Big Highlights Tour: Beauties of Italy
| Type of the trip: | Private Trip with local guides |
| Period: | Flexible |
| Duration: | 14 nights / 15 days |
| Min. no. of persons: | 2 |
| Meals included: | Breakfast daily |
| Entrance fees included: | Vatican Museum with Sistine Chapel
Pompeii Park Museum Uffizi Boat Ride to Borromeo Islands |
| Guides, drivers: | Local guides
Combination trains and private driver |
Program:
Day 1: Rome
Arrival to Rome airport and private transfer to hotel. Check-in and at leisure.
Overnight: Rome
Day 2: Rome City Highlights Tour
Meet your private guide for a guided walking tour (up to 4 hrs): No other city is quite like Rome. Whatever your interests may be – food, fashion, art, architecture, sport or religion – this city will not disappoint you. Discover how ancient remains, medieval streets, Renaissance facades, Baroque wonders, Neoclassical “piazze” and contemporary structures merge to create an open-air museum of unrivalled fame and splendour.
You will not only explore the well-known tourist attractions and iconic landmarks – Piazza Navona, Piazza Venezia, Spanish Steps, Trevi’s Fountain, Pantheon – but also discover hidden gems along the way as your guide reveals some of the city’s fascinating secrets. Rome is full of treasures and also hidden gems.
Overnight: Rome
Optionally we can organise for you additional following tours:
CRYPTS AND ROMAN CATACOMBS (with guide and public transportation (payable on the spot, duration, 3,5 hrs): Go underground to see Rome’s ancient catacombs and crypts on a 3.5-hour walking tour. Visit the Domitilla Catacomb and Basilica of San Clemente with skip-the-line access, plus visit the Capuchin Crypt, where you’ll see a Caravaggio painting and marvel at a chapel made entirely out of human bones. Learn about past burial customs and secret Christian worship spots during this fascinating exploration into the history of Rome.
PRIVATE TOUR OF THE COLOSSEUM UNDERGROUND AND THIRD TIER + ROMAN FORUM AND PALATINE HILL (duration: up to 4hrs). This is walking tour. See the secrets of the Colosseum tour that takes you into the amphitheatre’s underground chambers, which are off-limits to most of the public each day. With a knowledgeable guide, you’ll skip the Colosseum’s long entrance line with priority admission, heading straight inside to see where wild animals were once held and stand where gladiators once stood. Then explore Palatine Hill and see where Rome’s wealthiest inhabitants once lived. At the end admire the ruins of the Roman Forum, including the Arch of Titus.
Day 3: Rome: Vatican Museum with Sistine Chapel
Vatican museums & Sistine Chapel: Visit one of reaches art collection in the world: Discover the Vatican on your own with St. Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums tour. Navigate the vast complex of rooms, artwork and history with an audio guides, which will bring the ancient collection to life. Explore halls such as the Gallery of the Maps and Raphael’s Rooms; step inside the Sistine Chapel to admire ‘The Creation of Adam’ by Michelangelo’; and hear little-known tales about sacred St Peter’s Basilica. (with official guide who you will meet at museums and with private transfer from hotel to museums and back, duration of guided tour: 3 hrs, transfer 0,5 hrs).
Overnight: Rome
Day 4: Rome: Day trip to Pompeii and Amalfi Coast
Head on a group day trip from Rome and visit two UNESCO-listed wonders – the mighty ruins of Pompeii and the idyllic Amalfi Coast. If you only have one day to explore Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, make it count! You’ll embark on an in-depth exploration of the ruins at Pompeii, enjoy a relaxing drive along the beautiful Amalfi Coast, and still have time to let your hair down and explore the jewel that is the seaside town of Positano.
Duration: 13 hours
Overnight: Rome
Day 5: Florence Highlights Guided Tour
Direct train transfer from Rome to Florence (2 h 5 min). Check-in at the hotel in Florence.
Guided tour of Florence: You will start your visit of the city from Michelangelo Square, a panoramic terrace with the best view of Florence. From up there the driver will show you the main sites of the city. Drive down to the centre with the Cathedral, the Baptistery, Signoria Square, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Croce Church and the Pitti Palace.
Visit Museum Uffizi: The Gallery entirely occupies the first and second floors of the large building constructed between 1560 and 1580 and designed by Giorgio Vasari. It is famous worldwide for its outstanding collections of ancient sculptures and paintings (from the Middle Ages to the Modern period). The collections of paintings from the 14th Century and Renaissance period include some absolute masterpieces: Giotto, Simone Martini, Piero della Francesca, Beato Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Mantegna, Correggio, Leonardo, Raffaello, Michelangelo and Caravaggio, in addition to many precious works by European painters (mainly German, Dutch and Flemish).
Overnight: Florence
Day 6: Florence: Day trip to most Picturesque Towns of Tuscany: Sienna, Pisa and San Gimignano – as a group or private tour
Your day begins early in the morning with a tour of Pisa with the celebrated Leaning Tower. Then we move onto a rustic wine estate in the foothills of San Gimignano, where you can enjoy a typical Tuscan lunch enriched by precious wines. Panoramic drive to the true Chianti countryside, before arriving in Siena, where our specialist guide will take us to main attractions of Sienna, including with most important squares of Piazza del Campo. Duration approx. 11 h.
Overnight: Florence
Day 7: Florence: Day group or private Trip to Cinque Terre
Memorable Trip to Cinque Terre National Park is an probably one of most unforgettable whole day experience devoted to the discovery of one of the most amazing and enchanting landscapes in the world. Five (Cinque) villages, hanging between sea and land, a place where you can immerse yourselves in paradise, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.
Overnight: Florence
Day 8: Venice Highlights
Train transfer from Florence to Venice. Check-in hotel.
Guided walking tour of Venice (up to 4 hrs): Explore Venice from different point of view with our special guide. Besides all major attractions, such as St. Mark’s Square, Dodge’s Palace, Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge and Bridge of Sighs, our guides’ speciality are Venice museums and private galleries. By walking or driving with vaporetos or romantic gondolas we will pass numerous palaces, old houses and canals, museums and galleries.
Overnight: Venice
Day 9: Venice: Murano and Burano Venetian Islands
Visit Murano and Burano (with guide and public transportation, duration 6 hrs): famous artisan islands of the Venetian Lagoon on a half-day motorboat trip from central Venice. Soak up fantastic views of the city’s waterside highlights as you cruise to Murano, known for its centuries-old glass-making industry. Continue on to the pretty island of Burano, home to brightly hued buildings and traditional lace-making workshops.
Overnight: Venice
Day 10: Venice – Verona
Train transfer to Verona and private transfer to the hotel, check-in.
Guided Tour of Verona (walking tour, duration up to 3 hrs): Get familiar with wonderful Verona, an eye- pleasing ancient city that offers churches and palaces, squares and cobble stoned streets. Guided tour gives you an in depth look at Verona and takes you to the city’s most treasured site: The Arena di Verona, a beautifully preserved arena that is nearly 2,000 years old. Learn about the long history of the city and its famous arena (which still holds concert in it today) and famous story of Romeo and Juliet with romantic Juliet’s balcony.
Overnight: Verona
Day 11: Day trip to Lake Garda
Private transfer to Lake Garda.
Guided tour of Sirmione (1 hr): Known to everyone as “the pearl of the islands and peninsulas” thanks to Catullo, Sirmione is famous for its thermal water with its healing properties. Situated on the south bank of Lake Garda, Sirmione was made even more famous thanks to writers such as Catullo, Stendhal, Lawrence and Goethe that honored its artistic and environmental beauty. Sirmione features picturesque Rocca Scaligera, a medieval castle overlooking the lake. Set at the tip of a peninsula, the Archaeological Site of Grotte di Catullo encompasses a Roman villa, a museum and olive trees. And do not forget to try gelato, fantastic ice cream – we recommend the place Cremeria Bulian gelateria. Some free time then return back to Verona.
Overnight: Verona
Day 12: Lake Como
Private transfer to Lake Como, check-in at the hotel.
Guided tour of Lake Como (4 hrs): Lake Como is situated in Lombardy, in the north of Italy. It has the shape of an inverted Y and comprises many villages and villas which are definitely worth a visit: Villa del Balbianello, Duomo of Como, Basilica of Sant’Abbondio, Museum Moto Guzzi, The Botanic Gardens as a part of the Hotel Villa Cipressi.
Overnight: Lake Como
Day 13: Lake Como: Day trip to Lake Maggiore with Stresa and Borromeo Islands
Tour of Borromean islands (4 hrs): Visit lake Maggiore’s islands by boat to explore beautiful Isola Bella, the most famous of the Borromeo Islands, and Fishermen’s Island (Pescatori) from Pallanza, Baveno or Stresa, accompanied by a personal English-speaking tour guide. Discover an incredible island – Isola Bella – where art, history, architecture and exotic and Mediterranean species make this place at the foot of the Alps something unique in the world. Stroll through the quaint fishermen’s village on Isola Pescatori to discover the old island’s activities.
Overnight: Lake Como
Day 14: Milan main attractions
Private transfer to Milan. Check-in hotel and at leisure.
Guided tour of Milan with main attractions (3 hrs): The Duomo Cathedral, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the Scala Theatre Opera House (from the outside), Piazza dei Mercanti, Sforza Castle, Sempione Park, Arch of Peace, Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’, the church of S. Maria Delle Grazie, San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, L.O.V.E. Special part of the tour will be Last Supper and Santa Maria delle Grazie Church. Inside the refectory of the Dominican convent close to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, you can admire one of the world’s most celebrated works: The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, painted between 1494 and 1498 under the dukedom of Ludovico il Moro. Important: To ensure that the fresco be kept at room temperature, a maximum of 25 people is admitted every 15 minutes.
Rest of the day at leisure.
Overnight: Milan
Tip of the day:
– TRADITIONAL HOMEMADE PASTA COOKING EXPERIENCE: Learn how to make the homemade pasta from start to finish with the help of your hosts and learn traditional techniques. Make lasagna, ravioli, and tortellini and then sit down to enjoy the delicious food you’ve created with local wines.
Day 15: Milan
Private transfer to Milan Airport and flight back home.
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DepartureRome
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Departure TimeFlexible
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Included12x accommodation in rooms with breakfast as stated aboveTransportation, guides and entrance fees as per itineraryOrganizationVAT
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Not IncludedAll international air travel and associated costsAll meals except breakfast unless stated otherwise in the itineraryPorterageGratuitiesCity/tourist taxes are payable on the spot at each accommodation upon check-out (amount is normally between 1-5 USD/person/day, depending on hotel and location)All items of a personal nature (e.g. beverages, telephone calls, laundry, personal insurance)Anything not specifically mentioned in the “Inclusions” list above