Seven Day Venice Itineraries

We booked a trip to Italy with this travel company.  We chose this travel specialist after interviewing a couple of different agencies.  We like to travel and explore places independently, with some private touring and guides that are flexible.

Our travel specialist listened carefully and came up with a plan that was more our style of traveling.   We chose from a few hotels in each area and he arranged for tours and when we had some last minute ideas, he was mostly able to accommodate us including a guide who got us into the Florence Academia to see the statue of David.   It would have been helpful to know about the need for advance tickets to get in there as well as the Duomo, something that would have been helpful in our travels.  

Our travel specialist set us up for a pasta cooking class which was in the chef's home with another family which was a fund night.  We had dinner and wine with the chef, his assistant and the other family and it was awesome.

We first went to Florence and stayed in a newly refurbished hotel, which was wonderful.  A guide took us the day we arrived to see the David and we had a wonderful first day.  Our second and third days were well planned with enough freedom to see the city on our own.   We were unable to see the Duomo because we were unaware of the need for advanced tickets as mentioned earlier.  We did see the Duomo in Sienna which was worth it so it kind of made up for what we missed in Florence.

We then went to Tuscany and stayed in a low key resort with a farm, animals where they made wine and grew olives.  It was in the town of San Gimigiarno, This was one of our travel specialist's recommendations and it was a good one.  We asked for advice on touring Tuscany and followed his advice as we visited a few towns.   He made sure we had a van for our luggage and getting our car in Florence was not a big deal.

We finished our three days and then dropped off the car and headed for Venice.   We had a problem on the train where apparently our ticket was cancelled as someone was sitting in our seat.   A tour guide we had in Venice suggested that the high speed trains sometimes do this to people, and it was not likely our agents fault.  After we paid for four new tickets, our travel specialist's staff received a copy of my receipt and said they would take care of it and reimburse us for it.  It all worked out ok and the train conductor found us a somewhat upgraded area in another car.

Got to Venice and our travel specialist arranged for our water transfer to and from the hotel which was nicely located.   We arranged through him to get tickets for Doges palace and for the basilica in advance.  This was after I had asked prior to leaving, since it is difficult to see these sites without advance purchase.  Our travel specialist had arranged for us to take a Gondola Ride the first day but we ended up going the second day due to scheduling.   The change was arranged by a woman he hired to give us a tour

The final day, we had cancelled a gondola rowing lesson since it was a little too touristy for our tastes and instead went to the Jewish ghetto that morning.  

In the afternoon, he set us up for a tour of Burano, Murano and Toriccello, three islands next to Venice. Personally, we would have preferred a more private tour of Burano and perhaps Toricello.  Burano is beautiful, Toricello is basically a park that has some older historical churches and buildings.  

Murano is home to the Murano glass factory and we were shuttled into a glass blowing demo and then their store, never really seeing the island. Alittle too touristy for us, would have preferred a more personal and less rushed experience.

Our trip to Italy was amazing. We started in Venice, then to Florence, Montepulciano  and ended in Rome. Our travel agency provided some amazing experiences including glass bead making in Murano, pizza and tiramisu making in Florence and amazing wine tasting at small vineyards, visits to working farms and delicious culinary experiences. We were so happy with our experience and can't thank this travel planner enough!

Overall, we LOVED this trip and we are thrilled we found this company. It was a dream trip for us that we waited to celebrate in honor of our retirement from work. The package was originally more money than what we intended to spend but we loved the ability to help design our own trip and in the end was well worth it!  What we liked was that it had first class amenities, no worry guidance throughout  and provided unique participative activities.  Our agent was a pleasure to work with, and we were so happy that a conference call from her in Italy was a critical part of the planning process. We were very pleased with the quality of the hotels, the guided transportation to each city and the quality of the people we dealt with; the two hiking guides were a definite highlight and your overall customer service/responses from our agent while on the trip was excellent. One of the most unique services we enjoyed was the providing of an Italy based smart phone to use on the trip. This was priceless in terms of communicating with you when changes had to made to the itinerary, plus was an absolute necessity in Venice when we used the map programs several times to find our way back to our hotel! It was also helpful in helping us navigate to some of the other towns sights.  By also providing us with some minutes to call,  it allowed us to check in with our family a few times. That was a definite bonus! A great plus to your service. 

For a more detailed review; 

Hotels- Loved your choices! Rooms were Superior or above. Except for Venice, we always had a great view out our deck or window, and most had a cool rooftop bar to have a nightcap and a great view of the city! Stresa , Radda, Florence & Positano were particularly spectacular. Unfortunately the rooftop bar in our Rome hotel was under construction, so we were unable to enjoy it. The Venice hotel, while "on the Grand Canal" had no view and a small bar, and I think this hotel did not meet the standard of all the other hotels. We were also amazed by the size (spacious) and modernness of the rooms in our hotels. Very new & comfortable.  By and large also, each hotel offered an included breakfast, which was a very nice way to start each day.

Activities- we particularly loved the guided hikes in Tuscany & Positano! The guides were absolutely welcoming, providing us with great history and local stories. And the fact that they were long hikes, taking several hours or most of the day, made it more special. We were never rushed and we enjoyed every minute with them. The lunch made by our guide, in his backyard, was amazing. He was a fantastic host to us and we enjoyed his company and his homemade food! We still can't believe this was included in the hike. Our guide in Positano was also charming- he even showed us his personal farm, and when we return, we will definitely take him up on his offer to share some of his homemade wine (when in season). 

  Other guides- we also loved that our guides in Stresa,  Venice & Pompeii - our guide grew up in the town (as did our hiking guides). They were very proud of their heritage and it showed in their enthusiastic approach. We learned a lot from them & they were fun to be with. Our guide in Florence was informative, but we didn't get the same feel as the more  "local" guides mentioned above. 

  We were glad we declined the Murano glass factory, perfume factory & the Vespa tour. Unfortunately the private boat tour to Amalfi Coast was cancelled,(which sounded fantastic) but perhaps substituting/offering some other participative activities would have further enhanced our trip. 

  The stop at the farm in San Gemignano on the way to Radda was awesome! The owners were great hosts-we got to enjoy a fantastic homemade lunch, sampling many of the foods they grow & make there- not to mention the wine! The fact that we were again not rushed, but had almost 2 hours to enjoy the food & company was very memorable, and a highlight. I'd like to have a lunch like that again! 

   Transit- the trains were very good- clean & comfortable, on time and easy to board & unboard. We loved being dropped off & then met for each trip- it took the worry out of finding our way. Again, worth the extra cost. Other than the mixup at the Stresa train station(we were supposed to be driven to Milan) all went smoothly. (A quick call to our agent provided us with a cab ride to Milan and we made the train).

     We also appreciated our agent helping us get to Rome when our return flight to the US  via Naples to Frankfurt was cancelled last minute. We are glad that she did the "right" thing by not charging us additional fees- especially given that our boat tour was cancelled in Amalfi & we declined some of the other activities. 

    Lastly, we also enjoyed the cooking class in Rome. We think there was a mixup somehow that day with the Tour (no fault of yours) and the class was larger than usual (according to them), but it turned out to be fun with the other couples. The place where we had it was spectacular, and we enjoyed learning some of the history of Italian cooking, the chef, the use of his apartment in a movie, and a walk through the Jewish Ghetto. In the end, the food we had was probably the best we had on the whole trip. So fresh. 

  Tickets/Vouchers- all worked out perfectly. We were glad that we had them and it got us easily into each site and on the right trains. 

Possible Recommendations- 

  The hotel in Venice- should look for another choice, with a better view and a better bar. Good but not great. 

   Positano hike- We were fortunate that we are in good enough shape & health to do the 6 hour hike in Positano. It was strenuous & extremely fun, but was far more difficult than we imagined. With the elevation & cliff issues, we suggest you be more descriptive in your offering in the event your clients are unfit to do such a hike.  (The challenge for us, however , absolutely made this a memorable hike for us and we're glad we did it!)

Don L (husband of Beth A) 

Our trip to Italy was a dream come true!  Because the trip was designed to fit our specific needs, we got to do and see the things that were most important to us.  When we did not know what we should do or see, our agent always gave excellent recommendations.  On all of our tours, the amount of information we learned and the things we got to see were amazing.  The private tours were especially enlightening because of the one-on-one attention.  There was not a single question that we asked that was not readily answered.  My husband was not thrilled at the idea of a craftsman tour in Florence, but it ended up being one of his favorite parts of the trip!  

Venice was magical and beautiful, Florence was so rich in history and culture, and Rome was an eclectic blend of ancient and modern.  The Murano and Burano Islands were enchanting, the wine country in Chianti was so peaceful, and the day trip to Pompeii was worth every moment.  The people of Italy were friendly and helpful everywhere we went and there were no anti-American sentiments that are evident in other parts of Europe.  

I would highly recommend the "handcrafted" travel arrangements through Zicasso.  Even though we could have lived and traveled in Italy for a year without seeing everything the country has to offer, we came home satisfied that we had not wasted a single moment trying to figure out what to do, where to go, or how we were going to get from point A to point B.  Thank you to our agent and Zicasso!

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.