Rick Steves Best of Italy 17 Day Tour

It's a guided tour. I know that's not the ideal choice, but neither my wife or I have any knowledge of Italy. For $4895 a person seems like a decent deal considering it includes the travel between the places, all of the hotels, tickets at attractions, etc

screw that

you are looking at nearly $6 grand plus airfare to be lumped in with a bunch of other tourists.

for that kind of coin you and your significant other can do a customized tour - at your own pace - eat, drink and enjoy the areas you like.

I've been told Rick Steves are some of the best to go on, smaller groups and very informative. They still are not my thing, its going to be more like being on a cruise ship. But if you like that sort of thing, why not?

Personally, if you feel the need to do that I would in no way make it my whole trip. For example, I'd do a 10 day Rick Steves tour and finish the trip with 7 days on your own. That way you get comfortable with the tour over there, but still have plenty of time on your own.

Man I just can't do 2-3 days in any city. Even though I've recommended it for people looking at a lot. There is so much to a city that you skip over when just trying to see the tourist sites.
I wish my job allowed me to travel so I could see more and spend more time in some places.

I'm no fan of packaged tours w/groups of other Americans: if I wanted to hang out w/Americans, I wouldn't go all the way to Italy. Traveling in a larger group of your fellow countrymen will insulate you from having to interact w/locals....no thanks on that type of travel for me. You're essentially stuck w/the same ppl (not of your choosing), and you've just paid handsomely for that dubious privilege. I also dislike hopping from place to place & prefer to settle in one spot & soak up the feeling of a place...I'm not a "checklist" tourist.

If you're a novice traveler, his guidebooks are a good way to start planning. His hotel recs are usually pretty good; affordable, non-chain options that emphasize cleanliness & location over amenities & size. He has some decent audio walking tours, too.

Italy is extraordinarily tourist friendly. Things like train tickets are easy to buy from a machine using cash with on screen instructions in English. Learning simple words--left, right, open, closed, please, thank you, basic numbers, ordering from a menu--is easy enough & ppl will appreciate your efforts to speak Italian.

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do it. we did steves tour last year. fantastic. his guides are quite knowledgable. the hotels are hand picked in center of where you want to be. small groups with plenty of room on bus.

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What's the group like? I'm afraid it is going to be all geriatric folks

meant to say restaurants where the locals eat. we never would have eaten at those places if on our own. plenty of free time allowed to wander and the guide literally takes great care of everyone.

I didn't do this tour but I did do his 21 day Europe tour that brought me to many countries. I would do it again in a heart beat. The guide we had was awesome. Everything was taken care of didn't have to worry about tickets/hotels/etc. I still talk to a few people from my trip. Yes they are expensive but again I would do it all again in a heartbeat!

Exactly!!!!