Italian Delights

Customer Reviews

• 

  Alexandra

  · October 13th, 2024
  Everything went very smoothly and the tour was amazing! The tour leader, Sam Taylor, was fantastic and went above and beyond. Even when I was sick, he was very caring and helpful. Nothing went wrong and it was the best tour group ever!
  Trip date: October 2024
• MB

  Milton

  · September 30th, 2024
  The tour was too fast paced. I slower tour with more details would be better.
  Trip date: September 2024
• 

  John

  · September 30th, 2024
  An excellent introduction to Italy. Quite fast paced which I enjoyed but it was difficult for some in our group. Highly recommend.
  
  Trip date: September 2024
• 

  Lisa

  · September 24th, 2024
  Overall the trip was good. We got a little exposure to a lot of different things. As per many of the other reviews there is a lot of walking which was expected with a lot of inclines on cobblestone streets which can be a challenge. Mayra the leader is very pleasant. However communication on the trip was confusing at times. Time frames were changing immediately after being told one thing which made some people late, which made the entire tour late. The food that was included with this package was subpar. It is like the cheapest option was picked for us at every restaurant and hotel. Before the trip the itinerary changed leaving off one of the most desired locations for us. The excursions also changed which led to confusion. After being told the Vatican was not included as an excursion we bought our own tickets. The first day of the tour the leader offered tickets to the Vatican as an excursion at a cheaper rate than what we paid. Pompeii was one of the main reasons I chose this tour. However we were rushed through and only got to see a small portion. Our tour guide in Pompeii was great. During the trip we did the Murano/Burano excursion. Burano was adorable with many things to see/eat, etc. However Murano was a tourist trap. We were sent to see the glass demonstration and then immediately sent to the showroom to purchase items from this one company. The entire experience was about 30-45 minutes. We were not allowed to explore the island. There was definitely some type of kick back situation between expat and the Murano glass company. The Roman coliseum was the only excursion that was able to be prepaid. This was nice as we didn’t have to worry about it later. I prepaid about a month ahead of time. The first evening on the tour I let the leader know that we prepaid as well. The morning of the excursion (on the bus headed there) the leader was calling role for everyone who paid and she didn’t call our names. I told the leader again that we had paid so she called the emergency Expat number. They eventually found where I had paid but at this point it was too late and all the tickets were sold out. Unfortunately, they had to refund our money and we were unable to, go into the Colosseum. We missed out on this excursion because of the administrative staff at Expat. Tipping was a little awkward. An envelope is sent around for the driver and the leader. A suggested amount is asked for on the envelope which they cover by saying any amount will be suitable. If tipping in Europe is not the norm then why are we tipping? Shouldn’t it be just the cost of the trip?
  Show more
  Trip date: September 2024
• 

  Suzanne

  · September 23rd, 2024
  Mayra is a fabulous guide, very caring and patient. The Expat tour is fast paced, up early and taking in all the sight, and sometimes long days. We chose Sept to have less crowds, were told it was about half the summer crowds. The optional tours were great!
  Show more
  
  Trip date: September 2024
• 

  Gina

  · September 22nd, 2024
  This tour was gruelling but I can't believe the amount of places we went to in such a short space of time. Even though the group was big (41) it was filled with a lovely mix of people and everyone was friendly. Our tour guide was amazing and her experience of managing a large group was evident. Thoroughly enjoyed the Expat tour and would recommend this company to anyone wishing to see/experience a new country.
  Show more
  

  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for your fantastic feedback! We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the tour and the friendly group atmosphere. Your recommendation means a lot to us, and we hope to see you on another Expat Explore adventure soon!
  Trip date: September 2024
• 

  Maria Therese

  · August 21st, 2024
  The tour price, advertised as discounted, was very deceptive. My sister and I had to spend a lot of additional money to see several highlights that were advertised as included in the tour. We spent an additional $4500 on meals and tours. Two of the hotels we stayed in had: 1) no airconditioning ( in Lake Garda); 2) poorly functioning air conditioning and very rude staff ( Tuscany). At least our guide, Paola, and our driver Matteo, who work for Expat Explorers, did their best and took good care of us despite the hiccups.
  Show more
  

  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We're so happy to hear that our team on the road took excellent care of you, but I’m sorry to learn about the issues you encountered. We’ll review our advertising to ensure more transparency and will... Show more
  Trip date: July 2024
• 

  Michael

  · July 1st, 2024
  The destinations were fantastic. The tour guide (Vinni) was fabulous! Such a great first experience with Expat. The bus durations weren't that bad, as the rest stops and/or touring a town helped break it up. But not going over 4 hours at a time, is ideal. Driver, Santino, was amazing! He really made the travelling experience very smooth. I look forward to the next adventure with Expat.
  Show more
  

  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear that you had a fantastic tour. We can't wait to welcome you on your next adventure with Expat! If you have any more feedback or questions in the meantime, feel free to reach out.
  Trip date: June 2024
• DB

  Denise

  · June 16th, 2024
  Fast paced but with our Excellent guide Marysol it was fun
  

  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Thank you so much for your fantastic review! We're pleased to hear you had a great experience with Marysol as your guide. We strive to provide enjoyable tours and look forward to hosting you again in the future!
  Trip date: May 2024
• MH

  Micheal

  · May 20th, 2024
  Let me say that we did enjoy the tour. However, communication from Expat prior to our trip was abysmal. My friends that also went on the trip received updated itineraries that were never sent to us. I was told by Expat that we had received everything that had been sent out but this was clearly not the case. And in case you are wondering, we did check our spam and junk folders. Other tours that we have taken allowed us to book and pay for excursions in advance. The trips to an ATM to pay for the tours were bothersome to say nothing of the additional Euros we purchased to finance the excursions. It seemed very much that Expat was booking them as we traveled. Having the guide deal with payment and carry large amounts of cash seemed very unprofessional. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable but I felt sorry for some of the situations he was put in by his employer. We wanted to book an extra day or two in Rome prior to the trip but were not notified of our hotel name in Rome until 5 days before the trip. We got the info one day before we began our flight to Rome, not a time you want to finalize those kinds of details. The itineraries we did get were vague as to what we were doing the first official day of the tour. I spoke to Expat and they told me that all that was happening was a 45-minute bus tour of Rome so we booked a Vatican tour independently. As it turned out we had a walking tour of Rome the same day. We were exhausted and not happy at the end of the day. The bus tour itself was good. However, there was no real down time and many of the locations required walking a good distance uphill on cobblestones. The pace of these walks was quite fast and strenuous. The train trip was poorly organized, and should be left off the tour entirely. We enjoyed all of the locations of the locations that we visited. The schedule was aggressive but we expected that given the distances and time period involved. We had three enjoyable excursions in Venice. However, at the conclusion of the excursions we were left alone near the lagoon with out clear directions as to how to make our way to the bus station for pick up. We spent nearly two hours wandering around in Vencie until we finally found that locations. Not how we would have liked to spend out “free” time. We are glad we took this tour but will not book future tours which use Expat.
  Show more
  

  Expat Explore Travel commented on this review

  Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your comments and will use them to improve our services for future tours. We regret any inconvenience caused and hope you enjoyed the tour overall.
  Trip date: May 2024