SHARING THE PASSION FOR ITALY

We appreciate all the hard work!

Dear Marcello,

I wanted to send a note of thanks for the wonderful job you guys did in putting our trip together.  Outside of the single snag at the end of the trip (later on that), everything was extremely smooth, our tour guides were knowledgeable and passionate in their subjects, drivers were timely, and the accomodations were beautiful (La Chiusa in Montefollonico with that view, amazing!).  It made for a very memorable early birthday gift for my wife! Thank you for the unexpected gifts at the beginning and the end of our trip, it was a nice touch that we appreciate.  

We appreciate all the hard work that was put in to make this trip happen.  

Grazie!

David - United States (August 2023)

 

Thank you for taking such great care of us!

Marcello,

Thank you Vitor Italy for creating such an amazing experience for our first Italian family trip! The itinerary was a great combination of the grandeur of large cities and small town charm. The hotels were beautiful and all were centrally located, the transportation always on time and the tour guides were all friendly and very knowledgeable. Having all of the museum tickets purchased in advance meant that we did not have to stand in lines. With all of the work done so well by your team, all we had to do was show up and enjoy and we absolutely did! Happy to recommend you to all of our friends and will reach out again for our next Italian holiday.

(...)

Thank you again for taking such great care of us!

Julia - United States (July 2023)

 

The trip of a lifetime!

Ciao Marcello,

Thank you, we arrived home with nothing more than the usual inconvenience of a trans-Atlantic flight.😁

We were very please with the trip. The drivers (especially Francesco) were fantastic, always on time, always helpful, always courteous and always ready to offer advice when asked. The tour guides were all great, very knowledgeable, very engaging and eager to do whatever they could to make the trip a success.

This is especially true for our guide in Cisternino, Lucia, we wanted to do genealogy research in Cisternino and she was very helpful talking to the priest for us at the church were my grandfather was baptized.  The priest said he would look in their records and provide any information that he could.  We haven't heard from him yet but we are hopeful.  The next day we went to the main cemetery where we thought we might find records of my grandfather's grandfather's grave, we spoke to the grounds keeper (in our limited Italian) and he directed us to the municipal office in Cisternino because he said they have the records of grave locations.  We went to that office and although no one there spoke English with our limited Italian my son and I were able to communicate with them and they were very helpful looking through their records and finding my grandfather's grandfather's birth and death certificates.  Because he was buried in the old cemetery in Cisternino (which Lucia told us would be the case) which was closed down soon after WW1 they do not have a record of his grave now.  The staff at the municipal office was very enthusiastic to help and we are very please with the information that we received.  In fact, we learned that he died while living on via Regina Margherita in Cisternino and although we don't know the number we were able to walk on the (very short) street and certainly saw the house.  We were also able to determine that a number of names on the WW1 / WW2 monument in town are our relatives. Our goal was to find a concrete connection to the region and we were able to do that, we are very pleased.

The accommodations were very nice and we enjoyed them all very much. All of the owners / workers were very friendly and helpful and the beautiful pools at the massarias were particularly nice to cool off in at the end of days in the heat.

We would like to thank you for listening to what we wanted of this trip and coordinating what we consider to be the trip of a lifetime.

Greg - United States (July 2023)

 

We had an amazing visit and you exceeded all of our expectations!

Marcello,

thank you for reaching out to me on comments for my family's visit to Italy. First off, we had an amazing visit and owe you and the VitorItaly Team a huge thank you. The entire time my family was in Italy we had 100% confidence we were in your very capable and extremely professional hands. Whether in Rome or Amalfi, we were told the time to show up and the magic happened with all of hard work behind the scenes coordinating for private cars and tour guides. You inspired confidence early in the process of our Italy visit with making yourself available for Zoom calls to describe our itinerary and allow us to ask questions about our Italian adventure. 

There were two standouts on our trip for fantastic guides who made our visit very special -- First was our tour guide in Rome, Viera. She was amazing and the knowledge she had on the Roman Forum, Coliseum, and the Vatican was breathtaking. She is an amazing human being and was so courteous to my family. Second, was our driver in Amalfi, Domenico. Simply put, we would not have had the amazing time in Amalfi without his input and comments about everything there was to see and do. He called ahead for reservations for a tour of the Amalfi coast by water and jumped out of the van to personally take us to the pier and get us on the boat. My children are still talking about how amazing Domenico was to our family. Bravo!

All of the hotels you booked for us were incredible and we enjoyed our stay in each one. We loved the breakfast option at each hotel and my family was able to take advantage of the amazing food and options to start each day. 

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I simply can't thank you enough for everything you and your team did for my family for our Italy adventure. You exceeded all of our expectations and we are left wondering when our next visit to Italy will be. Grazie mille!

Cheers, 

Jon-Paul  - United States (June 2023)

 

Thank you Vitor for making our dream come true!

Marcello,

We truly enjoyed our trip to Italy and I didn't want to leave. We fell in love with Italy and its culture. It was amazing & beautiful! It was always our dream to travel to Italy and Marcello & the Vitor Italy team made our dream come true! From the first moment we landed in Venice to our departure in Rome, Vitor was there every step of the way to make it an incredible trip. We felt like VIP guests on all our tours and transfers. All our guides and drivers were very friendly and knowledgeable. The attention to detail Vitor provided was great, I had made a specific request of a certain town I wanted to visit during our planning;  Vitor made the necessary changes to make sure this town was included in our trip and it was the highlight of my week. Vitor also made the point to make us feel welcomed and like family. We had a gift waiting for us upon our arrival at the hotel and upon our departure, the team gave us an amazing going away gift! They made us feel part of the family.

Vitor included activities in our trip that we would not have even thought about, the balsamic vinegar villa tour and the Ferarri Musuem was spontaneous and fun! Getting us tickets to the Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) in Venezia, the Uffizi Galleria in Firenze, and the Coliseo & Vaticano in Roma were amazing!! Going to Assisi was the icing on the cake! Being able to walk the medieval town of Assisi and being able to incorporate some of my faith into this trip was amazing. Walking into these Basilicas and walking the steps of these saints was my highlight. 

There was plenty of down time all week from the tours, and we used that time to go exploring on our own. We loved walking the streets of Venice and finding great places to eat. The lively streets of Florence were great shopping explorations and to take in all the history in all the towns was amazing. 

Thank you Vitor for making our dream come true. It was a great mix of history, culture, faith exploration and fun. We will definately be using Vitor again for our next Italian trip! Thank you again Marcello, Patrizia and the Vitor Family. 

Moses & Sandra - United States (June 2023)

 

 The experiences we had felt authentic and real!

Marcello,

the Italian experience you crafted for our family of 5 was extraordinary.  From the moment we landed in Venice to the drop off in Milan, everything was done with thought, care, and a focus on getting the best experience out of Italy.  The hotel in Venice was fantastic and we really enjoyed NOT being on the main Grand Canal.  The experience in the Dolomites was amazing and our guide (Jasmin) an absolute delight.  I would highly recommend her again and in 3 days of hut to hut hiking she became part of our family and we were very very sad to part ways with her.  The Dolomites aren't to be missed and the hut to hut hike is very special, but certainly requires some stamina and a great attitude - but we had both and it was an absolute highlight for us.

We continued our journey to Parma for a single night and the cooking class arranged with Antonia was out of this world.  We have 3 teenagers and weren't sure what to expect from them but they fell in love with her and by the end of the evening we adopted another family member in her - she was just terrific, genuine, sweet, kind and made the class informative and fun.

Overall, the experiences we had felt authentic and real - from the food to the people, the recommendations you provided helped make some memories that will last a lifetime AND actually created some new relationships we'll keep a lifetime.

Ciao Ciao!!

Derek - United States (June 2023) 

 

Thank for making our trip to Italy a very memorable one!

Marcello, 

Our trip was from 6 May to 4 June 2023 and we have to thank Marcello and the team behind him in helping us plan our wonderful 30-days in Italy that took us through the key and not-to-be-missed locations –  Milan, Lake Como, Venice, Modena, Cinque Terra, Pisa, Florence, Val d’Orcia,  Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Capri, Paestum, Matera, Rome, Tivoli and in Sicily – Taormina, Siracusa, Val di Noto, Agrigento and Palermo.

The pickup to and from airports and city-to-city transfers were smooth and prompt. The hotel selection at every town/city was spot on and very conveniently located in the town/city centre where access to places of interest, shopping and meals were within walking distance. The guides used were friendly and knowledgeable.

In helping us plan our itinerary, the days allocated for each location were also just right. The arranged walking tours were well paced with enough time for us to explore each location on our own.

No trip is without its hiccups such as changes in weather conditions due to heavy rain, train delays and flight delays. Marcello was always on hand to help including obtaining refunds on a few occasions due to cancellation or change of plans.  What we greatly appreciated was that Marcello checked-in with us on a regular basis to make sure that we are doing ok during our trip.

We would like to thank Marcello and his team for making our trip to Italy a very memorable one!  Grazie mille e bravo!

Alvin and Li Shien - Singapore (May 2023)

 

We had a fantastic time in Italy!

Ciao Marcello!

We had a fantastic time in Italy. Every stop was as beautiful as the next and we felt so fortunate to be able to tour so many wonderful places by excellent tour guides that you arranged for us. We learned so much about the culture and embraced all of it especially the food! It was fabulous! Out drivers were always prompt, so nice and we felt very lucky to have such a personal touch from Vitor Italy! We want to thank you personally Marcello for planning such a thoughtful trip for our family. The Lemon Experience was amazing, as was the boat and car tour in Amalfi and we loved the Frascati winery. I still keep in personal touch with Giovanna from Frascati. She was so sweet! Our hotels were beautiful and everyone was exceptionally accommodating to us even though we didn’t speak the language. We will definitely call you when we decide to return and I have already referred Vitor Italy to a few friends.

Until next time, ciao from Pittsburgh!

Kristin, Jon and family - United States (May 2023)

 

Really, the trip was fabulous!

Marcello,

Thank you for your assistance with scheduling an amazing vacation. I wish the weather would have been better, but that was out of your control 😊

The pick up from the airport was very smooth, as was the transportation to our accommodations in San Quirico.

Francesca was delightful and did an amazing job with the olive oil, pecorino and the wine tasting. We didn’t realize there was going to be quite so much food. We should not have eaten breakfast. You may want to mention this to travelers if you use this tour again. There was a lot of food!

Anna did a fantastic job at our cooking class and was unbelievably accommodating to gluten free for Toni. She and Paula, her interpreter were amazing. I wish she would have given us a printout of the recipes, this may be a suggestion. I really want to make the tiramisu we had.

JonLuca did an amazing job on the bike tour. We thoroughly enjoyed that tour.

The staff at Il Mirragio were welcoming, friendly and helpful. We even used (rented) the owner’s car one evening to drive to dinner.

Transport to Amalfi was long but smooth. Our driver was friendly and helpful to stop when needed.

Alfonzo, our boat captain, was fabulous and accommodating. Our weather was very rainy, but he brought a bigger boat with more cover, so we were able to take the excursion. We had intermittent showers and even a little sunshine, so all was well. We did cut it a little short because of lightening, but that was fine with us.

Our minivan tour guide, his name escapes me at the moment and I don’t have my journal with me, was very friendly and informative.

Transport to Capri went well and was organized.

Transport to Naples was just as easy. As you know there was a little confusion at the Naples terminal, but you quickly rectified that and the driver found us.

Train ride was easy.

We loved Julia, our tour guide for the Vatican. She gave just enough information and easily maneuvered us through the crowds. She was well versed and friendly.

Transport to the airport was easy.

Really, the trip was fabulous. Thank you so much.

I believe Toni and Irene had an issue with their driver from Naples to Rome, but maybe they will answer. They said he was on his phone a lot, a distracted driver and smoked. I was not there, so I do not know for sure.

.....

Thank you!

Best Regards,

Della Jane - United States (May 2023)

 

We can’t thank Marcello at Vitor enough for this wonderful trip!

Everything ran smoothly and we were able to truly relax and enjoy our first visit to Italy.

Our driver Fabio was wonderful! He was extremely professional, competent, and always punctual. Additionally, he was flexible and anticipated our every need. Fabio even suggested some additional stops we might enjoy when we had some extra time. We can’t imagine our trip without him!

The tour guides were all extremely knowledgeable and passionate about their job. We found Francesca particularly fun and engaging as she guided us on our tour of Montepulciano, a town she was raised in and very enthusiastic about; we learned so much and loved seeing the town through her eyes!

Marcello did a wonderful job planning our itinerary and was always friendly, helpful and very responsive. Many, many thanks! We look forward to our next trip with Vitor Italy!

Pam and Phil - United States (May 2023)

 

 

You and your team did a wonderful job!

Marcello, while we have been to Italy several times, we have never explored Naples, Matera or the Puglia Region which is what we focused on this time.

From pick up at the airport to our drop off in Rome, our trip was amazing.

Marcello, you and your team did a wonderful job coordinating all the details.

The hotel selection was exactly what we expected; the itinerary for each area was mapped out perfectly; your guides in each city were knowledgeable, friendly and enjoyable to be with; and your drivers were friendly, courteous, engaging and always prompt.

What also impressed us was your personal follow up throughout the trip making sure your team was meeting our expectations.

............

When our plans call for another trip to Italy, you can be sure Patty and I will enlist your services

Thank you again for all your assistance

Richard & Patty - United States (April 2023)

 

So many incredible things!

Marcello, we had the most amazing time on our trip to Italy.

The itinerary was planned out seamlessly for our visits to Rome, Florence, and Venice. The tour guides in each city were extremely knowledgeable and provided us with fun and interesting facts. We got to experience so many incredible things, the coliseum, the Vatican, the David, a private wine tasting, an olive mill tour, and Venice. Marcello and his staff were amazing to work with and I would recommend them to anyone!!

Becca- United States (March 2023)

 

We had the most amazing time in Italy!

Dear Marcello,

We had a wonderful trip to Italy and cannot wait to visit Italy again.

...

I am so glad to have planned my family trip with Vitor Italy. My family of 4, wife and 2 sons, travelled to Italy for 14 days. We had the most amazing time in Italy. Marcello planned a customised trip for us and we had the best private guides. We were able to skip the queues at the attractions and had personalised explanation of the history and significance of the places we visited. We learnt so much during our tours with our personal guides. As we had a personal guide, our tours had some flexibility and we could move at our own pace, compared to those group tours of 20 or more people, which made it so much more enjoyable. The itinerary from Vitor Italy never felt too packed. We had free time to explore the city on our own. 

Accommodations were simple, yet comfortable. More importantly the hotels were situated near the major attractions, which made it very convenient to move around. We travelled around between cities by train and it was always by first class coach. Marcello would check in on us whenever we moved from one city to the next. We never felt that we were left alone. 

Having Vitor Italy plan our tour was the best decision I made for our family trip. I could fully enjoy the sights that Italy had to offer. I cannot wait to visit Italy again and most likely with Vitor Italy.

Thank you for making our visit to Italy a memorable one. 

....

Regards,

Simon - Singapore (December 2022)

We had a wonderful time!

Ciao Marcello,

We just got back from Italy yesterday.

We had a wonderful time, thanks to the meticulous planning of your team.

The itenary was very good, the hotels were located in central locations and the cities we visited were really beautiful, especially Assisi.

The drivers were all excellent as were the local guides.

Thank you very much for the excellent planning and recommendations of the sights and the taste of Italy!

Regards,

ST, Agnes, Andrew and Amelia - Singapore (December 2022)

Thanks to Marcello, every moment will be fondly remembered!

Marcello at Vitor Tours was so organized from beginning to end of our 9 day trip to Florence, Chianti, Reggio Emilia, Venice, and Rome. It was just the two of us on our trip and we would recommend him to anyone without hesitation! It can be daunting and a little nerve wracking trying to set up a trip so far from home, but Marcello is very responsive both before and during the trip. He usually gets back to you within a few minutes and all of the guides he set us up with said he is great to work with as well. Marcello thinks of everything for you and all of our guides were top notch and so passionate and knowledgeable. Many of them went above and beyond and spent extra time with us as well! We saw sights we never would have found on our own, wineries up in the hills, family farms making cheese, olive oil and balsamic, glass blowing, architecture, art, and hidden shops and local spots. We had enough food and wine shipped home, it felt like Christmas in Italy! It was the trip of a lifetime and thanks to Marcello, every moment will be fondly remembered!

Dina - United States (November 2022)

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Everything was super well planned and smooth

Hi Marcello - wanted to drop this note to say what a wonderful trip we had in Italy. Of course the country is absolutely stunning at so many levels but also wanted to appreciate your support for making it even more memorable one by ensuring everything was super well planned and smooth and we hardly had any moments of challenge or inconvenience . Despite what people say - I still think winter is a great season to visit especially for people like us coming from the tropics. A few things I shld call out:
1. All the hotels chosen were of the quality and service we expect. Thank you for understanding our style and needs.
2. All the guides and drivers were excellent and made our tour better that extra notch. They were knowledgeable, super engaging , understood our needs (where to pause, where to photo etc) and in case of some last min change they accommodated very well (eg our driver Gino got us out swiftly of a bad accident situation in amalfi where we could have been caught up for long otherwise) . Ultimately it’s the people we meet that creates the final experience of a tour and this proves it. The only exception would be the guide for the city tour of Naples who was not very engaging but we were also pretty tired that day - so maybe it was more us than him.
3. Appreciate you being available on WhatsApp always and guiding and accommodating small changes during the trip. Felt like we always had a “guide” we can fall back on for anything.

We definitely look to come back again not too far in the future. Would like to focus more on Florence, Tuscany and other northern areas. Would also like to know if your company also covers multiple countries in same trip - maybe Italy and Swiss or Austria. That would be great. Anyways - will think of that next year. Thnx again for everything! Ciao!

Nidhi - Singapore (November 2022)

It was difficult to pick a favourite as every place offers its unique beauty and charm

We enjoyed our recent visit to Italy thoroughly.  We were very precise on what we wanted and VITOR had generally met our expectations.  Everything were on schedule, pick-ups were prompt, guides were knowledgeable.  It was difficult to pick a favourite as every place offers its unique beauty and charm.  We particularly love Venice – water taxi and gondolas ride!  Civita was unexpectedly charming.

We spent a good 2 weeks in Italy but missed out some places.  We will certainly be back and would not hesitate to engage VITOR as our tour partner again!

Grazie e Ciao

Loh Pi - Singapore (October 2022)

Everything Vitor planned for us actually happened!

Marcello, 

Our drivers were on time, our tour guides were amazing and Viti was extremely accommodating! Andrew (golf car tours) and Francesco (the driver to Chianti) were particularly excellent and went out of their way to make us feel at home. We adored the wine tasting and olive oil tasting and just had an overall wonderful time. Marcello, in fact, accommodated a last-minute extra guest to our party due to unforeseen circumstances and we were able to have that extra guest attend all but one activity on our tours even though we only gave Marcello two days notice to add this guest! Our hotel rooms were even great! We had a wonderful last hotel room day because our triple room that was initially planned to be a double, was upgraded to a beautiful suite with a gorgeous view of Rome. It was a nice finish to our trip. So-we are very grateful to the attention that Vitor tours offered and can't suggest them more! 

Sabrina - United States (October 2022)

 

Finding Vitoritaly was a complete blessing!

Dear Marcello,

I decided on a whim to take myself to Italy and really only had 6 weeks to plan such an adventure. Honestly I wasn't even sure where to start in that process. Finding Vitoritaly was a complete blessing. I can’t thank you enough for coordinating the perfect itinerary for my ‘additional’ 2 weeks in Italy. After I spontaneously booked a separate culinary tour in Tuscany for my first week, you seamlessly picked up where that tour ended. Even booking my transfer from the airport in Florence upon my arrival and the hotel before the culinary tour began. 

Traveling internationally from the US for the first time, alone was a bit daunting but I soon realized I had someone to rely on if I had questions or needed help. Case in point when I inadvertently got off at the wrong train station heading to Venice. I was able to reach out to your office and a new train ticket was purchased and the water taxi was waiting for me when I finally arrived.

Every hotel was special in its own way to the city I was in. I felt safe and comfortable and made friends with the hotel staff quickly. 

Looking back, the 3 hour walk about tour in each city with my own guide allowed me to immerse myself in the history and ask questions before I went off to explore on my own.

I must admit meeting you, and your wife Edi, for dinner in Sirmione was such a special memory. The conversation flowed so easily and by the end I truly felt like I had friends in Italy!

I only wish I had remembered to capture a photo of us!

When I recount all of my adventures in Italy to my friends, I’m always quick to mention that without your perfectly planned itinerary Marcello the outcome would have been completely different. Thank you!! 

I can't wait to reach out to you when I'm ready to book an my next trip to Italy!!

Tutto il mio meglio and grazie mille, 

Tamara - United States (October 2022)

 

Thank you Vitor Italy for making our trip hassle free and even more enjoyable!

We had a wonderful 9 days trip in Italy credit to Vitor Italy. We would like to thank you, Marcello, for all the arrangements. 
You have been very helpful and responsive to our enquiries and preferences right from the start.
Transport were smooth and comfortable, local guides were very professional, some of the hotels even exceeded our expectations , although the hotel room in Rome was a bit small. 
You have also been quick to clarify any miscommunication. We will definitely engage Vitor Italy again on our next visit to Italy. 

Theng Sian - Singapore (October 2022)

Truly the trip of a lifetime!

Marcello,

we had an absolutely fabulous holiday - truly the trip of a lifetime and we couldn’t have done it without VITOR

Your itinerary was lovely and allowed to see and do everything we wanted to do! The accommodations were wonderful and the transfers were excellent- on time and very nice cars. Your communication was excellent and it was very comforting knowing we had a native Italian helping us if something went wrong. I would recommend VITOR (and I already have) without reservation! 

………………………

Overall it was the absolute trip of a lifetime, we had a FABULOUS time and I would certainly recommend VITOR to friends (and I actually already recommended you to someone).

Grazie Mille!!!

Mara - United States (June 2022)

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Annalise said it was the best trip of her life!

We are so happy with our trip! Below are our comments..

Milan

Loved the hotel, staff was very friendly and the breakfast was the best of the trip. Tour guide was exceptional (Lorella). Annalise's favorite spot

Cinque Terre

Accommodation was great. It was not a big deal but we weren't expecting to have to walk to our hotel from the parking lot. It was just a little confusing because neither the luggage guy or driver were very good at English and we werent sure where to go. It turned out the town is very small so you really couldn't miss it, but this was very minor.

Florence

Loved the hotel although a bit confusing for both drivers as there is some other place with the same name. Staff was friendly and breakfast was great. Tour guide was great, she took us to some of her favorite shops which was fun. It was good to find out from a local the good shops. Jenn's favorite city!

Positano

Driver was so friendly, he was trying so hard to communicate with us. 😊 He did a great job. Hotel was very nice and breakfast was good. Beautiful view and pool and great location. They have a new patio down at the beach which they share with a neighboring hotel. It was a little confusing at first because you were only allowed to use certain chairs but they had an employee down there making sure the guests were accommodated. Such a beautiful view and we definitely got a lot of exercise! 

The hotel was very accommodating in trying to get us dinner reservations. Apparently it was quite difficult because of the amount of people. There were also two weddings there in the few days we were there so their restaurant was booked.

Rome

LOVED the hotel and the location, we both wish we could have stayed in Rome longer. There was a farmacy right down the street for our covid tests, very convenient. Vespa tour was so much fun. Our tour guide went above and beyond to show us what we wanted to see and of course it was super fun to ride the Vespa with a side car.  Next time we will stay in Rome longer. Driver was prompt to take us to the airport.

Overall the trip was incredible! Annalise said it was the best trip of her life!

I have no complaints, you did an amazing job!  Thank you so much and I really appreciate your help with the train delay.

Jennifer - United States (May 2022)

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An Awesome Italian Experience!

Many thanks to the professional team at Vitor Italy, my family had an unforgettable vacation.  All the tour guides are very knowledgable and dedicated, even armed with charts and iPads in their explanations!  The drivers too were very friendly and helpful.  The hotels selected by Marcello were very well located, making it an easy walk to shopping and attractions.  Finally, I appreciate the communication with Marcello on planning and walking through the itinerary so we know what to expect.  It demonstrates the expertise and experience by Vitor Italy in planning these trips.  Thanks Marcello and team!

Eng Siong - Singapore (December 2021)

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All of your personnel were great

Mr. Cordovani,

Thank you for putting together a wonderful tour for us.

All of your personnel were great. Our driver, Alessandra, was always on time or early, pleasant and professional, and a good driver. He was not very talkative, but that was OK, as we soon had our guides. Stefania was a delight – outgoing, informative, attentive to our moods and preferences, and helpful in all things, big and small. My wife got along especially well with her. Manuela was also an excellent guide in Verona, with not only the usual tour information, but also lots of local knowledge, and she was well versed in her Shakespeare knowledge.

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