Hello - just returned from the above trip . Overall , a great holiday with a smashing varied group of travellers .I am writing this as one of the ' Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse ' ( hi Dave , Don & Iain ! ) . The trips to Pompeii , Herculaneum , Capri , Vesuvious , Sorrento , Amalfi etc were all fantastic and well worth visiting . Jane , our tour manager , was excellant and highly respected by the group . Weather was lovely apart from a major electric storm on the final day , resulting in our flight home being severely delayed ! I would recommend this holiday to anyone thinking of going . One final note - we stayed at the Hotel Palma in Pompeii which I believe is being used by Just You for the first time this holiday season ? The rooms were excellant and the service was good . However , in my view , the hotel restaurant food was poor and did not meet the high standards I have experienced on my previous four Just You Italian trips . I am writing separately to JY on this aspect . All the best to everyone , Chris ( aka NeilY ) .

Hi Neil.

Thanks for this. Glad you had a good time despite the poor food in the restaurant. I am pretty familiar with the area as I have been many times in the past. I am certainly familiar with electrical storms there. 🙂 I got caught out in the bath once at the hotel when the power went, and also once when we were at dinner and the waiter was just going to serve my soup! Happy days. :thumbup:

Hello - just returned from the above trip . Overall , a great holiday with a smashing varied group of travellers .I am writing this as one of the ' Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse ' ( hi Dave , Don & Iain ! ) . The trips to Pompeii , Herculaneum , Capri , Vesuvious , Sorrento , Amalfi etc were all fantastic and well worth visiting . Jane , our tour manager , was excellant and highly respected by the group . Weather was lovely apart from a major electric storm on the final day , resulting in our flight home being severely delayed ! I would recommend this holiday to anyone thinking of going . One final note - we stayed at the Hotel Palma in Pompeii which I believe is being used by Just You for the first time this holiday season ? The rooms were excellant and the service was good . However , in my view , the hotel restaurant food was poor and did not meet the high standards I have experienced on my previous four Just You Italian trips . I am writing separately to JY on this aspect . All the best to everyone , Chris ( aka NeilY ) .

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the great review. I am hoping to do this this autumn if not next year as there are many destinations i want to visit!

Im sure that JY will sort the food out as they are good at responding to customer feedback!

Thanks

Mark

Katy

I have just returned from the above trip . Overall , a great holiday with a great varied group of travelers. The trips to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Capri, Vesuvious, Sorrento, Amalfi etc were all fantastic and well worth visiting . Janet, our tour manager was very friendly and helpful. Weather was perfect for sightseeing not too warm with the odd shower but we didn't let that spoil our experience. I would recommend this holiday to anyone thinking of going. We stayed at the Hotel Palma in Pompeii which I believe is being used by Just You for the first time this holiday season. The rooms were excellent,the service was good and the staff very friendly and helpful. However, in my view the hotel restaurant food could have been better with more choice also having cold vegetables with your evening meal was a shock but apparently the custom of Italians. I am not a pasta lover they went out of their way to arrange an alternative meal which I thought was excellent service. Pompeii is not a tourist town but a good central point for all tours. Lovely ice cream,cake and coffee shops which is a must and very reasonable priced restaurants for snacks.

I'm so pleased that you enjoyed that you enjoyed your recent holiday to Italy with us.

thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Kindest regards,

Julia

This tour is too be thoroughly recommended. A super itinerary with lots to see and do if you want to but plenty of free time and a lovely roof terrace to chill out on if you didn't. In our week (16th September departure) the weather was clear and very hot - up to 37 degrees which made walking around the ruins of Pompeii a challenge as there is little shade, but we were all armed with bottles of water and so fascinated that it really didn't matter. Our local guide Laura, who was also with us in Capri and Herculaneum, was a force of nature who let no challenge or surly Italian boatman or bus depot manager stand in her way! (Utterly brilliant lady!)

The Hotel Palma was superbly central and nothing was too much trouble for its staff. I have read several comments regarding the food on various forum threads and I can honestly say that I thought it was fine. Personally, I don't go on holiday expecting to be served the same food in the same way as I would get at home. I always try to 'go with the flow' and try things, even if they turn out to be a bit of a 'cultural experience' as some of the dishes served on the Inspirational China trip did :s

Too me, it's all part of the fun and, let's face it, you are not likely to starve during a couple of weeks' holiday. You certainly wouldn't manage that it Italy with all the pastries and gelato available! (Speaking of which, for anyone embarking on this tour - turn right out of the Hotel on to the Via Roma and 500 yards down the road you will find De Vivo, a.k.a Ice Cream Nirvana:D

One of the joys of a JY trip is the way the group gels together and shares the experience. We had a largely great group who spent the whole week laughing ( when we weren't shovelling ice cream!!) As occasionally happens though, we had a couple of divas on our trip who seemed determined not to enjoy themselves and complained loudly (behind the TM's back, never to her face to give her the chance to help them) about everything from the food, the hotel, the excursions, the heat, you name it. We also had that slightly new phenomenon, a small group who had come together (on a holiday for single travellers....) and insisted on keeping themselves to themselves, even sitting away from the rest of the group at a table at the other end of the restaurant at every meal. They didn't do the majority of the excursions (quote "When you've seen one ruin you've seen them all") and spent their time wandering round modern Pompeii looking for shopping malls. Their loss, I say.

One holiday highlight for me, which was totally unexpected and certainly not in the brochure, was being serenaded by the hotel staff and the group and presented with a freshly baked chocolate cake, complete with candle on the morning of my birthday (which I had completely forgotten about as I was away). As breakfast was a little early for cake, it was wrapped for me to take with us on that days excursion - there can not be many people who have celebrated their birthday with chocolate cake and a group of amazing news friends, 1200 metres up on the crater of Mount Vesuveus! Thank you so much to JY, Michelle and the Hotel staff for arranging that really special memory for me.

So, just to underline what Janet said, this tour is really great fun and if it's on your 'possible' list - move it up to 'definitely book it' :)

All the best

Mandy

Jaya

I love the fact that you meet all sorts of people on these holidays which makes it all the more interesting, whilst the divas can be a tiresome, I still find it fascinating how they can always find something to complain about, when everyone else thinks things were wonderful..

I remember when I went to china, one of the ladies on the trip with us was outraged that we were offered rice with every meal!! She didn't seem to understand that she was in a foreign country and that this was a staple of their diet. At every meal, one of us had to take turns in listening to her going on and on about rice..it because her main topic of conversation - she was obsessed by it!! but you know what she helped to make the group gel better in a way and she was the source of some very amusing stories that were retold throughout the 16 days...

Thanks

Hilary

The excursions on this trip can range from 1 to 3 hours long, with many having uneven ground and quite a few steps. I would recommend that a moderate level of walking is required to make the most out of your holiday - but of course, you can take things at your pace.

In regards to the evening wear, we haven't got a set dress code for your evening meals. It really is just whatever you will feel comfortable in. I would say that smart casual is probably along the right tracks.

Kindest regards,

Monty

You'll have a super time on this trip (especially if you have Michelle and Laura looking after you).

With regards to the walking, the most strenuous is the hike up Vesuvius (optional but I'd recommend it). You go half way in a 4x4 but the last part is a zig zag cinder path which can pull the calves a bit! (Note - they have drinks and a couple of gift stalls at the top but no loos!)

The Pompeii ruins are surprisingly challenging to walk around because the earthquake and the later eruption have left the huge cobbles very uneven and the pavements really high. Definitely take really comfy shoes (not open toed), a hat, sun screen and mozzie repellent. There is little shade so have a water bottle with you - all the fountains on the site have water that is safe to drink. There is also a mini market about 200 yards from the hotel where you can stock up on drinks.

Herculanium is much easier to get around and both the Amalfi and Sorrento excursions are easily walkable. Capri is a little more steep but not horrendously so. (As a break from walking, I'd recommend the optional boat trips around Capri and along the Amalfi coast - both about an hour long and a refreshing break from the crowds)

As for dress code - our group went for completely casual. We went out in the evening for a couple of meals but most of the restaurants are pasta/pizzerias or family run places and no one stands on ceremony. The locals are really welcoming and friendly.

Happy to help if you have any other questions

Have a lovely holiday

Mandy

Thanks you have really helped. I am quite excited now 🙂 I will take my lightweight walking shoes.and my mosquito repellent that I bought for my South Africa trip .

Hilary

You're welcome. Another tip - take a bathing costume if you are daring because there is a hot tub on the hotel's roof terrace!

Have fun and check out De Vivo on the Via Roma (a five minute walk, half way between the hotel and the ruins) for some super pastries and gelato:thumbup:

All the best

Mandy