London to Rome Trail | Hotels | Start Amsterdam | Winter 27/28

• 15 Breakfast (B)
• 2 Dinner (D)

• London: You’ll need Essential Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA)From?January 8, 2025, UK law means that if you’re entering/transiting through border control in the United Kingdom (UK) and Northern Ireland you’ll need an?Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA)?before you travel. Confused? Don’t be – just read on here.
• London: A modular trip means fellow travellers will join and leave at various locations. There’ll be some goodbyes, sure, but there’ll also be plenty of hellos with new like-minded travellers.
• London: You’ll stay in a Twin share room (meaning you’ll be paired with a fellow traveller of the same gender, and will have two separate beds). If you’re booking your trip with a friend/travel companion – just let us know, so we can join your bookings and ensure you share a room. Need a lil’ more privacy? You’re welcome to opt for a single supplement if you like.
• Rome: You might have the chance to join a guided Colosseum tour. Heads up: sometimes the only available tour slots are later in the day, after the trip ends. If you’re super keen to see the Colosseum, we recommend booking a flight that departs after 4pm.
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum: Due to new regulations, we cannot guarantee Auschwitz entry tickets for bookings made less than 60 days before your visit. We’ll make every effort to secure your ticket, but if we’re unable to do so, we’ll provide an alternative included experience of equal value.
• London: Yep. If you’re booking a twin room as a couple, you’ll be roomed together.

• Amsterdam: Best way to break the ice? By breaking bread of course. You and your new besties can bond over dinner before heading out to explore. 
• Berlin: Get your culture on. It’s time to see Tiergarten, Alexanderplatz, the Russian War Memorial, Brandenburg Gate and the historic Reichstag building. 
• Berlin: Heads up culture vultures. Here’s your chance to check out the longest open-air gallery in the world.
• Dresden: See the Baroque architecture that was rebuilt after the WWII bombings. Royal Residence, Zwinger Palace, Opera House and Frauenkirche.
• Prague: Walk through the winding cobbled streets and head up into the fairytale-like Castle District for panoramic city views.
• Kraków: Get your bearings in this medieval Polish city. Our orientation will get you familiar with the cathedral, Royal Castle and all the best places to grab a beer.  
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum: Reflect on the tragedies of the past with a solemn visit to the largest concentration camp in World War II. Please note: Due to new regulations we cannot guarantee tickets for Auschwitz for bookings made less than 60 days prior to your visit. We will make every effort to secure your ticket however if we are unable to do so we will provide an alternative inclusion of equal value. 
• Banská Bystrica: This historic Slovakian city is filled with ornate buildings and framed by snow-capped mountains. It’s the perfect Insta backdrop! 
• Ljubljana: Join your new gang for an orientation of Slovenia’s fairytale-like capital. Get your fix of rainbow architecture, Insta-friendly bridges and epic mountain backdrops.
• Venice: Speed across the lagoon to the aqueous island of Venice.
• Rome: Stroll around the Italian capital, ticking off some sights on your bucket list! 

Visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum for a reflective experience at the site of Europe’s largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp. Walk between preserved barracks, ruins of gas chambers, and the haunting rail spur.

Historical context honors victims and survivors while deepening understanding of the Holocaust’s scale. This solemn visit invites quiet remembrance and personal reflection on the responsibility to remember.

Glide along UNESCO-listed waterways on an evening canal cruise, drifting beneath gabled houses and arched bridges haloed in light. Hear tales of Golden Age merchants as reflections ripple across the Herengracht and Prinsengracht.

Raise a glass with your crew and watch the city slip by from a cozy salon boat. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Travel to the waterfront village of Volendam for a convivial dinner by the IJsselmeer. Sample North Holland specialties—think fresh seafood and smoked eel—while wooden facades and moored boats set a timeless scene.

Learn how fishing shaped the community’s costumes and customs, then stroll the dike for breezy evening views. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Taste your way through the city on a guided food walk, sampling classics like svícková, open-faced chlebícky, and sweet trdelník. Visit markets and microbreweries to explore Prague’s modern culinary revival.

Along the way, uncover how Bohemian flavors reflect Habsburg, Jewish, and contemporary influences. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Drift along narrow rii on a classic gondola ride, passing stone bridges and peeling palazzi that reveal centuries of maritime wealth. Watch your gondolier steer with a single oar as sunlight dances on the canal.

Glide past hidden campi and hear the soft slap of water against the hull—a quiet counterpoint to the bustle of St Mark’s. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Roll up your sleeves for a hands-on pasta-making class, learning to knead, roll, and shape fresh dough before sitting down to enjoy your handiwork with sauce, sides, and wine.

Hear kitchen lore from Roman cooks and pick up tips to recreate at home. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Delve deeper into Berlin’s past on a guided walking tour linking Bebelplatz, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and the storied Checkpoint Charlie. Trace the city’s arc from imperial boulevard to divided capital.

Hear eyewitness accounts and Cold War vignettes, with time to pause for photos and reflection at key memorials. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Celebrate Czech traditions at a lively folklore dinner, featuring regional dishes, Moravian wines, and toe-tapping cimbalom music. Costumed dancers invite you to clap along as stories unfold through song.

Between courses, learn about countryside customs and seasonal festivals that still color modern life. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Contiki

Pause along England’s southeast coast to admire the White Cliffs of Dover, their sheer faces gleaming chalk-white above the English Channel. Breathe the sea air and take in the vast horizon where ferries and fishing boats trace age-old routes.

Learn how chalk geology carves that luminous edge and why these heights became a symbol of national resolve during wartime. It’s a scenic moment to pause for photos and reflection before your continental journey gathers pace.

Settle into the Netherlands with a relaxed welcome meal, a chance to meet your Trip Manager and travel crew in canal-laced Amsterdam. Share first impressions over hearty dishes and raise a toast to the days ahead in one of Europe’s most creative capitals.

Hear local tips on neighborhoods like the Jordaan and De Pijp, plus where to find pancakes, rijsttafel, and late-night frites. This shared table moment sets the tone for a trip that blends easygoing camaraderie with big-ticket European icons.

Join a coach orientation to take in central Berlin’s headline sights, from the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag Building to Alexanderplatz and the Tiergarten. Hear how the city stitches together Prussian grandeur, wartime scars, and creative reinvention.

Your Trip Manager points out the Russian War Memorial and avenues that once marked the Cold War frontier. This overview helps you map the neighborhoods and choose where to dive deeper later on.

Walk the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery, now a kilometer-long outdoor canvas. See bold murals like the “Fraternal Kiss,” each capturing the exhilaration and upheaval of 1989.

Learn how artists transformed a once-divisive barrier into a living monument to freedom. The riverside path along the Spree offers space to reflect and photograph evocative fragments of recent European history.

Explore Dresden’s historic core to view the Zwinger Palace, the Semperoper Opera House, and the re-crowned Frauenkirche. Elegant facades tell a story of devastation and meticulous reconstruction after WWII.

Hear how the Altstadt rose from rubble, with sandstone blocks carefully reset around the Royal Residence. The result is a luminous Baroque ensemble that rewards unhurried strolling and keen photography.

Head into Hradcany for sweeping views from the Prague Castle District, then follow cobbled lanes toward Old Town Square. Take in Gothic spires and pastel facades beneath the silhouette of St Vitus Cathedral above the Vltava.

Unpack legends of Bohemian kings and astronomers and spot the Astronomical Clock’s ornate dial. This walk orients you to neighborhoods ideal for café stops, craft-beer tastings, and twilight photos on Charles Bridge.

Stroll Kraków’s medieval core to the vast Rynek Glówny (Main Market Square), flanked by St Mary’s towers and the arcaded Cloth Hall. Continue toward Wawel Hill for castle panoramas and river views.

Hear tales of the Wawel Dragon, royal coronations, and café-lined streets in Kazimierz to revisit later. Your Trip Manager points out pierogi spots and cellar bars perfect for live music.

Break your journey in Slovakia at photogenic Banská Bystrica, where pastel facades ring spacious SNP Square. Stretch your legs, grab lunch, and frame the skyline against the Low Tatras.

Once enriched by medieval copper mining, the town blends Renaissance and Baroque details with the Slovak National Uprising Memorial. It’s a scenic pause that adds authentic Central European color to your route.

Get acquainted with Slovenia’s capital along the mellow Ljubljanica River, crossing Jože Plecnik’s Triple Bridge into the café-lined heart of town. Snap a photo with the Dragon Bridge sentinels and note riverside spots for later.

Hear how Plecnik’s playful urbanism shaped the city’s human-scaled charm, from market arcades to leafy embankments. This walk reveals a youthful, sustainable city that invites slow wandering.

Skim across the Venetian Lagoon by motoscafo, gliding past island silhouettes toward the domes of Santa Maria della Salute and the expanse of St Mark’s Square.

Feel the salt air and the shift from mainland bustle to watery city as boats weave along the bacino. This evocative arrival places you at the historic core, perfect for churches, calli, and cicchetti bars.

Walk central Rome’s cobbled lanes to the Trevi Fountain, toss a coin, and continue to the porticoed majesty of the Pantheon. Trace Baroque curves into the open stage of Piazza Navona.

Your Trip Manager layers stories of emperors, artists, and everyday Romans, pointing out trattorias and gelaterie to revisit later. This compact circuit shows how the Eternal City stacks antiquity beside daily life.

Explore the cavernous STRAAT Museum on the NDSM Wharf, where warehouse-scale murals and installations by global artists explode across factory walls. Curated routes unpack tags, techniques, and the shift from illicit to institutional art.

This contemporary counterpoint to the Dutch Masters showcases Amsterdam’s creative edge along the IJ waterfront. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Discover edgy Kreuzberg with a local, exploring community spaces, canalside bars, and striking street art in courtyards and underpasses. Learn how migration and DIY culture forged the neighborhood’s independent spirit.

Spot works by celebrated crews and see how squats evolved into studios and galleries. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Experience the city of Mozart and Strauss at a classical concert in an elegant Viennese venue. Waltzes, arias, and overtures float through gilded interiors as musicians bring the imperial city’s soundtrack to life.

Short introductions set each piece in context—from courtly soirées to fin-de-siècle salons. Dress smart-casual for a touch of Old-World sparkle. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Sail the Danube after dusk on a river cruise as the Parliament Building, Buda Castle, and Chain Bridge glow against the water. Share a Hungarian dinner onboard while the city’s hills and boulevards unfold.

Hear stories of Buda and Pest and raise a toast as reflections shimmer along the current. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Sink into steaming pools at historic Széchenyi or Gellért Baths, fed by mineral-rich springs first tapped by Romans and Ottomans. Alternate between saunas, plunge pools, and grand colonnaded halls.

Join the city’s daily ritual of wellness and people-watching beneath vaulted ceilings and mosaics. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Follow a local through bacari wine bars to sample cicchetti—bite-sized Venetian specialties—paired with ombre, small pours of local wine. Learn the etiquette of standing at the counter and choosing seasonal bites.

Between stops, cross stone bridges and peek into hidden courtyards while discussing lagoon ingredients and fishing traditions. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour.

Step inside the Colosseum with a licensed guide, then walk the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill to decode temples, triumphal arches, and founding legends at the heart of ancient Rome.

Timed entry and expert commentary bring gladiators and emperors into focus. Optional experience at additional cost, bookable on tour; departures and availability can vary and may fall later in the day.