Testimonial Category: Italy

Dawn from Shadyside Travel was an absolute gem! She planned our 1st trip oversees to Italy with stops in Venice, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast. Every day had a detailed event and went beyond every expectation that we could of imagined. From the vehicle pickups from the airport, to the train tickets and hotel selections – everything was laid out and discussed in detail. Dawn understood what we were trying to accomplish on our trip and was able to put together an itinerary that matched our vision. I would highly recommend using Dawn for any travel to Italy!

So far, we have used Shadyside Travel for two major trips: a six-week trip to Italy in 2022, and a three-week adventure in Africa, just completed in September. They were both very complicated trips with lots of cities, tours, and other activities. Dawnn did a terrific job on arranging both, making sure that we got to see and do basically all there was to see and do, while ensuring we were not overwhelmed and had downtime to explore (or not) on our own. In Italy, we went to Milan, Florence, the Chianti Region, Rome, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, Puglia (Bari, Matera, Alberabelo), Bologna, Venice, Trieste, Verona, as well as St. Moritz, Switzerland, and the Predjama Castle in Slovenia. We sampled wine, cheese, balsamic vinegar, prosciutto, and plenty of gelato, as one does in Italy. We toured museums, cathedrals, castles, ancient ruins, cave homes, and Trulli (look it up – so charming!). The accommodations were all excellent, and the transfers and train scheduling were spot on. Our guides were all personable and professional. We learned so much! It was the trip of a lifetime – until we went to Africa. We started in Morocco, went on to Egypt, then Zimbabwe and back again. We had a fantastic tour of the Atlas Mountains and Agafay Desert; we wandered around the Old Medina in Marrakech and stayed in a lovely riad in the heart of it. We explored spice shops, rug emporiums, and other artisan stores. From there, Egypt: we flew to Cairo, explored the pyramids, museums, the old bazaar, and more artisan shops, then on to Luxor for the Valley of the Kings, Karnak, and the Colossi of Memnon. No media can do it justice. We left Egypt for safari and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. It was far better than we anticipated. We saw – up close – elephants, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, baboons, hippos, crocs, gazelle, antelope, and yes, lions and leopard. Again, the accommodations and guides were fantastic. Once more, Dawnn made sure we basically did all there was to do without it being too much. On both trips, she made recommendations about things we had not considered or known about that turned out to be wonderful surprises, all while respecting our preferences and budget. We highly recommend using Shadyside travel, and we will be using them again!

My wife and I traveled to Italy for our honeymoon using Shadyside Travel Agency.  Dawnn was fantastic.  She worked with us to tailor an experience that met every one of our requests.  Our itinerary was thoughtfully planned out to make sure we could have an equal balance of sightseeing tours and free-time to explore.  She did everything in her power to ensure a smooth transition while traveling between cities by train.  Further, after seeing the almost overwhelming number of tours available in each location, I am even more impressed by Dawnn’s ability to hand pick the best tour vendors.  We unfortunately had our trip cut short a few days due to a COVID related issue.  Once we got back stateside, Dawnn did everything in her power to help us get refunded for the things we missed out on.  The only negative we experienced was due to the time difference between Italy and the US.  Although Dawnn had provided me with contact information for every vendor and company, I had a hard time getting through to some of them.  This was a small inconvenience and is largely out of her control. 

She did go above and beyond to call us after working hours to let us know about a last minute change to our train travel.  This is just one example of Shadyside Travel living up to its promise of “unparalleled personal service.”