Highlights of Amalfi Coast & Sorrento

I can confidently say that Zicasso's travel specialist is truly dedicated to providing her clients a luxury experience. From the outset, we had a 20-minute call where she wanted to learn about our dream vacation and get to know us. She was attentive to every request we made and organized our itinerary accordingly. During the trip, she texted us daily to inform us about our drivers and guides for the next day. Additionally, she checked to ensure our trip was progressing smoothly.

Here are some highlights:

Rome: We were greeted at the airport by our agent, who expedited our passage through passport control. The following day, we started our exploration at the Vatican. Our agent had purchased our tickets in advance, allowing us to skip the line. She also planned the remainder of our self-guided tours of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and other ancient sights. We accomplished so much in just two days!

Florence: We took part in a pasta-making class with a chef who was fantastic! Her husband was also quite charming. Our experience there was truly wonderful. Special thanks to our driver, who was incredibly helpful and informative.

Sorrento (Amalfi Coast): We began with a visit to Pompeii, where our guide, also arranged by our agent, was spectacular! His passion and extensive knowledge made the experience enjoyable. Next, we had a fun blind wine tasting. When we arrived at our amazing hotel, we were greeted with a surprise.

While in Rome, we encountered a minor issue, which our agent resolved quickly. She even went above and beyond by ordering us a bottle of prosecco to celebrate. We also took a car tour of Positano and Ravello, guided by a local from Ravello who was informative, knowledgeable, and delightful. We loved her! Our day ended with a lovely sunset cruise off the coast! Both days had excellent drivers.

This trip was a dream come true for my husband and me. Without a doubt, our agent made it the luxurious experience we desired. I highly recommend her and her team!

Our trip was 11 nights in Italy.  We stayed in Sorrento, Rome, Florence, and Venice.  Visiting Positano, Amalfi, Capri, and San Gimignano during our stay.  Everything was planned perfectly and there was always someone assisting us along the way.  We never had a moment of worry regarding the next excursion or leg of our trip.  There was not one detail left out in the planning of our Italy trip.  Our agent was accessible the entire time and was the most helpful when we needed something.  Each city was a different experience but completely enjoyable from beginning to end. 

I've traveled extensively to many international destinations, but this was my first extended trip to Italy.  I planned this trip to celebrate our 25th anniversary and worked with this travel agent to tailor our trip to suit our needs, style  and interests.  We visited Rome, Florence and Sorrento.  Our visit to Florence included a day trip to a vineyard with tour and lunch in Tuscany, as well as a day trip to Siena and San Gimigniano.  Our time in Sorrento included a drive along the Amalfi coast to visit Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, as well as a private boat to Capri.  The private guides that accompanied us on these excursions made the experience so rewarding.  The drivers arranged for us were very professional and the vehicles were wonderful.   I requested a couple of spontaneous changes to our itinerary due to the weather and they were easily arranged.  Our agent periodically checked in to make sure things were going well, which of course they did.  This was a first rate trip and a fabulous 25th anniversary experience.

The service from your agent was outstanding. She couldn't have done a better job in planning the trip. We traveled from Milan to Venice to Florence to Naples to Sorrento - the Almalfi coast to Rome. Of course we made some side trips to Piza, Pompei and Capri, while seeing the best sights and Museums at the various cities mentioned. The guides at each location were excellent as well as the drivers although we did have a "miscommunication" with one driver in Milan.  Our agent rectified this problem immediately.  She also reconfirmed every night our schedule for the following day along with the guide and driver's name and phone number.  Our agent even made last minute adjustments to our tours because of my wife Lisa's limitation, due to a knee injury prior to arriving in Milan.  Our agent was able to find us a personal boat for touring on last-minute notice not once but twice - the first in Venice on a Sunday and then again in Almalfi for a Saturday tour of Capri. Our agent treated us as if we were her only client ( which I know we weren't) as she made sure everything was perfect each and every day.

Definitely a 5 star trip.

Sometimes an agent knows you better than you know yourself. We did a complete overview of Italy in 29 days.  It was extraordinary. It taught me more about myself and what I like than any other trip out there. It taught me so much about Italy and its people.  

To be fair, I was not excited to visit Italy(seemed 'old hat'), I chose this country because my daughter begged me to since she is a lover of all things Latin, her favorite, and I might add dead, language.  So I allocated a whole month of my family's life to discovering all things Latin and to Italy.

Our agency from the start did an incredible job from logistics to selection of guides to hotel choices and food.  We covered so many cities and got a flavor of so many things 'Italian'. Rome, Almafi,Pompeii,Capri, Anacapri, Positano, Chianti(Tuscany), Florence, Modena, Cinque Terre, Portofino, Milan, Lake Como, Verona, Venice.

We had cooking lessons, hiked, saw vinegar factories, made gelato, saw an opera(La Traviata), visited jewelers, the Lamborghini factory, boated and shopped. (I had to buy 3 extra suitcases and sent them home and this is outside of the wine, vinegar, and art that we had shipped directly). We ate and drank wine like there was no tomorrow and didn't gain weight.  Portions sizes in Italy are perfect. We had reservations every night at special restaurants.  Two places you cannot miss.  In Florence, Enoteca Pinchiorri, you must get the spaghetti all chittara. I still dream about it.  The second place is La Colombetta in Lake Como, the black parpadelle with shrimp is unforgettable.  What I like about our agent is she really managed everything with such calm and professionalism.  There were times I would fight back about a topic and she had to explain to me that it was the nature of the area and remind me that I asked for an overview of the country.  This happened in Tuscany where we stayed at an incredibly picturesque resort, which is a medieval town redesigned by Ferragamo. I mean where could you go wrong with 600 acres of land and horses and a private vineyard? This is a moment of self-discovery.  I cannot be isolated like this and not have a car, so in Lake Como, she helped us rent a car and that was SO MUCH FUN, if you are a fan of manual shifts and roads so narrow that only one car can pass at a time while winding up and down the foothills of the Alps. This was a harrowing highlight and a test of my children and nanny's nerves.

There actually was so much that our agent brought to the table that I cannot even begin to describe them all.  Another example is how she has discerning tastes that she was able to chose the perfect glass family and blower to bring me to instead of the mainstays of Italy.  To my delight, when I was in Greece the following month with my friend, who is the Director of Development for a major museum in NYC, who used to live in Venice and is on the board of Save Venice, she mentioned that she had bought her own personal chandeliers from this same gallery. Nice touch! From my experience here, I can tell you the differences in grapes, lemons, and where you can find the best of anything and where you should eat anchovies versus where you should eat pizza and where and when you should have different fruits and veggies.  I know I haven't touch on history but that is because there is just too much, truly, between history, art and music, this review would be endless. Our agent taught me that there is nothing 'old hat' about Italy.  It is a country that has so much to offer that I need to come back many more times.  I already have a list of things to do including revisiting Tuscany in an convertible sports car with my husband and stopping at each vineyard along the way for two or or three nights to collect wine.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for an incredible trip and to remind me not to take things for granted. Also, please excuse typos and grammatical mistakes...