10 Day Premium Best Of Italy & The Sorrentine Coast

Benvenuti a Roma! After your arrival at the airport, make your own way to your hotel and enjoy your first day at your own leisure. 

This evening meet your local expert guide for a walk to discover the wonders of the Eternal City. You will visit the Jewish Ghetto, one of Rome’s most beautiful neighborhoods, full of history and with a real Roman atmosphere. We then walk to the Pantheon, the former temple of Marcus Agrippa later converted into a church, then have an opportunity to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain. 

Continue to visit the Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps), one of the city’s most popular squares where you can walk up these famous steps to enjoy a lovely view from the top. To finish, relax as you enjoy a creamy and tasty gelato, it’s on us! The tour ends in the Spanish Steps area. Enjoy the rest of the night to explore at your leisure. 

The evening meeting and walking tour departs at 7.45pm from the hotel lobby, late arrivals may miss this activity and meet the group the next morning.

Departing Rome early this morning, travel approximately two hours through the picturesque roads of Tuscany to Assisi. Here, you will have ample time to explore this ancient walled city built in the Middle Ages at your own leisure. Be sure to take your time to visit the basilica of St. Francis, where you will see masterpieces by Giotto and Cimabue and, then, have free time for lunch (not included). 

Board the coach and continue 1.5 hours to Siena, one of the region's most famous cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoy time on your own exploring the winding streets and the renowned Piazza del Campo. Continue your journey with a 1.5 hour drive to Florence, where you will check in at your hotel before enjoying an included dinner at one of the local restaurants.

After breakfast, meet your local expert guide for a guided tour around beautiful Florence, the “Cradle of Renaissance", where, with the help of Michelangelo, Italian art reached its pinnacle.  You will be fascinated by the uncountable monuments, churches and buildings as Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly referred to as the Duomo. On your visit, you will be amazed by its magnificent dome built by Filippo Brunelleschi. Cross a small piazza to see the “Campanile” tower (partly designed by Giotto) and the Baptistery, with its bronze doors where Michelangelo imagined the “Gates of Paradise.” In the heart of the city, you will see Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo della Signoria (also known as Palazzo Vecchio), and the Basilica of Santa Croce. 

Enjoy an included lunch in a typical Tuscan restaurant in Piazza Santa Croce, then free time to spend the afternoon strolling the cobblestone streets of Florence on your own or take an optional trip to Pisa, one of the four main historical Marine Republics of Italy. There, you will tour the Piazza dei Miracoli with the Duomo, Pisa’s iconic “Leaning Tower” and the Baptistery (please note, this tour is not included and is bookable locally). Dinner is at your leisure.

After breakfast in Florence, we continue 1.5 hours to Bologna, the lively, historic capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, in northern Italy. There, you will discover the elegant city centre with its porticos, shopping streets and so on.  From Piazza Malpighi you will walk to Piazza del Nettuno and Piazza Maggiore (Neptune Square and Major Square) in the heart of the city, then King Renzo’s Palace; Palazzo Podestà and the basilica of San Petronio, one of the biggest in the world. Bologna is a real gourmand’s heaven...don’t miss a tasty meal at your own leisure! 

In the afternoon, we drive two hours toward Padua, with Sant’Antonio Basilica, one of the most visited churches by pilgrims of the Catholic world. Later in the afternoon, we drive 40 mins to  arrive in Venice (Mestre). 

Check in at your hotel then enjoy the evening at leisure.

Note: 2023 departures will have dinner included this evening. 

After breakfast, enjoy your transfer to Piazza San Marco and enjoy a guided walking tour of the most iconic places of the “Floating City” with an expert local guide as they share the historical sites as well as stories of local customs and traditions. 

Highlights include Palazzo dei Dogi, a symbol of Venice’s glorious past, and the legendary “Bridge of Sighs”. Following your walking tour, enjoy a traditional spritz or a prosecco to crown your visit to Venice. Spend the afternoon roaming along Venice’s canals at your leisure.

After breakfast, we take a four-hour drive through picturesque Tuscany, known for its landscapes, churches, castles and its delicious wines. 

Proceed to Val di Chiana with a stop in Montepulciano, a medieval town rich in history and art. Known for its “Nobile” wine, on purchase in local wine houses, Montepulciano also hosts an annual Jazz and Wine Festival every July. 

Enjoy lunch in a typical restaurant feasting on local produce before we continue our two-hour journey to Rome where the rest of the evening is at your leisure.

This morning, enjoy a guided tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Square with our exclusive “Skip the Line” access! Upon arrival, your guide will lead you past all the queues and into the museums where you’ll visit one of the most important art collections of the world. Walk along the beautiful Galleries of Tapestries and Geographical Maps before admiring Raphael’s Rooms and, then, the amazing Sistine Chapel. 

After this incredible masterpiece, your guide will continue your tour of St. Peter’s Square where you can admire the incredible masterpiece St. Peter’s Basilica: the biggest church in the world! The tour ends in St. Peter’s Square where the rest of the day is yours to explore the city at your own leisure.

Enjoy an early breakfast at your hotel before boarding your coach and heading three hours south, crossing the regions of Lazio and Campania. On arrival in Naples, enjoy a short panoramic tour climbing up to Vomero Hill to enjoy beautiful views over the Gulf of Naples with the Vesuvius, Capri, Ischia and Procida and the city below. Time to take some nice pictures!

Descending towards the port of Mergellina, you will leave the city and drive a quick 20 minutes south toward Mount Vesuvius to Pompeii, where you will have lunch and enjoy real Neapolitan pizza.

After lunch, meet your archaeologist guide for a walking tour through one of the most important archaeological sites in the world, Pompeii, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Again, enjoy priority access to the ruins with Skip the Line entrance included. Visit the haunting ruins of Pompeii, traveling back in time to the tragic days in 79 AD when the silent Mount Vesuvius suddenly erupted, covering the prosperous Roman city in deadly volcanic ashes and poisonous gases, leaving this prosperous city crystallised. 

You'll learn how people lived at that time, visiting houses and “bars” of the time, admiring frescoes and mosaics to imagine how rich and prosperous the city was before After the visit, a 40-minute drive along the Sorrentine Coast sees you arriving in Sorrento for a formal dinner (dress code: jacket for men) and an overnight in your new hotel.

After breakfast, get ready for an exciting excursion to the Isle of Capri, one of the most exclusive summer destinations of the Mediterranean! Admire the dreamy Blue Grotto on a small rowboat (weather dependent) and afterward enjoy lunch at your own pace (not inckuded). 

You will have plenty of time to roam the island at your own pace before heading back to the mainland where we join our coach for the 3.5-hour return transfer to Rome. The rest of the evening is at your leisure.

Note: 2023 departures will have lunch included in Capri. 

Your Italian adventure ends after breakfast at the hotel.

We hope you’ve been inspired.