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Arrive in Rome. Relax, then meet your Travel Director and fellow travelers for a dinner with wine.

Meals: Dinner

Guided sightseeing with a Local Specialist including Vatican City; cross the Tiber to ancient Rome to see Circus Maximus and the Arch of Constantine; guided visit of the Colosseum. Optional: explore the Catacombs.

Meals: Breakfast

Travel south from Rome to Puglia. In Alberobello, join a Local Specialist for a guided stroll through this UNESCO World Heritage Site to learn how the trulli were constructed without mortar and hear about their origins and preservation.

Meals: Breakfast,Dinner

Free day to relax at your hotel or explore Alberobello. Optional: visit Ostuni and a traditional olive mill; optional: excursion to Polignano a Mare on the Adriatic coast.

Meals: Breakfast

Visit Lecce with a Local Specialist to see its Baroque architecture and Roman-era monuments. Continue to Gallipoli to view the Greek Fountain and medieval castle, and enjoy a viewpoint over the Ionian Sea. Optional: Masseria dinner.

Meals: Breakfast

Visit Matera with a Local Specialist to explore the UNESCO-listed Sassi cave dwellings. Continue to Grottole for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experience with Andrea: explore the historic old town and enjoy an aperitif with local snacks. Dinner this evening.

Meals: Breakfast,Dinner

Walk with a Local Specialist through Pompeii’s archaeological site. Continue to the resort of Sorrento overlooking the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius.

Meals: Breakfast

Morning orientation walk with a Local Specialist. Explore Capri with a choice: visit the Gardens of Augustus with views of the Faraglioni Rocks, or enjoy a limoncello tasting.

Meals: Breakfast,Dinner

Depart Sorrento on a coach transfer to Naples Airport and Rome Airport.

Meals: Breakfast

What’s included

Travel by air-conditioned 40-seat coach with double the standard legroom and onboard washroom.
Return jetfoil crossing to Capri for a day trip from Sorrento.
Coach transfer on departure day from Sorrento to Naples and Rome airports (Day 9).
Expert Travel Director and professional Driver throughout the trip.
Audio headsets for flexible sightseeing.
Hotel tips, charges and local taxes, plus porterage with bags delivered to your hotel room.
Complimentary coach and hotel Wi-Fi where available.
Occasional local specialty tasting arranged by your Travel Director.
8 breakfasts and 4 dinners included, featuring a Welcome Dinner with wine in Rome, a farm-to-table meal in Alberobello, and a southern Italian dinner in Sorrento.
8 nights in quality 4–5 star hotels: Radisson Blu GHR (Rome), Grand Hotel La Chiusa di Chietri (Alberobello), UNAHOTELS MH Matera (Matera), and Hotel Isabella (Sorrento).
Guided sightseeing with Local Specialists: Rome (including a guided visit of the Colosseum and seeing the Vatican City), Alberobello trulli walk, Matera’s Sassi, and Pompeii archaeological site.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experience in Grottole with village exploration and an aperitif with local snacks; in Capri, choose between visiting the Gardens of Augustus or a limoncello tasting.
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What’s not included

International flights to and from Italy are not included.
Entry visas for Italy/Vatican City (if required) are not included and must be arranged by the traveler.
Travel insurance is not included and is strongly recommended.
Lunches and any meals or drinks not specified in the itinerary are not included.
Optional Experiences and any activities or entrance fees not specifically listed as included.
Gratuities for the Travel Director, Driver, and Local Specialists are not included unless stated.
Personal expenses such as laundry, souvenirs, additional beverages, and phone calls.
Any transfers or transport not mentioned in the itinerary (e.g., arrival transfer to the start hotel).

Additional information

  • 4 Dinner (D)
  • 8 Breakfast (B)
  • Business class coach with extended leg room
  • Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants
  • 4 & 5-star stays
  • Rome: Follow in the footsteps of gladiators for a deeper insight into life in ancient Rome when you enter the Colosseum.
  • Grottole: Meet Andrea for an aperitif and a tour of the village.
  • Alberobello: Enjoy a freshly prepared Farm-to-Table meal featuring recipes and flavors typical of the region.
  • Sorrento: Embrace the essence of southern Italy at dinner with your new friends.
  • Capri: Discover the luxuriant Gardens of Augustus with a Local Specialist and admire views of the Faraglioni rocks.
  • Capri: Savor the flavors of the island with a tasting of its renowned limoncello.

Explore Rome’s imperial heart as you join a guided panoramic tour past the Palatine Hill, the Circus Maximus, and the triumphal Arch of Constantine. Your Local Specialist sets the scene of gladiatorial games, imperial triumphs, and civic life that once animated these storied spaces.

With context in mind, step inside the Colosseum for a guided visit. Sense the scale of the arena, imagine the roar of ancient crowds, and admire ingenious Roman engineering that has endured for nearly two millennia—an evocative window into the world’s most famous amphitheatre.

Cross the Tiber to the world’s smallest state and take in the grandeur of Vatican City. Stand in the vast expanse of St Peter’s Square, framed by Bernini’s embracing colonnades, and admire the monumental facade of the basilica that anchors global Catholicism.

From this open-air forecourt, your Local Specialist introduces the history of papal Rome, from Renaissance ambition to modern ritual. Absorb the square’s ceremonial scale, pause for photos and reflection, and appreciate how architecture, faith, and power intersect at this iconic crossroads.

Wander the whitewashed lanes of the trulli of Alberobello with a Local Specialist. In the districts of Rione Monti and Aia Piccola, admire dry-stone conical roofs, pinnacles, and limestone walls that earned this town its UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

Hear how families once built these circular homes without mortar, learn the symbolism behind painted roof markings, and discover the resilient rural culture of Puglia that these whimsical dwellings embody. Cobbled alleys, flower-framed doorways, and soft stone tones create a fairytale streetscape steeped in tradition.

Taste the sun-drenched flavors of Puglia during an authentic farm-to-table dinner. Settle at a rustic table as dishes showcase fragrant tomatoes, hand-shaped orecchiette, olives, and cheeses paired with the region’s extra-virgin olive oil and local vintages.

Between courses, hear how small producers cultivate heritage ingredients and preserve family recipes. This relaxed meal is a celebration of seasonality and simplicity—hallmarks of Apulian cooking—complemented by local wines and the easy conviviality that defines life in Italy’s heel.

Discover Lecce, the “Florence of the South”, with a Local Specialist. Stroll past exuberant facades like the Basilica di Santa Croce, admire the sun-gold Lecce stone, and see traces of antiquity at the Roman amphitheatre on Piazza Sant’Oronzo.

Continue to Gallipoli to view the so-called Greek Fountain and the stout medieval Aragonese castle. From a seaside vantage, gaze across the Ionian Sea and the town’s fortified old quarter—a contrast of sparkling water, fishing boats, and limestone bastions shaped by centuries of maritime trade.

Explore the dramatic ravine city of Matera with a Local Specialist and delve into the Sassi cave dwellings. Navigate stairways and arches linking Sasso Barisano and Sasso Caveoso, encountering rock-hewn churches and stone-carved homes that compose this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Learn how communities adapted to the landscape over centuries, carving cisterns and courtyards into tufa rock. Evocative vistas reveal Matera’s layered past—rural poverty, post-war depopulation, and vibrant revival—along with cinematic allure as a stand-in for ancient Jerusalem on the silver screen.

Visit Grottole’s historic center and take part in a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experience that supports the Wonder Grottole Project. Stroll quiet lanes lined with stone houses and meet local advocates revitalizing traditions, community spaces, and crafts in this once-fading village.

Over an aperitif with local snacks, hear how cultural heritage and responsible tourism intersect to sustain small-town life and align with UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Your presence directly helps protect Grottole’s living identity.

Walk the cobbled streets of Pompeii with a Local Specialist and encounter a Roman city halted by the ash of AD 79. Step between shopfronts, villas, and bathhouses to visualize daily routines preserved beneath volcanic layers.

Learn about urban planning, frescoes, and inscriptions as you contemplate sites such as the Forum and baths. The haunting human story—glimpsed in plaster casts and domestic details—offers a poignant lens on empire, catastrophe, and archaeological discovery at the foot of Mount Vesuvius.

Skim across the bay on a scenic cruise by jetfoil to Capri, gliding over the emerald-blue Bay of Naples toward the island’s limestone cliffs. On arrival, a Local Specialist leads an orientation through lanes around La Piazzetta, where cafe tables spill into a chic village square.

Hear tales of emperors and film stars, spot artisan boutiques and bougainvillea-draped alleys, and feel the island’s elegant, sunlit allure. This introduction unlocks Capri’s mix of natural drama and Mediterranean dolce vita without rushing its timeless atmosphere.

Choose to visit the Gardens of Augustus, a series of cliff-top terraces perfumed by pines and flowers. From these bow-shaped belvederes, take in sweeping views of the Faraglioni rocks and the serpentine Via Krupp carved into the cliff face.

Your Local Specialist shares stories of Capri’s early 20th-century patrons and landscape design while you frame postcard-perfect photographs of sea and stone. This Capri Choice experience is included at no extra cost and selected in place of the island’s limoncello tasting.

Opt for a fragrant tasting of limoncello, Capri’s signature digestivo crafted from sun-ripened lemons. Learn how producers infuse alcohol with hand-peeled zest before adding syrup, resulting in a vibrant, citrus-bright liqueur best served ice-cold.

Between sips, hear about terraced lemon groves and the region’s enduring citrus culture that flavors desserts, jams, and perfumes. This Capri Choice experience is included at no extra cost and is selected in place of the Gardens of Augustus visit.

Celebrate coastal Campania at a regional dinner in Sorrento. Savor dishes that showcase sun-kissed produce and the Gulf’s bounty—perhaps zucchini blossoms, fresh seafood, or gnocchi alla sorrentina—paired with local wines as twilight warms the bay.

In conversation with fellow travelers, absorb stories of seafaring traditions and citrus groves that define the peninsula’s identity. It’s an easygoing evening devoted to coastal Campanian cuisine, shared in the generous spirit of southern Italy.

Delve beneath the city into the Catacombs of Rome, where miles of galleries shelter ancient burials and frescoed chapels. By lamplight, your guide traces symbols of faith and the evolution of ritual from clandestine gatherings to a state-embraced religion.

Surface with a new perspective on the Eternal City’s layered past, from pagan empire to Christian capital. This is an optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour and subject to availability.

Travel through Puglia’s countryside to the hilltop White City of Ostuni, where sunlit alleys and lime-washed houses crown ancient walls. Wander scenic lanes before visiting a working olive mill to learn about groves, harvests, and stone-press traditions.

Sample the region’s “liquid gold” extra-virgin olive oil and understand why Puglia’s trees are both cultural emblem and culinary cornerstone. This is an optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Head to Polignano a Mare for clifftop promenades above hidden sea caves and pebble coves. From its dramatic clifftop terraces, admire photogenic white facades contrasted with the sapphire Adriatic, a favorite setting for evening light and leisurely passeggiate.

Capture the town’s cinematic angles and soak up a breezy seaside mood, with time to sample gelato or espresso if you wish. This is an optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Spend an atmospheric evening at a countryside masseria dinner, where vaulted rooms and stone courtyards set the scene for hearty Apulian fare. Expect seasonal antipasti, handmade pasta, and rustic desserts paired with locally produced wines.

Hosts share the estate’s history and the region’s agrarian traditions that anchor Puglia’s cuisine and hospitality. This is an optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour and subject to availability.

Begin your Italian journey with a convivial evening in the Eternal City and meet your Travel Director over a hosted welcome meal. Settle into the rhythms of Rome as you share plates of seasonal specialties and raise a glass of local wine in a warm, neighborhood ambiance reminiscent of a traditional Roman trattoria.

Hear stories that frame the week ahead while savoring classic flavors—perhaps artichokes, pecorino, or handmade pasta—that reflect the capital’s culinary heritage. This relaxed gathering sets the tone for the tour, blending good company with authentic Roman cuisine and the pleasure of dining Italian-style.

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