Costco Travel Best of Italy: Experience? Opinions? Comments?

HFWR said:
My traveling companion is still w*rking, so we are somewhat limited to hitting the highlights, and this seemed like a low stress option. Plus Costco Travel is now eligible for the Costco member rebate as well as the Costco Visa rebate. [emoji41]
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Are you an executive member? That was quite the list of perks!
 
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Bamaman said:
Hotels are getting really expensive in major European (and many US) cities. I can usually stay very reasonably by using this technique:

Go to Booking.com and look for rooms in a specific city. Filter the search for lowest price. Then go thru the List looking for properties with substantially higher customer ratings than other like priced properties. Then search that property in TripAdvisor.com time we what past guests are saying. I have never been dissatisfied searching this way.
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Costco gave him a list of hotels to choose from in each city. So he’s just trying to winnow down those.
 
Nemo2 said:
But they were, for most cities, the nuclei, and train stations remain very central to a city's core - if you want to get to know a city the stations are a good place to start.
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Yeah but in the case of Rome, it's quite a distance from some of the sights. Like at least a couple of bus stops IIRC.

In Florence, it's closer to some of the attractions but still not the prettiest part of that city.

Especially in Italy, there are train stations which are quite a distance from the city. For instance, I didn't use the trains to get there but Orvieto is situated well above the train station so there's a funicular as well as bus service to take you up to the town.
 
Just some thoughts about hotel location and walkability.

Rome
We recently went back to Rome in fall of 2016 for a few days pre-cruise and I found it a lot more walkable than my last full visit in 2003 (perception-wise). The missus had been there more recently than our 2003 and recommended doing a lot of walking but I think a lot had to do with Google maps and being able to get a handle on our bearings and where we were heading.

On our most recent trip, we stayed about 4 blocks northwest of Termini station and found it fine. Walking around the station for night time walk, the only areas we found somewhat sketchy were in the train station itself and in and around the McDonalds across the street southwest of Termini.
The areas has cheaper accommodations and obviously has easier access to the train station and bus loop in front of it. But it is further walk from some of the key sites. But we did manage to walk from as far as the Vatican and Trastevere areas back to the hotel and found it quite a reasonable walk.
The most central point for all the main tourist sites is likely around the Pantheon area.
I'd also recommend using the bus system if you have access to mobile data and google maps. We found Google maps really good in terms of bus routing. You get to stay above ground versus taking the metro.

Florence
We normally stay northeast of the train station and walk south to the heart of the tourist areas.
Yeah, the train station can feel a bit sketchy here too. Seemed to be a number of homeless sleeping in the station.
Very walkable as the tourist core is generally car free. We haven't stayed south of the Arno but would consider it as it's an easy walk north into the tourist areas.

Venice
We've stayed once near the train station and once deeper in.
Google Maps is also great for navigating the alleyways.
For a future trip, I would consider staying on Lido island because it's cheaper and there is night service vaperettos, though I'd be concerned about service issues.

Italy tips
Validate your transportation tickets before boarding. :facepalm:
Research strikes before your trip. Italians seem to love to go on strike planned weeks in advance. :LOL:

Paris
We used to stay in this hole in the wall in the 1st near the Louvre but they reno'ed into apartments. The metro is pretty extensive so I'd be more flexible where we'd consider staying. However, we'd still likely want to stay in the lower numbered arrondissements. There are still some areas feel a bit sketchier after dark.
 
explanade said:
Yeah but in the case of Rome, it's quite a distance from some of the sights. Like at least a couple of bus stops IIRC.
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Second to last time we were in Rome we got a room right across from the station.....got up before daylight....walked to the Colosseum...which wasn't yet open.....walked for 11 1/2 hours straight...did the loop...Vatican, Trevi, Altare della Patria, et al....ended up back at the Colosseum.

Ah, but I was only 71 then.
 
gerntz said:
If you're traveling by train in Italy, I'd try to stay near the main Rome train station to limit walk with bags to there. Same in Flo. Paris, I like staying between Eiffel & Rodin sculpture garden. Rather homey & not so expensive. Easy Metro access.

Pick pockets are a pain in Italy & Paris. First hand experience.
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Their transfers to and from all hotels are covered.
 
I checked the Costco website and the hotel where I stayed in Florence a couple of years ago is not on the list. FWIW, it was in a great location, round the corner from the train station and close to all the sights, and I had a room with a view of the Duomo. I got a good deal because they were renovating at the time. I think my room is the one shown in the photo with the two windows.

Luxury Boutique Hotel Florence | Grand Hotel Minerva, Italy
 
When in Rome you might want to visit Eatily - sort of a Costco sized Italian deli.

But, I would not eat there. The small family restaurants are still the best by far.

Mi piace questa discussione. È molto instruttivo. Complimenti.
 
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Meadbh said:
I checked the Costco website and the hotel where I stayed in Florence a couple of years ago is not on the list. FWIW, it was in a great location, round the corner from the train station and close to all the sights, and I had a room with a view of the Duomo. I got a good deal because they were renovating at the time. I think my room is the one shown in the photo with the two windows.

Luxury Boutique Hotel Florence | Grand Hotel Minerva, Italy
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A 97 room “boutique“ hotel? Looks nice though.

I know our hotel wasn’t that far from the Medici Palace and square and we had a great view over the old city. It was a terrific location. But I don’t remember the hotel.
 
My suggestion for Italy is to pick just one city and go there for a week. Florence, Rome, Venice - it doesn't matter, just go for a week. You won't waste time packing and unpacking and traveling to and fro. And you'll get a much more in-depth knowledge of the city. If you want to see another city, go for another week next year.
 
HFWR said:
Yes, air, ground transport, hotels, first-class rail...
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here is a link (I think :)) to this trip: https://www.costcotravel.com/Vacation-Packages/Europe/Offers/EURITAROMFLRVEN20080213

I wouldn’t hesitate to book a trip through Costco and this looks awesome. Not sure from the link if it includes ground transportation between trains and hotels or just between the airports and hotels?

DH literally spent more than a year planning a trip to Spain for three couples this fall and it drove me crazy. I took care of actually booking it last week and a couple of his hotel choices weren’t available. More research.... And we still have to work on the two trains involved. Next time (Madrid and Paris) I’ll gently suggest he look at Costco.
 
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Bestwifeever said:
here is a link (I think :)) to this trip: https://www.costcotravel.com/Vacation-Packages/Europe/Offers/EURITAROMFLRVEN20080213

I wouldn’t hesitate to book a trip through Costco and this looks awesome. Not sure from the link if it includes ground transportation between trains and hotels or just between the airports and hotels?

DH literally spent more than a year planning a trip to Spain this fall and it drove me crazy. I took care of actually booking it last week and a couple of his hotel choices weren’t available. More research.... And we still gave to work on the two trains involved.
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Hah! See my sig line! I totally get buying an already organized package and will probably turn more to that as I’m getting tired of the huge amount of work it takes for our custom trips.

I was forced to wrap up the Spain trip planning and get the reservations in fast this month because we are going in May and I couldn’t get to it until well after Xmas. I was really burning the midnight oil this month! I’ve still got lots to do, but the time-critical stuff is covered.

Planning an entire trip from scratch is an enormous amount of work! We’re staying in six different cities and visiting five more via day trips.

I know that I easily have trouble getting a spot in a desired hotel 3 months out. Four months I can usually get a room. The popular small boutique hotels are tough - they fill fast! I’m surprised you have run into trouble finding availability six months out.

My problem is I just can’t plan that far ahead!

Are you traveling the whole of Spain? We are doing Andalusia and then Madrid area over 23 days, and that’s after 16 days in Holland. We have already visited the Barcelona area, and plan to visit northern Spain on some other trip perhaps combined with Atlantic coast France and Portugal.

So did your husband drive you nuts because he constantly talked about it? Or was he just so absorbed? I know DH is tired of me explaining some of the details, although he sure enjoys the trips once we get there!
 
audreyh1 said:
Hah! See my sig line! I totally get buying an already organized package and will probably turn more to that as I’m getting tired of the huge amount of work it takes for our custom trips.

I was forced to wrap up the Spain trip planning and get the reservations in fast this month because we are going in May and I couldn’t get to it until well after Xmas. I was really burning the midnight oil this month! I’ve still got lots to do, but the time-critical stuff is covered.

Planning an entire trip from scratch is an enormous amount of work! We’re staying in six different cities and visiting five more via day trips.

I know that I easily have trouble getting a spot in a desired hotel 3 months out. Four months I can usually get a room. The popular small boutique hotels are tough - they fill fast! I’m surprised you have run into trouble finding availability six months out.

My problem is I just can’t plan that far ahead!

Are you traveling the whole of Spain? We are doing Andalusia and then Madrid area over 23 days, and that’s after 16 days in Holland. We have already visited the Barcelona area, and plan to visit northern Spain on some other trip perhaps combined with Atlantic coast France and Portugal.

So did your husband drive you nuts because he constantly talked about it? Or was he just so absorbed? I know DH is tired of me explaining some of the details, although he sure enjoys the trips once we get there!
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Your trip sounds lovely.

Let’s just say DH’s and my individual strengths complement each other’s :LOL:. He enjoys a challenge and if there isn’t one, he’ll create it. I liked hearing all the details the first time he talked about them :LOL:, and he has enjoyed my “perhaps” overly spontaneous travel planning (“honey, want to go to Scotland? Good, because I just booked a trip.”)

For his Spain planning there was the complication of having two other couples to consider and their time constraints, even though they and I agree to whatever DH suggests. One couple lived in Spain many years ago and has traveled there since, but this is our first and probably only trip to these areas as we have other places we’ve not been to that we want to see. We are going to southern Spain: Seville, Rondo, Granada, Mallorca, and Barcelona, total of 15 days, no day trips other than a private driver in Rondo for a day. We are a pretty flexible group and have traveled together many times so it will be a great trip regardless. I hope!

Sometimes good to have a mix of travel styles imo—we are taking our first and likely our only group tour of southern Ireland with some elderly relatives in May. The full tourbus experience, to make things easy for them. In July we have a Florida beach week in a condo with friends. I might have to offset these and the Spain trip that with a little getaway for just DH and me, and I will definitely check the OP’s Costco options first for that.
 
Bestwifeever said:
Your trip sounds lovely.

Let’s just say DH’s and my individual strengths complement each other’s :LOL:. He enjoys a challenge and if there isn’t one, he’ll create it. I liked hearing all the details the first time he talked about them :LOL:, and he has enjoyed my “perhaps” overly spontaneous travel planning (“honey, want to go to Scotland? Good, because I just booked a trip.”)

For his Spain planning there was the complication of having two other couples to consider and their time constraints, even though they and I agree to whatever DH suggests. One couple lived in Spain many years ago and has traveled there since, but this is our first and probably only trip to these areas as we have other places we’ve not been to that we want to see. We are going to southern Spain: Seville, Rondo, Granada, Mallorca, and Barcelona, total of 15 days, no day trips other than a private driver in Rondo for a day. We are a pretty flexible group and have traveled together many times so it will be a great trip regardless. I hope!

Sometimes good to have a mix of travel styles imo—we are taking our first and likely our only group tour of southern Ireland with some elderly relatives in May. The full tourbus experience, to make things easy for them. In July we have a Florida beach week in a condo with friends. I might have to offset these and the Spain trip that with a little getaway for just DH and me, and I will definitely check the OP’s Costco options first for that.
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Neat! Sounds like a great trip! Well it has to be far more work with 3 couples - no wonder you are running into hotel availability issues!

Neat that you are going to Mallorca too! We should put that on our list.

In Andalusia we are staying in Sevilla, Nerja, Granada, Úbeda and Córdoba (Cádiz and Jerez are a combined day trip). We plan to make a Ronda a day trip by bus - leaving very early. And it’s a long bus ride, but should be very scenic. Most of our transfers between cities in Andalusia are by bus too. The Granada train network is currently under reconstruction for high speed, so train passengers are being bussed to and from Antequerra. And some of the other cities are not reachable by train. Long distance bus travel in that area is very common from what I understand, and nice big airconditioned buses.

I would love it if DH told me he’d already booked a trip. The planning is all on my shoulders. Once long ago he arranged a trip for us to Yellowstone and it was fantastic (he was somewhat recreacting a trip from childhood). But somehow that was it!
 
We staid at the Westin Excelsior in Florence and liked it very much. For Venice I would strongly suggest that you select a hotel that is near San Marco Square. Do not choose the hotel on Murano or the other that is on a private island. For Rome, I would select one that is near the areas you are most interested in. Rome is huge and the sites that are must see are not necessarily near each other.
 
Planning a trip overseas, especially when you move about every few days can be a lot of work. I like the idea of planting oneself for at least four days and up to a few weeks in one city and seeing the city, and surrounding area very well. It's especially nice when you walk into a small bar or cafè and the person behind the counter greats you with a warm hello and asks if you want the usual cappuccino to start the day.

If the goal is to move around a lot and see many things - a few days here and a day or two there - an organized tour from a good company is probably a good choice for many.
That Best of Italy - Your Way tour seems like a pretty nice itinerary, IMHO.

I have used Rick Steves and been very satisfied. His tours seem a bit on the expensive side, but between the well located hotels, great guides, comfy bus, and the no-extras, no-tipping, no sales-stops policies, I am amazed at how rarely I open my wallet for more than a snack or the occasional meal.

OTOH, the idea of arriving in London on Day 1 and leaving for home from Budapest on Day 30, with no firm plans for in-between does sound very tempting at times.
 
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We have had good luck using the Rick Steves guides for picking hotels (in Paris, Milan, and Rome).

We have not taken their tours though - we used to think they were for "old people", now we think they are for "young people" :-D
 
audreyh1 said:
What I would do is look at the booking.com number rating and the trip advisor reviews for the hotels offered and make my choice. Maybe that won’t take too long.

A shortcut would be the booking.com rating number, look at their photos and location - booking.com even gives distance to major attractions. All on one page.

I’m curious about the whole trip works out for you. I haven’t done a Costco package trip, but I was seriously eyeballing a Virgin Islands trip last year. Unfortunately they then got hit super hard by big hurricanes.

Believe me, I understand. It usually takes me a day and sometimes two to select a hotel for each city. Even when soliciting DH’s help. Which is why I feel qualified to give you the shortcut listed above. See my sig line!

I’ve just come off weeks of picking hotels in Holland and Spain. We are staying in a bunch of different places. It can be enjoyable if you are not rushed. Unfortunately I was because our trip is coming up soon.
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If you’re still interested in the Virgin Islands, they have recovered quite a bit already. We are going again in April. The big hotels aren’t open, but lots of airbnb/VRBO accommodations are available.
 
explanade said:
That's a 9 night trip for two, just for land costs?
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In post #16 I think, OP says “Yes, air, ground transport, hotels, first-class rail...” (I looked at this trip and the breakfasts are also included). It’s a good price imo.

It should be a wonderful trip!
 
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