With organized tours virtually everything is taken care of for you and you would rarely, if ever, need to stand in lines for entrance tickets, etc. You also have someone that you can ask questions of about the things you’re seeing or doing or help smooth out problems that might arise.

When you go on your own, you get to see and do exactly what you want. If you unexpectedly run across something that interests you like a local festival, it’s possible to stop and spend a little time or change plans entirely. Personally, I have no problems making my own arrangements and prefer independent travel. Every once in a while I include a day or half day escorted tour if it sounds interesting and would be harder to do on my own – like going to Cesky Krumlov for the first time from Prague. In that case, the tour included the old theater at the castle and I knew it would be difficult to get in on my own.

I’ve lived in Italy and have never had any problem getting around here on my own – even when I had first arrived. This really depends on your style and preference. Trafalger seems to be a reputable company. I’ve known a few people who took one of their tours and enjoyed it.