Rita Pagano

Our holiday consisted of four weeks travelling around Italy and Sardinia during September 2026 and the places we loved most on our trip were Porto Venere, Sorrento, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Ravello, Atrani and Cala Gonone.

I had various places that I had wanted to see, along with a few hotels and Airbnb's that I wished to stay in along the way, and Rita managed to put together an incredible itinerary which joined all dots. She also organized private transfers where necessary, which made things so much easier. They were a godsend! If the budget allows, I highly recommend looking into booking a few. Every driver without exception, was friendly, helpful and professional.

Hotel Reviews

Hilton Rome Airport Hotel

Fiumicino

We booked this hotel so we could stay one night after a long flight from Melbourne, Australia to Rome. It was clean, and the beds were comfortable. It also has an undercover travellator leading directly from the airport itself to the hotel which is a great idea. We also did this on the way home from Naples to Australia. There is a large restaurant on the premises with friendly, efficient staff and delicious food. It really is a great place to stay.

Authenticity & Character

Great staff, comfortable beds and a very nice restaurant with a wide choice of food.

Location

The hotel is reached directly from Rome airport by an undercover travellator.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palazzo Alabardieri

Naples

This hotel was absolutely beautiful. Our room was so lovely and pretty, very clean, and the beds were very comfortable. Unfortunately, there was no restaurant but there were many places nearby that you could eat at.

Authenticity & Character

It is an exceptionally beautiful hotel.

Location

It is not far from Naples Airport.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A Day Along the Amalfi Coast

Italy

We had a private chauffeur for the drive along the Amalfi coast, and she was amazing. It is not recommended to drive yourself as the traffic is horrendous and the road winds up and around the mountain. Our driver stopped at Positano where we had an hour or two to walk around and shop and then she found a lovely restaurant with a beautiful view where we had lunch. After lunch we continued along the Amalfi coast to Ravello.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Italy -Important Trip Information: Please Review Before Departure

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our guided tours were wonderful and personal. Our train transfers were seamless. We enjoyed the suggestions put forth by Rita in each location. We opted for private transfers which I highly recommend! They were prompt and professional.
Loved loved our trip to Italy! Weather was perfect! Our hotels were all different, lovely, and in great locations.
Thank you for everything! Marsha

Please note, this was my second time planning a trip through kimkim. The first time was amazing, and our specialist Liz was the best. This time was different. It was harder to communicate with Rita. I think that she did her best, but I could only speak with her on certain days, during certain times, and most of the time her responses would be sent between 2-4am, I suspect due to her being in Spain. Therefore, we rarely communicated in "real" time. I would have appreciated if Rita would have reached out to me before finalizing the trip. Once the trip was finalized is when many of my concerns/issues occurred, and it was all based on times. The times of the train, times of the museum, etc. I also thought there was more transportation included. While my trip was great, I realized that I was sort of own my on with figuring a few things out, or rather, I felt like it would have been too hard to call kimkim. Right before my trip, I ended up reaching out to Liz again, who was really helpful, and specialist Nadia jumped in, who seemed to workout everything seamlessly. Once again, my trip was great, but the communication was more difficult this time around.

The Prosecco wine hills were beautiful, unfortunately, I don't remember our driver for this trip.
And when we went Chianti tasting, which was the best, and our guide Matteo was great. Although, I did find it strange that he conducted the first tasting, at the first vineyard. But the second vineyard we visited was the best, and the meal, I can go on and on.... The third vineyard was lovely as well.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Cà Zusto Venice

VENEZIA

In general this hotel was fine, but it was very small. I was expecting small but a little smaller than I thought.

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Il Guelfo Bianco

Florence

I love the charm of this hotel, and the staff was super nice!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Condominio Monti Boutique Hotel

Rome

This hotel was harder to get to and maneuver due to the location. I think it was trying to be more trendy, due to the restaurant and rooftop bar. It was loud.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A Prosecco Excursion: Hilltowns, Heritage & Sparkling Wine

Italy

First off all this was a beautiful excursion, but I think adding another winery, instead of spending as much time in the town, should be an option

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Chianti & Super Tuscan Wine Experience

Florence

I loved this experience, it was absolutely wonderful. And the fact that at our second winery, Tenuta Montiani, our host was so wonderful and gracious. His entire family contributed with the meal that we were served. Everything was from his vineyard or farm. It was the best.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Italy -Important Trip Information: Please Review Before Departure

Italy

The highlights of the trip were the cooking class and the wine tasting. The hosts were very knowledgeable and went above and beyond to make our experience enjoyable.
The olive oil tasting was a bit difficult to follow. The host didn’t speak English but there was a translator. The issue was that the host would speak for long periods before the translator would translate. I would suggest having the host speak only a minute or two and then have it translated .
The day in Sorrento and the Amalfi coast met with some difficulties with land slides. We had about 1 hour at each location which gave us little opportunity to explore. I’m not sure if there would have been more guidance on what to see had more time. The driver was great with dealing with the issues though getting us around road closures.
The Naples food experience was disappointing. There was no pizza! The food choices were fair with the exception of the dessert. The wait was long at some places. Although I appreciated the host I wish there were more details about Naples and the food keeping us engaged while we waited.
All of the hotels were in great locations making it easy for us to explore.

Hotel Reviews

Dimore di Brando

Polignano a Mare

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Trulli Holiday Albergo Diffuso

Alberobello

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palazzo Alabardieri

Naples

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Organic Winery Experience in the Apulian Countryside

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hands On: Cook Like a Neapolitan

Naples

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From Market Stalls to Street Food: Discovering Naples

Naples

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall, we had a very good trip to Sardinia and came home with some wonderful memories. The basic itinerary was well planned, and there were several highlights that we truly enjoyed.

Our first hotel was excellent, and San Pantaleo was probably our favorite town of the entire trip. We absolutely loved it and would happily return. The sailboat excursion was also very enjoyable and a beautiful way to experience the coastline. Our only disappointment was that the captain spoke no English, so we missed having any commentary about where we were going, what we were seeing, or the history of the area. That would have added a great deal to the experience.

The cooking class was another highlight and was very well done.

The drive to Santa Maria Navarrese was beautiful, but it was much farther than we would have preferred. Unfortunately, the Lanthia Resort was the biggest hotel disappointment of the trip. The staff was very good and the food was excellent, but our room was not at all what we expected. There was an enormous green bathtub in the middle of the room, something we had not anticipated from the photos we had seen beforehand. When I later looked again at the hotel website, I still did not feel the photos adequately conveyed what the room was actually like. The hotel had no alternative room available, so we could not move.

Accessibility was also an issue. Reaching our room required navigating cobblestones and stone steps with our luggage, and there were no porters available to help. At our ages, this made arrival and departure unnecessarily difficult.

The drive from Santa Maria Navarrese to Alghero was again quite long—longer than we would have chosen for this trip. Once we arrived, however, we loved Alghero. It was a delightful town, and our hotel there was wonderful.

The one experience that I feel was a serious mistake in the planning was Neptune’s Cave. I had provided our ages and explained that my husband is dealing with cancer, so I was very surprised that this excursion was recommended for us. Reaching the cave involved 654 steps down and, of course, 654 steps back up. Inside the cave, the walking surfaces were also quite slippery. We did complete it, but I felt it was inappropriate for us and potentially unsafe. Had we been given an accurate description of the physical demands beforehand, we absolutely would not have chosen this excursion.

Despite those issues, we really enjoyed Sardinia and would definitely visit again. If I were planning the trip over, I would keep much of the northern portion of the itinerary but eliminate the long drive south to Santa Maria Navarrese. I would have preferred to stay in northern Sardinia and find a comparable catamaran or boating experience there. That would have reduced the amount of driving considerably and made the trip feel more relaxed.

There was a great deal that was done very well, and we are grateful for the experiences we had. I think the biggest opportunity for improvement would be to consider not only what is interesting to see, but also the distances involved and whether particular hotels and activities are appropriate for the travelers’ age, mobility, and circumstances.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Splendide Royal - The Leading Hotels of the World

Roma

Great

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Suera San Pantaleo

Olbia

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lanthia Resort

Santa Maria Navarrese

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Villa Las Tronas

Cagliari

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A Boat Day to the Protected Marina Reserve of Tavolara

Italy

it would’ve been helpful if the boat captain had spoken English

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Authentic Sardinian Cooking: Pasta & Seadas

Olbia

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Day at Sea: Sailing Experience in the Gulf of Orosei

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Italy -Important Trip Information: Please Review Before Departure

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Everything was planned perfectly- there is no way we would have seen or done as much as we did without Rita and Manuela!
The trip was perfectly tailored to my children’s age and I would not hesitate to use this service again!

Hotel Reviews

Giafra Sicilian Luxury Rooms

Agrigento

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Clark Hotel

Paris

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Be Mate Apartments

Rome

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Piazza Bellini & Apartments

Naples

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Taormina Panoramic Hotel

Taormina

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Politeama

Palermo

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

The Vatican Unveiled: From Vatican Museum to Sistine Chapel

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Big Mama was the best with the kids!

Neapolitan Pizza Making Class

Naples

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Taste Palermo: Market & Street Food Experience

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

A Family Day in Ancient Rome: Colosseum & Forum Experience

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Explore Pompeii with an Archaeologist

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rita put together the trip of a lifetime! This was our first trip to Italy (won’t be our last). My family and I thank you!

Activity Reviews

Pasta Cooking Workshop & Wine Tasting in a Countryside Estate

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tuscany at Sunset: A Wine & Dinner in Chianti Vineyard

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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A True Taste of Tuscany: Olive Oil & Wine Tasting

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had guided tours of Milan, Verona, and Venice. All the guides were knowledgeable and gave excellent tours. We particularly enjoyed the guide in Verona and Venice.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Garni Snaltnerhof

Ortisei

We enjoyed this hotel. It was in a great location. The room was sizeable and comfortable. Breakfast was very good. We were not expecting the public transportation ticket that came with the room. This came in very handy and we used public transportation for 2 days with ease. It was a super perk.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Antica Locanda dei Mercanti

Milan

We really liked this hotel. We were not aware before hand that you have to enter a hallway to access the hotel. When we arrived we entered the hallway and someone came and closed the large doors behind us. It was a little scary for a moment until we found a stair case leading up to the hotel and were greeted by hotel staff. The room was comfortable and large and the shower was excellent!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Indigo Verona - Grand Hotel Des Arts

Verona

We enjoyed this hotel. It was close to the main train station for easy access. We didn't realize the room bar was included until arrival but it included only 1 beer and some water and juice - not really a great perk... The room was sizeable, clean, breakfast was really good, the shower was nice.

Authenticity & Character

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Cleanliness & Comfort

La Briosa

Bolzano

This hotel was very unique and reminded us of Ikea with the more modern style. The room was large and clean and the shower was great. Breakfast was very good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ca' Pozzo Inn

Venice

This was a nice hotel tucked away in a quite part of town. It was perfect for our visit to Venice. Breakfast was good. The room was clean and comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bolzano Food Walk: Flavors of the Dolomites

Italy

This was a fun tour of the old town of Bolzano and to learn about some of the history and the food. The guide was excellent and was local so took us to very unique and great stops on the tour.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Best of Milan Guided Walk

Italy

The tour was a quick overview of the sights in Milan. It did not include any entries and that was a bit disappointing but okay for the time we had to spend in the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

not applicable

In the Footsteps of Romeo & Juliet in Verona

Italy

Our guide was excellent and we enjoyed walking through Verona. The tour did not include many entries so be aware of the fact that you will just be walking by most of the sites. This was fine for us since our time in the city was short.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Art of Fresh Pasta: A Hands-On Venetian Cooking Class

Venice

This was a fun experience. The explanation and directions of where to go were lacking some details. The experience was in the upper most floor of a building that had to be accessed by ringing the doorbell. While we figured this out easy enough it would have been easier to have that information up front. The cooking class was fun and the chef was fun and interesting.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Discover Venice: From St. Mark's Basilica to the Doge’s Palace with Terrace Access

Italy

Our guide was excellent and knowledgeable. We were able to enter the Basilica and Palace and the guide added valuable information to the experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a very flexible itinerary with one pre-arranged event and it worked out really well for us as we could adjust as we needed to to fit our schedule and energy level (after having just come off an organized tour). Rita did a great job putting it all together. We didn't get to stay in one hotel location but the team was proactive in quickly getting us another accommodation before our arrival. We were especially appreciative of having contacts while we traveled to address things or answer questions if needed. We were also very appreciative of parking suggestions and mapped locations for the towns we visited.

Activity Review

Puglia’s Liquid Gold: Olive Oil Experience and Lunch at a Historic Masseria

Italy

Beautiful location and knowledgeable employee who gave us some good understanding of the olive trees. The olive oil tasting and lunch were very nice.

A very well executed trip and we returned home ready to plan another international trip. Both guides in Rome from LivTours were Great and would highly recommend them to our friends. Colosseum, a lady..Solevia(?) and Giovani for the Vatican. Same with St. Marks & Doges Palace, Pizza class, Amalfi Coast with Vinny from New Jersey. In Naples & Veiled Chryst was a terrific local professor, she was great too. A hiccup for Pompeii with finding our now larger group ended up with another terrific guide in Thomas, Tom or Tomas so this also worked out although waiting for all the others in that group took an hour. Our Trekking in the Chianti Hills was an ‘experience’ and I should have asked more questions…we were not prepared for a 10 mile up/down hike so we called it early and were picked up after 6.4 miles. Dealing with trains was easy after the first one. Hotels were good, only hotel with a washer/dryer for laundry was our first stop…Numo. Not a big deal but we had read that some of our hotels had “laundry” but it ended up as a service only, to send clothes out to have laundered. So we did clothes in the sink and hung up to dry the rest of the trip to stay fresh. We searched & found several restaurants that did not have a ‘Carnival barker’ outside trying to bring you in. And we found good food and deserts. We did 15K - 25K steps each day and lug our two carry on suitcases over the streets and through neighborhoods so we got immersed in each city from the get-go.

Hotel Reviews

Numa - Vici Rooms and Apartments

Rome

tight space but well appointed and had a Washer/Dryer available. Would stay there again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Liassidi Palace

VENEZIA

Very nice with a great breakfast and great staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Il Guelfo Bianco

Florence

Really great staff and breakfast. Great location and would stay there again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Temperature was controlled at the main desk…very interesting but we made it work.

Relais Della Porta

Naples

No view since there as scaffolding surrounding the hotel and the large door was surprisingly noisy with outside sounds easily coming in. Part of the renovation maybe. Terrific breakfast, nice staff and interesting set up in the room. Very tall ceiling, 2nd floor master, made it difficult the have the temperature comfortable for day time and sleep time. But we were not in the room much accept to sleep so it worked.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Condominio Monti Boutique Hotel

Rome

Roof top breakfast and evening bar was pretty great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Get Inside the Colosseum with Arena Access

Italy

Our LivTour female guide was great…articulate and forceful with necessary to get us to the best places.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Discover the Vatican: From the Museums to the Sistine Chapel

Italy

Excellent…Giovani was the best.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Discover Venice: From St. Mark's Basilica to the Doge’s Palace with Terrace Access

Italy

Excellent guide….

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Florence on Foot: Michelangelo’s David & Duomo

Italy

Like our fist tour in Rome the guide, she was informative, enthusiastic and forceful to give us a quality tour

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

A Walk Through Chianti’s Timeless Hills

Italy

Was not prepared for the experience although it was good…I should have asked for more details. Not anything I would do again since it was simply a hike

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Neapolitan Pizza Making Class

Naples

Wanted to try this, expected a larger group rather than 2. Still had fun and the food was good and the chef and guide were great.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

A Guided Visit Inside Pompeii’s Ancient Walls

Italy

A bit disjointed getting to Pompeii but once there Tomas, Thomas, Tom was terrific. We loved him.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sorrento, Positano & Amalfi: A Day Along the Coast

Italy

Vinny from New Jersey was great… funny, smart, forceful when necessary and a great guide.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Naples: Guided Walk & the Veiled Christ

Naples

She was amazing

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff