Rome and Vatican full day tour

My favorite part of the tour was not only the beautiful history filled Vatican, but our wonderful tour guide Silvia! Her incredible knowledge, she is a art history professor at the University, helped to bring history to life! Her passion for art and superior knowledge really enhanced our tour! My son who is also a history teacher really appreciated her level of knowledge. Marco our driver also did a Superb job navigating Rome and showing us the amazing landmarks and architectural treasures! Overall the tour was a highlight of our trip.

Discovery Guided Tours My wife and I booked our cruise over 3 years ago, and our private shore excursions with Discovery shortly thereafter. It was very easy to work with these very nice folks, and my on-line chats with Julia and Gilberto to set up the itineraries were informative, and fun. We scheduled tours for the ship’s ports of call in Sicily, Naples, Rome, and Livorno (2 tours on consecutive days). Then along came Corona. After chatting with Julia, we decided to “let it ride” and reschedule the tours for when we could re-book our cruise. Last year, we rolled the dice and re-booked our cruise for mid-May and June of 2022. Once confirmed, I again chatted with Julia and Gilberto, and we were seamlessly back in sync. One important note: my wife has back and hip issues, so we asked Julia and Gilberto to keep that in mind so we could keep the amount of walking to a minimum wherever possible. They and their drivers/guides were extremely accommodating, and helpful at every step, and got us to within a few steps, or staircases, to memorable sites that would have required long hikes or climbs had we taken the cruise line’s excursion. In fact, thanks to Discovery, we were able to skip long wait lines and visit multiple destinations in each port, whereas arranged excursions from the cruise ship company might visit just one. Thanks to Discovery’s drivers and guides, we were able to cover a lot of ground. Summary of each stop: Messina, Sicily: Our driver/tour guide, Carlo first took us for a quick stop to view the beaches of Taormina, followed by a drive into the countryside where we saw very few tourists, and went to the picturesque town of Castiglione do Sicilian, where we drove up to the top of the town right to the base of the steps leading into the old fortress/castle. After an easy climb he showed us the historic aspects of the place, and then explained some of its history. Then he drove us to the site of an out of the way historic Byzantine church, and then led us a short distance to a beautiful small gorge cut through the old lava flows by the Alcantara River. These stops were Carlo’s idea, and well off the beaten tourist path, but absolutely worth it. He then took us back to beautiful and historic Taormina, where we toured the downtown area on our own, followed by a sumptuous lunch at a restaurant recommended by Carlo, which overlooked the picturesque Isola Bella and the shoreline. When we docked in Naples, we were met just outside the dock area by our driver/guide Mirko. Since the ship was late docking, and the traffic was horrible along the Amalfi Coast Highway due to an accident, we skipped through the tourist-packed town of Sorrento, and went to the lovely cliff and seaside town of Positano, where we took a quick tour of the old town, beach, and church. After grabbing a quick lunch, we proceeded back north to visit Pompeii, where we were met by our very knowledgeable tour guide, Danilo, who packed as much information and sites throughout Pompeii as he could in the 90 minutes left before we had to get back to the ship. As a side note, the ship’s tour choices were either/or (Amalfi Coast and Sorrento, or Pompeii (and a couple other single destination choices). With Discovery we were able to do both, and had there been no traffic accident, would have been able to tour Sorrento, Positano, and had a couple hours to explore Pompeii. Mirko got us back to the ship with time to spare, but cruise ship buses ended up coming back over an hour late due to traffic. Roma: Gilberto himself picked us up just steps away from the cruise ship dock, and whisked us away so we could meet our fantastic, knowledgeable, and lovely tour guide, Chiara. Thanks to her and Gilberto, we were able to get very, very close to notable landmarks, and I think we saw all the major spots, to include some along the route that few tourists get to see. Gilberto’s local knowledge was phenomenal, and Chiara’s encyclopedic knowledge and keen insights had us awestruck. We visited the Flavian Amphitheater (aka Coliseum), Circo Massimo, Trevi Fountain (along with a few other lesser known fountains) (and Gilberto took us high above the city to the “Mother Fountain” from which all the rest of Rome’s fountains get their water), The so-called Spanish Steps, a whole bunch of other places of interest, and of course St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and much, much more! No one on the ship’s tours covered as much ground as we did, and thanks to Chiara and Gilberto, we got into the major sites with very little wait time. Livorno - we had two days in Livorno. The first day we had to wait for clearance to disembark, which set us somewhat behind schedule, but our driver/guide, Roberto, was standing at the end of the boarding ramp, with his car waiting just steps away. We quickly rode to Firenze (Florence) where we were met by our fantastic tour guide, Simona, who walked us through all the major sites and explained, in depth, the history and significance of what we were seeing. I should note again that Roberto was able to drive us via side streets to points very, very close to the sites of interest, and we noted bus tours from the ship, which arrived much later than us, having to park quite a distance away, necessitating very long walks. After lunch we went to Pisa to see the famous leaning tower, and the cathedral. (This was not her case where the cruise could not cover both Firenze and Pisa in one day). On the second day, Roberto was again waiting for us at the ramp, and whisked us off to see historic San Gimignano, with its many towers, followed by breathtaking scenery as we drove through the beautiful Tuscan countryside on our way to historic Siena. There, again, Roberto was able to deliver to within a few yards of the historic sites, like Piazza Campo, and the gorgeous Siena Cathedral. Based on his recommendation, Roberto delivered us to a wonderful Trattoria for a delicious, al fresco lunch, with lush vineyards just a few steps away. Roberto then took us back to our ship, where he literally parked at the bottom of the ramp for us to board. Discovery Tours? Don’t visit Italy without them!!

When we think of Italy and all of the great things we saw, the tour of Rome and the Vatican by Discovery Tours ( discoveryguidedtours.com ) absolutely top the list. Gilberto made us feel more like friends than customers. His easy style and vast knowledge made the visit to Rome comfortable and rewarding. Gilberto also arranged for a fantastic private guided tour of the Vatican by Alberto, whose knowledge and enthusiasm was amazing. At the end of the day, Gail said it best when she said “My eyes are full!”

This is my 2nd trip to Italy(2nd time using Discovery Tours) but my husbands first. We did 1/2 day Rome tour with Gilberto and 1/2 day Vatican tour with Katia. My husband and I enjoyed them both. Gilberto knew that this was my 2nd tour so he added a few new things that I didn’t see last time. So hospitable and so informative. After Rome we were heading to Naples then Positano. We had no idea how we would get to Positano, Gilberto helped us with transportation through his company. And also helped with transportation when we got to Capri. Discovery Tours are easy to get in contact with (Guila, so nice)and very eager to help you to make your trip great. We highly recommend them for your next trip. We will definitely use them again!!

Like many people before us, we felt our all day tour with Gilberto was the best. He was right there waiting when we walked off the ship at 8:15. (He had been there since 7:30 in case we were allowed off the ship early) No need to take the shuttle bus to the outside of the port. Smooth ride into Rome with interesting conversation. Lots of time to wander the Colosseum because Gilberto had arranged the Skip the Line tickets (extra fee but totally worth it) then off to see lots more sites. Lunch in a lovely restaurant by a farmers market in the centre of Rome. The afternoon was spent in the Vatican. Gilberto dropped us off in front of the entrance to meet our wonderful guide Chiara Provenziani. He had arranged Skip the line tickets to get into the museum (again extra cost) and so began an amazing tour. Chiara gave us just the right amount of information that would assist us in enjoying and understanding what we were going to see in the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. Amazing is the only way I can describe it. We finished with a walk in the Basilica. Gilberto picked us up and away we went back to the ship. Traffic wasn't too bad even though it was rush hour. Back to the ship about 6ish. All four of us said it was the best money we spent on the cruise.