Day 1: Rome

Benvenuti a Roma! After you touch down at the airport, make your own way to your hotel. Check in and enjoy your first day in Italy.

Day 2: Rome

After breakfast at your hotel. Between 7:45-8:00am, depart from the hotel after breakfast to explore this famous city, taking in the sights of its artistic beauties such as St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and Piazza Navona. Venture through rest of the city at your own leisure until you decide that you can’t do any more walking. Return to the hotel and overnight.

Day 3: Rome, Naples, Pompei, Sorrento

After breakfast at your hotel, a coach bus will depart at 6:45am, taking the “highway of the Sun” through the regions of Lazio and Campania, where you will see a picturesque view of the Abbey of Montecassino. Upon arriving in Naples, you will go on a short panoramic city tour, seeing sites such as the Mergellina neighborhood, Castel dell’Ovo, Plebiscito Square, the Royal Palace, Maschio Angioino, and the port. Have lunch in a restaurant en route to Pompeii and then visit the excavations of the famous Roman city, destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Leaving Pompeii, you will drive along the Sorrentine coast, arriving in Sorrento for dinner and an overnight in your new hotel.

Day 4: Sorrento, Capri, Sorrento

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel and then board a boat for the island of Capri at 8:30am. Upon arrival in the port of Marina Grande, you will enter the infamous Blue Grotta in a small rowboat (weather and sea conditions permitting). After lunch, roam the island at your own pace. Return to the mainland for dinner and your last overnight in Sorrento.

Day 5: Sorrento, Rome

Spend a leisurely morning eating breakfast at your hotel and then exploring Sorrento. After lunch, depart by bus for Rome, where you will check in to your hotel and spend the night.

Day 6: Rome, Florence

Pick up from hotel at 6.45, TRF to the train station. Departure by train at 08.50and arrive to Florece, where you will take in the sights around the city with a visit to the Duomo, the Baptistery with the bronze doors by Ghiberti, Giotto’s bell tower, Uffizi Gallery (inside) and Piazza della Signoria. After lunch, spend the afternoon exploring the “cradle of the re- naissance” on your own. Transfer to your hotel for an over- night stay.

Day 7: Florence

Venture out into Florence on your own after breakfast at your hotel, buying jewelry on the Ponte Vecchio, wandering through the Boboli Gardens, and strolling along the Arno River. If you’d rather take a day trip to nearby Pisa or San Gimignano, you may book a separate excursion. Return to your Florence hotel for your last overnight in Italy. Cristoforo Colombo 10 Days/9 Nights – Depar tures from Rome Rome – Naples – Pompeii – Sorrento – Capri Florence – Venice

Day 8: Florence, Venice

You will have all morning to eat breakfast at your hotel and grab some last-minute souvenirs in Florence. At the designated hour, head over to the Florence train station for a ride on the rails to Venice. Once there, make your own way to your Venetian hotel for an overnight stay. (Please note, the transfer out of Florence and into Venice will be done on your own.)

Day 9: Venice

After breakfast at your hotel, meet for a 9:00am walking tour starting at Piazza San Marco n°71/F (go to the tourism office near the Correr Museum). With the group, you will surely revel at the enormity of the plaza and the cathedral, before going next door to Doge’s Palace (exterior only), a symbol of the glory and authority of Venice as it once housed the residence of the Dukes, the seat of government, and the Court of Justice. Nearby, you will see the legendary Bridge of Sighs. Spend the afternoon at your leisure. Overnight stay.

Day 10: Venice

Enjoy one last breakfast before your tour comes to an end.

DEPARTURES

INCLUDES