For visitors looking for a guided tour of Italy it is not always easy to decide which company to go with and selecting can be a stressful process. We were recently offered to sample a private guided tour of Italy which was provided for us by a locally based company called A La Carte Italy tours and we wish to provide prospective travellers with a concise review of this company which we hope will help them in their selection of a tour company when visiting Italy.
A La Carte Italy tours is in our opinion, a five star company. They pride themselves in specialising in luxury tours where only the best is offered to their clients, and they certainly go out of their way to uphold this assertion.
The tour package we were provided with was an all-inclusive, 12 day trip through Milan, Tuscany and Rome. The key attractions on this trip included wine tasting in the Chianti Hills, the Vatican, the Coliseum, Michelangelo’s David and da Vinci’s last supper as well as a range of others. All meals, transport and accommodation were included in this tour package.
Firstly we wish to review the attractions themselves. They were actually second to none in that they represented true Italy. We saw all the mainstream attractions such as Vatican city and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but we were also treated to some unique gems such as Sforza Castle, the 16th century Church of St John the Evangelist, the Ferrari factory, the 931 AD village of Montefioralle and Hadrian’s Villa.
The difference in the attractions we got to see was that they had been investigated in advance by our guide in order to provide us with something special – in addition our guide had extensive knowledge of all these sites and was able to accurately answer our questions. As travel agents we believe this to be a huge highlight of this tour – all too often clients are provided with guides who have very little knowledge of the attractions they take travellers to and are reliant on brochures and guide books – this was definitely not the case with A La Carte Italy tours.
All-inclusive fine dining was also a real highlight on this tour, in fact we have never been provided with a trip that offered this and it exceeded our expectations. We dined at some of Italy’s finest restaurants and had the menus explained to us so we knew what we were getting. We experienced magnificent Italian cuisine at idyllic locations and we didn’t have to stop and think about where we were going to eat – our guide had pre-arranged it all for us.
The other main factors we wish to highlight on this tour were the chauffeured transport and the accommodation. Everywhere we went we were driven by our guide in a luxury minivan so we didn’t have to worry about public transport, buses or navigating the roads – as with the meals it was all done for us. We also got to stay at some of the finest boutique hotels in Italy and at every destination, these were clean, comfortable and luxurious.
It is difficult for us to fault A La Carte Italy tours. They provided a meticulously planned luxurious experience where all our needs were met down to the smallest detail. If you are in the market for a high end, exclusive, luxury tour we definitely recommend A La Carte Italy tours.
