We recently used Cultural Italy to plan our latest 10-day trip to Italy. Overall, we were extremely satisfied. Manuela was very responsive to tailoring a trip around our interests. She was great in communication. Our trip was very organized and using their services saved us plenty of hassle factor time during the trip. We had contacts locally in Italy which was also helpful. The transportation services were timely and top notch. The guides that were provided were universally excellent and spoke great English. The specifics of the tour were relayed clearly, and we had no problems or issues with the itinerary.
More specifically, we began in Bologna. Transportation was great to our hotel. We stayed a Hotel Metropolitan which was probably our least favorite lodging of the trip. The hotel is clean and centrally located but the rooms are quite small, and our room was facing a store and alley that was quite loud at night. The rooftop bar area was amazing, and we enjoyed the views. In all, I would probably select a different hotel in Bologna in the future.
Transportation to Florence was seamless. The two BR apartment in Florence was fantastic. It was on the 5th floor with open windows and views of the river and the city with an overall perfect location to restaurants/bars/tours. Our tours in Florence were favorite and really enjoyed the city.
Our next stop was Cinque Terra. What an amazing place. Our guided walking tour was informative and helped us secure lunch reservations. The hotel there, La Colonia, is a small boutique hotel on the more authentic side of Monterosso. It was very nice, clean and a good location. It is a 3-star property. There may be some other 4-star properties in the area that would be more luxurious but we didn’t spend much time at the hotel itself. Monterosso is a perfect location to explore this area as all the trains stop there and it is the only town of the five that has a beach. We did a boat tour which was great.
We then went to Rome. We had a two-bedroom apartment in a great location. The apartment was nice in that there was a separate deck area to get away and relax from the city bustle. Our tours were fantastic.
Overall, I would highly recommend Cultural Italy to plan a trip to Italy. They know the area well and set us up for one of the most enjoyable and well-planned vacations I have ever experienced.
If I were to make any adjustments, it would be to consider a step up in the hotel accommodations in Bologna and Monterosso. The apartments were amazing in Florence and Rome. It would also be nice if there were a few planned dinners with reservations. We had to make all our own lunch and dinner plans which had its advantages but at times it might have been nice to just have some planned as well.
Bravo Cultural Italy and Manuela!
