Escorted Tour to Rome, Positano, Capri, Florence, Siena & more
Please click on these huge galleries of photos taken from an actual honeymoon tour to Rome, Tuscany, Positano & Capri and a Spring tour to Rome, Tuscany, Amalfi coast & Venice (they will load in new tabs while you read here)
These trips make the perfect honeymoon or first trip to Italy. It starts and ends in Rome, takes advantage of the bullet trains to move quickly from one region to another, and includes a wide range of touring options that are focused around art, food, wine, history and…..shopping!
You may have the universe, if I may have Italy.
giuseppe verdi, composer
day 1 – Arrival at FCO & orientation walk
Your flight will probably land in the morning, Rome time. We will have one of our favorite drivers greet you at your exit gate and bring you into your hotel in the center of downtown.
After checking in and freshening up, we will meet you for a 90min orientation walk near your hotel, giving you shopping and restaurant ideas, and briefing you on how some things are work differently in Italy.
day 2 – Rome highlights
The next day is dedicated to the traditional highlights of Rome, like the Trevi Fountain (recently restored and spectacular), the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the Campidoglio, Roman Forum and Colosseum.
The morning part we will do with a car, in order to cover distances impossible on foot. Lots of great pics of the old Roman walls, the Aventine Hill orange garden and its secret keyhole, plus dominating views from Piazza del Popolo and above Rome on the Janiculum hill.
Obviously (if you know us) we will stop for a leisurely lunch al fresco at a famous trattoria 😉
day 3 – Ostia Antica & the Borghese Gallery
We’ll take a commuter train to Ostia Antica — Rome’s ancient port city — to visit a site much like Pompeii, but in some ways better. Its theater, baths, synagogue (the oldest in Europe), apartments, restaurants and shops are amazingly well preserved…..and you will be able to tell your friends why after today!
Seafood lunch in the shade of a nearby renaissance castle before returning to Rome.
Afternoon visit of our favorite gallery: the Borghese. We call it “All killer, no filler.” It is the queen of the private collections of art, and though small, is spectacular. The villa itself is set in a huge park, so the perfect setting for a cocktail and stroll at the end of the touring day.
day 4 – Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel & St Peter’s Basilica
A day completely dedicated to Vatican City, center of the Roman Catholic world. Our guide will have your VIP passes for a 2hr stroll through the highlights of the museums. The highlight of this portion is Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes.
After the chapel you will visit St Peter’s Basilica, the largest in the world and treasure trove of art, architecture and spirituality.
OPTIONAL – if you contact us at least 4 months in advance, we can probably schedule a visit of the Vatican “scavi” (excavations) — what was once an outdoor pagan cemetery is now a site under the basilica, and is visitable with advance permission and a separately scheduled tour with one of their guides.
“Any of your potential clients are welcome to contact us by phone or e-mail if they have any specific questions for us. Thanks again for putting together a wonderful family vacation for us….We have come to regard you as a member of our family. Good luck to you in all of your efforts, and we hope to see you again soon. With deep affection; Howard & Sue Cowan.”
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day 5 – Rome to Positano (or Capri)
We’ll take the highspeed train from Rome to Naples (50min) and then our driver will take us to the hotel in Positano (or to the hydrofoil for the island of Capri) This will be the base for the next few days.
Orientation walk and dinner.
day 6 – Boat ride, swimming & Amalfi
After breakfast at the hotel, our captain will meet us at the dock for a private boat excursion down the coast.
You will get awesome views from the water, and have time to swim in the cobalt blue Mediterranean waters.
We will dock at Amalfi — a small town that was once one of the four Italian maritime republics. A tour of its main highlights culminates with Sant’Andrea church and cloisters.
Lunch today in a quiet trattoria reachable only by boat.
day 7 – Capri & Anacapri
Highspeed hydrofoil to Capri (30min). We’ll go first to the other side of Capri, which is quieter and more authentic. You will have time to shop, have jeweled sandals made while you wait, and take the lift up to Monte Solaro — for tremendous views over all of the Mediterranean.
Back to the heart of Capri for a trattoria lunch that only the locals know about.
After lunch, a walking tour of the highlights of Capri: the piazzetta, San Giacomo, gardens of Augustus, via Krupp, and a walk out to the Faraglioni — the 3 giant rock stacks that are icons of Capri.
Return to Positano by hydrofoil in late afternoon.
day 8 – Lesiure day
An easy rest-and-relaxation day for shopping, reading, writing postcards, hiking in the hills above Positano, or taking a cooking class.
