European Tours & Vacations for Seniors

This travel company was incredibly difficult to work with, and I would not recommend them. The travel agent seemed very annoyed when we asked basic questions about our itinerary. For example, the itinerary he sent us did not have the correct number of rooms booked for our party. When I asked him about it, he rudely told me, "Of course I have booked the right rooms". Later, we found out he was working off the wrong itinerary - our final invoice was based on this wrong itinerary and had a much higher amount than we actually owed. When we pointed that out, he went from being annoyed to flat out rude.

We also identified many gaps in transportation and logistics, with the travel agent continuing to be rude when we asked for clarification or support in fixing the gaps. For example, he had us driving a rental car to the Bologna airport at around 3 AM from rural Italy to make an 8 AM flight. We would be driving right through Florence on the way to Bologna. When I asked why we didn't simply take a later flight out of Florence, I was told there were no options to do this. A simple Google search identified several flights out of Florence at a more reasonable time.

We finally had Zicasso step in, and they were incredibly helpful in cleaning up our itinerary. Unfortunately, we still experienced several logistical issues during our trip despite Zicasso's support. For example, we were dropped off by drivers at train stations and were then on our own to figure out how to get to our hotels - all required lengthy walks up hills to access, and my 81-year old father was not able to do that. So we had to find our own transportation or have my dad attempt to walk (not good at all). As another example, my father really wanted to see the Matterhorn. The travel agent said it was an easy "day trip" from our hotel to the Matterhorn. It turned out to be a 3.5 hour drive each way. The driver left us at a train station below Zermatt (town below the mountain) to figure out on our own how to navigate the city of Zermatt. We had no guidance from the travel agency on how to best see the Matterhorn, and Zermatt was another town with steep hills that my dad had to walk through (with a cane) as we tried to figure out how to best see the mountain. Due to the length of the drive to Zermatt from our hotel, we had less than two hours in Zermatt because the travel company had booked us on a 6:15 AM train the next morning to leave Switzerland. It was a wasted day instead of being the wonderful experience my father had hoped for.

The best part of the trip was the hotels, and the travel company gets credit for selecting hotels with wonderful views and great breakfast options. They were not easily accessible from the local towns, so we had to figure out taxis and shuttles to get to nearby sites.

Most of the time, we were left on our own to find our way around. But we did have a guided tour in Florence and a knowledgeable driver that took us to a winery in Tuscany. Both of these guides were amazing, and it would have been nice to have more guided support throughout this trip (especially in Zermatt).

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.

We cannot recommend Zicasso's travel company enough!! Our family just got back from a two-week trip to Italy (starting in Venice, then Florence, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast). Our travel specialists did an incredible job planning our trip and it was an experience of a lifetime!! We had the best time in every city!

Everything was seamless, from the events and tours we had planned to the transportation from city to city. What we loved most was how our tour guides were all natives of the areas we were visiting, so they offered unique perspectives on every part of Italy. Also, our travel specialists, being local to Italy, helped us plan some really special things to do (walking wine-window tour, bike ride in Tuscany, boat taxi to Burano to visit the small town where lace is still being made, and a Capri boat tour). All of our guides were English-speaking and absolutely wonderful!

We had frequent communication with our travel specialists regarding scheduled plans and if we had questions, they were readily available via WhatsApp.

I also turned 55 while on vacation and our travel specialists were kind enough to send Prosecco, wine, and some wonderful Italian snacks to our room. This was, by far, the best family vacation we have ever taken and we will definitely be vacationing with them in the future. If you're considering vacationing with this travel company, don't hesitate! They are fabulous and leave no stone unturned to make sure you have the best experience possible!!!

Overall, the trip was perfect! The hotels were really nice and the itinerary was great.

A few things I would have changed. First, the Amalfi tour day. There was not enough time in Ravello or Positano. We needed more time to relax and shop.

The class of train could have been nicer for the Florence-to-Rome portion of the trip.

We've been to many wineries throughout Europe and the one we went to on our way to Siena was okay, but we have been to much nicer wineries, with better wine and food tastings. It was not a great wine tour experience.

Everything else was wonderful and we really enjoyed the trip with our sons!!!

Thank you!

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!

My wife and I consulted with a handful of travel agencies in order to pick the right one for us to curate our dream honeymoon, and I could not be happier with our final decision to trust Zicasso’s tour company with this task.

Our travel agent was amazing throughout the process of building our itinerary, choosing experiences that fit exactly what we were looking for in an Italy honeymoon.

Start to finish, our overall experience was seamless. We decided to pack a lot into 10 nights, visiting Tuscany, Venice, Sorrento, and finishing the trip with one night in Rome. The tour company perfectly constructed our itinerary in a way that did not make our experience feel rushed in any of these locations. We had ample time to relax and explore these beautiful places on our own, while also fitting in world-class experiences specific to the region in which we were staying, all hand-selected by the tour company and their local expertise.

Every experience we had was incredible. From a private pasta cooking class and wine tasting in Tuscany to a limoncello tour in a quiet, picturesque village along the Amalfi Coast, each will be an experience my wife and I will never forget.

I would recommend this travel company to anyone visiting Italy for the first time or even those who have been to Italy, but want to experience breathtaking excursions curated by a local team of experts.

Our honeymoon was all we dreamed of and more, and I look forward to having the opportunity to use them for our next adventure.