iJourneys Self-guided Audio Tours

About.com Rating 4.5 Star Rating

User Rating 2.5 Star Rating (2 Reviews) Write a review

By Martha Bakerjian, About.com Guide

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Rome Picture: Victor Emmanuel Monument

James Martin, Europe for Visitors

The Bottom Line

If you like to travel independently but enjoy some guidance, iJourneys are for you. You can easily download them to your favorite portable audio system and use them at your own pace. There's no need to carry around a guidebook to look up the facts you want to know or figure out where to go next. Each iJourney also comes with a simple outline map.

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Pros

Easy to carry with you
Eliminates the need to carry a book or join a tour group
Speaker speaks slowly and clearly
Ideal for the independent traveler
If you miss something, you can go back and listen again

Cons

Difficult to use in a group
You need to carry an audio player with you

Description

iJourneys give you a good itinerary but let you travel at your own pace
iJourneys tell you interesting historical and modern facts.
Download iJourneys to your iPod, CD or MP3 player.

Guide Review - iJourneys Self-guided Audio Tours

I used the Rome iJourneys CDs on a recent trip to Rome. The Old Rome walking tour took me from the Pantheon to Piazza Navona, with visits to interesting churches, cafes, and even water fountains. On the Ancient Rome tour I got a view of 2000 years of history in one place, walk in the footsteps of Roman emperors, and learn fascinating facts about ancient technology and life in ancient Rome. Although I've been to Rome many times, I discovered places I had not been before and learned interesting facts I didn't know.

The audio tours are easy to follow and allow you to travel at your own pace. The speaker suggests places for stops and tells you about cafes and restaurants of interest so you can make the walk as long or short as you want. I often have difficulty understanding speakers when using audio guides, but I had no trouble with iJourneys. Each CD runs about one hour and 15 minutes, but your actual walking time will probably be longer as you spend time lingering at sites or resting in a cafe.

I found that listening to the CDs before the actual walking trip was really valuable as I had a good idea of what I was going to see. And you can always go back to the CD later to review or find information you missed.

Italy iJourney audio walking tours are also available for Florence, Venice, and Pompeii. If you're traveling to other parts of Europe, check out more iJourneys on their web site.

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User Reviews

4 out of 5

Doing it easy in Pienza, Member lovetotravel1

Well I finally made it to Pienza, out of season (just after the New Year) but I loved no crowds and the locals being a lot more relaxed it seemed to me. I rugged up and spent my morning breakfasts at one of the local bars and then managed to squeeze in a leisurely wander each morning for an hour or so. I was only there for 2 days ;-( I did it easy because I was using these audio tours from what appears to be a new company in this field - Perfect Traveller. I took the plunge and bought and downloaded a few of their tours. It was all so easy and I must admit they do have a wonderful looking website. Anyway, walking at my own pace, when I wanted to, stopping to have that much needed coffee from time to time, has me hooked on audio tours. Perhaps a visit to this part of Tuscany in the spring will be my next trip!

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