13-Nights Italy's Best from $3,029

Cosmos

OFFER ID 1475345

With its magnificent architecture, beautiful landscapes, sumptuous cuisine, ancient ruins, and brilliant art, Italy is a country like no other. On this affordable Italy’s Best tour, you’ll experience all of this and more. One of the tour’s highlights is the excursion to the Cinque Terre-five medieval seaside villages. The area is noted for its natural beauty with terraces built into the mountainside on cliffs that drop down into the sea. Delight in the unique charm of the area and take in the breathtaking views. On your journey through Tuscany, watch the undulating hills, terraced vineyards, olive groves, and rural villages. More stunning scenery awaits at Lake Maggiore, one of Italy’s largest lakes. Located on the edge of the Swiss Alps, it’s the perfect place to relax and soak in the beauty. Briefly cross the border into Switzerland to Lugano, a lakeside town with a Mediterranean flair. In southern Italy, witness magnificent views of the crystal-clear, blue sea in the vibrant town of Sorrento, and enjoy a day trip to Capri where the crashing sea has formed awe-inspiring caves. On this comprehensive Italy tour, history comes alive. Visit Pompeii, buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. This amazingly preserved archaeological site gives you a detailed insight into ordinary life at the peak of the Roman Empire. In Rome, during the city sightseeing tour with a local guide, see the main sights, as well as Vatican City with St Peter’s Basilica. In Genoa, boasting Europe’s largest medieval historical district, view the remains of the city’s 17th-century fortifications. Visit St Francis’ Basilica in Assisi, a medieval town set in the Umbrian hills. Guided city sightseeing tours are planned in Rome, Florence, Assisi, and Genoa. Your visit to Venice includes a boat trip to St Mark’s square to see the maze of canals forming this unique romantic city. These are just some of the many highlights of this affordable tour of Italy!

13 nights from $3,029 per person

Itinerary

Italy's Best

Day 1 ARRIVE IN ROME, ITALY Check into your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to explore this ancient capital. This evening, meet your Tour Director and travel companions.

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Day 2 ROME The “Eternal City” is steeped in history, vibrantly alive and exciting, and absolutely unique! Start the included introduction to Rome’s landmarks from St. Peter’s Square with a Local Guide. Enjoy a drive along the iconic landmarks of the city: the Tiber River, the Caius Cestius Pyramid, the Aurelian Walls, and the Caracalla Baths. Complete the experience with a walk back in time from the Circus Maximus to the Arch of Constantine and to the fascinating Colosseum, symbol of the Roman Empire.* (B)

* For operational reasons, schedule changes for the Rome program cannot be excluded.

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Day 3 ROME–PISA–MONTECATINI Vistas of rolling hills, rows of cypress trees, terraced vineyards, olive groves, and rural villages form the backdrop of your journey through beautiful Tuscany. Stop in Pisa and take a mini-train ride to see the Square of Miracles with the amazing Leaning Tower. Arrive in Montecatini.
Today’s Distance: 273 mi/ 440 (B)

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Day 4 MONTECATINI. EXCURSION TO FLORENCE Today, enjoy an included excursion to Florence. Your Local Guide will show you the city highlights on the walking tour. You will see Piazza Santa Croce; beautiful Piazza Signoria; Palazzo Vecchio and its courtyard and Loggia dei Lanzi. To top it all, marvel at the Piazza del Duomo and the Cathedral with the Giotto Campanile, and the magnificent East Doors of the Baptistry, known as the “Gates of Paradise.”
Today’s Distance: 81 mi/ 130 km (B,D)

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Day 5 MONTECATINI–LA SPEZIA–CINQUE TERRE–GENOA Travel towards La Spezia, where you’ll hop aboard the train to discover some of the five spectacular Cinque Terre villages. The beauty of the rugged cliffs and romantic fishing villages once inspired poet Lord Byron. From Levanto, re-join the coach and head towards Genoa, birthplace of explorer Christopher Columbus.
Today’s Distance by coach: 149 mi/ 240 km (B)

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Day 6 GENOA–MILAN–LAKE MAGGIORE Today’s included guided tour is an excellent introduction to Genoa. A maze of squares and alleys, the city grew around the port, a natural inlet, and boasts the largest medieval historical district in Europe. Next, head north into the plains of Lombardy, and stop in Milan to marvel at its magnificent Gothic Duomo. Then, continue to Baveno on Lake Maggiore.
Today’s Distance: 155 mi/ 250 km (B)

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Day 7 LAKE MAGGIORE. EXCURSION TO LUGANO, SWITZERLAND Time to relax and get to know Lake Maggiore, one of Italy’s largest lakes, located on the very edge of Alpine Switzerland. On clear days, you can see the peaks of the Alps. Take advantage of the included excursion to visit Lugano in Italian-speaking Swiss Canton Ticino.
Today’s Distance: 124 mi/ 200 km (B)

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Day 8 LAKE MAGGIORE–VERONA–VENICE AREA Travel across the fertile Po River plain. Stop in the romantic city of Verona for some time at leisure being awed by the Roman Arena, perfectly preserved and still hosting concerts and festivals during the summer, shopping, or tasting some of the excellent local wines. Continue to the Venice area.
Today’s Distance: 236 mi/ 380 km (B)

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Day 9 VENICE Venice is more like a romantic film set than a real-life city, with its crisscrossing canals, gondolas and water buses, arched bridges, palaces, and piazzas. The included orientation starts with a boat ride to St. Mark’s Square, and is followed by time at leisure and a chance to watch Venetian glassblowers fashion their delicate objects as they did centuries ago. Don’t miss out on the optional gondola trip, gliding along the picturesque canals with a local troubadour to serenade you. (B,D)

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Day 10 VENICE AREA–ASSISI–FOLIGNO Enjoy an interesting drive southward right across the Po Delta, through the Emilia-Romagna region to Assisi, enclosed by ramparts and little changed since the Middle Ages. This is the town of the deeply mystical and poetic St. Francis. See the Basilica of St. Francis with its famous frescoes by Giotto, with history brought to life by a Local Guide. Overnight in Foligno, a town in the green heart of the Umbria region.
Today’s Distance: 249 mi/ 400 km (B,D)

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Day 11 ASSISI AREA–POMPEII–SORRENTO COAST Travel to Pompeii, where time stopped for the rich, aristocratic town with the terrible eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. On the included guided visit of the archaeological site, see the remains of luxurious villas, temples, theatre, and forum. Carry on to Sorrento, set on a plateau above the waters of the Bay of Naples. Wander the winding streets lined with shops and stalls, and sit with a glass of wine, absorbing the easy-going lifestyle of this charming resort.
Today’s Distance: 273 mi/ 440 km (B)

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Day 12 SORRENTO COAST. BOAT TRIP TO CAPRI Enjoy a day trip to the legendary island, surrounded by a rocky coastline where the crashing sea has formed awe-inspiring caves. The town with its pretty piazzetta, maze of streets, fashionable boutiques, and inviting restaurants, is a mecca for the jet set. Explore on your own or take an optional island tour. (B,D)

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Day 13 SORRENTO COAST–ROME Today, enjoy time at leisure or visit Positano on our exciting optional excursion, before returning to Rome.
Today’s Distance: 168 mi/ 270 km (B)

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Day 14 ROME Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. (B)

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Featured Destinations

Sorrento

Sorrento is a town of extraordinary beauty and is known as a popular gateway to Italy's most spectacular stretch of coastline - the Amalfi Drive lined with fishing villages and famous resorts. The seaside resort of Amalfi sits with weathered houses scrambling up steep cliffs. Visitors marvel at its location and its magnificent cathedral. The religious sanctuary of Cloister of St. Francis is worth a visit. The tiny, exclusive resort of Positano has its famous world-class hotel, San Pietro. Excavations of the ruined city of Pompeii, which was destroyed in 79 A.D. during the disastrous eruption of Mount Vesuvius, give visitors a vivid impression of life in a very wealthy ancient city and the tragic end of its population. The Isle of Capri ranks as one of the most beautiful islands and has captured visitors for centuries with excellent climate, spectacular landscape and fantastic sea caverns. Capri has lavish villas, elegant hotels, chic boutiques and quaint restaurants. Museo Correale contains a death mask of poet Torquato Tasso and some special editions of his works, pictures, furniture and porcelain.

Excursions

Sorrento: The Ancient City of Pompeii - 6 Hours

Sorrento: The Iconic Amalfi Coast - 6 Hours

Sorrento: Capri Exploration by Private Motorboat – 8 hours

Assisi

Venice

With a great historic past and incomparable art treasures, Venice is renowned as one of the world’s great cities. Its 118 islands are separated by more than 150 canals and spanned by 400 bridges. During Venice's artistic golden age many magnificent structures were erected to create world-famous masterpieces. One of the best sightseeing routes is along Grand Canal, with many palaces lining the famous waterway. St. Mark’s Square offers access to some of Venice’s most famed attractions - St. Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace. From Piazza San Marco, a maze of narrow streets are lined with shops, cafés and restaurants. A popular pastime is sitting at an outdoor café facing the square while people-watching and letting the whole marvelous scenario unfold. Venice’s Murano, Burano and Torcello Islands comprise an area famous as home of Venice’s glass-blowing industry and known for their charm, skilled lace-making and medieval monuments. Relax on a gondola ride, see art treasures in museums, churches and palaces, and have a sumptuous meal - all in this incomparable city.

Excursions

Venice: Splendours of Venice Walking Tour - 4 hours

Venice: Venice for Art Lovers Walking Tour - 4 hours

Venice: The Roman City of Verona - 7 hours

Venice: Lagoon Islands - 7 hours

The story of Murano and Burano

The Canal Grande cruise followed by a walking tour of Venice

Genoa, Italy

With its dizzying mix of old and new, of sophistication and squalor, Genoa (Genova) is as multilayered as the hills it clings to. It was and is a port city: an important maritime center for the Roman Empire, boyhood home of Christopher Columbus (whose restored house stands near a section of medieval wall), and one of the largest, wealthiest cities of Renaissance Europe. Capture glimpses of Genoa's former glory days in Genoa's portside Old Town, where treasure-filled palaces and fine marble churches stand next to laundry-draped tenements. Life within the old medieval walls doesn't seem to have changed since the days when Genovese ships set sail to launch raids on the Venetians, crusaders embarked for the Holy Land, and Garibaldi shipped out to invade Sicily in the 19th-century struggle to unify Italy. Modern Genoa, which stretches for miles along the coast and climbs hills, is a city of international business, peaceful parks, and breezy belvederes from which visitors can enjoy fine views of this colorful metropolis and the sea which defines its identity.

Excursions

Genoa: Genoa for Families - 8 hours

This morning you will be met by your English-speaking guide for a full day excursion to Genoa. Today you will immerse yourselves into the water world of this city! Your visit will start in the largest and most innovative sea museum of the Mediterranean, the Galata Museum, with a 10,000 sqm area set in a stone-and-glass building. It outlines the evolution of the maritime town’s port using an approach which is not exclusively scientific, in that it gives ample space to interactive and multimedia-related aspects. One of the museum’s gems is the faithful reconstruction of a 17th-century Genoese galley (being 40m long) placed upon its original slipway.

Besides the more traditional halls (about Colombo, Andrea Doria, and so forth), visitors can explore the Arsenal rooms, see the Darsena armoury, go aboard a 19th-century brigantine, finally going through a Cape Horn tempest recreated through virtual reality. Among the other exhibitions you can find the Waterfront Plan (“Affresco”) by Renzo Piano and the panoramic terrace MIRAGenova.

Visit the famous Aquarium, Europe’s largest marine park: 71 tanks, 800 species, and over 10,000 specimens set against the incomparable backdrop of the Gulf of Genoa. The tour (approx. 2 hours and 30 minutes) unfolds through the spectacular scenery of a myriad of sights of the Old Port of Genoa – the Aquarium is indeed located on the old wharf of Ponte Spinola – and through 40 large tanks, in addition to 19 open ones which use the space of a real ship called “Nave Italia”, allowing people to actually touch the fish by hand.

The reproduction of the original natural habitats of the individual species at the Genoa Aquarium is also wonderful: not only marine fauna but also reptiles, amphibians, and generally rainforest and freshwater animals.

Highlights:

Visit the Galata Museum
Europe’s largest marine park
Old Port of Genoa

Tour Duration: 8 hours

Tour Can Operate: Morning

Wheelchair accessible: Please enquire for more information

Physical Activity Level: Low

Inclusions:
• Luxury car or minivan at your disposal during the tour
• An expert English-speaking guide
• Entrance fees to the Aquarium

Exclusions:
• All cruise travel, personal items, meals and associated costs
• Gratuities

Genoa: Portofino Walking Tour - 5 hours

Montecatini

Lake Maggiore

Rome

Sprawled across seven legendary hills, romantic and beautiful Rome was one
of the great centers of the ancient world. Although its beginning is shrouded
in legend and its development is full of intrigue and struggle, Rome has always
been and remains the Eternal City.

Rome enjoyed its greatest splendor during the 1st and 2nd centuries when art
flourished, monumental works of architecture were erected, and the mighty Roman
legions swept outward, conquering all of Italy. These victorious armies then
swept across the Mediterranean and beyond to conquer most of the known world.
With Rome's establishment as capital of the western world, a new ascent to glory
began.

Today's Rome, with its splendid churches, ancient monuments and palaces, spacious
parks, tree-lined boulevards, fountains, outdoor cafes and elegant shops, is
one of the world’s most attractive and exciting cities. Among the most famous
monuments is the Colosseum. As you walk its cool, dark passageways, imagine
the voices that once filled the arena as 50,000 spectators watched combats between
muscled gladiators and ferocious animals.

Stop to see the remains of the Forum, once the city's political and commercial
center. In later times, Rome's squares were enhanced with such imposing structures
as the Vittorio Emanuele Monument and grandiose fountains like the Fontana di
Trevi. Join the millions who stand in awe of Christendom’s most magnificent
church and admire the timeless masterpieces of Michelangelo's frescoes in the
Sistine Chapel.

Rome jars the senses and captures the soul. Grasp all you can during the short,
precious time you have available in the Eternal City. With so much to see and
do, a day or two will only allow you a sampling of the city's marvelous treasures.

Caution: As in many big cities and tourist destinations purse snatching
and pickpocketing is common. Valuable jewelry and excess cash are best left
in a safety deposit box in your hotel.

Shopping For most visitors shopping for beautiful Italian leather articles,
designer shoes, fashions for men and women, linens, knitwear, silk scarves and
ties is a favorite pastime. Except for tourist-oriented shops, the majority
of stores are closed on Sundays. Some of the department stores, such as Rinascente,
open in the late afternoon on Sundays.

Cuisine Rome's choice of restaurants is mindboggling as is the variety
of cuisine. Whether your meal is at a top-rated restaurant or a rustic trattoria,
you can be sure that you will enjoy your food, especially when accompanied by
wines from the hill towns surrounding Rome.

Other Sights Rome's attractions are endless, and depending on how much
time you have at your disposal a careful selection has to be made about what
to see. Be aware of horrendous traffic conditions and major construction work
all around the city in preparation of Jubilee 2000, the Holy Year. Some of the
sights not to be missed:

Piazza Venezia - This busy square is easily recognized by its imposing Vittorio
Emanuele II Monument. The white marble structure was inaugurated in 1911 as
a symbol of Italy’s unification.

The Forum - Once the civic heart of ancient Rome, today the remains include
a series of ruins, marble fragments, isolated columns and some worn arches.

Colosseum - No visit to Rome is complete without a stop at this awe-inspiring
theater, which is among the world’s most celebrated buildings. Here ancient
Rome flocked to see gladiatorial contests and numerous other spectacles.

Trevi Fountain - Take a stroll to Rome's famous fountain. A spectacular fantasy
of mythical sea creatures and cascades of splashing water, the fountain is one
of the city's foremost attractions. Legend has it that visitors must toss a
coin into the fountain to ensure their return to Rome.

St. Peter's Square - Part of Vatican City, this square created by Bernini
is considered one of the loveliest squares in the world. Twin Doric colonnades
topped with statues of various saints and martyrs flank either side of the square.
In the center stands an 84-foot obelisk, brought from Egypt in 37 A.D.

St. Peter's Basilica - At the head of the square stands Christendom's most
magnificent church, which was begun in 1452 on the site where St. Peter was
buried. Throughout the following 200 years, such Renaissance masters as Bramante,
Michelangelo, Raphael and Bernini worked on its design and created an unparalleled
masterpiece. Of special note are Michelangelo's Pieta and the bronze canopy
over the high altar by Bernini. The immense dome was designed by Michelangelo.

Vatican Museum - To see this museum's immense collection would take days.
As you enter, there are special posters that plot a choice of four color-coded
itineraries. They are repeated throughout the museum and are easy to follow.
It is a good idea to pickup a leaflet at the main entrance and concentrate on
exhibits of major interest. Of course, the Sistine Chapel is a must. Most likely
you may have to wait in line to enter.

Vacation Details

Valid Date Ranges

12/24/2024 - 01/06/2025

from $3,029 per person *

* This departure has been designated a guaranteed departure by the operator, meaning that the minimum number of guests has been met, although still subject to weather and other conditions.

Prices Start At

from $3,029 per person

Length

13 Nights

Air City

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Vacation Rating

Moderate
Moderate facilities have modest enhancements to amenities and décor. These hotels or resorts are dependable, comfortable and some may offer standard features, such as select business services, Continental breakfast or coffee service and may have a swimming pool or small fitness center on-site. Guestrooms are comfortable, moderately spacious, in-room telephones, televisions and limited amenities. Moderate establishments provide suitable accommodations and service for budget-minded travelers.

Remarks

All fares are quoted in US Dollars.

OFFER ID

1475345

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Donchka Travel

(310) 927-9616
(800) 927-9616