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Customized, Escorted, or Hosted Travel Tour? How to Choose the One That’s Right for You!

Going to Italy for your vacation is something you generally don’t do on a whim. It is something you usually plan so that you get the most out of your trip. Italy is, after all, one vacation destination that you wouldn’t want to mess up with mistakes and delays. To make your trip truly memorable, you need to choose the right one from the many travel options you are presented with.

Duomo Florence

Here at Tour Italy Now, we believe in giving you the best possible trip to Italy, which is why we have a few trip packages and types for you to choose from. These include our customized, escorted, and hosted travel tours. Find the right type of tour that will fit your very specific needs from these three. Determining whether you want a customized, escorted, or hosted travel tour is vital, as this is what helps to ensure that you get exactly the experience that you want from your trip. To help you choose, here are some definitions and explanations that may help you narrow down your choice.

Customized Tour

As the name implies, this kind of tour is made specifically according to your specifications. Want to spend an entire week beach-hopping in Sardinia before moving on to a romantic weekend in Venice? You can add a day trip to Florence to visit the Uffizi before heading to Milan for some shopping and wine tasting.

Your trip can be customized according to your purpose too. Is the trip supposed to be a super romantic getaway or is it one that is centered on art and culture? Are you in Italy to see all the usual sights, or is your trip one that is supposed to take you off the beaten path?

Taormina Square Piazza

All you need to do is tell us what types of activities you would like to participate in and if there are any particular experiences that you want to enjoy in the country. You can also tell us which parts of the country you would really like to visit, which sites you want to see, and we can help create the perfect itinerary for you. This will come complete with flights, hotels, restaurant, and transport recommendations, all of which can be booked in advance.

Do you want to see a play at the La Scala or visit all the museums in Pisa, too? Want to experience riding a gondola and learn how to cook local Italian cuisine? Again, just let us know, and we can help you get the tickets for those as well. We’ll take care of everything ahead of time, so that all you have to do on your travel dates is to show up.

Tour Guide Escorted Tours

For those who don’t want to take any chances on their vacation, an escorted tour is one of your best choices. These are considered the most popular type of tours in the entire travel industry. This has a set itinerary, list of activities, and specific times for all of the things you will be seeing, doing, and experiencing. Even your meal times are set at specific times on an escorted tour.

Most escorted tours are thematic, revolving around specific interests such as food, wine, art, history, and religion. This usually has a predetermined set of destinations and sights to visit, with a rather rigid schedule that you and everyone else on the tour have to stick to.

These are done in groups, which is great if you want to meet new friends and don’t mind sharing your trip with others. It is conducted by a tour director, who then guides the entire group from start to finish, from place to place, with anecdotes and information about each stop. Your tour director will always be on hand to assist you, and will answer your questions or provide help in case anything needs smoothing over.

On an escorted tour, all transportation, accommodations, entrance fees, and sometimes even meals, have already been booked well in advance. This means that all you’ll have to do is follow your tour director wherever they take you. Escorted tours are great for first-time travelers, and for those who prefer to be guided during every step of the way.

Hosted Tours

This third option can be easily mistaken as the same as an escorted tour since it comes with a guide (usually a local tour professional) who will pick you up at the airport and take you to your booked accommodation. This, however, is where the similarities end. Once your host or guide takes you to your hotel or apartment, you are basically on your own. Your host will be there for you to contact in case you need anything (recommendations, assistance, directions, tickets, etc.), but that is it.

Exploring Italy Alone

This is a great option for those who are more adventurous and want a vacation where they are free to choose what to do and where to go. Hosted tours are perfect for visitors who prefer to explore on their own while still maintaining peace of mind with the knowledge that there is someone they can call on, should anything come up.

These are the three major types of travel tours that Tour Italy Now has for you and can help you with. So now that you know what your travel options to Italy are, how would you want to have fun in Italy this year?

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By Priscila (266 Posts)

Priscila Siano is the Marketing Director of Tour Italy Now, an online tour operator specializing in Italy travel. She's a respected expert on making dream Italy vacations a reality for clients.

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One Comment

  1. Kim
    Posted January 20, 2019 at 4:02 PM | Permalink

    Priscilla, thanks so much for breaking it down so well. This is the best explanation that I’ve seen on the web.

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