to our Jewish Heritage tour the following day. Our tour guide was lovely - 4 stars for her - but we learned there is no Jewish heritage in Naples, so that was quite disappointing. It would have been nice to establish realistic expectations.

Italy was fantastic! We visited Venice, Amalfi, Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii, and Rome.

Zicasso’s travel specialist was knowledgeable and patient with me when planning the trip. She was amazing at taking in the information I shared about my family and creating an itinerary that worked well for our family of five (our three children, ages 20, 20, and 22), including food-allergy limitations.

The chosen tours and tour guides were incredible, knowledgeable, engaging, attentive, thoughtful, and a pleasure with which to spend the day or half-day.

When we were in Italy, our travel specialists quickly responded to inquiries and to new requests for transportation needs resulting from unanticipated and good “extra” opportunities.

I highly recommend the travel company and our travel specialists.

The trip was very nice. Some details of timing and drive times for events could have been communicated better. We had a tour canceled at the very last minute for no reason. Another tour was a walk through a village, but didn’t include entrance to the three main sites in the town, which was strange.