I am going on this trip on 14th June. I have booked the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel tour but I would like some feedback on the optional night tour.

Any other comments on the tour would be appreciated.

Thanks

Eve

I did the Rome City break in May and had a super time. I would certainly recommend the 'Rome by night' excursion. but would suggest that you disregard the 'minimal walking' mentioned in your pack. Althought the post dinner tour is by coach, we were taken to the restaurant on the Metro. As this was by the Colosseum, it was quite a long journey, including several cobbled streets, for the ladies who had worn high heels expecting the 'minimal walking' advertised.

The metro is a good way to get around the city but when you have a party of 25, travelling in the rush hour on a packed train, it was an adventure for some of the more experienced travellers, but a bit scary for the inexperienced who had reasonabley thought they would be taken door to door by coach. Several of them refused to use the metro for the rest of the trip and took cabs everywhere.

I don't know if every tour goes to the same restaurant but the one we went to was superb - it had a lovely cellar setting, the food was great and there was some special entertainment but I won't spoil the surprise by explaining it!

Have a super time - a couple of tips - take very comfy shoes as there will be plenty of walking on cobbles, there are no tea/coffee facilities in the hotel rooms so you may want to take a travel kettle and the walking tour does not include going inside the Colosseum, the Forum or the Palatine Hill but you will have free time if you want to go back the following day (not sure if you can pre-book on the internet).

Finally - don't be put off by the title - the English Cemetery tour is fascinating.

All the best

Mandy

Thanks for your helpful reply.

I have seen negative comments on Feefo from a couple of clients not happy about being taken to excursions on the Metro!! I hope these complaints have been addressed and that suitable transport is provided in future. In all my holidays with Just You I have always been picked up from the Hotel for excursions.

Regards

Eve

I agree, I was a bit surprised by the frequent use of the Metro on this trip.(I raised it on my feedback form so hopefully you may have different arrangements) I understand that Rome is a traffic nightmare which makes tour scheduling difficult but, like you, I've long been used to being picked up at the door on JY tours.

I didn't really mind using the Metro - I'm used to the Tube and am pretty safety concious, so it was a bit of fun, even in the packed rush hour. However, some of the more inexperienced and nervous travellers in our group were genuinely shocked and a bit frightened - especially when all 25 of us were in transit and our TM accidently told us to get on the wrong train and then shouted for us to get off again at the last minute before the train pulled out.

My main bugbear (only a small one because JY trips are usually very good value) was that the use of the Metro did not seem to have any impact on the cost of the excursions. For example, the Vatican trip was £49 - we got the Metro to the Vatican (Euro 1.60), (made our own way back because most wanted to stay in the city) and the entry ticket for the Museums was Euro 16. Even factoring in the guide, that is quite a mark up. 'Rome by Night' was very good value, despite the Metro, because the food, entertainment and return coach trip were so good. However, the English Cemetery cost £34 but we travelled by Metro both ways (Euro 3.20) and the Cemetery Guide was an unpaid volunteer. We were told that JY make a donation to the Cemetery for the tour but even so, it didn't seem very good value.

As I said, these are only very small grumbles - I go on holiday to treat myself and so factored all of the costs into that. I reiterate - it was a super trip and the group all got on like a house on fire. Sandra, our multi-lingual guide couldn't do enough for us. The Hotel, although quite a way outside the city, is very friendly, comfortable and clean and there is a very good family run pizza restaurant just round the corner in case you don't want to venture too far. The Cornalia Metro station is also only a 5 minute walk away (!!)

Have a great time

Mandy

I was in the same group as Mandy for the Rome trip in May, and her comments are excellent. I would echo her thoughts on the metro, which was horribly hot and crowded. I was very annoyed about that long metro trip to the restaurant. I had to stand all the way and, being shorter than you, had difficulty holding on and was aching by thd time we sat down to a meal. Why couldn't we have had a bus take us from the hotel? The hotel is too far out of town. Sharing a taxi was the best way to travel. At least you got another mini tour of Rome rather than beinb trapped in the underground.

That said, I loved Rome. Eve, you can buy a single ticket for both the Colosseum and the Forum which are just across the road from one another.

I hope you enjoy the trip as much as I did despite the metro, and that your group and manager is as lovely as ours was.

Florette.