Italy: Last Thoughts

 I wanted to wrap up the Italy travelogue with some tips and random thoughts that didn't fit any of the travel days.  But first here are the links to the posts for the trips for easy reference.

Booking the Tour
Preparations
May 14, 2015: Traveling to Italy
May 15, 2015: Rome
May 16, 2015: Rome Day 2
May 17, 2015: Rome Day 3
May 18, 2015: Rome/Assisi
May 19, 2015: Assisi/Venice
May 20, 2015: Venice
May 21, 2015: Venice/Pisa/Florence
May 22, 2015: Florence
May 23, 2015: Florence/Pompeii/Sorrento
May 24, 2015: Capri/Sorrento
May 25, 2015: Sorrento/Rome
May 26, 2015: Traveling Rome to San Diego

Group Travel 

This was my second escorted vacation and Steve's first.  We both agree there was no way we could have covered as much ground in the time and cost on our own.  We have some thoughts on this mode of travel.

 

Bus Rotation

The tour director assigned our seats day 1 and it was a fair system.  I think it would be chaos and resentments would bubble up (if not arguments) without it.  We rotated up (or back depending on what side of the bus you were on) three rows daily.

 

Freshen Up

Take every chance you get to "freshen up" as our tour director called it especially if it's free.  It might be a couple of hours before the next opportunity or you'll be paying for the privilege.

 

Optionals

With the exception of the illuminations optional tour, I found every one worthwhile.  Don't skip them because you want to save money. I had budgeted for them and decided which ones to do before we left home.

 

Optionals offered on our trip

Tour Pace

Take a good look at the tour pace before making your selection.  I thought the pace would be fine for us, but my husband learned he would prefer something a little slower so we'll take that into consideration for our next tour.

 

Tips

This is another expense that should be planned and budgeted for when planning your tip.  We gave small tips to the local guides and of course larger tips to the tour director and driver.  They were well earned!

 

Insight Vacations

Would I book with this company again?  Absolutely.  We got exactly what was expected every day of the trip and even some unexpected surprises (flourishes!).

The tour director was always patient, helpful and fun!  He did a great job of coordinating all the details and rearranging them on the fly if needed due to weather, traffic, etc.

 

Packing

There was only one thing I packed that was absolutely unneeded.  It was toilet paper.  I read one review complaining about the toilet paper being abrasive in many of the hotels and public toilets.  We didn't experience that and I finally just left the roll I'd packed at one of the hotels to make room in the suitcase.

I took a small travel pillow for the small of my back while on the planes and bus daily.  Without it, after an hour or more of sitting I would have a backache.  If this is an issue for you, pack something.

 

More Clothes

We didn't pack enough socks or in my case, shirts.  I thought we'd be wearing sandals more than we did because it was colder several days than I thought.

I rewore all my pants, but my plan to rewear shirts wasn't good.I packed a bit too light.

 

Umbrellas

Take umbrellas.  We had rain four or five days where one was needed.  Two different times we were caught without ours even though we brought two.  So I guess the advice is take them with you!

Just remember if you forget anything you can almost always buy a replacement at your destination.  Have a great trip!