Delve Deep: Italy 2025

What an amazing tour with an amazing tour leader Paola. The trip was a perfect balance of in depth & informative but fun with great socialising. This was my first tour so I didn’t know what to expect but Paola made the whole trip one to remember. All the stops were amazing. Breakfast at the hotels is sub par however that is the only small fault I could list. Thank you Paola & Topdeck ❤️

Good variety of locations visited. Really good food included in the trip, as were the recommendations. Really enjoyed the company of my trip mates.

This was my first tour, my first time in Europe/Italy, and this tour overall was amazing. It's the "I've never been to Italy and want to see all the tourist things" tour. And it does it well. The biggest compliment I can give Topdeck is hiring Paola. If you are going on this tour and are lucky enough to have her as your tour leader, you will enjoy this tour more. She's passionate, genuinely enjoys what she does, knowledgable and her food recommendations are on point. A Rome walking tour to start things off was a good way to introduce the tour/Rome as well as a good start to get to know your fellow group members. It was a little rushed as we all met and then had to leave shortly afterwards however the walk to the starting point lets you meet others. I'd do some research/book beforehand if you want to see/do something in Rome (if you are not staying in Rome after the tour), or the free day can be a way to walk around and see things/get to know others. I did the optional food tour which was very good. The amount of food and drinks you get was enough to feed an army but all delicious. The public transport bus ride there was a little chaotic but getting through adversity together made the group bond faster for sure. The vineyard we visited before Pompeii was probably in the top 3 meals. Don't forget to buy some wine/olive oil after the meal! Pompeii walking tour (optional) was amazing. The history of the place and seeing the city if you haven't already was such a good experience. Sorrento was a nice chill city. Was a bit disappointing that we didn't stay in Sorrento (hotel was in Meta) as it would have made the day more seamless, but the hotel (and restaurant Tico Tico) was good. We caught a bus to Positano and hung out there for most of the day. Would have been even better if we could of had got a lift on the Topdeck bus to Positano (as the majority of the group went there), but the public bus there and back was easy enough. During peak summer I'm sure it would be even better with the beaches (was slightly rainy when we were there) and boat rides you can take. Florence was probably my favourite city we visited. Had the hustle and bustle of a large city expect also had a chill feel about it. The views and food were ridiculous (I'd highly recommend walking around at night/sunrise). La Spezia was my second favourite. I spent the day on the beach however from what I heard from others, the hike between the towns is well worth it (despite being slightly difficult) and visiting all 5 towns was a good experience. Venice was fine however for me, didn't live up to the hype. I'd again recommend researching what you want to do beforehand (go to one of the islands, go up the tower, etc) and walking around at night. The smaller towns we visited were good pit stops to get out of the bus however probably not as memorable as the bigger cities. They all had good food, views and had relaxing vibes to them which were a good change of pace. As I'm sure with most tours, if you need to get your laundry done there isn't much time and you will have to miss out on spending time with the group/cutting a meal short to rush off to get it done.

Pa La is the BEST oh and I met cool people

This trip was the perfect first experience of Italy. Made all the more better by our tour leader Paola. She ensured everyone had a great trip and had all the best food recommendations. Definitely recommend the optional extras, especially the food tour in Rome. I had a great time and had given me a good plan for what I would love to come back and see more of.

Good amount of included activities, good length, great locations, good amount of free time. Great age group controlled tour, made for a fun experience with like minded people. However, the optional activities were overpriced and some were poorly run. The boat trip to Capri cost €120 and was meant to include the blue grotto, but when we got there it ended up costing extra (more than the actual ticket costs). The tipsy tours cost €60 and involved small amounts of food and alcohol for that amount. The pizza tasting cost €10 for one slice and a drink, with nothing else included, which is nearly double the prices displayed at the shop.

Considering the current economic climate, I thought the trip was value for money. I loved the trip by the way - I am just pointing out some particulars for those people who go on the trip so you know what to expect :) The accommodation was quite simple overall, but we were out most of the time so it did the job. There was a hotel where there was no hot water, and there was also no hotels that had laundry service which was a bit frustrating, however the people I toured with were very laid back and we got on with things. Bring detergent with you to handwash your clothes! Italy is amazing, and this trip gave you a proper taste of the key places. I do strongly suggest doing research for all the places that are listed for recommendations for food (although the guide does help), and if you have particular things you want to do (eg. Colosseum tour), you need to book yourself in advance. We also had free afternoons/days in places, and it's better if you have a plan of what you're going to do before you go. Even if it's bringing a book to the beach! There isn't a lot of downtime though for things like extensive shopping so if you want to do that, I would suggest doing it before or after the tour. The highlight of the tour were the people I went on the tour with. So friendly, warm and ready for adventure. Italy was all I dreamed and more! Most of us were mid 20's early 30's, and so it was good having everyone with similar mindsets for travel on the trip. It meant we had similar budgets and maximised the opportunities we had in Italy.

We had a tour leader who was helpful and knowledgeable about Italy, however when he hosted tour is there was little commentary unless asked for. He was able to connect well with the group and seem more like a part of it than a leader which was perfect for the set up of the tour. I would have expected the leader to come in with more knowledge of the group (eg medical and dietary requirements) and for this to be addressed with restaurants and other facilities pre tour. The leader was great outside of Rome, and once we were on our way and got to see him shine we really enjoyed his company and talking to him about Italy and our home country. Our bus guy was also great, even if his English wasn't. He was always a pleasure to be around and we learnt a lot about Italian body language from him. We expected the hotels to be of a higher quality- in reality they were a step above a hostel. Many of the beds were uncomfortable and did not provide a good nights sleep. Air conditioning was not working in all either which increased uncomfortably. The breakfasts were often insufficient for the days activities, especially when we were doing morning walking tours that required much energy. We really enjoyed the stop offs in the small towns along the way, and the walking tours were great to get some context of the city. This is something we would not have got if going by train and really appreciated seeing these hidden gems off the main tourist trail. We would have loved more time in each of them however understand thats not always possible. The guides we had were all so passionate, knowledgeable and engaging which really brought the cities to life. The fact that day 1 started at 7.30pm and finished at 11pm with a 45 minute walk back to the hotel (after that) wasn't ideal and was not a great first impression for the group. It would have been much better to have a 6pm dinner and finish the walking tour eariler to allow for those of us who would have liked more sleep. It was unfair to call this a day on the tour as it was only a few hours. On that note, it was also unfair to call the final breakfast a tour day, as many of us had earlier connections to make so were unable to see the group in the morning. The optional tours were not always optional, and included costs not displayed in the app (such as bus entrance fees). Pompei was described as an optional walking tour for 18euro, and so we made other plans to go into the park without a guide. However, on the day we were all told it was mandatory and had to pay 40euro each. Many of the other options were heavily alcohol related. It would have been good to include more cultural experiences as options. We were looking forward to the cooking class in Sorrento, however this disappeared as an option with no heads up, which was disappointing and left us scrambling to organise a class elsewhere. It would have been nice to have a few more pieces of guidence on what to do on our free days. Some kind of document to links of places to look at or activites (walks, tours, galleries, viewpoints etc) to book or even places to eat would have been really helpful. Like cheat sheet kind of thing that we could print out and have with us. On that note, it would also be really helpful to get some kind of timetable before we left (as in like 6 weeks before hand) to assist in planning and booking things for our free time. Often these activities were sold out by the time we got there and we missed out so that would have been really handy. It would have also been great to know the tour times so we could book things for after the tour. A suggestion would be to finish the tour in Venice and let people make their way to the next port from there, saving a 7 hour bus trip. There is a major international airport and train station so its just as easy as Rome. Many of our group arrived early and had done their Rome things already so to go back to Rome just to leave was a bit of a wasted day. Instead, an extra day somewhere like La Spezia would have been fantastic as by this point people were really starting to get tired, and a extra day by the beach would have been amazing and allowed for more exploring of such a fascinating place. The group dinners were great, and a fab way to try local specialties. It would have been nice to have something except pasta however understand it is a nice and easy vehicle for different flavours. The walking the suitcases to the hotel wasn't fantastic. Understand this is what it is, but especially near the end of the trip with suitcases breaking and nerves fraying, other options would have been appreciated by many in the group. Overall, we had a great time, however I do feel like there are some changes (both smaller and larger) which would really help make the experience that much more amazing.