Essence of Italy Tour: Cities, Ruins, Canals, History & Beauty

Thanks for helping me organize my family (of 10 with diverse age from 15 to 63) trip to Italy, from Dec 17 to Dec 31. Whilst different member of my family have different expectation and requirement, I would like to comment you and your team on having planned an excellent trip that not only met each and everyone's interest and expectation but truly exceeded it.

Your planning have brought us to the lovely cities of Parma, Modena, Florence, Orvieto, Civita Di Bagnoregio, Naples, Rome, Venice, Cortina d'Amprezzo and back to our starting point Milan. Throughout the trip, we have a well balance itinerary that covered

- beautiful churches such as the Duomo in Milan, Rome, Florence,

- archeological site like Pompeii, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, Pisa, Verona (learning more about romeo and Juliet)

- great local eating places (recommended by the guides you chose)

- lovely country side and unique sight in San Gimignano, Civita Di Bagnoregio, Orvieto, Lake Como,

- great gallery likes Uffizi, Academia

- Interesting activity such as Snow Mobile excursion in Cortina, Learning Cooking 

- Shopping activities

With so much, yet your team immaculate planning never have us rushing from sight to sight, we were both able to enjoy and learn as much as we can of each sight and at times added more activities.

The team of guides you chose, have truly turn stone and history into exciting stories that the provided the group deeper understanding of the sights we visited and saw. Really like to thank each on of them like our guides in Florence, Pisa, San Gimignano, Orvieto and Civita Di Bagnoregio, Naples and Pompeii, Rome, Verona, Venice and Milan.

But most importantly, thank you for getting our driver, he truly ensure our comfort whilst driving steadily through jams on our way to Naple and snow storm on our way to Cortina d Amprezzo and also took very good care of us ensuring we know what to do where we have no guides and leaving us clear instruction when we needed help. He is truly a wonder.

I will definitely tell my friends heading to Italy about this company.... A wonderfully great experience.

Locations Visited: Venice, Verona, Florence, San Gimignano, Siena, Pienze, Rome, Pompeii, Positano

My husband and I planned this trip for our 10-year anniversary. I’m a person with high expectation and this travel agency exceeded all my expectations. The entire trip was dream.

We opted for personalized tours and transport for 95% of our trip. All of our drivers were wonderful. They arrived on time and made sure we made it to all of our destinations without issue. They had the contact information for the tour guides we were meeting. Upon arrival to our first hotel, a local cell phone and gift were given to us. Having the iPhone during our trip made any needed communication with our agent and his team a breeze. In addition, we used the phone apps for navigation throughout the cities we visited. We made a last-minute request for an additional private transport, and our agent was able to make it happen. We greatly appreciated their customer service.

We participated in a several unique experiences while in Italy. We went truffle hunting in Pienza, which was amazing. After, we were served a meal that highlighted truffles and the cheeses made locally. In addition, we did a cooking day in Rome. This was a private cooking class where we made pasta, several sauces, and appetizers. The one disappointment is that we never received the recipes from the chef (we were told by the chef that they would be emailed to us). However, this is a knock on the chef and not our travel agent. Once the class was done, we were served a meal in a private garden area. Lastly, we did a food walking tour in Rome. This was an amazing way to find local cuisine that we wouldn’t have known about otherwise. A wonderful experience.

All of our tour guides were excellent. They were knowledgeable, friendly, and familiar with the cities. We had one guide that really went into the details and reasons for expressions in the art. We didn’t care for that, but we didn’t specify that ahead of time or to the guide. It was wonderful seeing her excitement and passion for all of the amazing working works of art and sculpture that we saw.

Overall, I would highly recommend this travel agent and his team if you are traveling to Italy!! You will not be disappointed. We gave him our wish list of activities, accommodation preferences, etc. ahead of time and he made sure we got them all! Thank you for such a wonderful and memorable trip. If we are able to return to Italy, you will be hearing from us.

My family of 6  (Michigan, USA) made a once in a lifetime trip to Italy in June 2018.

We worked with this travel agent as recommended by Zicasso, for 9 months starting in August 2017 in order to customize a trip for us to privately see the all the places we wished to see in June 2018. Our travel agent was very responsive and accommodating in working within a budget and the planning process. He provided alternatives to choose from when suggesting accommodation’s and activities. We ended up with 2 fabulous weeks touring the entire country, stopping for private tours (yes…just the 6 of us) in the following cities.

Pompeii - Amalfi Coast - Island of Capri - Naples - Rome - Assisi - Cascia - Florence - Siena - Pisa - Bologna - Verona - Venice

We were greeted at the airports and personally escorted throughout the arrival and departure process which was invaluable when you do not speak/read or comprehend Italian. Our agent set up private transportation with English speaking drivers, within and in between each city, for our family which made our experience with the local culture and communities that much more rich. The travel guides in each city were very well selected and highly educated. They took their time giving us fun facts as well as historical information about their city and its traditions. They were also accommodating with all of our requests for bathroom or food breaks, recommendations to local restaurants and additional activities. Our overnight hotel accommodations were extremely luxurious and we felt very lucky to be treated so special. Each hotel offered complimentary breakfast so we were able to start each day with excitement and full stomachs.

We would highly recommend this travel agent to schedule anyone’s tour in the beautiful county of Italy.

We did a 12 day trip that included Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Rome, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. It was a 30th anniversary trip for us. My brother and sister-in-law also travelled with us. It was our first trip to Italy and we wanted to make sure that we could enjoy our vacation without worrying about logistics, transportation, etc. And having never been in Italy, we needed guidance and recommendations for the right accommodations. Our travel agency met or exceeded all of our expectations. Our agents paid close attention to our wishes and carefully planned out the perfect itinerary. They did so while also honoring our budget. They put us in great hotels in the hearts of Venice, Rome and Florence. And we had spectacular views from our hotels in Tuscany and Sorrento. Great drivers and guides were arranged at every stop. In addition to private tours of traditional sites (Vatican, Coliseum, Uffizzi Gallery, St. Mark's Basilica, Pompeii), Our agents also arranged a one of kind wine-tasting and lunch at a small Tuscan farm and a special cooking class at a Michelin starred restaurant. Even with all of the activities, we still had plenty of free time to wander on our own or simply relax. Plus, our agents were always available by phone or e-mail both before and during the trip if we had any questions. They are incredibly responsive. And all of this cost about the same as a high quality group tour. We felt like we got the perfect 30th anniversary trip and that it was an excellent value. I highly recommend this company.

We decided on the location and planned the trip to the three Italian cities of Venice, Florence and Rome only about a month before. Using this travel agency thru Zicasso was key to getting hotels with great locations, good tour guides, transfer arrangements and proper timing for touring of all the cities. The trip went very smoothly and we were able to focus on enjoying the trip.