Absolutely Amazing I visited Rome in July 2020 and booked a Rome tour with Amy before Arriving. Amy was an excellent communicator before my tour making sure the itinerary matched up to my wishes. When conducting the tour Amy will share so much more history and anecdotes than you will ever think possible, her knowledge and passion for Rome is completely infectious. As you go around the city Amy continually shares back the pieces in the jigsaw and how your trip is joining up from all the history that has been parted onto you, Amy really is a wealth of knowledge and it makes the tour so much more cohesive. I did ask to visit some attractions and Amy had all of these pre-arranged to make the best of our time, a great way to work in a busy city. I also asked to add some food and wine onto the tour and Amy did not disappoint, taking me to all the places that she knew were top class, words won’t describe the smells and tastes from the tour but I have attached the pictures! To summarise, a tremendous tour guide who never presents as being ‘at work’, Amy absolutely loves sharing Rome with her clients. I will be back in Rome and I will absolutely not look any further than Amy at Luxe for my tour, and when I venture further in Italy I will be following Luxe into their new destinations as I am sure I will get the best trips when lead by Luxe.

Most Exceptional Guided Tour of the Doge’s Palace in Venice! My husband and I had the unforeseen luck to come across Giorgia Stainer and Amy Doherty from Luxe Associates Travel during our visit to the Doge’s Palace in Venice. The treat that followed is hard to describe! We joined their walk through the historical jewel and the passion for sharing their impressive in-depth knowledge took over. They simply forgot that we weren’t clients. We were generously led from room to room on the most exiting guided tour I’ve attended. With unsurpassed enthusiasm and in depth knowledge of historical figures, events, artistic presence and accomplishments, they presented us with a true performance filled with unknown curious details and anecdotes. I lead painting holidays to Europe for over fifteen years and work with tour guides regularly. This tour was above and beyond all I’ve seen and Giorgia and Amy did it in their private time, just for the love of it! I can only imagine the force they are when in actual « working » mode! Incapable to express my gratitude, Michaela Dobrev

Amazing There is no better way to see Rome. Amy's knowledge is second to none and I cannot recommend luxe travel enough. From the onset every thing was organised for us and it really was a truly amazing experience.

The Glory of Rome Tour Amy gave us a most consummate Glories of Rome tour which we thoroughly enjoyed. She initially sought to establish our particular interests and then tailored her tour accordingly. The resources she used gave us an excellent sense of the Colosseum and the Forum in their former glory, compared with now. Amy has a deep knowledge of the Roman Empire and its history. Her style is a two-way exchange and she was encouraging of questions and generous in her answers. Amy is passionate and professional. She followed up the next day with further references for us. Highly recommended.

A guided tour of the Vatican I imagine the concept of a “customised” tour conjures all manner of ideas for tourists visiting the Vatican. Same statues, same artwork same buildings whether you walk around it yourself or with a tour guide right? Wrong. Our guide Amy, brought every facet of the tour to life for our group of four, through her in-depth knowledge and understanding of historic, artistic and religious perspectives together with a modern take of their significance today. Amy took the time at the commencement of the day to understand our backgrounds and interests and used this to help us understand and enjoy the tour all the more. Even the recommendation for lunch after the tour was a hit. Thank you!

The only way to see the real Italy My longest review ever, but I can’t do justice with a short paragraph: I was introduced to Amy by a friend in Australia when talking about our upcoming European trip, and I am forever grateful. I contacted Amy with our dates and we went from there, we discussed options, what might be appropriate given we were travelling with our daughters (ages 9 and 11) and Amy knew exactly what would work. Our first tour was “Strolling Venice’s Heart” with the lovely Giorgia, a passionate Venetian who shared her city with us in a way that it didn’t feel like a tour. She kept both the adults and kids engaged the entire time. We ended our morning with a gondola ride, we all loved it and were sorry to see Giorgia go. Giorgia left us with some fab restaurant recommendations and tips for other places to visit (like the rooftop of the department store near the Rialto bridge which gives you a view over the rooftops of the city). We also tried the restaurant and it became the “best lasagne of the trip”. Our next tour was with the hilarious Eleanora in Florence, who again is so passionate and knowledgeable about her city. She had the girls eating out of her hand with a competition, and quizzes as we worked our way around the city about the artists and history (a week later the girls were quoting the facts they learned to Amy in Rome ????). We were taken into a paper store to see it made, a bakery to taste Torte Alla Nonna and other local specialties (grandmothers cake was the family favourite!) Our 3 hours were over and again, we were sorry to have to leave Eleanora, we learned so much, laughed and loved it. She too recommended a fab wine bar on the other side of the river away from the tourists - amazing wine!! Finally we met the amazing Amy when we arrived in Rome, first with the “Strolling Rome’s Heart” tour. We had been in Rome for 24 hours and walked those same streets but what a difference having a guide like Amy and her team makes. Amy has so much to share with us, so much history and so many anecdotes and delivered in such an engaging way. Amy provided books for the girls that had them seeking out certain things in each site (a treasure hunt of sorts) and it kept them so engaged and in the end sharing insights with us! Our second tour was a couple of days later and was customised by Amy for us to include the Colosseum, Forum & Palatine Hill tour, but also the Basilica of San Clemente as it sounded too good to miss. It was. Another wow moment, walking down and unassuming set of stairs from the 12th century church into the 4th century church directly below it, then, down a further set of stairs to the Roman church!! So much more than we expected and we would never have known about it had it not been for Amy. Amy had some fabulous books for the girls again for the colosseum and whilst the cold weather (ice) kept us from being able to visit the arena floor, we were still able to enjoy all it had to offer, complimented by Amy’s knowledge. We then moved across to the Forum and Palatine Hill, more wow moments, more fabulous stories and we were grateful to have Amy with us rather than be in the huge tour groups walking about following an umbrella with a headset to be able to hear their guide. Amy (and Giorgia and Eleanora) constantly checked that the pace was ok for the girls (including toilet and snack breaks), that we were seeing everything we wanted to see, made numerous recommendations of restaurants and other sites and museums to see, we felt so well looked after, it truly is a personalised service and I can not recommend Amy and her team highly enough.

Highlight of our trip to Rome Recently met up with 2 good friends from Australia in Rome..Had an early morning tour arranged through luxe travel with Amy,around Vatican museums,Sistine chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. Amy is very personable,and extremely knowledgeable.She provided individual attention and very detailed historical information.It felt as if we had known her for some time. Being able to skip the long queues was a real bonus. I would highly recommend Amy and luxe travel,and if you want a personable experience with a guide who a nice manner and detailed knowledge I would recommend her.

Rome Florence Venice Hi Amy Thanks so much for your Message. All the best to you and the family as well. Just a quick note from me (long overdue) to thank you and the team you assembled for us for a great trip. We really all loved Italy – it was an absolute highlight – every place was just amazing and all the people from you side that helped us were caring, attentive, punctual, professional, knowledgeable and warm ! Thanks so very much Hopefully we can do it again (maybe other parts next time). Take care and be well. Richard

Simply outstanding Where do I start? We (family of 2 adults, a teenager and a tween) visited Italy in September. We used Luxe Associates Travel for all our tours and we can honestly say, they were the best! Right from the start, communication was easy and professional. Amy and her guides were able to customise their tours to suit our interests and keep the teenager and tween engaged and interested. The extra touches - giving the children books with age appropriate information and activities like a scavenger hunt, were much appreciated, and it’s things like these, which set Luxe Associate Travel apart from the rest. Amy and her guides were friendly, professional and bilingual (at the very least, they all spoke fluent English; they probably also spoke other languages) so communication was not a problem. No request was too small and the depth of knowledge imparted by the guides (Amy, Michele and Paolo) was phenomenal. They’d even give you tips of what, where and how to get around/do something if you were going out alone. The drivers Amy uses were also top notch. If you want bespoke tours, I wouldn’t use anyone else. We would highly recommend Luxe Associates Travel and will definitely use them again when we next visit Italy. Finally, it’s also refreshing (and I think a bit special) when the owner of the company takes you on a tour and shares a drink or two with you afterwards!

Best insider tours! I've traveled fairly extensively in Italy and I like to do private tours in the larger cities as a way of introduction to the city and then, to its insider culture and history. I've now done two insider Rome tours with Luxe Associates. They were both great experiences with local guides who communicated perfectly in English, had wonderful, engaging personalities, and who could impart a very rich knowledge of their city. I would highly recommend Luxe Associates guides (we had Marina for our 2019 tour and Amy for our 2016 tour) for anyone looking to get a closer, more personal look at the Rome of yesterday and of today.