Italy Tours and Vacation Packages

I have to begin by saying I've told everyone how pleased I am with Zicasso and the travel agent they recommended.  I also have to say that I was very hesitant to book my trip with a company that I had only communicated with via email.  Turns out I had nothing to worry about.

The initial response I received from my agent was immediate and continued right up until our actual trip while we were in Italy.  I let her know where I wanted to go, what I wanted to see, told her I was interested in a mix of arranged tours and time on our own.  She listened and also made great suggestions.  I honestly can't say enough about how wonderful she was to work with, along with her co-worker.

They arranged for all our hotels, transportation and tours.  Every driver and guide we had was top notch.  They made a point of keeping us in small groups, sometimes only the two of us and the guide.

Our 19 day trip began in Venice where we were met at the airport and driven to a private water taxi.  That driver walked us out of the boat and made sure we knew how to find our hotel. Our departure was just as seamless.  A guide met us in our lobby, walked with us to the water taxi, came into the train station with us and explained the board to us, pointing out our train and track number.  

We continued on to Verona, Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Florence, Naples, the Amalfi Coast and Rome.  Since we weren't in any one place longer than three days it was extremely helpful to have guides, even for just a couple of hours to orient us, which saved us a lot of time.  We had guides for a walking tour in Venice, a morning in Cinque Terre traveling with us between the villages, the Accademia in Florence, Pompeii, an Amalfi Coast drive and the Vatican in Rome.  Every one of the them was passionate and proud and we learned so much.  We had a car in Tuscany and saw many other places on our own, Lucca, Pisa, San Gimignano, Siena, Montalcino, Montepulciano.  We stayed in Sorrento, spent one day on Capri and another full day on a tour to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, which included a short boat ride along the coast.  Spectacular.  Our only tour in Rome was the Vatican but we saw all the other major sites on our own, taking the metro, bus, taxis and walking, lots of walking.  It was the perfect mix of free time and arranged tours.

And, they also worked with our children who surprised us with a dinner in Venice for our anniversary after a gondola ride!

One great advantage to having your tour guide in the country you're visiting, you're in the same time zone.  We had one mishap with a train and were able to talk to them right away.  Other than that, everything worked liked clockwork.

I would definitely use them again and have told everyone I know what a wonderful job they did for us.

Our family of five just got back from the most wonderful vacation in Tuscany and Rome.  Our agent crafted a set of amazing experiences for our family from the private tour guides to Florence, Pisa and Lucca; a private wine tasting lunch at the Capannelle Winery and vineyards in Chianti; tickets to the Papal mass at the Vatican; to a tour beneath the church of San Clemente to see the excavations of a byzantine and then a Roman street neighborhood; a day excursion to the Amalfi coast to visit Positano, Sorrento and Pompeii; and more! Our agent and the guides found excellent restaurants from a simple salumeria where the locals ate to some high end restaurants.  The hotels were right in the center of Florence – on the piazza della Repubblica - and Rome – between the Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps.  Our agent was attentive to our plans and made excellent suggestions.  Everything went extremely smoothly.  All the guides drivers were very friendly, spoke English and were very knowledgeable about art, history and the local culture.  We saw so much every day because everything was so well planned.  Simply the best travel experience ever!

THE BEST VACATION EVER!!!!

I must admit that I was somewhat uncomfortable arranging a group tour to Italy with someone I communicated with only via the Internet and telephone.  However, after my first communication with our agent -- I knew that she “had it.”  She understood exactly what we wanted to do.  She was right-on in both concept and execution.

Our ten-day adventure in Italy began with a private transfer with an English speaking local driver from the Rome airport to our fantastic 3 star boutique hotel located right in the historical center of Rome.  During our three days in Rome, we had fantastic private tours of Ancient Rome, the Coliseum, and the Vatican Museums.  Extremely knowledgeable, English-speaking guides led all of our tours.  Sense of Italy had arranged for VIP, skip the line, priority entrance for all tours -- saving us from long waits in long lines.

After our busy 3 days in Rome, we departed via private van transfer from our hotel in Rome to the Chianti Region of Tuscany.  The transfer included stops on the Val D’ Orcia to visit the amazing Villages of Montalcino and Montepulciano.  The “light lunch” and wine tasting we enjoyed in Montalcino was one of the highlights of our trip.  In Tuscany we stayed 7 Nights in a beautiful, historic villa located on one of the best wine estates of Chianti (Villa Le Corti near San Casciano) where we were met with a fantastic welcome dinner. During our time in Tuscany we were transported by private van from our villa to private tours of Siena, San Gimignano, Florence, Pisa and Lucca.  On each of our stops we were met by knowledgeable English speaking guides that clearly were proud of the history of their country, and were anxious to share it.  Interspersed in all of this activity were numerous exceptional meals with opportunities to taste (and drink) very fine Italian wines.

When we finally were forced to leave Italy, our agent arranged for private transport accommodating our varying departure times from the Florence airport and train station.

Thanks to this travel company and our agent for designing the perfect vacation for our group.  The only complaint that I heard was that we ate too much — wow was all the food delicious.  I really don’t know how she did it.  All of the tours were great — the van drivers friendly and helpful, the guides knowledgeable, and the sites spectacular.  Our stay in the villa was a great experience.  We were treated royally everywhere.  We all marveled at our agent's ability to get us, the vans, the guides, the food and wine, etc. all at the right place at the right time.  She is a genius!!!!

Jeff E

We took this trip last year, and I realized when I came back to Zicasso to plan our next trip that I had never posted a review.

This was a 25th anniversary trip for my husband and me. We splurged on this trip. We wanted something special. We were overwhelmed by a trip that not only met, but far exceeded our expectations. Our Italy travel agent planned every detail and stayed in contact with us throughout our travels. She gave us a flip phone and called us shortly after we reached each destination to make sure everything was to our liking. And when we did run into a slight problem with our gondola ride in Venice, I was able to get in touch with our agent on a Sunday, and she took care of it immediately. Every driver and tour guide she set us up with was professional and well-informed about their part of the country. And they all spoke English very well. We felt pampered every step of the way.

Even with 2 weeks to spend in Italy, it felt like a whirlwind trip. Our agent managed to fit in everything we wanted to see and do and some things we hadn't even known we wanted:  A gondola ride and a tour of St. Mark's in Venice; a guided trip to the Accademia to see the statue of David and to the Uffizi Gallery, as well as time to walk across the Ponte Vecchio in Florence; wine tasting in Tuscany, not only of Chianti but also Brunello di Montalcino (what a treat); visits to Siena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, and others in the area; a guided tour of Pompeii; visits to Amalfi, Ravello, and an inland winery near the Amalfi coast; a private cooking class; guided tours of the Colosseum, the Forum, the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica.

My husband and I would wholeheartedly recommend this agent and her travel company to anyone who is planning a trip to Italy. 

We experienced a fabulous twelve night first trip ever to Europe staying in Rome, Sorrento, and Florence with day visits to Naples, Pompeii and Herculaneum, a drive with stops and photo-ops through the beautiful Amalfi coast villages to Ravello, and a day trip to historic Siena and San Gimignano through the Chianti region of Tuscany. Our travel consultant and her colleague at the company in Rome, proved to be perceptive to our interests, resourceful in finding spot-on solutions within our budget and patient professionals as we explored various itinerary options. Both women spoke and wrote english very well to thoughtfully help us plan our itinerary for three adults with private transportation and guides. Our private guides in Rome; in Pompeii and Herculaneum; in Naples; one a Canadian ex-pat in Florence; and in Siena, informed our discovery of each locale and its many treasures.  We also did two small group tours. First, a farm/food tour near Sorrento with an incredibly informative and entertaining guide, and catacombs at Saint Sebastian with a nameless guide and small group of 9 during our Appian way visit and final full day in Rome. At times we were chaperoned in private vehicles with english speaking drivers knowledgeable of their territories. In Rome, in Naples, in the Bay of Naples Sorrento area, in Tuscany, and in Amalfi. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend this company to help others plan the vacation of a lifetime.

~~OUR STORYBOOK VACATION CREATED BY ZICASSO

The most beautiful vacation was created for my husband and me by this agent, partner of Zicasso. At our initial contact with Zicasso, we advised them of our dream vacation which we wanted in the Tuscany and Umbria regions of Italy.  Very soon thereafter we received an e-mail from our agent wanting to know what we wanted to see and do on this vacation.  We provided a short list of our desires and she got to work.She contacted us by phone from Florence, Italy where she is located and spent 45 minutes getting to know us and detailing the itinerary with us.  That was only the beginning!Within a few days, she set up the itinerary which was perfect for us.  We began our journey by flying to Venice (a gondola ride was scheduled, of course).  A couple of days later, took a train to Florence (beautiful experience, because our reservations and tickets were already in hand).  A private driver met us at the platform and took us to our hotel).  A few more days and we were off by rented car (already paid for and ready to go thanks to our agent) and drove off to other parts of Tuscany (Radda in Chianti, Montalcino, Bevagna and the small villages along the way of Volterra, San Gimignano, Siena, Val d’Orcia area with the beautiful Abbey of Sant’ Antimo and listening to the spiritual and beautiful Gregorian chants during Mass, followed by our next stop in the Umbria region - Cortona, and staying in Bevagna.  Of course, we cannot forget our inspirational visit to Assisi with a private guide.  Everything was perfectly orchestrated by our agent.  The train, the car, the hotels, the private tour guides, the tickets, were all taken care of. She also provided her emergency number should there have been any problem at all.We are so happy we chose this wonderful travel agency and, we must say, most dedicated and pleasant agent, to handle this dream vacation for us.  One which we will remember forever!!Thank you – BRAVO!!!

Sincerely,

Veronica and Leonard B