Italy Vacation Feedback and Testimonials

Customer Feedback and Testimonials about Italy and our Italy Travel Advisors

Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: Italy

Hi Sharon,

We are back from Italy. Sorry I haven’t called you yet, I always think of it in the mornings. The trip was perfect! We appreciated your efforts and the wine/bubbly awaiting us at each hotel. I’ve never walked so much. All guides and visits were well done. The itinerary was well planned and just the right amount of time at each stop. I’ll call you soon.

Happy trails,

John

Testimonials about Lidia Fiendeiro, Italy, Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii specialist: Italy, Tuscany, Rome

Dear Lidia,

We had the very best trip ever. We had such a great time. Everything went perfectly including the weather. Castello del Nero was a really interesting place and the staff was extremely friendly. The location had unbelievable views of the Tuscany hills. The only drawback, if I had to make one, was the only place to eat was primarily at the hotel, which had great food but was not cheap. The nearby village had a small place for lunch. We rented a car one day and drove around which was a lot of fun and found a place to eat for dinner. Rome on the other hand had too many places to eat and all were good. We walked and found a different sidewalk cafe each day and evening. It was great. The Splendide Royal Rome I would not recommend though. Staff was not friendly. The walls are so thin that when the people next door talked we thought they were in our room. Which is really funny since in the welcome letter they even say the walls are insulated for privacy. Also the vents are connected so when the people next door turned on the light at night the light would shine through to our room. Luckily there was people next door for only one night so this was never a problem. Hit all the spots in Rome. Vatican tour was excellent. The Hotel Santa Caterina in Amalfi was another place we would highly recommend. The views were spectacular from the cliff side. This place new the meaning of the word service. Waiters were always filling your glass and making sure you had what you needed. One night we could not finish the second bottle of wine. We only drank half. The waiter asked if we would like it sent to our room to drink later. By the time we got back to the room the wine was already there and in an ice bucket with a couple of glasses.

I wish, as always, we had more time. But especially this trip. We will miss all the great food and wine. Now it is time to start looking forward to the next trip.

thanks again for everything!!

Eric

Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist: Italy

Sharon,

We are having way to much fun!

Villa dei lecci rocks!, Marika is such a wonderful person, since we are homeless and travelling for a long time her place feels like home. Her cooking is amazing, she is making lasagna for us tonight. the wine tour was excellent and the chocolate tasting was very enjoyable. the driver for the wine tour--Pietro Massi--was such a delightful person that i would ask for him by name the next time around and would recommend him to anyone.

Still working on my trip to London etc. any trip to greece will most likely have to be a last second type of arrangement.

Cheers.

Eshwar

Testimonials about Donna Salerno, Europe, exotic tours, and vacation specialist: Italy

Hi Donna,

We just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that we are having a wonderful time and that Italy is even more spectacular than we could have imagined!

You did a fantastic job pulling this all together on such short notice and we have been so pleased with all experiences we have had thus far. The hotels have been beautiful and the staff very gracious.

Thank you for everything!

Testimonials about Linda Barber, Italy, Amazon, Galapagos, specialist: Italy

Oh my gosh! We had such a great time going through the Amalfi coast and seeing the towns! Thank you for arranging for us. It means a lot and my parents absolutely loved it. I appreciate your help and all your insight and time. We leave the ship in the morning and will fly out of Rome. I will send you some pictures soon!Thanks again, Linda!
Christian

Testimonials about Lidia Fiendeiro, Italy, Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii specialist: Italy

Hi, Lidia. The trip to Italy was wonderful! It was one of our best trips -- jam packed and hectic, but we saw many beautiful sights over a ten day period. Our tour guide, Annick, was delightful and got along very well with our group. For a first time visit to Italy, it was a great way to get an overview of northern Italy.

Claudia Itzkowitz

Testimonials about Donna Salerno, Europe, exotic tours, and vacation specialist: Italy

Dear Donna,

Just wanted to let you know that we landed back home after two weeks of perfect honeymooning.

Thank you so much for helping us organize the travel. It was truly an amazing experience.

The hotels you chose for us were absolutely the right call - they were so beautiful and we were upgraded to a terrace suite (thanks to your help!); which had a huge outdoor patio attached in addition to the ocean view terrace.  We did not want to leave the suite all week!

Thanks again for your suggestions on great day trips and details with this trip to make it special for us!

It really makes a difference working with someone that has experience! I will make sure to pass your name to friends when they plan their travels! Only wondering how I can top this for our 1st Anniversary next year...

Private Name

Testimonials about Donna Salerno, Europe, exotic tours, and vacation specialist: Italy,

Hi Donna,

Just wanted to let you know we're back from Italy and everything went smooth as silk. Your help with all the arrangements was the best! Our hotel rooms were fantastic. All the transfers, private sightseeing and guides were wonderful; they even taught us some Italian along the way. Thanks for sending the quick phrase cheat sheet, it really helped.

We'll be sure to contact you again for our next trip! Still deciding where... Will definitely pass along your information to friends that travel. Thanks again for all your help, you really are a "Travel Wizard". Ciao for now.

Testimonials about Donna Salerno, Europe, exotic tours, and vacation specialist: Italy, Venice

Dear Donna,

I talked to my mother for a long time on Monday. She said that their trip to Italy was "perfect" in every way.

They were especially impressed with the hotels you chose and said that the hotel in Venice "could not have been better". They were very impressed with your service and attention to detail.

Thank you so much for taking such good care of them. Your recommendations on tours were a perfect match to what they needed. The private guides you set up were much appreciated. Each guide was very knowledgeable and made their trip "much more interesting"!

I will definitely contact you for travel needs in the future. Again, Thank You for your help! We'll talk again soon.

Testimonials about Carrie Rowley, Italy, Europe, Israel, Jordan Specialist: Italy, Florence, Siena

Dear Carrie,

We wanted to express our gratitude and thank you for planning an awesome trip. It was amazing and I am still walking on cloud nine, as my friend Jackie is also. Being an art history buff of the renaissance, "I saw a lot." I now know how to get around if I decide to return one day. The hotels were great, the Mona Lisa was awesome. We had a secret room, given to us. It was on ground floor and the door was flushed with the wall and paneling. We had a loft and little sala. The staff at the hotels were so nice to us. We went at the right time. I can not imagine summer, it must be horrible crowded with tourist. Carrie I want to connect with you later for future trips. Thank you again Carrie. I forgot, the morning tour and guide was great in Florence. Beautiful coast, they were dependable and courteous. Simone was our tour guide for the coast. He was great too. Well I will leave you and wish you and your family a wonderful New year. Hope to connect with you later and by the way if you hear of another inexpensive trip to Italy let us know....take care hun....Rosemary

Testimonials about Donna Salerno, Italy, Israel, Jordan vacations Specialists: Italy

Dear Steve,

Just a quick word of thanks -- Nancy and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Italy. The hotels, the transfers, the trains, the tours, etc. were all excellent. Thanks for making our 25th anniversary celebration so special. Take care!

John Larkin

Testimonial about Nancy Neiman, Italy, Tahiti, Fiji Specialist:

Hi Nancy,

I just wanted to thank you -- we had a wonderful honeymoon. Everything
worked out great and we really appreciate your effort it making
everything work so seamlessly. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and are
very glad we did it with your help. I'm going to book all my trips with
a travel agent going forward! Thank you again. And definitely let me
know if you want any feedback/reference.

Scott

Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist:

Hi Sharon,

Just returned from Italy.

The trip was absolutely amazing! We were so sad to leave today! Also, thank
you for the 'sparkling' welcome on our first day---the sparkling wine was
great.

I'm glad to hear that my cousin Caroline and her fiance Jonathan were able
to get in touch with you. I saw her at our wedding and she mentioned what a
great help you have been for them.

Private Name

Testimonial about Donna Salerno, Italy, Europe, Exotic Tours and Vacation Specialist:

Dear Donna;

The more I think about this, the more I think of the fantastic time that awaits in Italy. Thanks for putting together such a wonderful tour that will have the specific highlights I want to see while I am in Italy. You know Italy like the back of your hand!

I am sure that I will be talking with you more, but I wanted you to know that I appreciate everything you have done to get me squared away with this trip!

Thanks Donna!

Testimonial about Viviana Gaeta, Italy, South America, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist:

Hi Viviana,
Remember me? We spoke back in September about a possible tour to Argentina. Well, now here we are in 2008 already and have decided instead that we would like to go to Italy again. I remembered you saying that you are Italian (from Argentina).

The tour in Venice we changed up and had him take us on a walking/boat taxi tour around Veniza and completely enjoyed our guide. He was from Chile and was a bit hard to understand, but a very nice man and showed us the 'inside' of Venice.
I'll send you but a few of the MANY pictures we took. I have to say
that the trip home was tough.
JFK airport is an absolute zoo and if we can avoid it next time that
would be great. (1 hr on the runway waiting to take off....) 50 planes
at least in front of us.... After a 1+ hr delay for a mechanical
issue...) we got to Seattle at 2am..... And on a plane for Spokane at 10 the next morning. We figure we got 4 or so hrs. in 36.... But we are back on track, sharing pictures and have some great memories.
We bought wine at the Castillo de Verazzanno and can't wait. Chianti
Reserva! Sooooo good!
It truly was a trip of a lifetime.
Thank you - Thank you - Thank you - Thank you - Thank you - Thank you -
Thank you - Thank you
Grazia
Merry and Ralph,

The trip was great. Loved Sorrento, great tours with guide, bused back to Positano, Ravello was my favorite and would stay there next time. Found several nice places around the city.

Train to Rome was easy thanks to your explanation. Grand Flora a great location- walked everywhere. Had good local restaurants, nice stops many relaxing piazzas just like you mentioned. The tour you set up were fantastic, Rome city tour for the first day was perfect, saw it all and went back to where we liked. Vatican tour that you set up was wonderful and well worth it. Had plenty of time so took a day trip to Tivoli by train and the Borghese museum like you suggested.

The tours were excellent and very convenient. I've never done that before but liked the way everything was handled -Thank You for that recommendation; it really made the trip.

Thanks again for your help. I'll let you know when were ready to travel again, you made it all very easy!

I wanted to tell you Thank You so much for all your help in planning and making our vacation so wonderful! We loved the resort and all the staff was very attentive and so personable. The food was plentiful and delicious and they make some awesome drinks! We loved being so close to the main strip in town close enough to walk but when you were on the beach it seemed to be very quite and peaceful. The pickup service to and from the hotel was just right and made that part of our trip so easy. I looked online at all the usual “discount” travel sites and you were able to get a better rate and offer so much more. So thanks again for making my husbands 50th birthday celebration so affordable and enjoyable. We will definitely use Travel Wizard for our next vacation.
Thank You,

Hi Sharon,
The trip to Italy was amazing! We miss it quite a bit. We were blown away with everything. Thank
you for all of your help! I will definitely recommend
you to others and work with you personally in the
future.
Sincerely,
Bobby

Our favorite hotel was in Florence, you choose the BEST for us. The location was perfect, the room was huge and elegant and we received complimentary shirts and slippers. The shirts are so soft and comfy too....... It just really made the stay there awesome to have that special treatment.

Or favorite city..... hard to choose between Venice and Sorrento. They were both so pretty, people were so nice and the local handicrafts/souvenirs were plentiful. And they were really easy to walk around in.

Our "night life" consisted of eating dinner! LOL   Seems they take up to 3 hours to eat dinner. Which was fun in Venice, but by the time we got to Sorrento... we just wanted to walk dinner off! LOL The food was fantastic throughout our visit.

Our favorite activity was the walking and people watching.   It was interesting to see the different people, styles and customs.

The historic city tour was really good, got to see the ancient ruins, and major sights with a very good English speaking guide. : ) Thanks for setting that up for us!

Florence, our first impression was that it was dirty, but i did get a beautiful diamond ring there, so i can't complain too much!   LOL    In Sorrento they upgraded us to a room with a balcony so we had a view overlooking the water---beautiful!

All in all the trip was awesome. We hope to return someday. But there's other stuff that has to come first. Like a new kitchen LOL

The trip length was perfect, we weren't dying to get home, and weren't so ready to leave. Time to get back to reality though and start paying the bills!

Thanks again for all the help on getting the trip set up so perfectly. We really enjoyed ourselves and will definitely call YOU for our next trip.

I don't know where to begin. The trip was absolutely perfect from the moment I left my house until I returned. Celebrity is a great cruise line and I would definitely join them on another cruise. The tour at Ephesus was magnificent and my guide in Rome, Francesca, was amazing. I am so glad you recommended a private tour - I felt like a "celebrity". It will be a while before I come back to reality (even if I'm back at work this morning). Thank you so much!

Thanks so much for your message and email. We had a FANTASTIC time on our trip! Thanks for helping us choose this itinerary and for ironing out all the details in such a short time. Our first experience with an organized tour group was great, especially since it was our first overseas trip. The tour director was so well-organized and knowledgeable, as are the local guides they hire for the optional city excursions. I would definitely book a Trafalgar tour again in the future. We are exhausted from the busy schedule, but we are so glad we did it. We saw soooo many wonderful places in just over a week. Again, thanks for everything! We really appreciate you taking the time to find the right itinerary and tour for us. We will never forget this trip!
Sincerely, Marilyn m sure we will use you on our next adventure.

The cruises were great, the weather not so good. Your bookings were flawless (as always) with transfers, flights and hotels merging smoothly without any hassels. Many thanks!

We have talked about doing something different for Christmas/New Year..... like going somewhere. Possibly, you have a personal experience feedback from your clients. Your thoughts when time permits. Until next time

Dear Donna,

Great Italian trip. Well planned and well delivered -you did a fantastic job.

Our tour guide, Kris, was more than great. Weather was perfect, 10 sunshiny days in a row, so didn't miss a beat. It was truly memorable, being right there--all the things we've read about, seen pictures of, viewed in movies.

Kept having to pinch myself, as I couldn't believe I was in a gondola in Venice, in Vatican Square, on the streets of Pompeii, etc., etc. etc.

Thanks for your help during the planning. We really enjoyed our stay and will contact you again for our next adventure!

Lou and Kate

Testimonial about Sharon Walters, Exotic Vacations and Tours Specialist:

Bona Sera!

Sharon we are having a wonderful time! Tonite we are in Firenze.
Let me start with Como - simply THE most romantic place we've been (other than Bora Bora)... the Villa de Este' is beautiful & romantic & spacious rooms & great food & romantic & great sight seeing & did I say romantic? When you send your next clients there - highly suggest the private boat ride to Bellagio.... expensive... but very very worth it! I will just tell you that for dinner one nite we had champagne & strawberries on the veranda......
The train was delayed via train from Como to Milan- thus missed the connection from Milan to Venzia - however, we got the next train 30 minutes later but missed our pickup.. but caught a water taxi to Hotel Luna Baglioni ... also, the company that was to pick us up from Baglioni to the train did not have us so we had to water taxi from there ourselves...$115 euro for both ways... so you might check with them for a refund....
a n y w a y Venice was so much fun. We saw everything & walked till our feet hurt up to our ears! For the tour to Murano & Burano...... we changed our mind & convinced the guide to take us on a tour of Venice.. He was fantastic! He took us to his home area & to his normal cafe's & to a most beautiful church & gave us a very good 'walking-water tour' & dropped us off at a museeà across town where we walked & ate & drank & went into more churches on our way back to the hotel. Luna Baglioni was a cruise ship size room (small) so we barely unpacked, however the staff was excellent and the resturant-bar downstairs were great. The entertainment guitar-piano guy was superb and all the staff was extremely nice.
The train to Firenze was a nice ride & we picked up the car at the airport - thank the Good Lord for tomtom navigation that speaks English! The Wine & Food experience at Villa de Verazanno was soooooo much fun and very informative.... we arrived a bit late due to being lost & our nav system didnàt have it in there, but they were very gracious and we caught our group nearly at the beginning.... a very nice tour, very fun and informative - the lunch provided was superb and very Italian with lots of wine and most beautiful scenery!!
Today we drove to Firenze - may I say that my American husband drives very well with these c r a z y Italians!! the scooters are kamikazes and nobody signals or waits for anyone else on any road and merge nicely?? ha! Ralph was in his element.....
We saw the Duomo & San Lorenzo's & several others - however the Uffizi was booked till Friday..... so! thatàs where we are so far....VERY smooth wine Chianti Reserva..... will arrive home in 4 or 5 weeks......
Tomorrow we'll make that up as we get there....

Ciao
Marià & Rafael
Testimonial about Steve Wilner, Hawaii and Italy, Europe Specialist

I want to let you know that I received the travel documents/pkg today. I am very impressed with the document case and the way you set up the itinerary etc. Never have seen such attention to detail for a customer. I need something like that for my travels. Sure wish I was able to also go on this trip. I know that my sisters will have a great time. Thanks for all care in making this trip a reality.

Hi Joan,
So nice to hear from you! I keep meaning to e-mail you a note and then you
beat me to it - oh well. We had a wonderful time. The ship was gorgeous and the ports were beautiful. Thanks for ordering the sunshine for us - we got
very toasted! We really apprecited all the time and effort that you put into
getting everyones questions answered etc... Our rooms were so close together -
and the 10th floor was a great location. If you have anywhere where I can sing
your praises to your company let me know because I do that often for nice
people, doing their jobs and still enjoying it. The best thing about the cruise
was, everyone was healthy and stayed that way, we all celebrated something
special and even though another one of us is dealing with a crisis, we all
managed to enjoy each other and we all came back still friends. Thanks again
for your help and we look foward to a future vacation planning together!

Sara has handled two trips for me – last year on the Seven Seas Voyager from Rome to Athens and this year in on the Paul Gauguin in Tahiti. All hotels, all transports to and from locations were 100% on target. The accommodations were all excellent and most importantly Sara was always available before and during the trips. She is to be complimented on a job well done. She becomes a “friend” not just a travel agent.

It was FABULOUS. Princess is by far the nicest cruise line we have been on. Service was impeccable. The ship was gorgeous. The food was fantastic. The weather was perfect. We will definitely consider Princess again. Thanks for all your help. Our cabin view was between 2 lifeboats, which made us the luckiest cabin on that level. It was plenty of a view as we were at sea a lot. Someone mentioned to my mom that we must have a great travel agent to get us those cabins. --Thanks! We are sorry to be back but maybe we will go again this spring!
Thanks, Cindy

We had so much fun in Italy! YOU did a fabulous job with all hotels, tours & transport. Everything matched up perfectly!
Each of those was absolutely EXCEPTIONAL! Everything so far exceeded even our highest expectations! We want to let you know how great you are at what you do! A special note of Thanks for your exceptional help!

Dear Sharon
We had a wonderful trip to Italy. All of the guides spoke good English and were well informed. The drivers all had very nice cars and were always on time.   The rooms were roomy and the beds big enough for my tall husband. The locations were great and we were able to walk most everywhere we went. It is hard to pick a favorite because it was all so nice and so different. The wine tour to Verrazzano was great. The tour was conducted by a lady form London who was both entertaining and knowledgeable. The food was
wonderful and abundant. We recommended it to any one we talked to.
Thank you very much, Sandra
Testimonial to Sharon Walters, Exotic Vacations, and Tours Specialist:

Sharon, thank you so much.   We had a fabulous trip to Italy - and may we say, the tour you planned for us (Ancient Rome) was absolutely wonderful. We had a guide by the name of Paulo who was so knowledgeable and told us so much about the Coliseum and Forum area.   We would recommend him to anyone as a guide. He was outstanding.

The hotel Regina Baglioni was wonderful. The staff at the front desk and the concierges were top notch. They arranged several things for us and all of them were great.   They were caring, courteous and friendly and met our every need.

We met several people from Chicago while in Rome and it was fun comparing notes.

Thanks again ,
Mary C