Archivi: 2014

“Ciao Anna and Marcello,
What a great trip we all had visiting Italy! The hikes with the views and all the culture were amazing. We loved eating the local specialties, the food, bread and wine, and of course, gelato. Your daily directions were very helpful and the accommodations worked out extremely well.
We are now in Milano and winding the trip down. Time for one last pastry and gelato!
Gratis milli (Many thanks),
Kris, Craig, Nancy and Ted”

“Naples, The Jewels of the Amalfi Coast, Florence, Cinque Terre & Milan” self-guided walking tour – May 2014

“Dear Friends,
You made me a star for selecting the Icnos self-guided tour of Cinque Terre. My companions and I had a great time making our way from village to village. The weather in mid-May was perfect for hiking and we were blessed with many sunny days.[…]  The information packets were really impressive — perhaps a bit overwhelming at first.
Finally, I think we owe you some money for the train tickets from Pisa to Levanto that you purchased for us when the Trenitalia web site wouldn’t cooperate. Please let me know how much they were.
Best regards, Christine”

“Walking the Cinque Terre & Portofino Peninsula” self-guided walking tour – May 2014

“Ciao Marcello and Anna,
I wanted to thank you travel arrangements for us these past weeks. Carol and I and the Williamses had a wonderful time. I thought I would fill in a little of our reactions.
Walks: The excellent directions were better than any maps and better than those any other walkers we met had…
Our favorite walks were from Amalfi, both the valley of the ancient mills up to Ravello and the other valley down from Scala. And May was perfect for wildflowers and waterfalls. In these walks and the walk to Vietre, surprisingly, we saw very few other walkers.
The 2nd stretch of the path of the gods, above San Domenico, involved the bad luck of good weather. It was a perfect, sunny, Sunday and the walk was full of people. One guided group was one hundred people in a single-file line. We were luckier in Capri. Showers on a Monday reduced the crowds, and your walk up to the Villa Tiberius and the Arco Naturale was peaceful and scenic…
We are all over 60, happy walkers, but these stairs are not part of our ordinary life. And we paused often to examine wildflowers and gardens. So our walking time was slower and the options offered in the directions were ideal for us. We did not take the Tre Calli hike and we took the bus down from Ravello and into Positano.
Accommodations: The hotels were consistently very good. We like the modern decor in the hotels in Naples and Sorrento but also the terraces in the more traditional hotels. Breakfasts were lavish and service was very friendly. Like the walks, we would have never found these hotels without your guidance.
Transportation: The bus advice and schedules enabled easy travel. Ticket purchase, stop locations, and arrivals times made us much more comfortable. The private transfers were always perfectly executed. We especially enjoyed our time with Luigi.
Thank you for your excellent services, Ken”

“The Jewels of Souther Italy – 13 days with ICNOS Adventures” self-guided walking tour – May 2014

“Hello Marcello and Anna and all at Icnos
we returned home safely and we still have the afterglow of the wonderful time that we spent in Italy with your guidance.
Let me share some of our impressions:
Of course the coast and the places are wonderful, and that is a given… but to have all our arrangements so beautifully orchestrated by you in advance made the experience of this beautiful corner of the world even more pleasurable.
From the minute we were met at Naples airport we knew that you guys had your act together.
The wonderfully organised welcome package as well as the daily itinerary packages were thoughtfully assembled and very thorough. We appreciated having you close at hand to check in with when the weather did not cooperate, and to know that you were orchestrating the pickups and hotels and everything worked perfectly.
The walking was perfect for us. None were too strenuous, but all were enjoyable. We enjoyed finding our own way on the walk in the first saturday through the valley of the Mills and back around through Atrani, which was thoroughly enjoyable and we were glad that we had the ride up to Ravello, rather than enduring that walk up which would have left us very little energy to enjoy the town and the gardens of Ravello… so that was actually a great side benefit to the bad weather!!!
Capri was lovely. In fact I have been raving about the hotel to our friends who go there every year!
We also thoughtly enjoyed the walk from Praiano to the path of the Gods… especially the stop for drinks at the old monastry.
The other magnificent walk was the walk to Jeranto bay.
Your directions were all excellent as were your recommendations. The Hotel in S. Agata was a great place to end our tour and we had a hectic one day stay in Napoli.
Pompeii was a challenge to find entrance ticket without waiting in a 45 minute long line to the ticket counter… but we did get a tip from a local on where a side entrance and ticket office was located that shortcut this long line. This is a tip you may want to share with your clients.
My wife and I have done a wide variety of different styles of travel, form self guided to fully guided, but this was the first time we have done a private prepared daily self guided itinerary that you prepared for us, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
We would highly recommend ICNOS to anyone with a spirit of travel and adventure.
Next time … Sicily!!
Ciao, Thanks Brian”

“Amalfi Coast, Capri & Sorrento DELUXE” self-guided walking tour – April 2014

“Our group of 12 booked theself-guided Jewels of the Amalfi tour through ICNOS following a friend´s recommendation last year to celebrate important birthdays in our lives. The group included two families, the age ranging from 16 to 50 years. The trip had a couple of extras because it included dinners most evenings as well as two extra nights in Sorrento to enable us to visit Pompei and to experience the long-Friday, including the march which takes place that evening in Sorrento, and therefore lasted 9 nights in mid-April 2014. From our first contact with Marcello at ICNOS by email it became apparent that ICNOS operates very professionally. All communication, invoices and printed-materials with directions/information was of a high standard and included necessary as well as added valuable information. To make a long story short: Once we arrived, all organisation via ICNOS was first class. It speaks to ICNOS-staff eye for details that in all the numerous guidelines and endless waypoints we received upon arrival to guide every turn on the way… The walks offerered manyunforgettable viewpoints and visits to beautiful small towns and villages such as Ravello, Pogerola and Nocelle, as well as a scenic walk around Capri. Mid-April proved to be a good time with all sorts of weather, since the main tourist season had not yet begun. Wear good walking boots and expect some heavy rainfall in the mountains. Those who prefer more sun and warm temperatures should probable travel during the summer. The extra-days in Sorrento were also wonderful. We recommend renting a guide for viewing Pompei since the site is much larger than most travellers anticipate. Marcello from ICNOS made contact by telephone several times during our travels to ensure that our trip was proceeding as planned. The jewels of the Amalfi coast are in our judgement certainly among the treasures of Italy. We can recommend the Jewels of the Amalfi tour and the service of ICNOS without any hesitation.
Engilbert Sigurdsson on behalf of the group”

“The Jewels of the Amalfi Coast” self-guided walking tour – April 2014

“Our trip was absolutely the perfect way to celebrate Gwenn’s 50th birthday. You delivered all that we needed to make this a hassle free journey: from the recommendation of the hotel in Napoli and all of the hotels along the route in the coast of Amalfi we were very well taken care of by the innkeepers.
We make a special mention to hotel in Amalfi – great room and a most friendly front desk with Grabriella and the team – they were fabulous. The very precise instruction on how to negotiate the trails with measured details of when and where to turn were so reassuring. The Sentiere degli Dei (Path of the Gods) offered the promised stunning views – we had two cameras going at all times. The other two hotels in our itinerary were also very good and with outstanding views of the Mediterranean and the town of Positano. ICNOS team researched their business well – the routes, the choices of hotels, restaurants and transportation were all wonderful. Mille grazie, fratelli. Gwenn & Carlos W.”

“The Jewels of the Amalfi Coast” self-guided walking tour – April 2014