ABD Italy and Amalfi

[ngl]

Looking into this trip for Summer 2023. Kids will be 14 and 12. We just got back from Paris & London and kids really want to go back to Europe (of course, DLP was a big hit!). I have family in Southern Italy (south of Naples) so were thinking of seeing them first before this trip. Would love any and all feedback on this trip! We have not done a ABD trip before (did Tauck Bridges in Alaska a few years ago) so would love to know more about the ins and outs of this itinerary and what people liked/did not like. Much appreciated!!

 

[ngl]

Wondering if this is the first offering of this trip in 2023? Can't seem to find much feedback on it. Also curious if pick up says at Naples Intl Airport if ABD picks up from train stations. We have only done Tauck and they are flexible but heard ABD can be more rigid with things. Would love any feedback! Thanks.

 

[sayhello]

Wondering if this is the first offering of this trip in 2023? Can't seem to find much feedback on it. Also curious if pick up says at Naples Intl Airport if ABD picks up from train stations. We have only done Tauck and they are flexible but heard ABD can be more rigid with things. Would love any feedback! Thanks.

The Amalfi Italy ABD has been around for YEARS (it's had different names over the years, but I checked the 2007 brochure, and it's listed there as "Roma and La Costa Bella" and was also called "Bella Italia" for a long while, starting in 2009). It's not as popular as the "regular" Italy trip (which used to be called "Viva Italia"), so both that & the names may be why you don't see it mentioned as much. The Amalfi trip doesn't include Rome any more, and many people feel they need to see Rome if they go to Italy. (The trip now includes Florence instead of Rome).

And you are correct, ABD can be much more picky about where they will and won't pick you up. They only do train stations for a very few ABDs, so you'd need to find out if the Amalfi trip is one of those trips or not.

Sayhello

 

[Woodview]

Looking into this trip for Summer 2023. Kids will be 14 and 12. We just got back from Paris & London and kids really want to go back to Europe (of course, DLP was a big hit!). I have family in Southern Italy (south of Naples) so were thinking of seeing them first before this trip. Would love any and all feedback on this trip! We have not done a ABD trip before (did Tauck Bridges in Alaska a few years ago) so would love to know more about the ins and outs of this itinerary and what people liked/did not like. Much appreciated!!

Why not make contact with your family in Italy ?

They may have far more info. on tours & hotels and ideas for the teenagers .

Dial 1 then 0039 & no.

 

[ngl]

Thanks for the feedback on the trip names and why I could not find anything! The info on line says pick up at train station in one stop, pick up airport at another, so not quite sure! Also, one day there nothing is mentioned after lunch so wondering if they did not fully upload all the information. I am going to call them this week.

Really looking to get info on the ABD trip in general and what people liked and did not. My family in Italy is in very Southern Italy in a fishing village (most older relatives) who generally do not travel so just wanted to get information from someone from US who may have taken this trip.

 

[sayhello]

Thanks for the feedback on the trip names and why I could not find anything! The info on line says pick up at train station in one stop, pick up airport at another, so not quite sure! Also, one day there nothing is mentioned after lunch so wondering if they did not fully upload all the information. I am going to call them this week.

Really looking to get info on the ABD trip in general and what people liked and did not. My family in Italy is in very Southern Italy in a fishing village (most older relatives) who generally do not travel so just wanted to get information from someone from US who may have taken this trip.

This is in the Trip Tips & FAQ for the Amalfi trip:

Train – Upon arrival at the Napoli Centrale train station, collect your luggage, disembark the train and proceed to the end of the platform. Look for a representative holding an orange Adventures by Disney sign. This representative is available to assist you with your luggage and will escort you to your prearranged ground transportation to your hotel. The transfer from the station to your hotel in Sorrento will typically take 1.5 to 2 hours.

I did Italy on the ABD Med cruise add-on, and there was some overlap with the Amalfi trip. We did the cruise to Capri, which was wonderful, did the Agriturismo La Galatea Farm Visit, which was fun and delicious, and went to Florence. I'll tell you, seeing The David is worth the price of admission for the whole trip!

Sayhello

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

We just got back (2 days ago) from the "regular" Italy ABD. We flew into Naples and spend 2 nights on Capri and then 2 more in Sorrento before traveling to Rome a day before the ABD started (ferry from Sorrento to Naples, train from Naples to Rome). ABD sent a guide to the Rome train station to help us with our bags and get us into a taxi to the Gran Melia.

In case you're interested in the Italy ABD, we found getting around the Sorrento and Capri very easy to do on our own. The ferries were a piece of cake, and taxis were readily available from the ports.

 

[ngl]

We just got back (2 days ago) from the "regular" Italy ABD. We flew into Naples and spend 2 nights on Capri and then 2 more in Sorrento before traveling to Rome a day before the ABD started (ferry from Sorrento to Naples, train from Naples to Rome). ABD sent a guide to the Rome train station to help us with our bags and get us into a taxi to the Gran Melia.

In case you're interested in the Italy ABD, we found getting around the Sorrento and Capri very easy to do on our own. The ferries were a piece of cake, and taxis were readily available from the ports.

Thank you very much for this information. We are really trying to decide if this trip could be done on our own. The ABD cost is pricey, of course, but there is something to be said for all the timing and transportation taken care of. What did you think of your ABD trip in general? Thanks!

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

Thank you very much for this information. We are really trying to decide if this trip could be done on our own. The ABD cost is pricey, of course, but there is something to be said for all the timing and transportation taken care of. What did you think of your ABD trip in general? Thanks!

We really liked the ABD. We're comfortable traveling on our own in Europe, so the value in the Italy ABD for us was not *having* to transfer our bags and the little touches (like things we got to do at the Vatican that aren't available to the general public). (This was our second ABD after the Southern CA in 2019.)

I think the value of ABD also depends on your comfort level in traveling. For instance, the Gran Melia listed a laundry room on their website when we looked before our trip, so we had planned to do laundry there. However when we arrived we discovered that the laundry room closed during the pandemic and is now someone's office (only send out laundry available). My husband found a laundromat about 1 km away from the hotel and went over during "on your own time." He said our guides were commenting on how "adventurous" we were, saying that in their experience most ABD guests aren't comfortable leaving the hotel/immediate vicinity on their own. Most of our fellow guests arrived in Rome the day of or day before the ABD, and flew out of Venice on the last day. We spent time in Italy before the ABD and then afterwards we switched hotels and stayed in Venice, and then rented a car and drove through Austria to Germany.

I'm doing the Greece ABD next summer with three of our kids. I don't speak any Greek at all (I do speak bad Italian), so there's more of a language barrier there; and I won't have any other adult help with the kids. I'm more comfortable traveling around Greece with three kids on the ABD than I would be on my own (other adult family members are meeting us after the ABD and we will explore Athens and Venice on our own before a cruise).

Other ABD trips we're planning on are Egypt, the Galapagos, China,... places where we aren't necessarily comfortable traveling to on our own.

- How comfortable are you traveling to whatever place;
- How much do you value not having to struggle with transporting your own bags and arranging transportation;
- Are there experiences ABD can offer that you simply can't do on your own/by arranging a normal day tour? (I read "spoilers" for the Italy tour so I knew the special things the ABD offers.)

 

[ngl]

We really liked the ABD. We're comfortable traveling on our own in Europe, so the value in the Italy ABD for us was not *having* to transfer our bags and the little touches (like things we got to do at the Vatican that aren't available to the general public). (This was our second ABD after the Southern CA in 2019.)

I think the value of ABD also depends on your comfort level in traveling. For instance, the Gran Melia listed a laundry room on their website when we looked before our trip, so we had planned to do laundry there. However when we arrived we discovered that the laundry room closed during the pandemic and is now someone's office (only send out laundry available). My husband found a laundromat about 1 km away from the hotel and went over during "on your own time." He said our guides were commenting on how "adventurous" we were, saying that in their experience most ABD guests aren't comfortable leaving the hotel/immediate vicinity on their own. Most of our fellow guests arrived in Rome the day of or day before the ABD, and flew out of Venice on the last day. We spent time in Italy before the ABD and then afterwards we switched hotels and stayed in Venice, and then rented a car and drove through Austria to Germany.

I'm doing the Greece ABD next summer with three of our kids. I don't speak any Greek at all (I do speak bad Italian), so there's more of a language barrier there; and I won't have any other adult help with the kids. I'm more comfortable traveling around Greece with three kids on the ABD than I would be on my own (other adult family members are meeting us after the ABD and we will explore Athens and Venice on our own before a cruise).

Other ABD trips we're planning on are Egypt, the Galapagos, China,... places where we aren't necessarily comfortable traveling to on our own.

- How comfortable are you traveling to whatever place;
- How much do you value not having to struggle with transporting your own bags and arranging transportation;
- Are there experiences ABD can offer that you simply can't do on your own/by arranging a normal day tour? (I read "spoilers" for the Italy tour so I knew the special things the ABD offers.)

Thanks so much for the thoughtful response. We are fortunate to have traveled to many parts of the world before kids so are comfortable with venturing out (did a self guided bike tour through Germany one year - before cell phones - and got lost. Quite an adventure with paper maps and not knowing German in small villages!) As you said, with kids you need some things to make it "easier" and, as you pointed out, the bags and transportation are a big part of it. I think for this ABD tour, as others have mentioned, it is the timing of getting so much in during that time. Additionally, I am the planner of the group and it is a LOT of work! Would be great not to do that! Really appreciate the information.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

Thanks so much for the thoughtful response. We are fortunate to have traveled to many parts of the world before kids so are comfortable with venturing out (did a self guided bike tour through Germany one year - before cell phones - and got lost. Quite an adventure with paper maps and not knowing German in small villages!) As you said, with kids you need some things to make it "easier" and, as you pointed out, the bags and transportation are a big part of it. I think for this ABD tour, as others have mentioned, it is the timing of getting so much in during that time. Additionally, I am the planner of the group and it is a LOT of work! Would be great not to do that! Really appreciate the information.

It is a lot of work (I'm also the family travel planner). I have a 1.5 inch binder completely full of paperwork for all the hotels, tours, etc for the non-ABD part of our trip. I arranged tours in Capri, Pompeii & Herculaneum, Bavaria (Linderhoff, Neuschwanstein,...), Rome (Vatican (we wanted extra time there in addition to the ABD), catacombs, Capuchin crypts), etc, and those were all a gamble in terms of quality. The non-ABD tours also tended to be fairly expensive. We were lucky in that I booked tours we were mostly very happy with.

It was nice not having to arrange anything for the ABD part of our trip, and knowing that the activities with them would be high quality. Our guides also had restaurant "reservations" for us in every city, as well as clean bathrooms we could use throughout each day.

It was also nice being able to sit back and relax or take a nap in an air conditioned bus instead of having to use taxis, buses, metro, or a rental car during the ABD. On our second day in Rome (the day the ABD started), the taxi drivers went on a surprise 2-day strike. We had a hard time getting back to our hotel to meet the ABD, but once we did, it was all ABD buses and the taxi strike was a non-issue.