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Optionals - Rome, Florence, Monaco, Barca, Madrid. What's worth doing?

26 Sep 2010 Neil_Manc asked

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Hi everyone,

I'm doing Mediterranean Highlights in November and wanted to see what people thought about and have experienced with the optionals.

I'm going to list the ones on the tour below along with the prices and my initial and personal thoughts....

Also what's included in the meals? I'm assuming not wine, but what about water?

Roman Pizza Evening - EUR20. Early on, not too expensive, up for it as a social thing, great way to meet the group.

Imperial Tour - EUR26. Ok, this is very personal but I was lucky enough to do Latin at school and have been to the Forum and Colliseum before, but... would be worth it to go again if the guide is good and the Colisseum entrance is included.

Space Electronic Disco: EUR13. From the accounts I've read, this is a very cheesy club. Which sounds perfect.

Tuscan Dinner - EUR38/Monaco - EUR34. I'm really not sure about this. I'm veggie and I've heard contrasting experiences on this.But EUR38 for a veggie meal sounds excessive.

Tablao de Carmen. EUR 56. I've heard very contrasting opinions about this. What do people think?

Los Galayos - EUR33. Not a clue what's involved here, is it a dinner?

Valley of the Fallen - EUR 13. This sounds pretty cool, should be in for this.

Sorry if I'm coming across as a cheapskate or a killjoy. I'm not. Seriously.

But we've got a limited amount of time in each place, when's there's so much to potentially see, so I don't want to be wasting my time or cash on something that's not for me.

Cheers

Neil

  • 31 May 2011 MissAlisonR said

    MissAlisonR

    Hey! I am doing this tour in July and wondering if you went already? If you did, whats good? bad? let me know! Thanks!!!

  • 5 Jun 2011 Neil_Manc said

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    Hi Alison,

    Yeah, I went last November/December and had an absolute blast!

    Ok, there’s a whole lot of advice I can give but let’s start with the optionals.

    Rome: The pizza evening didn’t happen, instead after the tour we went to a restaurant the tour guide recommended and had dinner together, which was really nice. The Colisseum/Forum/Vatican tour was excellent and well worth the money. The guide was really informative which makes all the difference.

    Florence: The club was cheesy as hell, which was brilliant. We were there midweek, which meant it was pretty empty apart from us but in a way that worked. It might be different for you since it’s over summer. There was a tour of the Uffizi which I really enjoyed, about 13 EUR but the guide just sorted out the tickets for us then we walked about ourselves. I didn’t do the Tuscan evening as I’m veggie, but I heard it was amazing, a ridiculous amount of wine and good food.

    Monaco: The meal was really good, and the casino’s a hell of an experience. Not at all like Vegas, more old school glamour rather than the lights and glitz.

    Barcelona: I didn’t do the Flamenco evening as I’ve seen it before, but I heard it was really good.

    Madrid: Los Galayos was a restaurant where we had our last night dinner together. Gorgeous food and a lot of wine and then we went on to bars and a club. A really good night.

    Also in Madrid, I’d really recommend a bar called Stromboli’s. The coolest bar we went to all trip!

    You should have an amazing time! If you have any more questions, feel free to message me on Facebook. My name’s Neil Virani from Manchester, UK.

    Have fun!

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