Welcome to Rome!

Upon airport arrival, we shall be waiting to transport you to your hotel. Hotel standard check in time 3pm. You will receive information for the start of your circuit in the afternoon or this will be on the informative signs in the hotel reception.

NOTE: IF YOU REQUESTED ADDITIONAL NIGHTS on arrival at the hotel you will have your booking made but the guide of your trip will normally not arrive until the start of the included activities. YOUR TIME BEFORE THIS MOMENT IS THEREFORE FREE AT OWN LEISURE. At your hotel they can help you with all the information you need. | The schedules you will find in this itinerary are approximate. The guide, depending on the situation and in order to improve the development of the circuit, may adjust the schedules.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: City tour of Rome and Vatican City. Night transfer to Trastevere area.

08.30hrs- In the morning, we have a 2-and-a-half-hour sightseeing tour of the capital of Italy, one of the most influential cities in Western civilization. Our visit, by coach, adapts to the rigid control system of tourist buses that circulate in Rome established by the city council. During the city tour you will see the ancient Rome called Imperial Rome: Colosseum, Arch of Constantine, Piazza di Venezia with its monument to Italian unification, Quirinal Hill with the Palace of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Theater, Capitol Hill, Roman Forums, Circus Maximus, Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin with the mouth of truth, Republican Temple, Termas de Caracalla, Aureliana Wall, Basilica di Santa María Maggiore and Archbasilica of St. Johm Lateran, Church of Santa María in Dominica (Navicella), Cestia Pyramid, San Paolo Gate, Lungo Tevere avenue with the Jewish synagogue of Babylonian style, Tiberina Island in front of the Castel St. Angelo.

This tour finishes at St. Peter´s Square in the Vatican. The Vatican Museums are closed on Sundays, so, if you are interested, we recommend you to do it at this time.

For the most curious travelers, our guide will offer you, after the city tour, an optional visit, during which you will be able to see in more details the most notable rooms of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica of St. Peter. Free time in the afternoon. Optionally, our guide will offer you a tour of squares and fountains.

In the evening we provide a transfer to the Trastevere area, where you will find restaurants serving Italian, Indian, Chinese and interna­tional food. Return to hotel.

Free time the whole day to keep exploring the city. Today we suggest you take an optional excursion to Naples, Capri and Pompeii.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Tuscany region with hills and very picturesque villages. City tour off Orvieto.

Today we will discover the beautiful region of Tuscany. We will visit ORVIETO, the medieval city on top a mountain. Before entering the city, we will enjoy the impressive view from its viewpoint. Following this, we will include the cable car to the medieval center, where the cathedral stands out, a masterpiece of Italian Gothic art. The city has a network of visitable underground tunnels that were used as shelters and water reserves during times of war.

We travel on to CASTIGLIONE DEL LAGO, on the banks of Lake Trasimeno, where we have time for a stroll and lunch. After lunch we go on to SIENA, with its famous Piazza del Campo and Duomo. Free time in the afternoon in Siena.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: San Gimignano.

We leave Siena and make a stop to see MONTERIGGIONI, a magical medieval little village with cobbled streets, walls, and little shops. After this we continue to SAN GIMIGNANO, a charming little city with its tall medieval towers.

After lunch we travel to FLORENCE. We stop to take a photo from the Michelangelo viewpoint, where we get one of the most beautiful views of the city.

We suggest that people more interested in art should today visit the Uffizi Gallery (one of the most important museums in Italy) or the Galería de la Academia (with the original David masterpiece of Michelangelo), magnificent museums that closes on Mondays.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: City tour of Florence

09.00 hrs -We include a city tour with a local guide to Florence, one of the most famous cities of art and history in the world, the city of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and Raphael. You will admire the Gothic cathedral (duomo), the ancient Stone Bridge (Ponte Vecchio) with its goldsmiths´ shops and the Signoria square - the political heart of the city with the town hall in a medieval building. Approximate duration two hours.

You will have a lot of free time today, in which we suggest you to have a walk through the artistic center of the city, visiting the Ponte Veccio with its commercial galleries, its elegant squares, etc.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Wonderful Ligurian coast. Pisa. Train to Cinque Terre.

Today we continue our journey towards PISA. On a little tourist train we will travel to the Piazza Dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), where there will be time to admire one, the well known Leaning Tower of Pisa.

After this we head to the Ligurian Coast, with some of the prettiest coastlines in Europe. We will visit the CINQUE TERRE which has been declared UNESCO World Heritage Site. It comprises of five villages, almost isolated by road, which live on fishing and tourism. We arrive by train, ticket included, to one of its charming towns (normally VERNAZZA, but on busy tourist dates it could be Manarola or Corniglia, very similar towns that are somewhat less crowded). Time to have a lunch.

Afterwards we travel by train to LEVANTO, where we take the bus to continue to GENOA.

NOTE: The train to Cinque Terre is a regular local railway service, not a tourist service. Sometimes the trains are full (it is not possible to book places on these trains) so it might be necessary, on occasion, to travel standing and not seated. In these cases we suggest walking to the monumental site (approximately 900 meters).

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT: Boat trip to Portofino.

We will continue our journey to the nearby city of SANTA MARGHERITA LIGURE, We take a boat for a 20-minute crossing to PORTOFINO one of the most exclusive places in Europe. Enjoy a stroll by the sea and time at leisure. After lunch, we continue to MILAN, the busy northern city in which we recommend a visit to the cathedral.

NOTE: Due to weather conditions in winter, sometimes the boat to Portofino does not operate, in which case access will be by urban microbus (poor quality service, sometimes long waits.)

After breakfast, end of our services. Hotel standard check out time 11am.

Self arrangement to airport or may add in additional service (optional) for hotel-airport transfer.

Remark/Note: You can take for tour option 3 - Tour continue to Verona on Day 9, overnight and tour end at Venice on Day 11. Check with us for the programs itinerary and tour price for Tour Code: 28817_The Essential of Italy.