Get the best group rates to Italy

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THE ITALY BOOKSHELF

Italy Guidebooks

Fun & Inspiration

Make up your own group and bring it to Italy

Could be hauling over friends and family for that dream Italian wedding, or setting up a reunion of your college buddies, bringing your extended family on a Tuscan vacation or your high school Italian class on a grand tour.

Whether it's a family reunion, alumni association, church group, corporate retreat, or graduation trip, if you can get ten people to take a vacation together, you can get group rates.

Yes, for most purposes, a "group" is really ten or more people. That's when the lion's share of the discounts kick in to save you money on everything from airfare to hotel rates to museum admissions.

Note that many tour and travel companies will offer you a free trip for every 10 people that you bring to them—which is a mighty incentive for you to put together an ad-hoc group tour, since, as orginizer, you'd get to travel for free.

Where to arrange for your private group travels

Groople (www.groople.com) - Probably the premier group travel booking site. Selection of hotels is pretty crummy, though (it relies too heavily on major chains).

OneTravel.com (www.onetravel.com) - Major online travel agency has a special group sales department.

CheapOAir.com (www.cheapoair.com) - This discount airfare giant has a special group bookings department.

STA Travel (www.statravel.com) - Students often travel in groups, and so the permier student travel agency is aces at scaring up good group rates. I've even used it myself (well, its predeccessor Council Travel, which STA has since absorbed) when arranging to take my Boy Scout troop to Europe one summer.

Donna Franca Tours (www.donnafranca.com) - Italy specialist, offering independent vacations, escorted tours, and the ability to put together your own, personalized touring program, for yourself or your group. Not the cheapest, but of impeccable quality. Donna Franca and her team really know their stuff.

Liberty Travel (ww2.libertytravel.com) - One of the biggest old school travel agencies, with offices across the country—and with an adept group sales department. The kind of place where you call up and arrange everything in person. May not be the cheapest, but impeccable quality and pretty much guaranteed to run smoothly.

How to find private guides in Italy
Villa rentals (great way to save money for small groups)
Car short-term leases (great way to get larger vehicles, like vans, cheap)
Escorted group tours
Tours FAQ (what questions to ask, are tours right for you, etc.)
Vacation packages (air-hotel, air-car, untours)
Active vacations (bike, hike, horse)
Educational tours (cooking, language, art/history/cultural, study)
Special interest & niche tours (family, seniors, student, women, gay/lesbian, religious, handicapped, singles)
How to book the cheapest airfare every time (to make sure group rates will beat a la carte ones)

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Get the best group rates to Italy

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