I did 3 trip with them, France, Bulgaria and Rumania, Brazil .

Itinerary of all 3. were good, very interesting.

I did book these tours with air and flights schedules were from bad to really terrible.

In my opinion the tours now are overpriced and most Hotels locations not central.

I prefer GATE 1, did 10 tours with them , before Covid 19 but they aren’t perfect also.

Check the hotels quality and locations before booking.

Thank You!

@GoPlaces. Have to ask, but why are you thinking of taking an escorted tour of Venice, Florence and Rome. The reason I ask is because I’ve travelled to all 3 but booked my own flights and accommodation, and just bought museum tickets directly from the actual museums etc. I also booked my own walking tours locally.

I did this because Venice and Florence ( & neighbouring Pisa) are very small cities that are almost entirely pedestrianised, so no need at all for coaches, taxis or any other form of motorised transport.

Accommodation costs in Venice and Florence do vary, especially during the summer,but still provide a good variety of hotels at different price points. The best value for money and without the overwhelming crowds is during the shoulder seasons of April to early June, and from late September onwards.

Italy has a fantastic national railway network, fast, clean, convenient and reliable. Getting a train between Venice to Florence ( or Pisa) and then onto Rome is a delight.

Rome itself is the largest of your potential destinations, but most of the tourist attractions are centrally clustered and very easy to visit on foot, or by using local short hop buses or taxis. Again it’s easy to book local guided walks, even free ones! I would however urge advance bookings for the Vatican, but you wouldn’t need a tour guide to do that for you, as you can book via the Vatican Museum website directly.

I’m not dismissing escorted tours, especially to destinations that cater to non drivers, or in difficult off the beaten tracks locations, but some of the pitfalls of escorted tours are a limited range hotels, a rushed or limited itinerary, higher costs, and being stuck with a group that doesn’t gel.

Doing aDIY trip to easy to see destinations does give you far more flexibility. Hope this gives you food for thought.

If you are able to carry your luggage. go without the tours.

I did Rome, Assisi, Florence, Italian Riviera, Genoa traveled by train and bus.

I enjoyed this trip more than tour with Trafalgar .

But, of course, trip on your own required some research and planning.

Enjoy Italy!

I travelled twice with Go Ahead Tours before COVID. I very much enjoyed both experiences. However, I booked a tour to Scotland and England almost a year ago. The tour leaves next week, and although I am excited and hopeful, my experience with Go Ahead while making plans for this trip was horrible. I came very close to cancelling, but it was past the "cancel by" date and I am certain that it would have been a terrible problem trying to get my money back. It seems to me that the company has changed in the past few years. It may been acquired by a larger company or now has new management, but the company response to any of my questions or concerns was aggravating. I just pray that the trip itself is not as bad as the interactions leading up to it!

like most companies the phone agents are often new hires and not always the most informed. Thats unfortunate as thats your initial impression which is important, but your tour should be fine. There is no 'merger' at EF except for the name change more to EF than the Go Ahead branding. Hoping you have a great time

Hi Kim. I'm wanting to book a vacation through Go ahead tours for the first time. I'm wondering how your trip went since you were worried about things. If you could reply it would be greatly appreciated!

Has anyone done a GO AHEAD safari in Tanzania recently? How were the accommodations and the drive between locations?

How did it go? I'm very curious. I'm m considering taking a trip w them.