European Tours & Vacations for Seniors

Our 16-day trip through Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, and Rome was outstanding in every detail. Every transfer ran on time, every guide was knowledgeable and warm, and every hotel was a great choice.

Our favorites were the private lagoon boat trip in Venice, the Brunello wine and cheese tour, the pasta class at a Tuscan farm, Pompeii, the Capri cruise, and the Vatican tour. We couldn’t have asked for better planning or support. We highly recommend Zicasso's travel company.

This travel company was incredibly difficult to work with, and I would not recommend them. The travel agent seemed very annoyed when we asked basic questions about our itinerary. For example, the itinerary he sent us did not have the correct number of rooms booked for our party. When I asked him about it, he rudely told me, "Of course I have booked the right rooms". Later, we found out he was working off the wrong itinerary - our final invoice was based on this wrong itinerary and had a much higher amount than we actually owed. When we pointed that out, he went from being annoyed to flat out rude.

We also identified many gaps in transportation and logistics, with the travel agent continuing to be rude when we asked for clarification or support in fixing the gaps. For example, he had us driving a rental car to the Bologna airport at around 3 AM from rural Italy to make an 8 AM flight. We would be driving right through Florence on the way to Bologna. When I asked why we didn't simply take a later flight out of Florence, I was told there were no options to do this. A simple Google search identified several flights out of Florence at a more reasonable time.

We finally had Zicasso step in, and they were incredibly helpful in cleaning up our itinerary. Unfortunately, we still experienced several logistical issues during our trip despite Zicasso's support. For example, we were dropped off by drivers at train stations and were then on our own to figure out how to get to our hotels - all required lengthy walks up hills to access, and my 81-year old father was not able to do that. So we had to find our own transportation or have my dad attempt to walk (not good at all). As another example, my father really wanted to see the Matterhorn. The travel agent said it was an easy "day trip" from our hotel to the Matterhorn. It turned out to be a 3.5 hour drive each way. The driver left us at a train station below Zermatt (town below the mountain) to figure out on our own how to navigate the city of Zermatt. We had no guidance from the travel agency on how to best see the Matterhorn, and Zermatt was another town with steep hills that my dad had to walk through (with a cane) as we tried to figure out how to best see the mountain. Due to the length of the drive to Zermatt from our hotel, we had less than two hours in Zermatt because the travel company had booked us on a 6:15 AM train the next morning to leave Switzerland. It was a wasted day instead of being the wonderful experience my father had hoped for.

The best part of the trip was the hotels, and the travel company gets credit for selecting hotels with wonderful views and great breakfast options. They were not easily accessible from the local towns, so we had to figure out taxis and shuttles to get to nearby sites.

Most of the time, we were left on our own to find our way around. But we did have a guided tour in Florence and a knowledgeable driver that took us to a winery in Tuscany. Both of these guides were amazing, and it would have been nice to have more guided support throughout this trip (especially in Zermatt).

We can't say enough good things about the trip planned for us in Tuscany and Cinque Terre. It was the perfect balance of cultural (museums, artwork, architecture), historical (tours of towns, churches), food (culinary classes, olive oil mill, winemaking/vineyards), and outdoor activities (hiking, truffle hunting, sunset boating cruise). The uniqueness of some of the activities made this vacation one of the best European vacations we have ever experienced.

The guidance of Zicasso's travel specialists was so appreciated and was spot on for planning meals and when to leave open time. The guides and drivers they provided were extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and very friendly. Even when we had major air travel issues getting to Italy, they immediately came to our rescue when we had to arrive in Florence instead of Pisa.

Also, all of the accommodations which they booked for us were comfortable, spacious, and within easy walking distance of local attractions. We highly recommend Zicasso. We are looking forward to being able to plan our next Italian adventure with them.

The cities we visited were wonderful. We really enjoyed the tours, especially the cooking class with our chef! I will be making homemade ravioli over the holidays.

The hotels were located close to the city centers. But the hotel in Bologna was very close to the university, with lots of graffiti and live music late into the night. The hotel, however, was quaint and very nice. The hotel staff was very friendly and accommodating.

The hotel in Florence was just weird. Our travel companions' room had no windows and was small. Ours was oddly laid out but much bigger. The desk person told us both rooms were the same when we first checked in. If we came back after 9 p.m., there was no hotel staff, and we had to use a code to walk through an apartment lobby.

The hotel in Venice was situated right in the middle of lots of restaurants and gelato! The hotel was by far the best one, with much nicer amenities and rooms. It had a bar and restaurant on-site. It was a good way to end our trip.

On the whole, we enjoyed our trip. However, we want to make note of a few things that could have been done better. When we landed in Naples, our driver was waiting for us. But instead of bringing the car to where we were, the 4 senior adults had to walk with luggage in the heat to get to his car. On our first full day in Naples, we were picked up for our cooking class. The driver did not speak any English, and when we arrived at the address, he expected us to get out of the car. We did not know where to go, and he was not able to assist us. Lucky for us, we met a nice lady who spoke English and was able to help us. The cooking class was wonderful. One of the highlights of the trip. The Capri boat tour was enjoyable. The tour of Pompeii was fascinating. The day we were taken to the Amalfi Coast was a holiday, and we mostly sat in traffic. Not anyone's fault but not very pleasant. On June 3 we were picked up very early to go to the port for the Hydrofoil to Ischia. At the port, we had to wait around for almost 2 hours. We were not sure why we were picked up so early. On June 6 we checked into our hotel in Naples, looking forward to our Jewish Heritage tour the following day. Our tour guide was lovely - 4 stars for her - but we learned there is no Jewish heritage in Naples, so that was quite disappointing. It would have been nice to establish realistic expectations.

We cannot recommend Zicasso's travel company enough!! Our family just got back from a two-week trip to Italy (starting in Venice, then Florence, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast). Our travel specialists did an incredible job planning our trip and it was an experience of a lifetime!! We had the best time in every city!

Everything was seamless, from the events and tours we had planned to the transportation from city to city. What we loved most was how our tour guides were all natives of the areas we were visiting, so they offered unique perspectives on every part of Italy. Also, our travel specialists, being local to Italy, helped us plan some really special things to do (walking wine-window tour, bike ride in Tuscany, boat taxi to Burano to visit the small town where lace is still being made, and a Capri boat tour). All of our guides were English-speaking and absolutely wonderful!

We had frequent communication with our travel specialists regarding scheduled plans and if we had questions, they were readily available via WhatsApp.

I also turned 55 while on vacation and our travel specialists were kind enough to send Prosecco, wine, and some wonderful Italian snacks to our room. This was, by far, the best family vacation we have ever taken and we will definitely be vacationing with them in the future. If you're considering vacationing with this travel company, don't hesitate! They are fabulous and leave no stone unturned to make sure you have the best experience possible!!!