Not MM-related: Surprises while traveling?

hoffse · April 2016

Hi everybody,

H and I are traveling with my parents to Italy the last week in June. It is the first time my dad has been to Europe since graduate school over 30 years ago, and it's my mom's first trip there period. Neither of them has been to Italy before.

They know a little bit about what to expect, but H and I have booked a few things as surprises for them. I managed to snag Colosseum underground tickets to get to see the lower excavations, which are heavily crowd-controlled. At the Vatican we are planning to book breakfast at the museum so we can tour the museum/Sistine Chapel before the doors open to the general public and it gets mobbed. Finally, in Venice we got tickets to tour St. Mark's after it closes to the general public for the day.

H and I are really excited, and I think my parents will be excited as well. It's impossible to avoid the crowds completely in June/July, but this should help considerably. We intend these things to be a combo mother's day, father's day, birthday, etc. gift because it's rather expensive for 4 people.

My question is would you want to know about these things before you got there, or would you like to be surprised? I'm the type that wants a clear itinerary, but that's because I really like the planning side of things, and I want to be able to imagine what it's going to be like. My H says he would prefer to be surprised if it were him. Can I take a poll on this?

LillibetteV · April 2016

I like to know what I'm going to do/see while traveling, but a minute by minute itinerary isn't important. I would tell them the places you plan on showing them, but leave the fact that they are private tours as a surprise.

PS - your vacation sounds awesome!

labro · April 2016

^^^^ I agree with LIllibette! That way your parents have an idea of the trip but all the extra stuff about it being private tours are a total surprise to them! I hope you have a wonderful time! It sounds like it will be incredible!

emily1004 · April 2016

I'd want to know, so I know how to pack.

Xstatic3333 · April 2016

It really depends. If your parents are going to be stressed out wondering what comes next, will they get into the Vatican, etc. I'd tell them. If not, I think it's such a sweet surprise!

MommyLiberty5013 · April 2016

I echo PPs who suggested telling them but leaving the finer details a surprise. When other people they know find out they are traveling to Europe, they will be asked where they are going to go, so it's likely they would want to be able to give some sort of answer. At least I would want to!

AprilZ81 · April 2016

Depending on how much information your parents will want, I would either say we are going to visit these places or "Hey, we have tickets for tours of these places so don't worry". I would keep the timing a surprise.

jtmh2012 · April 2016

Agreed with the others. Give then the greater overview while keeping the details a surprise.

Btw, how did you get the underground tickets? I'm going in September....

hoffse · April 2016

Tanks everybody! I gave them an outline of the itinerary, but I've kept the precise details a surprise. My dad asked me to send them a packing list to make sure they have everything they need.

My mom is a poor flyer, so she is not looking forward to the flight; but they are both getting excited for our plans on the ground!

@jtmh2012, I got the tickets through this link:

http://www.coopculture.it/en/ticket_office.cfm

It's the official ticket-seller for the Colosseum. I got the tickets back in March for the end of June. I think they release them in batches. I would just do a dummy booking and a little googling to see when they will be released for your dates. On that day, set an alarm early to get them, because people start booking as soon as they open. If you miss the tickets through coopculture, you will be stuck having to do a re-sold tour that's more expensive.

Note that the tickets are for the underground/third-ring tour only and you also have to buy separate admission tickets. H and I just bought both at once.

hoffse · April 2016

@jtmh2012, you might also want to look into the Scavi tour at the Vatican if you have never done it. The Scavi is the Roman and early Christian necropolis/crypt under the Vatican, and it ends at the baldacchino in St. P's. It's the most heavily crowd-controlled thing in Rome (I think they let around 250 people a day in), and a lot of people who do it say it's the single best tour in Rome.

I just followed the email instructions on this website, and I had a response with a reservation and link to pay within 24 hours. You could request a booking now for September and would probably get tickets if your dates are flexible.

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20090216_en.html

jtmh2012 · April 2016

hoffse said:

Tanks everybody! I gave them an outline of the itinerary, but I've kept the precise details a surprise. My dad asked me to send them a packing list to make sure they have everything they need.

My mom is a poor flyer, so she is not looking forward to the flight; but they are both getting excited for our plans on the ground!

@jtmh2012, I got the tickets through this link:

http://www.coopculture.it/en/ticket_office.cfm
It's the official ticket-seller for the Colosseum. I got the tickets back in March for the end of June. I think they release them in batches. I would just do a dummy booking and a little googling to see when they will be released for your dates. On that day, set an alarm early to get them, because people start booking as soon as they open. If you miss the tickets through coopculture, you will be stuck having to do a re-sold tour that's more expensive.

Note that the tickets are for the underground/third-ring tour only and you also have to buy separate admission tickets. H and I just bought both at once.

Looks like we'll have to wait for June to buy tickets. They're only available through the end of June right now. I'll have to keep this handy though.

Erikan73 · April 2016

I wouldn't want to know, but give them a rough idea of what kind of clothing & shoes to pack for each of the different things. Just tell them, we have some surprise for you and I need you to pack x, y z, for the things we have planned. I'm thinking more so if the Vatican has a dress code for the event you booked.

Then if there are some other side trips you think would be interesting, maybe let them vote on what they would like to do. That way they know some of the things to expect but others will be a surprise.

short+sassy · April 2016

What I think is nice about the surprises that are planned is, you can still tell them where you are going, ie today we are going to the Vatican. But then the special tour will be an extra surprise perk once you all get there.

Your trip sounds amazing! Thanks for the links. It's nice to get some recommendations from a pro . I'm planning my Rome/Istanbul trip for September and those sound like great ideas. Now I just need to hurry up and book my tickets, so I can book the limited St. Mark's tour when it becomes available for that time of year.

Not MM-related: Surprises while traveling?

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