Classic Italy April 23,2018

We are booked on the April 23 Classic Italy trip. Recently I saw posts regarding tours of The Isle of Capri, but cannot locate them now! Can anyone recommend guides that will accommodate a tour prior to the start of our tour with Tauck?

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  • edited August 2017
    We are booked on the April 23 Classic Italy trip. Recently I saw posts regarding tours of The Isle of Capri, but cannot locate them now! Can anyone recommend guides that will accommodate a tour prior to the start of our tour with Tauck?

    The posts are still in the Classic Italy or Classic Italy, Small Groups forum archives- search on "Capri" and you should get 20 pages.

    capri.jpg

    https://www.tauck.com/yaf/default.aspx?g=posts&t=10548

    You can also search Google or TripAdvisor for Capri tours.

    Based on the recommendation of another Tauck traveler, we used Driver in Italy three times. Great service, great "licensed" guides, highly rated on TripAdvisor.
  • Thank you AlanS. Found them!
  • Hi -- We used Visit Capri for our full-day tour, and would recommend them highly. The arrangements were made easily by email, and the guide met us in the lobby of the hotel and showed us a wonderful time. Their website is visit-capri (note the dash in the middle).

    Have a wonderful time!
  • We've been planning a Sicily tour and a booking through Sireon Tours. These are the folks who handle transfers for Tauck. sireontours.com
  • edited August 2017
    It takes a lot of effort to get a Tour Guide license in Italy. Non-licensed guides are subject to severe penalties if caught which is why the Tauck TD must be careful and not talk too much on the bus in cities where they can be seen (according to our Tauck TD and Driver in Italy guide.)

    That being said, I think many (most?) of the licensed guides in Italy are independent contractors who work for more than just one tour company. From our experience you can be pretty sure you will get a good guide from just about any reputable company as long as the guide has a "guide medallion" (which he is required to wear when working).

    Licensed Guide Info
  • Stan and Deb-which Capri tour did you settle on? I'm also looking at tours for Capri at the same time but am torn between a boat tour of the island and a guided land tour. Because we are meeting at 6:30 pm at the hotel in Sorrento on our first night, i don't think i have time for both. I was wondering what you decided for yourselves.
  • Maro_Polo! So glad to see someone else on the April 23rd trip!! We are booked on a tour through Visit-Capri which another traveler recommended. Great service via email. The gentleman that corresponded with us was Roberto. Email is info@visit-capri.com. Here is what we are doing:
    The tour includes the best of the island.
    A private Guide will meet you at the lobby of the hotel.
    By a public fast jetfoil in 25 minutes you will reach Capri.
    By a tipical convertible Car you will enjoy the spectacular views of the island from so many perspectives. The Blue Grotto is the first activity of the day .By a small fishing boat you will get inside the amazing Grotto( as you know the Blue Grotto is open only 4 day out of 7,depends on the tide)
    Anacapri and Capri are the two towns of the island. You will visit both of them. In Anacapri the chairlift will take you to the highest point of the island. Free time,time at leisure and departing to Sorrento in order to be at 4 o'clock at the hotel La Favorita.

    The tour includes:
    Private tour Guide
    Jetfoil tickets round trip
    Driver and a private convertible car
    Blue grotto tickets
    Chairlift tickets
    Cable car(at the end of the tour to go back to the harbour of Capri).

    We are staying at a different hotel and I wanted to ensure we would be back in time to get to the hotel for 6:30. They are picking us up at 8 am and will have us back by 4:00. Good luck with your search! See you in a couple of weeks!

    Debbie
  • edited April 2018
    Marco_Polo wrote:
    Stan and Deb-which Capri tour did you settle on? I'm also looking at tours for Capri at the same time but am torn between a boat tour of the island and a guided land tour. Because we are meeting at 6:30 pm at the hotel in Sorrento on our first night, i don't think i have time for both. I was wondering what you decided for yourselves.

    We did both! Our licensed guide, supplied by Driver in Italy, (see my posts about them in the CI,SG forum- we also used them for private excursions to Herculaneum/Naples and Pisa) met us in the hotel lobby at 8:30 and escorted us to the ferry- there are 3- slow, fast (jet boat), fastest (hydrofoil)- different companies, routes, and times. We avoided the hassle and left those details up to our guide. He timed it perfectly so that after we stepped off the ferry at the Marina Grande, he went to the 'round island tour boat ticket office (he entered a back ("guides"?) door) and soon emerged with our boat tickets- we jumped aboard right before it pulled out. He stayed with us on the boat trip around the island and provided great commentary. The commentary provided by the boat crew was a bit hard to understand and wasn't the best- it was given 3 times- 3 different languages. This boat stopped at the Blue Grotto - optional experience. Our guide did not enter the Blue Grotto but was a big help ensuring we got on one of the small boats- it can be hectic and chaotic at the grotto entrance, especially on a busy day, with tour boats and the small grotto boats all jockeying for position and trying to transfer tourists back and forth.

    After the island boat trip our guide showed us the towns of Capri and Anacapri, using Capri open-topped taxis when convenient. Our guide paced things well. We pretty much saw everything, but were not rushed. We rode the chairlift from Anacapri to the summit of Mt. Solaro. Earlier, our guide had suggested a nice restaurant in town for lunch, but we didn't want to spend too much time eating, so we had nice sandwiches on the veranda at the summit cafe. The weather was perfect and the views of the island, Bay of Naples, Sorrento and Mt. Vesuvius were spectacular! It was a truly fantastic day! Maybe the best single day of our trip! When it was time to go, our guide put us on the ferry back to Sorrento then he headed off on another ferry to Naples. We got back in plenty of time to rest a bit and freshen up for the reception. While you can do all this without a guide, I HIGHLY recommend using one- less hassle and wasted time- a MUCH better experience.

    Cliff top hotels of Sorrento as viewed from the ferry dock:

    2481.jpg

    Shot from inside the Blue Grotto:

    126r.jpg

    Marina Grande on Capri:

    182r.jpg

    The exterior of the Church of San Michele in Anacapri. Inside is the famous Garden of Eden majolica floor:

    191r.jpg

    Riding the chairlift to Mt Solaro:

    205r.jpg

    213r.jpg


  • Thanks Alan and Debbie. Both responses were very helpful.
  • We took the Classic Italy Tour October 2017.....arrived a day early and arranged for a tour of Capri....went on line several weeks before the trip and found Tours of Capri....arranged the tour on line through their website....our guide was there promptly at 8:30 and had everything set up so we did not wait in line for the Blue Grotto, had open air taxi ride, chair lift to top of the island and funicular back down at end of tour. Tour Capri and Anacapri. Luigi our tour guide was informative and friendly. I would recommend this company for private tour of the island.

    .

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