by Dawnielle Jacobson | Jul 16, 2019 | news
Our 2019 tour lineup is out, featuring updated itineraries for Ireland and the return of our tours to France and Spain! See an overview of all 2019 tours here, with a helpful chart to compare prices, dates and duration.
Spotlight on Tours Visiting Italy
You’ve decided to go to Italy. Now comes the hard part: choosing which tour to sign up for! Here is a guide to help you get started.
Best of Italy: This tour has it all, with the ideal mix of major tourist attractions and off-the-beaten-path destinations. Visit big cities (Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan), enjoy the countryside around Tuscany and Lake Como and take a dip in the Mediterranean in the Cinque Terre.
– Choose this tour if you’ve got the time and money to experience the best Italy has to offer in a single trip.
Essence of Italy: This tour covers the core sites of the Best of Italy tour in as much detail (Rome, Florence, Tuscany and the Cinque Terre), but doesn’t go to Venice, Milan or Lake Como.
– Choose this tour if you’re looking for a good introduction to Italy but your time and budget are tight.
Tuscany Villa Vacation: This tour spends seven nights at a Tuscan villa, with plenty of time to relax, soak in the local culture and take day trips to nearby towns and vineyards.
– Choose this tour if you’re looking for a more in-depth experience at a relaxing pace.
Best of Southern Italy: This tour starts in Rome and then heads south to explore the bottom half of the boot from coast to coast. You’ll have a nice mix of tourist destinations (Rome, Naples and the Amalfi coast) and some less-well-known stops (the Gargano Peninsula, Ostuni, Matera, Salerno and Sorrento). Enjoy villas, castles, museums, a cruise and, of course, authentic dining experiences.
– Choose this tour if you’ve seen all the major destinations in northern Italy and want to experience Italy’s southern cuisine.
Best of Sicily: This tour heads even further south! Beginning in Palermo, it completes nearly a full circuit of the island’s coast. Sicily is a true melting pot. You’ll see Greek temples and theatres, Arab-influenced mosaics and Spanish Baroque architecture. You’ll also travel the slopes of Mount Etna and walk the streets of Catania’s fish market.
– Choose this tour if you’ve seen it all on the mainland and want to experience a unique blend of cultures.
Best of the MED: This tour ventures beyond Italy, traveling the Mediterranean coast from Barcelona to Nice to the Cinque Terre. In between, you’ll see medieval castles, Roman ruins and modern marvels.
– Choose this tour if you like the seaside and want to check off a few more countries on your bucket list.
Still can’t decide? Head over to our website for a helpful chart that compares prices, dates and duration of all our Italy tours.
Reminder: Scrapbook contest
There are just two months left to enter the virtual scrapbook contest and win a free seat on any 2019 David McGuffin tour. Be sure to check out the rules and enter the contest on our website. Need help getting started? This post can help you choose a website builder.
The deadline for submissions is February 5, 2019.
Your Adventure Starts Here!
by Dawnielle Jacobson | Jul 13, 2019 | Destinations, news
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David is currently trekking through Italy on the Best of Italy and Essence of Italy tours. Follow him on his adventure and check out his awesome pictures on the Exploring Europe Facebook page. Keep reading to find out more about our first destination.
Rome
Rome, the Eternal City, is a must-see destination for any European tour. There is no way to pack all the sights into just one visit. However, with a little planning you can get an enjoyable overview of this world-class city.
For many, touring Rome can be a grueling process, especially in the hot and humid summer months. The city is overloaded with cars, motorbikes, buses and millions of people. All this commotion seems to put a certain amount of stress and fatigue on every tourist venture around the city.
In order to get a handle on the whole Roman touring process, you need to think of the city as three very different tourist destinations. I like to divide the sprawling city into three historical regions: ancient Rome, Vatican City and the Baroque city center. Each destination has its own historical and cultural significance as well as a unique character.
Ancient Rome
The major tourist sites in this area are the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, the Arch of Titus, the Arch of Constantine and the Circo Massimo. Nearby are several important churches dating from the post-Roman era: San Clemente, San Pietro in Chains, San Giovanni in Laterno. Read more.
Vatican City
Sights here are all related to the Holy See and include Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum and gardens. Read more.
Baroque City Center
Fanning out from either side of the via del Corso are Rome’s historic neighborhoods and monuments, dating from the Renaissance to the present. Major landmarks include the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Vittorio Emanuele Monument, many Bernini landmarks, Campo de’ Fiore, Villa Borghese and several important churches. Read more.
Join David in Italy in September
Check out this video, where David throws a coin into the Trevi Fountain for you so that you can see it in person this September. Sign up here and get $500 off.
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Your Adventure Starts Here!
by David McGuffin | Jun 28, 2019 | Destinations, news
I visited Rome for the first time in May 1977 while on a choral concert tour with my college choir. That trip, and that choir, left a lasting impression on me and played an important role in the direction and professional choices I’ve made for my life. That experience changed my life, transformed my career aspirations, and provided me with a totally new outlook on cultural and diversity. Here I am in May 1977 and June 2019. Not much has changed in those 42 years… At least with the relics (almost 2000 years old) in the museum, ha!
I’ve just concluded a tour with students from my hometown visiting Rome and Orvieto (in Italy) and Athens and Hydra (in Greece). Anytime I get to lead a student tour, it reminds me of that first adventure across the seas for me! What a joy to witness their first experiences and impressions in a foreign land! It makes me feel young again too, hence the throwback photos above.
Hands down, young and old alike would not want to miss the big cities such as Rome, Florence, and Venice; but it is the small towns that capture their hearts and beg them to return.
In the next few weeks, we will be featuring some of our favorite Italian destinations. What better place to start than with food! Check out this post, where David shares some of his favorite Roman dishes, as well as tips for having an authentic dining experience.
Discounts on our most popular tours to Italy
We are offering a $500 discount on the Essence of Italy and Best of Italy tours in September. See our tour comparison chart here to find out which tour is best for you. Then head over to our website to sign up today.
Your Adventure Starts Here!
by Dawnielle Jacobson | Jun 14, 2019 | news
Our website says: “We believe you can do, see and experience more on a group tour than if you tried to pull it all together yourself. Think about the time, money, stress and effort you’d invest in pulling off a two-week tour to Europe. Then consider that we do it all the time and have had years of practice to refine our skills. In the end, I believe you’ll find that a tour with me will cost about the same as if you planned it yourself.”
So, we decided to put that claim to the test! Here is a breakdown of the Best of Italy tour, a 15-day tour that costs $4589, or $305/day.
Hotel:
- The cost of stays for 14 nights in centrally located hotels with private en-suite bathrooms and breakfast included.
- Total: $2360
Dinner:
- This tour covers 7 dinners, at $40-$50 per dinner (some include wine)
- Total: $315
Tips and gratuities:
- On David’s tours, all tips and gratuities to guides, drivers, restaurant and hotel staff are included. If you were traveling on your own and renting a car, you wouldn’t have to pay a tour guide or driver, but you would still pay local guides, restaurant and hotel staff. That would be $1-2 per local guide (approximately $10 for this tour). The tip is generally included in your restaurant bill. As for hotel staff, it depends on who provides service (porter, doorman, concierge, housekeeping, etc.)
- Total: $30
Tours and admissions:
- This tour includes a guided tour of Colosseum and Forum; a guided tour of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica; walking and transportation passes in the Cinque Terre; a guided wine tasting in Volterra; a guided tour of the Galleria Accademia; entrance to the Basilica San Marco; and a two-day Vaporetto water bus pass in Venice
- Total: $370
- It also includes 4 walking/orientation tours provided by your Exploring Europe guide. If you were to do a similar tour on your own, it would be approximately 10 euros to join a group tour or 30+ euros for a private tour. So, we’ll say four tours at 10 euros.
- Total: $45
Transportation:
- Renting a car for 15 days would cost $400-$600, depending on whether you can (or want to) drive a manual or prefer an automatic. You’ll also need an international driver’s license ($20 + $12 for passport photos). Parking is 20 euros per night (~$315). If you want to drive to any destination within a city, plan for an additional 3-4 euros each time you park.
- Total: $950
Travel guides:
- David’s tours provide printed tour handouts detailing each day’s historical and cultural experiences, so there’s no need to buy a travel guidebook and lug it around.
- Total: $20
That comes to a grand total of $4090.
This means that for $500, or just $33/day, you can take this same tour stress-free.
No need to search for hotels, check the reviews, verify their availability and book online. You won’t have to worry about finding a good restaurant, deciphering the menu or pondering whether to leave a tip. You can forget about wondering whether you need a reservation to the sights you want to see or making sure they’re open. Say goodbye to searching for local guides, checking Trip Advisor reviews, worrying about their availability or planning your schedule around their tour times. No need to panic at the thought of driving on unfamiliar roads lined with foreign street signs, relying on your phone’s GPS.
If you’re ready to sit back, relax and let David show you around Europe, head over to our website to sign up for The Best of Italy tour.
Your Adventure Starts Here!
by Dawnielle Jacobson | Jun 1, 2019 | news
We are offering discounts on our most popular Italy tours. See our tour comparison chart here and read the descriptions below to find out which tour is best for you. Then head over to our website to sign up today.
Best of Italy: This tour has it all, with an ideal mix of major tourist attractions and off-the-beaten-path destinations. Visit big cities (Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan), enjoy the countryside around Tuscany and Lake Como and take a dip in the Mediterranean in the Cinque Terre.
- Choose this tour if you’ve got the time and money to experience the best Italy has to offer in a single trip.
- Number of days: 15
- Cost per day: $305
Take $500 off the original price when you sign up for one of our upcoming 2019 tours here.
Essence of Italy: This tour covers the core sites of the Best of Italy tour in as much detail (Rome, Florence, Tuscany and the Cinque Terre), but doesn’t go to Venice, Milan or Lake Como.
- Choose this tour if you’re looking for a good introduction to Italy but your time and budget are tight.
- Number of days: 10
- Cost per day: $339
Take $500 off the original price when you sign up for one of our upcoming 2019 tours here.
Tuscany Villa Vacation: On this tour, you’ll spend seven relaxing nights at a Tuscan villa, with plenty of time to soak in the local culture and take day trips to nearby towns and vineyards.
- Choose this tour if you’re looking for a more in-depth experience at a relaxing pace.
- Number of days: 10
- Cost per day: $350
Take $200 off the original price when you sign up for one of our upcoming 2020 tours here.
Your Adventure Starts Here!
by Dawnielle Jacobson | Apr 23, 2019 | news
Notre Dame
On Monday evening, a major fire erupted in the attic of Notre Dame. It blazed for 10 hours, fueled by the Cathedral’s wooden frame. Tourists the world over have shared their memories of visiting Notre Dame and lamented the damage to this jewel at the heart of Paris. But the 800-year-old cathedral still stands, and there is much to be hopeful and thankful for. To find out more about the history of Notre Dame, Monday’s tragedy and the future of this iconic monument, read our article here.
Click here to watch David’s YouTube video where he remembers his many visits to Notre Dame.
We hope that this tragic event will not deter you from experiencing all the beauty that France has to offer. Consider joining us this July on our London and Paris tour or the Best of France tour.
Your Adventure Starts Here!
Our 2019 tour lineup is out, featuring updated itineraries for Ireland and the return of our tours to France and Spain! See an overview of all 2019 tours here, with a helpful chart to compare prices, dates and duration.
