I booked, Italy Family Vacation !!

[jamie@dvcstore]

Hi helenk,
Congrats on booking your Italy trip. You have to be very excited. I am looking at ABD for 2010 and it is very difficult to choose only one place to go. Have a great time planning and before you know it the trip will be here.
________
Avandia Lawyers

 

[helenk]

It was long--we were pretty worn out! But we figured as long as we were going to fly all that way...! As for things in Rome--first are you booking through Disney for the pre-stay? If so you'll be right in the heart of Rome and have access to the subway, as well as great walking trips around. We did the preday on our own, and stayed near the airport with a free shuttle into Rome--so we roamed around Rome not really knowing what we were doing, but decided just to go for a feel of the place. I know the guides are around getting ready for the trip--but not sure if they are accessible for questions/suggestions on the pre-day stays that are booked through Disney. Anyone out there know?

I am booking through ABD, this way I can get the transportation to the hotel and be at the hotel for the Rome portion of the tour. I'll have to do some research on the subway where it goes etc. I am going to try and be adventurous and do some things before the actually tour starts.

 

[helenk]

Hi helenk,
Congrats on booking your Italy trip. You have to be very excited. I am looking at ABD for 2010 and it is very difficult to choose only one place to go. Have a great time planning and before you know it the trip will be here.

Thank you Jamie. I am excited, so is my daughter! I know what you mean about choosing only one place to go. So many neat trips and so little time (and money).

 

[Diskidatheart]

I am booking through ABD, this way I can get the transportation to the hotel and be at the hotel for the Rome portion of the tour. I'll have to do some research on the subway where it goes etc. I am going to try and be adventurous and do some things before the actually tour starts.

helenk, if you look at some of the past trip reports, one individual posted the things that they did on their own as Day 1 of the trip and then they also did some things on their own on Day 2 before the welcome dinner. I know one of the things that they did was get on the Metro and went to the beach. It was a good review and provided a few "to do" items while touring on your own.

 

[tnkr mom]

Congrats to you on booking the Italy trip! I've been lurking on the ABD for a LONG time now and can't wait to book a trip; but our family of 5 is a BIG bite to chew! My DD went with her high school last summer to Italy she says the best 2 weeks of her life! Have a ball cant wait to hear about all your plans!
PS - We are right below you in PA!

 

[helenk]

helenk, if you look at some of the past trip reports, one individual posted the things that they did on their own as Day 1 of the trip and then they also did some things on their own on Day 2 before the welcome dinner. I know one of the things that they did was get on the Metro and went to the beach. It was a good review and provided a few "to do" items while touring on your own.

I did not think about looking at the trip reports, jeez you'd think I just joined this website. Thank you!

 

[SallyM]

Hi
I was looking at the Italy vacation for july 2010 for my family, we'd be counted as three adults and the prices I got was 12k(basic trip) to 17k for a 9 day trip.

I would really love to know if those of you that did the trip thought the value was worth it.
I am also considering renting a villa (we'd be going with a large family group) and that was in a similar price range in Tuscany for a two week period. Since some of us can actually take 2-3 weeks off.
Is the disney trip really enough time, 7-9 days with the long flight??????????????????

Any opinions would be appreciated............Spending 15k is not totally out of the question, but its a lot of money that of course I'd like to get the biggest value for.............TIA!

Hi,

My family of 4 took this trip in June. We thought it was worth every penny. It is expensive, but the accomodations are top notch, whenever we ate with the Disney group, the food was fantastic, the activities were fun and unusual, we were pampered beyond belief (we didn't touch our luggage from the time our plane landed in Rome until we were ready to board the flight home in Venice) and the tour guides and local experts were the absolute best. The tour does include a 3-day stay at a villa in Tuscany. Everyone on the tour could not get over how beautiful it was. It was surreal. So, your alternative of renting a villa for a few weeks sounds great. I think it would be two very different experiences, but as far as the tour is concerned, it was absolutely worth the money.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I am considering at least a pre day hotel, but Venice looks wonderful too so I am torn as what to do.
It is a once in a life time trip so I hate to cut corners.

They only problem with you trip? You are going to want more time in Italy! Amo l'Italia!!

If your choice is between, extra days in Venice or Rome, I would choose Rome. There is sooo much to see.

Hi

I am also considering renting a villa (we'd be going with a large family group) and that was in a similar price range in Tuscany for a two week period. Since some of us can actually take 2-3 weeks off.
Is the disney trip really enough time, 7-9 days with the long flight??????????????????

Any opinions would be appreciated............Spending 15k is not totally out of the question, but its a lot of money that of course I'd like to get the biggest value for.............TIA!

My DD was married in Italy this past summer. We rented a beautiful villa in Tuscany. The staff was incredible and you can book for different sized groups. (14-23 people).

If you want the info... PM me. I don't know if it's okay to post it on the Dis? I went through an agency and they have a wide variety to choose from.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Here's a few photos of the villa and the grounds. It's on the side of a mountain and overlooks Pisa. You can even see the Leaning Tower from the front door!

 

[glassslipper2004]

The Viva trip was unbelievable. But I did wish we had more time - especially in Venice, which I really fell in love with.

The villa possibility is nice if you are ok with traveling on your own through different places, doing a lot more work than just being escorted around by Disney. But as you are already going with a big group, you might not need/want the group aspect of Disney - one thing I loved about ABD is that it gave us all, including our kids, some other people to share the experience with, which was great fun.

 

[TLSnell1981]

We've been to Italy several times, so we did go out on our own. The nice thing about the villa we rented? Concierge service was included. They can book tours, transportation, meals (there is also a chef in house), etc. They even planned my daughter's wedding, reception and assisted with all the paperwork.

 

[danv3]

By the way--speaking of airfare--I did a quick Orbitz search from D.C. to Rome, and then Venice to D.C. --for next summer (end of June, early July) and Ouch!!! The airfares were around to $1500! Does it get any better that that???? Round-trip from Rome was about $1000, but is it worth the extra hassle of trying to get from Venice to Rome to save $$??? or does it end up costing the same by the time all is said and done.

Just wondering what others have done.

Same question here. We're looking into the Italy trip in Sept. 2010 and we've been noticing a large difference between round trips and two one-ways. Any thoughts appreciated!

 

[TLSnell1981]

By the way--speaking of airfare--I did a quick Orbitz search from D.C. to Rome, and then Venice to D.C. --for next summer (end of June, early July) and Ouch!!! The airfares were around to $1500! Does it get any better that that???? Round-trip from Rome was about $1000, but is it worth the extra hassle of trying to get from Venice to Rome to save $$??? or does it end up costing the same by the time all is said and done.

Just wondering what others have done.

Helenk--glad airfare is cheaper out of the smaller airport. That doesn't really make sense, but few things do when you are dealing with airlines.

Turtlemom

An open jaw ticket isn't always more expensive. Flying in/out of Venice is usually more expensive than Rome. Italiarail is offering fares as low as $55. I can't remember how far in advance you can book the train. I believe it goes from Rome to Florence, Florence to Bologna, Bolongna to Venice.

Check flight periodically to see how full they are. If the flight is pretty empty...they will probably run a sale.You won't normally get the best price booking way out. We had folks in our group,for DD's wedding, pay up to $1700 for coach. The same flights dropped to under $1000. Also, watch for specials in Buisness Class. Some airlines will also let you combine points and cash for your ticket. Sometimes airlines will have sales for the purchase of points. It can be cheaper to buy points than a regular ticket....not always, but sometimes.

 

[Diskidatheart]

When I was looking at airfare prices from Pittsburgh to Rome and then returning from Venice to Pittsburgh, I had to use the Multi-city option to get a reasonable price. If you just look at one-way tickets to Rome and from Venice, the price will be much higher. Not sure if you tried that, but it should give you better results.

 

[TLSnell1981]

When I was looking at airfare prices from Pittsburgh to Rome and then returning from Venice to Pittsburgh, I had to use the Multi-city option to get a reasonable price. If you just look at one-way tickets to Rome and from Venice, the price will be much higher. Not sure if you tried that, but it should give you better results.

Good point!! I just assumed they were trying to book an open jaw.