Undiscovered Italy
23/08/2019 · By Katie Shaw
To celebrate experiences that bring Italy to life, here are a few of our favourite unique activities that truly take you to the heart of this beguiling country.
Read more2022 Tour code: ICS22
About the tour
Explore the Amalfi Coast, without a doubt one of Europe's most visually stunning regions. Starting with two nights in Rome, we continue to Sorrento, a pretty town that looks over the stunning Bay of Naples and is the gateway to Capri, the Amalfi Coast and the lost city of Pompeii.
Highlights
What’s included
Itinerary
We meet at London St Pancras and take the Eurostar to Paris. We change trains for Lyon, a historic French city on the banks of the Rhône and Saône. We check into a local hotel here where we spend the night.
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Reviews
3.8 / 5 · 40 reviews
Stephen Turnbull
Submitted 24/Jul
Advertised 1st class rail travel was standard class and coach travel on both 4 hour rotes through the alps. The hotel in Sorrento was in the basement it was apalling, dirty and smelly. After 2 days of complaints we, along with 2 other couples, were moved to another hotel. Paid for a premium holiday and got sub standard in many areas.
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P Kerr
Submitted 24/Jul
Very disappointed to say the least. Brochure and website promised so much but definitely not the trip we booked. The brochure says 1st class rail travel, we never once had 1st class and were put in economy whilst travelling through the Alps therefore missing the spectacular scenery. If that wasn’t bad enough we had a four hour coach journey from Naples to Turin on the return something that was suspiciously missing from the original itinerary. We were told we would be going on the same coach we were on from our hotel near Sorrento (more on that later) which had frayed and smelly seats with broken handles and no toilet facilities. We were told we were being picked up at 6am and wouldn’t be able stop which was a major concern for a group in their 60s and 70s. As a group we refused to go on that particular bus and spent the whole evening worrying about it. The Tour title leads you to believe that one of the hotels is in Sorrento, our Hotel Majestic wasn’t and I have noticed quite a few previous reviews saying the same, the brochure says it has lovely views of the bay and Vesuvius, correct, if you’re on the roof, but if your room is like ours below ground on floor -1 you’ll only have view of a wall and a damp smell. This again has been mentioned in previous reviews by other people. We were asked to stay there for 2 nights and would be moved to a higher floor (3 couples), this was retracted and were told there was nothing they could do, by now the relationship between our tour manager and the hotel had completely broken down so we were now on our own. At one point we had three of our party in tears. After much arguing directly with the hotel manager and hotel owner 2 of the couples (myself included) managed to move to a hotel in the same road and although it was a massive improvement on hotel Majestic we still didn’t have the view of the bay and the room was a bit on the small side which we wouldn’t have booked ourselves if we had arranged the trip, this wasn’t the hotel’s fault as it was the only room available and by now we were truly grateful. The original (near Sorrento) hotel’s food was appalling, on the 1st night we were offered one choice, Pork, and that was it. We were all made to feel we were an inconvenience. A few other points. Hotel is on a hill with about 20 steps (no ramp) leading to reception. The pool has a submerged wall. I thought this was illegal (certainly in Spain) so if you’ve got young children beware. The Hotel isn’t in Sorrento so if you fancy walking (no shuttle bus) along twisting roads with no pavements make sure you’ve got good insurance. We expected a knowledgeable tour manager, by her own admission she hadn’t done this tour and clearly had to wing it making it a stressful experience for the group from start to finish. We made calls to Great Rail including their emergency number and basically got fobbed off, being told they only have a skeleton staff at weekends and they were unable to get hold of anyone. We have now been back a week and as i write the review I haven’t been contacted by Great Rail which I find a complete insult.
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Colin Ferguson
Submitted 16/Jul
I't was a great trip though quite hot, the day trips along the Amalfi coast were very good along with the views, I Would have liked however an extra day stop before Amafi as we seem to be traveling quite a lot before Amalfi
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Barry Jones
Submitted 1/Jul
Overall the trip was excellent with superb Tour Manager, Paul. The only disappointment was the food in the hotels, particularly in Sorrento. While accepting that meals had to be within budget, the quality and choice was poor, particularly when compared to other guests who were not part of our group. The situation was even worse for my wife who is vegan. I was assured beforehand that all hotels and Eurostar were informed of this but only Eurostar catered for her. I did not particularly like the fact that the group had to dine at 7pm rather than at a time of our individual choosing. I would have preferred to only have breakfast included and make our own arrangements for our evening meal.
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Janet WHITE
Submitted 27/Jun
Very tiring travel. Hotel in Sorrento was poor.Tour manager excellent.Excursions very good.
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Mr/Mrs Covey
Submitted 27/Jun
Excellent travel arrangements, great tour manager, poor evening meals in Majestic hotel in Sorrento. Still waiting for case but hopefully it will arrive soon.
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