Italy Christmas Vacations & Tours

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.

We had an absolute dream trip to Italy with the help of Zicasso's travel specialist! Traveling as a family of five, we visited Rome, Florence, San Gimignano, Greve, Siena, Cinque Terre, and Venice, along with many beautiful towns and smaller areas throughout the country.

The wonderful vacation rental accommodations were thoughtfully chosen and every detail of our trip was carefully planned. The local tour guides were incredibly knowledgeable and gave us a truly authentic experience. Our private transfers, train transfer, and private tours were efficient, informative, and made traveling from place to place seamless and stress-free.

The communication between all tour guides and transportation providers was great, as was that of each vacation rental host, who contacted us in advance to prepare us for our arrival.

One of our favorite parts of the trip was discovering the smaller, less-touristy areas within the larger cities, places we likely never would have found on our own. We enjoyed exploring Tridente for shopping and Trastevere in Rome for a private pizza-making class (highly recommended), artisan shops, excellent restaurants, and a vibrant nightlife.

Florence was wonderful, but we had the opportunity to travel to a few other areas, such as Siena, Greve, and San Gimignano. We even had a private vineyard tour and chef's meal while in Chianti. A must-see is the walk to the Boboli Gardens across Ponte Vecchio and, on the way back to our apartment, a stop at Piazzale Michelangelo.

While staying in Cinque Terre (Monterosso al Mare), be sure to take a private boat to visit all of the other villages and maybe even snorkel. The water is so clear!

Venice had great history, but we also enjoyed our boat tour to Murano to watch the glassmaking process and Burano, filled with gorgeous multicolored homes and artisan shops.

Every experience felt personal, meaningful, and special.

This trip was truly an absolute dream and we are so grateful to him for helping make our family vacation to Italy unforgettable. We highly recommend him to anyone looking to plan an incredible, seamless, and memorable trip!

Zicasso’s travel company and every single guide and driver were stellar. All four hotels were good or excellent. There was one error on the schedule for the day outside of Florence when we had a driver to take us to the Siena region. The schedule stated three hours, so we paid for tickets to the Pitti Palace/garden, which turned out to be wasted money as the driving tour was actually nine hours. It was a beautiful day, though.

We had a fantastic trip, all thanks to our travel specialist. We spent a few days in Siena, touring different Tuscan towns like Montepulciano, Pienza, and San Gimignano, and then we spent a couple of nights in Florence. All of our drivers and guides were very thoughtful that we had my two-year-old nephew with us.

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.

My trip was fantastic! Every single minute of it! I was in Europe city-hopping for 16 days and every aspect of the trip was perfect! My travel specialist and her team, who planned my trip and gave me support throughout it, couldn't have done a better job - it truly was the trip of a lifetime!

We started out planning it about a year ago. I contacted Zicasso about planning a multi-city trip and I listed the places that I wanted to visit. I am a woman traveling solo, so I asked for guides for many places that I wanted to visit - people who knew the cities and the best way to get around, great places to eat, etc. The guides were awesome - I had four of them and they each had a background in history or art history, so they were perfect companions to visit museums and palaces with.

I also had a somewhat unusual request - I wanted to go to thrift shops in three cities. I strongly believe in recycling and finding a new home for pre-loved items. I did end up going to thrift stores and some shops featuring local designers and artisans, and found some absolute treasures to take home with me! And I spent one wonderful morning at a Paris flea market with my Parisian guide, and we had a grand time! I found some jewelry and a small piece of art to take home with me. She had me try my first crepe (I've never had one before) and also something that I'm going to misspell that, when pronounced, sounds like "shoe" - yummy!

I wanted to see a show at the Moulin Rouge, but did not want to go to a club at night by myself, so my guide escorted me and we had a wonderful time! Similarly, I wanted to go to a jazz club one evening and my guide escorted me there, where we had a blast! She accompanied me to the Louvre and made sure I got to see all the pieces I was interested in seeing. She also took very good pictures of me at all the spots we visited so I could send them back home. I'll give her a 5+ star rating as a guide! She was just lovely!

My next stop was Prague and my guide was just as superb! She introduced me to espresso tonics (I'm sipping one right now as I've been making them at home - I love them!) and she gave me a wonderful guided tour of the city. The next day we did some thrifting and visited stores featuring local designers. Again, I found some treasures. Another 5+ star guide!

From there I took the train to Vienna, where my guide brought me on an amazing walking tour of the city. She was so knowledgeable about the city and its history - you could tell it is her passion. She also brought me to thrift stores and local artisan shops and again I found even more treasures! We visited museums and enjoyed lunch and coffees together. And she escorted me to a blues club one evening where we had a blast listening to live classic American blues (my real love, along with jazz). My guide is just so delightful! Highly recommended if you are interested in visiting Vienna.

From there I flew to Venice - my final destination. My guide was so knowledgeable about the artwork that we saw at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection - it felt as if by seeing the paintings we were visiting old friends of his! And he also took me to see Doge's Palace and on a gondola ride.

On day two in Venice, we went by boat to Murano, where we visited the glass factory and saw the glassblowers working. I had done very well at sticking to my budget for the trip until I got to the Murano factory showroom. I love glass and the pieces they were selling were all sublime! So much work went into them. I ended up buying two pieces that are being shipped to me so I did not have to worry about transporting them on the plane. And our tour guide at the factory even gifted me a necklace that I'm wild about after serving me prosecco in a handblown glass.

From there, we headed to the island of Burano and had lunch. I've got wonderful pictures of the colorful houses there. As I said, the trip could not have been better. The hotels were all fabulous in each city - centrally located and an easy walk to restaurants and shops. The beds were super-comfortable and each room was very quiet - I slept like a log from all the walking that I did every day.

I even managed to send postcards to friends and family from each city - not an easy task since not many people use snail mail anymore! But my guides were all determined to help me find postage and they did - every one of them!

Each hotel offered breakfast and the food was delicious. I'm on a keto diet but came off of it for this trip so I could enjoy the local specialties. The breakfasts were all buffet-style and offered everything you could imagine - eggs, bacon, sausage, all kinds of breads and rolls, pastries, fresh fruit and juice, yogurt, and the best coffee! Every hotel had an excellent buffet. They were all 4-star hotels and each room was charming. The staff at each hotel were also very accommodating, wanting to ensure that I had everything I needed.

There is nothing that the travel specialist and her team left out. Her team even arranged for a last-minute guide to help me get from my hotel to the airport in Venice and make sure I was at the right ticket counter (I was a little concerned about finding the water taxi and then finding the right place to go at the airport). He wheeled and carried my luggage, which by this time was heavy!

The whole trip was perfect and I'm hoping to return in a couple of years. I'd like to make a trip to the Christmas markets in Europe - especially Prague and Vienna - and you know which guides I'm going to be requesting! The whole experience was top-notch! Have no concerns at all about working with this company - they're the best! I thank each and every one who was involved in my trip. It really was perfect!