PRICING: Starting from $3,425.00 per person double occupancy (Single and Triple Occupancy May Be Available Upon Request)

DEPOSIT: A $775 per person non-refundable deposit is due at time of booking

10 Day Tour – September 5th to 14th, 2022

3 Nights Venice, 3 Nights Florence & 3 Nights Rome

(Departure Day – September 4th)

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears…” Perhaps you’re heard this famous Shakespearean line. On this Italy trip, we’ve arranged your hotel reservations, sightseeing, daily breakfast, transportation between cities, and transfers from/to your hotels to/from the train station. Plus, a one-of-a-kind feature is the Local Host®, someone who is there throughout your stay to help you feel comfortable, answer questions, offer suggestions, and help make sure your Italy vacation runs smoothly. You’ll have a Local Host in Venice, Florence, and Rome.

Your Italy vacation begins in Venice, where we can pick you up at the airport and take you to your selected hotel. Here, your Local Host will greet you with a warm benvenuto and a set of materials to help familiarize you with the city. The next morning, after included breakfast, we’ll pick you up at your hotel for guided sightseeing with a local expert. We’ll show you St. Mark’s Square and Basilica, as well as Doges’ Palace, the very symbol of Venice, and the Bridge of Sighs. We’ve also arranged for you to watch skilled glassblowers as they work on their creations, and we’ve included entrances to the Marciana Library, and the Correr and Archaeological Museums. In Florence, your walking tour with a local expert includes the must-see attractions, such as Michelangelo’s David and the Ponte Vecchio, the arched, stone merchant bridge that has housed stores since the 13th century. In Rome, your guided tour with a local expert includes the attractions you must see in Rome, including the Vatican Museums; the Sistine Chapel, where you’ll see Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment; St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, built in 313 AD; the Colosseum, opened in 80 AD and famous for the gladiator fights; and the Roman Forum, where you’ll see the oldest structures of the ancient city.

In each city, you’ll have time to explore on your own. In Venice, perhaps enjoy a Vivaldi concert performance; take a ghost walking tour; enjoy a ride in a traditional gondola serenaded by live music; shop for a Venetian carnival mask; grab a drink at Harry’s Bar, one of Hemingway’s favorite haunts; or visit one of the many churches. In Florence, perhaps take an excursion to Sam Gimignano, Italy’s most famous medieval town, and Verrazzano Castle, where you’ll taste Tuscan wine; learn to make gelato; or shop for some Florentine gold jewelry. Rome offers endless possibilities. Perhaps visit one of the many museums, shop at the Italian fashion boutiques along the Via Condotti, take a ghost or walking tour, and enjoy Italian cuisine at one of the many local restaurants.

And don’t forget…your Italy trip includes transportation on the high-speed train (first-class) between the cities. We’ve even included the transfers so we’ll pick you up at your hotel, take you to the train station, get you on the correct train, pick you up at the next train station, and bring you to your hotel in the next city. Plus, sightseeing includes VIP access, which means you get to skip the lines at the attractions, such as the Vatican Museums, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum. That saves over four hours of time just in Rome. That doesn’t include all the time we’ve saved you by handling your vacation details—not to mention the time saved by having a Local Host there to assist you rather than reading guidebooks and trying to figure it out on your own. This trip to Italy is a vacation of a lifetime! 

Guided sightseeing, inside visits, and special features as shown in the daily itinerary.
Personal headset for included city sightseeing; entrances to the Marciana Library, and the Correr and Archaeological Museums in Venice.

Day 1 ARRIVE IN Venice, Italy

Benvenuto—welcome! Your Local Host is available to help you maximize your time in this famous car-free city, built entirely upon the water.

Meet your Tour Host and traveling companions for a welcome dinner at your hotel.

Day 2 Venice

Breakfast​

Morning guided sightseeing, with headset, features St. Mark’s Square and Basilica with its exceptional gold mosaics. 

Visit Doge’s Palace and the poignant Bridge of Sighs. Watch skilled glassblowers fashion their delicate objects in the age-old manner, and learn why glass-making was so important in Venetian history. 

Entrances to Marciana Library, and the Correr and Archaeological Museums are included

Day 3 Venice – Leisure Day

Breakfast​

​Your Local Host can help you with information for your full day at leisure. Perhaps a stop at the prestigious fabric firm Bevilacqua, where master artisans still weave on 18th-century wooden looms or Atelier Nicolao for unique carnival costumes appreciated world-wide.

Day 4 Venice to Florence

Breakfast

Travel by high-speed train (first class) to Florence. 

Day 5 Florence

Breakfast

Morning guided sightseeing, with headset, includes a visit to the Academy of Fine Arts with Michelangelo’s original David (the Academy is replaced with the Duomo Museum on Mondays and on the first Sunday of each month). 

Walk through Piazza del Duomo; sculpture-studded Piazza della Signoria, the center of the city’s political life since the 14th century; and Santa Croce Square. 

Also admire medieval Ponte Vecchio, the arched, stone merchant bridge spanning the Arno River.

Day 6 Florence – Leisure Day

Breakfast

Your Local Host can help you plan your day in this splendid Renaissance city, with suggestions such as a visit to the aromatic Old Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella with its soaps, perfumes, and lotions.

Day 7 Florence to Rome

Breakfast

​Travel by high-speed train (first class) to Rome.​

Day 8 Rome

Breakfast

​Your morning guided sightseeing, with headset, includes inside visits of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, with Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment and his famous ceiling paintings. 

Enter monumental St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, built in 313 AD above St. Peter the Apostle’s tomb, and cross the Tiber River to visit the iconic Colosseum and Roman Forum. 

(Please note the Vatican Museums are closed on Wednesdays and Sundays, therefore if your included sightseeing falls on those days, your alternate sightseeing will include Trevi Fountain, a true masterpiece and icon of Rome, Palazzo Chigi, the heart of Italian political life, an inside visit of the Pantheon, and world-renowned Piazza Navona. Your tour concludes with a visit of the Colosseum and Roman Forum.)

Day 9 Rome – Leisure Day

Breakfast

Your Local Host will have suggestions so you can make the most of your day, such as where to find the ancient Marcellus open-air theater, with part of its original exterior still visible; or how to assure your return to the “Eternal City”—by tossing a coin into Trevi Fountain!

Day 10 Rome – Departure Day

Breakfast

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.

Motorcoach

Travel by high-speed train (first class) between cities; transfers to/from train stations

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