How a private tour is priced
Every journey is quoted individually rather than sold from a rate card. That is not evasion — it is that the same eight-day itinerary can differ enormously in cost depending on the six factors below, and a single published figure would be wrong for almost everyone who read it.
What follows is how the number is actually built, so you can judge a quote — ours or anyone else’s — rather than just receive it.
Why the per-person price falls as the group grows
The two largest costs in a private day — the vehicle and the guide — are fixed. They cost the same whether two people or seven are in the car. So the per-person figure drops sharply across the first few guests and then flattens once a larger vehicle becomes necessary.
This is why the same full day reads as expensive for a couple and as good value for a family of four. It is also why we set a minimum of four guests for private VIP work and twenty for large-group departures: below those thresholds the fixed costs make the per-person number hard to justify.
What is included, and what is not
| Normally included | Normally extra |
|---|---|
| Licensed private guide | International flights |
| Private vehicle and driver | Travel insurance |
| Route planning and reservations | Museum and monument entry tickets |
| Restaurant bookings | Meals and drinks themselves |
| Airport meet-and-greet and transfers | Private boat charter |
| A single contact for the whole trip | Personal shopping and gratuities |
Entry tickets are quoted separately rather than buried in a headline price, because they vary widely — a village walk costs nothing to enter, while timed-entry at a major site for a group of twenty is a real line item.
What actually drives the number up
- Single occupancy. The largest single swing on a multi-day trip. Two travellers in single rooms rather than sharing can add a fifth again to the per-person price of the identical itinerary, purely on rooming.
- Season. June to September is peak. The same hotel can differ by a wide margin between May and August, and it is the hotel, not the guiding, that moves.
- Hotel band. Four-star versus five-star across ten nights changes the total more than any other single choice you make.
- Distance covered. A trip that stays in one region costs less to run than one crossing Italy end to end. Vehicle hours and fuel are real.
- Private boat. On Como, Garda, Venice or the Amalfi coast, charter is priced by the hour and is a meaningful addition, not a rounding error.
- Group size at the thresholds. Going from seven to nine guests can mean a second vehicle and a second guide — a step change, not a gradual rise.
Why licensed guides cost what they do
In Italy, guiding is a regulated profession. A guida turistica holds a licence obtained by examination, and in many cities only licensed guides may lead a group inside major sites. That is why a properly guided day is not priced like a walking tour led by a student, and why the cheapest quotes in the market sometimes cannot legally deliver what they describe.
Deposits, payment and cancellation
A booking is confirmed with a deposit of 20–30% of the total, with the balance due on delivery. Cancellation terms step by proximity to the travel date — 30 days or more, 15 to 29 days, and under 15 days — because our own supplier commitments harden on the same schedule. The exact terms are in our booking conditions rather than summarised loosely here.
How far ahead to book
| Trip type | Book by |
|---|---|
| Single private day | 1–2 weeks ahead |
| Multi-day private itinerary | 4–8 weeks ahead |
| Group departure of 20+ | 3–6 months ahead |
| Anything in June–September | Add at least 4 weeks to the above |
The constraint is almost never the guide. It is hotels and boats, which sell out first in peak season and cannot be conjured back.
When a private tour is not worth it
Stated plainly, because the alternative is a wasted quotation: if you are one or two travellers, comfortable with trains and public ferries, and happy to queue, a private full day is poor value against a good scheduled tour. Private work earns its price when there is a family or group to coordinate, limited time, mobility considerations, specific dietary or religious requirements, or a genuine cost to things going wrong.
Getting a real number
A quote needs four things: dates, party size, rooming basis and the region. Send those and a costed itinerary comes back, itemised, so you can see where the money goes rather than just what the total is. No deposit to start, and no obligation.
See also: private tours on Lake Como, and net rates for travel agencies and tour operators.