Italy: Viva Italia Meets Thread

[Kelbe]

Ciao Everyone, I just joined disboards for ABD. Our family is taking the Italy tour on June 30th. Is anyone else here on this tour? It'll be me, DH and DD 15. When we booked last Dec the vacationista mentioned other teenagers in our group so I've asked her for an update. We arrive a day early in Rome. Very excited - all my grandparents are from northern Italy and I love history, architecture, photography and of course awesome Italian food and wine! Any recommendations on what to do on our arrival day in Rome? I know our daughter is bringing some money to shop. ka ching!

We are excited for the August 8 trip. Will the vacationistas give you the group age mix if you ask?

 

[Woodview]

Do Not Forget ..... your Travel Adaptor Plugs ...... European Type

2 Pin Round

 

[SeaPic]

We are excited for the August 8 trip. Will the vacationistas give you the group age mix if you ask?

Yes they will. I've gotten all ages before but specifically asked about teens this time. I only told DD 16 about the other two girls and failed to mention there are four 13 year old boys including her brother on our trip.

 

[mapsd]

Do Not Forget ..... your Travel Adaptor Plugs ...... European Type
2 Pin Round

And don't bring the "universal" adapter.
A lot of outlets are loose & the heavy, large universal adapter won't stay in without balancing it precariously.
The adapter with a couple USB jacks is what I'd suggest.

Many Italian hotels have a very limited number of outlets (often just one).
The little travel power strips come in handy & add a layer of surge protection.

 

[jane01jp]

We are starting to get really excited for the July 4 trip. We are leaving the night of the 1st. We are doing a day trip to Pompeii and Amalfi Coast on the 3rd.

 

[kris10399]

Just booked 6/23/17... Myself (Dave), DW (Lisa), DD 13, and DS 9! Our kids are the same age... too bad our departure dates are only a few days apart!

Oh bummer! We are coming in a few days early but I'm sure we will depart Rome before you arrive.

 

[MinMou]

I just saw an Adventures by Disney tour of Rome Tuscany and Venice that sounds fantastic. Has anyone done that tour? And how young is too young to take a child on that one?

 

[sayhello]

I just saw an Adventures by Disney tour of Rome Tuscany and Venice that sounds fantastic. Has anyone done that tour? And how young is too young to take a child on that one?

Viva Italia is the old name for the Rome/Tuscany/Venice tour. TONS of people on this Forum have done this trip.

I don't have any kids, so I can't really answer your question. ABD's website lists a minimum age of 4, but recommends no younger than 6. I'm sure folks with kids will chime in here.

Sayhello

 

[Gage2001]

We are on the July 4 trip. Family of 5. Daughter 12, sons 11 and 8. From USA, NY. Very excited. Arriving a day early on July 3rd. Anyone else on the July 4 trip?

 

[Gage2001]

How many people are usually on the ABD Italia tour? Is it more than one bus load? How many people are usually in each tour group and is there a way to know how many children and ages will be in your group. We have 3 children G12, B11, B8.

 

[sayhello]

How many people are usually on the ABD Italia tour? Is it more than one bus load? How many people are usually in each tour group and is there a way to know how many children and ages will be in your group. We have 3 children G12, B11, B8.

The max number of people seems to fluctuate. It used to be 40, but I know some trips go with more. Generally, it's enough to fit in one bus, unless you're going somewhere with roads that won't take a big motorcoach, or they split you up to alternate who does which activity. I don't know if any of that happens on Viva Italia. I haven't taken that trip, but I did a lot of the activities on the Med cruise add-on.

You can call ABD if you want to know how many people are on your trip. They'll tell you total numbers and break it down by number of kids by age.

Sayhello

 

[WDWmom08]

Does anyone know if there is a room upgrade for families of three. It looks like several of the hotels have larger accommodations available. I realize the bed will be a roll away, just wondering if they will put us in a bit of a larger room.

 

[mapsd]

Does anyone know if there is a room upgrade for families of three. It looks like several of the hotels have larger accommodations available. I realize the bed will be a roll away, just wondering if they will put us in a bit of a larger room.

Each location is different and the rooms aren't all uniform.
ABD tries to vary the room assignments so that everyone gets the "best" room option at some point in the trip.
Hotels in the bigger cities will all be similar, just some with better views. You might get the corner room to give you a little more space.
The stay in Tuscany will have bigger variation in room size/layout.

 

[WDWmom08]

Each location is different and the rooms aren't all uniform.
ABD tries to vary the room assignments so that everyone gets the "best" room option at some point in the trip.
Hotels in the bigger cities will all be similar, just some with better views. You might get the corner room to give you a little more space.
The stay in Tuscany will have bigger variation in room size/layout.

Yes, it was the Borgo di Cortefreda hotel that had mentioned 4 different room types. So I was curious if they used some of the other room types or just the "standard".

 

[kris10399]

How many people are usually on the ABD Italia tour? Is it more than one bus load? How many people are usually in each tour group and is there a way to know how many children and ages will be in your group. We have 3 children G12, B11, B8.

We were just on this trip last month and had a total of 40 Adventures. We took 1 motor coach everywhere except for when we went to the Vatican Museum. We had I think 3 smaller buses but they tried to keep everyone in their family units for the short ride over from the hotel.
If you booked thru a travel agent, you can have them call AbD to find out the ages and the genders of the kids on the tour. If you booked yourself, directly with AbD, you can call them yourself.

 

[bearsgirl]

We were just on this trip last month and had a total of 40 Adventures. We took 1 motor coach everywhere except for when we went to the Vatican Museum. We had I think 3 smaller buses but they tried to keep everyone in their family units for the short ride over from the hotel.
If you booked thru a travel agent, you can have them call AbD to find out the ages and the genders of the kids on the tour. If you booked yourself, directly with AbD, you can call them yourself.

Did you enjoy this ABD?

 

[kris10399]

Did you enjoy this ABD?

Very much so! We had done the Southern California trip 2 yrs ago so we knew how full of a trip it would be. The Adventure Guides were fabulous and the local guides were very knowledgeable. They all made the trip that much more interesting and entertaining.

 

[WDWmom08]

We were just on this trip last month and had a total of 40 Adventures. We took 1 motor coach everywhere except for when we went to the Vatican Museum. We had I think 3 smaller buses but they tried to keep everyone in their family units for the short ride over from the hotel.
If you booked thru a travel agent, you can have them call AbD to find out the ages and the genders of the kids on the tour. If you booked yourself, directly with AbD, you can call them yourself.

How was the first day structured? Were you able to do the Forum? How were the rooms? I was wondering if for a family of 3 any of the rooms were a bit larger.

 

[kris10399]

How was the first day structured? Were you able to do the Forum? How were the rooms? I was wondering if for a family of 3 any of the rooms were a bit larger.

The first day doesn't officially begin until around 3:30pm. This year's itinerary did not include going to the Forum. We came in 2 days early in order to adjust to the time difference and could've done that on our own one of those days. We did Castel San Angelo which was very walkable from the hotel.

We are a family of 4 and had 2 rooms. They weren't exactly connecting rooms however our rooms were at the end of the hall and had sort of a foyer where we could close the door to the main hallway and leave the 2 doors to the rooms unlocked. Our room was a king bed and our kids had 2 twins. At least in the particular room we had, you wouldn't have been able to fit a rollaway. We did have a couple of parties of 3 and I don't think I ever heard them complain about their rooms. We really liked the hotels on the trip. Rome was very modern, Tuscany was rustic and Venice...was a Hilton.

I do have a trip report that I can share with you if you'd like to PM me with your email.

 

[MinMou]

The first day doesn't officially begin until around 3:30pm. This year's itinerary did not include going to the Forum. We came in 2 days early in order to adjust to the time difference and could've done that on our own one of those days. We did Castel San Angelo which was very walkable from the hotel.

We are a family of 4 and had 2 rooms. They weren't exactly connecting rooms however our rooms were at the end of the hall and had sort of a foyer where we could close the door to the main hallway and leave the 2 doors to the rooms unlocked. Our room was a king bed and our kids had 2 twins. At least in the particular room we had, you wouldn't have been able to fit a rollaway. We did have a couple of parties of 3 and I don't think I ever heard them complain about their rooms. We really liked the hotels on the trip. Rome was very modern, Tuscany was rustic and Venice...was a Hilton.

I do have a trip report that I can share with you if you'd like to PM me with your email.

Is the Hilton you stayed at the one on Guidecca? I was afraid that since it is so far from the main sites in Venice, it wouldn't have the same ambiance as staying in a place where you could walk everywhere. What did you think of it?