Your Own Italy Testimonials
Best Trip Ever!
We would like to sincerely thank Carmen and her team for the wonderful two week itinerary planned for us in Italy as well as your dedication and constant communication in keeping us always informed with our tour guides and drivers. Being that this was our first time traveling to Italy, Your Own Italy made our hotel (beautiful hotels) , transportation, and tour reservations for us which made our trip stress free where we could relax and enjoy our time. All the private drivers and AP Tour Guides were wonderful, gracious, very knowledgeable and informative. We really enjoyed them and learned a lot from them.
The winery and food tours were unbelievable. We received special treatment at one of your recommended restaurants in Venice, Ristorante Antico Pignolo. Not only was the food great, but the hospitality was also over the top. The manager Juri took us on a tour of the restaurant and gave us his phone number and asked if we needed anything during our stay in Venice to contact him. The other shout out goes to the The Garden Restaurant in Ravello, what an amazing view for lunch and the food was tremendous. Finally, the restaurant in Siena, Casa Tua was beautiful and staff very gracious and gave us a tour of the wine cellar.
A special thanks goes out to Alberto, Angelo and Simon who we had the privilege as our personal drivers’ multiple times. Angelo took us on our day tour of the Amalfi coast, Simon drove us to a winery and San Gimignano and Alberto drove us to my wife’s mom’s hometown of San Sossio Baronia where she was able to meet several of her cousins for the very first time. They were so happy to see her. What a magical moment. Alberto was translating for us and did a wonderful job!
Again, thank you so much for everything. We already have referred several of our friends to Your Own Italy and expresses the great job you do in putting together an awesome itinerary..
Rome to Sorrento and Amalfi
First time using an agency to customize a vacation and YourOwnItaly was absolutely amazing. Every aspect from the original planning to in-country support was handled in a professional manner with drivers, tour guides, accommodations, and activities flawlessly executed. We had a small group of four and everyone agreed we would not only recommend YourOwnItaly but use them again for any future Italy vacations.
Wonderful experience
The entire trip was sensational. Highly recommend this agency.
Sicily and the Amalfi Coast, Molte Bene !!
A magical time in Italy with Your Own Italy!
Family Trip to Taormina
Everyone had a fantastic time in Sicily!! The boat ride tour with Marco was entertaining and simply amazing!! Having Anastasia as a chef for breakfast in the mornings was so special! The cable car rides added to our adventure. The walking tour of the Corso was perfect and Gratzi’s focus on the theater was excellent for our family’s history buffs. Her suggestions for spritzs, arachini & gelato were spot on. Corso Umberto is so entertaining and a super adventure all by itself. The Mt. Etna trek with Alessandro & the vineyard tour were over the top. Gio’s villa is pretty cool and everyone settled in quickly. Taormina is a very special place. Having Mellisa available to us for anything was so helpful.
Thanks for putting all this together for our family.
Already planning our next YourOwnItaly Holiday!!!
Treated like a Rock Star!
What an amazing trip my wife and I just had! Our first time to Italy and we felt like rock stars the way we were treated. Carmen and her staff are true professionals! They took excellent care of us and there is no doubt we will book through her again.
Isabella, Carmen’s on sight associate, was always in contact with us every day on our trip to update us on who was picking us up, at what time and who our tour guide would be. If something happened or needed a change, she was immediately there for us.
Carmen takes out all the hassle for you in planning a 10 day trip like this. That in itself was so worth it!
She books all your drivers, train & entry tickets, and all the beautiful hotels in Rome, Florence, Villa Mormoraia, and Venice (which our balcony overlooked the Venice canal). We would walk out onto the balcony and watch the gondolas go by. In fact people on the gondolas would wave and take pictures of us!
She sent us a list of amazing restaurants for each city to choose from and booked all the reservations. We also gave her a restaurant not on her list that they also booked for us as well.
But MOST important are the tours and the private tour guides we had. To get into the Coliseum, the Vatican, etc. you need tickets and either you cannot get them or you are waiting in long long lines to get in. Carmen’s company has all the tickets booked in advance and her private guides take you right in while you see all these other people (individuals and the big group tours) wait outside.
Rome –
Tour guide Maria had amazing knowledge of the Coliseum, the Vatican, the Pantheon and all the statues, fountains, paintings, etc. We had her for 3 tours and just loved it!
Marco, who is a master sommelier, took us on our food & wine tour to wonderful and hidden locations of Rome. The 3 of us chatted the whole time while eating scrumptious food and drinking glasses of wine that paired nicely with the food he selected . Highly recommend this!
Florence –
Tour guide Lisa was so much fun in the way she explained and related the history of the city, the statue of David and the paintings in the Uffizi gallery. She also very knowledgeable and shared her recommendations for items we were looking for.
Cooking class with Giorgio Pinto. This guy was great in taking us to local spots to shop for food, a quick snack and then back to his place to cook dinner. We had a lot of laughs and highly recommend. The food we ate was unreal! To see it all done and be a part of it is something we will never forget.
Tuscany Hills –
Villa Machiavelli – really wonderful tour of the vineyard, the house and the history of Niccolò Machiavelli. Ending with a phenomenal lunch and wine tasting. Again – all private.
Villa Mormoraia – great place to stay and unwind pool side. The views are breath taking with the city of San Gimignano in the background of the hills. You could stare at that all day.
San Gimignano – place to shop and eat. The city makes you feel like you are in an episode of Game of Thrones.
Venice –
Tour guide Antonella was just amazing! Took us around the city, explained the history and was just very welcoming to be with. She took us via a private boat to the islands of Murano and Burano. 2 very different islands that we did not expect. Murano for the glass blowing sculptures. We had a private tour of the gallery (we couldn’t help to buy an exquisite piece for our home, however never felt obligated to buy). Burano for the colorful buildings that made you feel like you were in the Caribbean islands and THE BEST homemade Gelato we had out of our entire trip.
Carmen and her team were just the best. They really know how to ensure a great, memorable vacation and being there if you need something every step of they way. There are many benefits you get from Carmen and her staff in addition to having private cars picking you up and ensuring you arrive safely at each destination. They went above and beyond our expectations!
Amazing Trip!
We had a great time in Italy, thank you for planning a truly unforgettable trip! We really enjoyed meeting all the drivers and guides. They were fabulous and very knowledgeable. Special shoutout to Gaby who was our guide for Capri. She felt like an old friend. Also a special shout-out to Elizabetta in Florence. She showed us some local spots in addition to all the must see tourist areas in Florence. Our favorite restaurant was the one you booked for lunch in Ravello. All the accommodations were great and close to all the action. Thanks again and we’ll be reaching out to you should we plan another trip to Italy.
Amazing Italy Vacation
We had such a lovely time on our vacation in Italy! Carmen and her staff made our trip with two families stress free. The tour guides were amazing and we enjoyed our time with them. All of them were so fun, well informed, and great at getting us past all the long lines wherever we went. The hotels were perfect. Melissa was so great to work with too! The restaurants were all so good, but we especially liked Nonna Betta in Rome, and Marameo Beach and O’Parrucchiano La Favorita in Sorrento. Lunch and wine tasting at Bosco da ‘Medici was amazing, and lunch in Ravello was breathtaking! The boat tour around Capri was a highlight for everyone. It was a great trip all around and we would do it again in a heartbeat. Thank you Carmen and staff!
Rome and Florence
We had an absolutely Fantastic trip!! From our very courteous, punctual drivers, our kind, knowledgeable, attentive tour guides, the amazingly fresh and delicious food at the pre-arranged restaurants – let’s not forget the wonderful wine! -, the beautiful, comfortable accommodations, a perfect itinerary, to the patient, responsive staff! The professionalism and willingness to accommodate our needs was outstanding! We learned SO much and were truly spoiled. We felt very safe everywhere we went, which made for relaxing excursions enabling us to soak in the beauty and focus our attention on our guide’s wealth of information. Our only slight hiccup was not realizing that there are two train stops in Rome, so we exited at the wrong stop. An unfortunate mistake, but Marco, our driver, was graciously understanding.
Please pass our sincere gratitude along to each member of your staff who assisted us on our own Italian holiday. We made wonderful memories of a once-in-a-lifetime experience and are genuinely grateful..
Outstanding Travel Agent with Expertise You Need for Italy Travels
Firstly, the team with Your Own Italy was outstanding and did such an incredible job of managing our itinerary. They were on top of everything and we loved having them as a resource for us throughout the trip. We visited 8 cities in all!
The tour guides they provided were exceptional and so knowledgeable. The restaurant selections were excellent and activities amazingly unique providing us with memories of a life time.
We are so happy and grateful for the expert advise and carefully selected experiences. The trip exceeded our wildest expectations.
Our wish is that we have this company in every country in Europe so we can have that level of service for future trips. We plan to return to Italy again and will definitely use them again. We highly recommend them!!! Our favorite places were Sorrento, Florence, Tuscany county side and Lake Como.
Rome, Amalfi Coast and Venice Trip
We had such a great and memorable experience.
All the guides were great! Friendly, knowledgeable and patient. We are so glad we decided to use your company. It was the best decision we could have made!
Having each day scheduled, with all the arrangements made, was absolutely the best way to go. All the areas we visited (Rome, Amalfi Coast & Venice) were incredible and seeing each for 3-4 days was ideal for us.
Thank you for everything! And thank Marco, Yvgeny, Antonella, Monica and all the drivers.
Trip of a lifetime!
We are so pleased with our experience with Your Own Italy. A big thank you to Carmen and her team for designing a wonderful trip to Italy for us. We had the opportunity to visit Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento, Amalfi coast, Florence, Tuscany and Venice and loved every minute of it!
All of our accommodations were fantastic – rooms with views, breakfast buffet, friendly staff, quiet, convenient locations.
We’d like to thank each of our tour guides, Marco Lori, Maria Rosaria, Andrew (Pompeii), Gabby and Roberto (Capri), Amal and Lisa (Florence), Elio (Siena) and Antonella, for great experiences. Our guides were knowledgeable as well as friendly. We learned so much! We have some great photos and memories of each city we visited.
All of our drivers were prompt and professional. We’d especially like to thank our Amalfi coast driver Angelo and our Florence-to-Tuscany driver Timothi, who made sure that we enjoyed our drives with special views, stops and wonderful conversation.
All details, including restaurant reservations, were handled by Your Own Italy and everything went smoothly. Each evening Vittoria would update us with details for the following day. So nice to know she was available to help us and this made it so easy for us to relax and enjoy our day.
Some trip highlights – food & wine walking tour in Trastevere, wine tasting at Bosco de Medici Winery (the wine was great, the food was sooo good), Amalfi coast tour with lunch in Ravello, Capri boat tour (a lot of fun), food & wine at Villa Machiavelli, a stay at the beautiful agriturismo Mormoraia, gorgeous views from Siena, gondola and water taxi rides in Venice, and guided visits to Murano and Burano. And we had the most delicious food every day!
In summary, we were thrilled with our trip to Italy! So many memories. We definitely recommend Your Own Italy to any of our friends/family planning to travel to Italy.
The only way to go!
We’ve been home for less than a week now and all we can think of is, “a week ago today……”. Carmen and her staff were absolutely top notch in every aspect of our trip. We heard about Your Own Italy from an acquaintance and quickly contacted Carmen to begin planning our trip. She inquired as to our interests and provided an itinerary for our review to ensure it matched everything that we wanted to see and do. Carmen’s associate, Isabel, was in touch with us each day to provide us with any information needed for the next day, for example, the name of our driver, the restaurant reservations, time to be ready, etc. The coordination by Your Own Italy took ALL anxiety out of this trip and allowed us to fully participate in our dream vacation. Isabel did everything to provide a relaxing and enjoyable trip….and was completely on the mark! There is absolutely no doubt that we will use Carmen and Your Own Italy for our next Italy vacation. Thank you to your entire staff!
Heavenly Honeymoon
Carmen, Isabel, and Your Own Italy coordinated the most amazing 17-day vacation for my wife and I throughout Italy. The itinerary was followed throughout the trip. All of our tour guides were locals and absolutely amazing, having incredible knowledge of the galleries/ museums/ sites while also giving great recommendations in the area. The communication from the team was seamless, letting us know in advance who our guides/ drivers were and their contact information. Everyone was professional, on time, helpful and flexible. The hotel rooms that were booked were not only nice but in great locations. We cannot express how highly we recommend this organization enough! Thank you for making our honeymoon so memorable and such a pleasant experience. Truly a trip of a lifetime.
Best Italy trip
We returned from our trip on Sunday. I just wanted to tell you what a wonderful trip we had. Hotel locations were so convenient to everything. Everything was perfect, all the guides were amazing. A big thanks to Melissa for answering all our questions while we were there.
Will definitely recommend your company to friends and family.
Simply Put: The Best Italian Agents
The perfect Italian holiday! Your Own Italy planned everything for our group’s (diverse in ages and interests) trip to Rome, Florence, Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri & the Amalfi Coast – from first-class transport to guided/engaging tours to 5-star hotels to local/gourmet dinners to off-the-beaten-path excursions. Always available, the on-the-ground team helped us with everything down to last minute requests. . .all with ease and professionalism. I’ve never had a holiday this care-free. Do yourself and your loved ones a favor, and enlist this group’s services. A+ all around.
A perfect trip
One of a Kind Service!
We have just returned from the dreamiest trip to Italy. If you are planning a trip to Italy I highly recommend securing the services of Your Own Italy. The owner, Carmen Carbonelli and her staff, curated the perfect vacation for our family of five.
Carmen paired us with tour guides throughout Rome, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast (Capri, Sorrento, Positano)and Venice that were perfectly matched for us. They were incredibly knowledgeable, charismatic, and easy to connect with and they were dedicated to just us. We felt like we had known them forever. It was hard to say goodbye to a few of them. Each one could not say enough about Carmen’s commitment to her customers and the passion she has to introduce Italy in the most unique ways to travelers.
Every detail was tended to. The hotels selected were unique and lovely. Every guide and driver was professional and prompt. Carmen’s staff proactively kept in touch with us regularly throughout the trip and were always available for questions.
I cannot recommend the services of Your Own Italy enough and am incredibly grateful for the opportunities that were made available to us.
Amazing 1st trip to Europe and Italy !
I reached out to Carmen (from reviews ! ) and she provided a PERFECTLY tailored trip from start to finish . I started planning Feb (months before trip ) with Carmen’s help – our 1st trip to Europe with my teen daughter . I knew my daughter would need “free days “ built in and Carmen revised my itenerary several times . Seriously I was contacting her almost daily about places , SO MANY questions (we had never taken public transportation -( from the states )trains and I was sooo anxious about it but she was never annoyed and responded quickly , usually hours later . She was so comforting and provided DETAILED itenerary (where to meet drivers , directions etc ) Carmen also revised itenerary to meet our budget BUT the hotels were AMAZING , central to everything , the guides and private drivers were top notch , so informative , friendly . The whole trip was seamless and PERFECT !
Isabel worked with me on restaurants and the changes in schedule for reservations – all the restaurants were delicious and the views were amazing ! Carmen and her staff (Isabel ) communicated with us the whole trip – giving us guide names and numbers – with us the whole way . Everything was PERFECT and her whole staff (Isabel , carine ) we’re sooo friendly and responded quickly to even the most simple question I had ! I’ve told them I will definitely be back AND will use them again !!!
Best trip ever !!!!
Carmen and Your own Italy were absolutely amazing . They helped us plan the trip and during the trip made sure each and every day ran smoothly and was enjoyable . The guides they picked were over the top super and we looked forward to spending time with them every day . They were so knowledgeable and also just fun to spend time with .This clearly was one of the best trips in our lifetime . If anyone wants to have a great trip to Italy you really need to call Carmen . I can’t rave enough about her and her entire crew !
Once in a lifetime trip!
Thank you Carmen! We are definitely sad to be back in the states after an incredible few weeks in Italy! We cannot thank you and your team enough for curating an insanely memorable experience and certainly a trip of a lifetime. From start to finish our experience was seamless and nothing but enjoyable. Each and every guide and driver enhanced our experience and made this a trip we will never forget. Aside from having to cancel our boat tour of Capri due to weather, our agenda was perfect throughout. Our experience far exceeded our expectations, Thank you!
While there were plenty of highlights, I do have to mention Vittoria who was so great to work with every day. She was proactive and responsive and made our experience stress free. Beginning with our Captain in Como, Carlo and our driver down the Amalfi Coast, Alberto Cocacola:), Gabby in Capri, Stefania, Yevgen and Marco (such a cool tour) in Rome, Antonella in Venice and Mirella in Milan, the entire team provided us with a once in a lifetime experience. If there is anywhere else you would us to leave a review, please let me know as we would be more than happy to do so.
Lastly, the one portion of our trip we booked directly was a private wine experience throughout Tuscany with Tom De Vries of Sommelier’s Choice. If you are ever looking for a partner in that region or specific to vineyard tours/experiences, I would highly recommend Tom. This too was another incredible highlight as we stayed in the gorgeous town of Cortona and visited 8 vineyards over 2.5 spectacular days in Tuscany. I would be happy to connect you via email if you have an interest.
Thank you again! We will definitely be in touch when we plan our return trip to Italy
The Perfect Vacation
Trip of a lifetime!
Carmen and Melissa were great to work with and readily available if needed.
We would recommend Your Own Italy to anyone looking for a dream vacation.
Angela, Steve, Maryann and Michael from Philly!
Tuscany Italy
A fantastic way to visit Italy!
Italy without the stress!!
As first-timers to Europe and Italy, our initial main concern was making sure we had support getting into Italy and starting our trip [Venice], and making sure all the necessary arrangements were made to get is to the airport, street free to conclude our trip [Rome]. Carmen not only delivered on the above, but assisted with booking lodging and tours where requested. Carmen was very flexible and accommodating in finding us the right level experience we had desired, as well as supporting those parts of our trip we had taken on ourselves.
Carmen’s in-country team checked in regularly, and was able to support any last minute requests [restaurant reservations], as well as assist with unplanned changes we requested on the fly. All the private tours were led by qualified, passionate, and personable people, which made it quite easy to tap into their local knowledge, enhancing our tours at every turn.
Will highly recommend Your Own Italy to all of our friends, and anyone looking for flawless support on their visit to Italy!!
Sisters in Italy
Wonderful company!
First trip to Italy was AMAZING!!!
Being this was our first time to Italy we wanted to make sure we planned an amazing trip. For this trip we decided that we wanted to spend time in Rome and the Amalfi coast.
I reached out to several tour companies but knew right away that Carmen was who we were going with and she did not disappoint. She was quick to send a preliminary itinerary which my wife and I were impressed with. Carmen made some excellent suggestions (hotels and tours) based on our conversations/emails.
Our trip was FANTASTIC from beginning to end.
Some highlights:
– Melissa on Carmen’s team was AMAZING. It was like having a friend to reach out to that helps with restaurant reservations, assuring we knew the name of each driver and tour guide, and just general checking in on us to make sure the vacation was going smoothly. We requested a change in itinerary one day and she quickly adjusted everything to our needs. I can’t say enough of how comforting it was to have Melissa always by our side (virtually lol)
– we went on tours in Rome, the Vatican, Pompeii, and Path of the Gods. Each of the tour guides were so friendly, personable and knowledgeable. Each one EXCEEDED our expectations. The beauty of the private tour was that we never had to wait on a line to get into any of the tours. At the Vatican there was a line several blocks long waiting to get in. Our guide took us right to the entrance and without blinking an eye we were in the Vatican.
– We were also happy that all the drivers throughout our trip were also excellent. All showed up early and were super friendly. We asked a lot of questions on our journeys and all were happy to share their knowledge of this beautiful country.
– Hotels – Carmen gave us a few choices for hotels in Rome, Sorrento, and Positano. The hotels we picked all were top notch hotels.
Sorrento – We especially loved our hotel in Sorrento. Beautiful room and amazing balcony views. The staff was very friendly especially in the hotel restaurant. We enjoyed fireworks from our balcony 2 of the nights that we were there.
Positano – The hotel in Positano was also amazing with breathtaking views. We had the fortunate timing of a super moon in Positano and got to experience the moon rise right from our balcony.
Rome – The hotel in Rome was the epidemy of the old world Rome. Walking distance to many attractions including the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain.
– Capri – Carmen booked a private boat tour for us in Capri. The boat captain was funny and super knowledgeable of the island. We were not able to get to the Blue Grotto due to weather the previous night, but Roberto took us to other hidden gems that had almost the same effect.
– Wine tasting – Carmen booked us a wine tasting and lunch at a winery in Pompeii. The winery was beautifully appointed and the experience was a perfect setting for being in Italy. We sat in the outdoor patio surrounded by grape vines and lemon trees. We thought the lunch was the charcuterie board which was perfect for us as a lunch. Then more food came out including home made pasta in a tomato sauce.
– Cooking class – Carmen booked us for a cooking class which was one of the highlights of our trip. The restaurant itself was exquisite although a little distance and a lot of winding roads from Sorrento. The class was fun and the instructor made the cooking experience so enjoyable. We learned how to make things we never tried to cook before. We have replicated some of these recipes for several friends already.
Each place we visited had amazing shopping. restaurants, and the kindest and friendliest people that are welcoming.
We plan on taking some future trips to Italy and will definitely use Your Own Italy and Carmen again. Can’t wait to start our next tour with Carmen next summer.
Thank you SO much Carmen and Melissa for making this the most amazing vacation ever.