Budget Trips and Tours

It was a fabulous tour and I had such a wonderful time, I loved the format of staying in one town (Montecatini-Terme was so perfect), unpacking once and exploring each day. San Gimignano and Lucca were both amazing and I love the wine tasting, cheese farm and cooking class/dinner. It really was all just amazing and Savio was an absolute GEM!

We have been to Florence and Northern Italy, 2nd time too Sicily and first for Malta, all were excellent and different. We don't like big crowds, and Malta and Sicily were not that crowded, great. In Malta the small-town church and dinner and music and dancing and locals were a highlight. The last Sicily hotel with access to the beach and Mediterranean and local eateries was also a highlight. Taormina was and is our favorite city and shopping. OUTSTANDIND trip! Bus transportation from church to metro and back, what a comfort and relief, nice. Thank you, Collette Travel, Davide tour manager, Father Andrew and all the fun travelers from St John's church for a lifetime of great memories.

We could not have asked for anything more out of the 10 days. Our tour manager, Valentina, was over the top.! Each day was filled with camaraderie between 31 of us that it all just become great friends, amazing Tours, enough free time, and learning and laughter abounded. Then entire trip was most memorable experience for me.

Excellent tour and tour guide as well. The hotel was a joy to stay in and the breakfast was delicious every morning. The room was appointed with everything I needed. I would definitely stay here again. Our tour guide Antonio was always on time and did an excellent job keeping up with our group as well as looking out for the needs of all. I was the slowest walker of the group and he time his walking to allow me to keep up with the pace but also managed to keep the group on time for appointments. His information was very interesting and pertinent to the region or town we were in. the highlight of the trip was the ride thru the Tuscan country side on the way to San Gimignano. This also happened to be my favorite town and I would love to go back there and stay for a few days.

Our tour manager, Julia, was magnificent! She was communicative, well-informed, professional, personable, has a great sense of humor. To name just a few of the most memorable experiences, I include the Baroque-era-chamber concert by the Venice Music Project, the gondola ride through Venice, the gondola workshop demonstration, and the tours of San Marino, Ravenna, Orvieto.

To start the tour manage Damiano Tognao was wonderful. His grace, patience’s kindness and humor were amazing. I really appreciated his knowledge of the places we visited and pointing out the differences in Swiss and Italian cultures. I would love to do another trip with him as my tour manager/guide. As for the trip I loved all of it. I feel that each part and place had its own unique beauty and to pick one is difficult. I loved the time spent in Bavino and Stresa Italy. Visiting 3 islands was amazing. The alps and Zermatt were incredible! The train rides were jaw dropping beauty!