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PRIVATE TOUR ITINERARY

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Discover Italy in 11 days - enjoy this wonderful tour with your very own private guides. You’ll visit the eternal city of Rome, the ancient sites of Pompeii, the beautiful Amalfi Coast, Renaissance Florence, the rolling hills of Tuscany, and canals of Venice, the most beautiful city in the world. You'll have VIP access to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, skip-the-line access to St Peter’s Basilica and the Accademia Gallery to marvel the works of sculptural genius: Michelangelo's rough-hewn Prisoners and his greatest masterpiece, David, and tour Venice in classic Venetian motorboats. Discover Italy on your very own private tour in 11 days! For a 12-day tour, you may opt to add an extra day in Sorrento and visit Capri with a private boat tour. 

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Day 1: Arrive Rome

You’ll be met at Rome Airport on arrival, and transferred to your hotel for a 3-night stay. Settle into your accommodation and take some time to relax. In the late afternoon, soak up the ambience at the beautiful Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain, and the remarkably preserved, 2,000-year-old Pantheon through a private guided walking tour. 

 

Day 2: Colosseum & Roman Forum 

Today, you will learn about the history of Ancient Rome on a private-guided tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. After a break for lunch, you will visit the Palazzo Valentini for a fascinating audio-visual tour that takes you right underneath the building and reveals some of the ancient Roman remains, buried deep under the city. 

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Day 3: Vatican & Sistine Chapel 

This morning, you will leave the hotel early for a VIP Vatican experience with early access to the Vatican Museum and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. You’ll explore the Vatican Museums before they open to the general public so you can admire famous sights like the Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s Rooms in a more intimate atmosphere before finishing with skip-the-line access to St Peter’s Basilica through a reserved entrance. This afternoon will be free for you to explore on your own. 

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Day 4: Pompeii

Meet your driver and depart Rome for the ancient site of Pompeii— frozen in time by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. Discovering this once-prosperous city with your private guide, visit ancient elegant villas adorned in frescoes, explore amphitheaters and grand Roman boulevards, and encounter haunting scenes of everyday life frozen in time. Continue to the Sorrento Peninsula for a two-night stay at a family-owned luxury hotel nestled in the green hills of Sorrento among lush citrus groves and secular olive trees, offering amazing views of the Sorrento Bay, Gulf of Naples, Mount Vesuvius and Capri. Dinner tonight is included at the hotel’s terrace restaurant, facing the ocean and specializing in local gastronomic traditions. 

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Day 5: Amalfi Coast

Today, enjoy a whole day exploring the famous Amalfi coast along mountainous roads with plenty of stops for photos of the breathtaking scenery. You’ll visit the Emerald Grotto (flooded cave with a brilliant blue or emerald light), Amalfi (beautiful town with an interesting church), Positano (beautiful seaside resort), and Ravello, visiting the gorgeous gardens of Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone, each facing the ocean with beautiful views and where you will have time for lunch in the piazza. Return to Palazzo del Barone, where dinner is included this evening. You may wish to consider extending your stay in Sorrento to three nights to allow an extra day to visit Capri by private boat. 

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Day 6: Arrive Florence  

Depart Positano for Naples to board the high-speed train to Florence. You’ll be met on arrival and transferred to a luxury boutique hotel for a 3-niight stay. This hotel featured as The Pensione Bertolini in the 1985 Ivory Merchant film, A Room with a View, an adaptation of the novel by E.M. Forster. Once you have checked-in and settled into your accommodation, visit the breathtaking Renaissance art of the Uffizi gallery — home to the finest collection of Italian paintings anywhere — including masterpieces by Da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, and more. 

 

Day 7: Renaissance Florence

Today, a private-guided walking tour of the city's historic center. You'll see and learn about Brunelleschi's magnificent cathedral dome, Ghiberti's Baptistery doors, and other creations that helped define Florence as the Renaissance art capital of the world. You'll visit the Accademia Gallery to marvel at works of sculptural genius: Michelangelo's rough hewn Prisoners 

and his greatest masterpiece, David. This afternoon, you'll have some free time to visit more of the city's art-filled churches and museums, or browse the colorful markets. 

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Day 8: Pisa & Tuscany

Meet your local driver-guide at the hotel for a whole-day excursion of Tuscany visiting first Siena and then San Gimignano. Siena features a central piazza known as Il Campo, world famous for the Palio, a horse race run around the piazza two times every summer.  Enjoy lunch and wine tastings at a special boutique winery, Corbucci Wine Boutique. This special winery produces small batches of wine rooted in the art of ancient Estrucan winemaking. Afterwards, visit San Gimignano, a village encircled by 13th-century walls featuring a triangular square lined with medieval houses and towers, including the stone Torre Grossa. The Duomo di San Gimignano is a 12th-century church with frescoes by Ghirlandaio. Return to Florence.

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Day 9: Arrive Venice

Depart Florence on the high-speed Frecciarossa train to Venice. Upon arrival you'll be led to your private boat for your journey to your hotel for a 2-night stay. You’ll travel along the Grand Canal, beneath the Rialto Bridge, to the doorstep of your hotel – located in an ancient aristocratic Venetian palace in the historical center of the city. Interiors combine contemporary décor with traditional Venetian style furnishings: intricately painted ceilings, antique furnishings and Murano chandeliers. Afternoon at leisure in Venice.

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Day 10: Venice

Enjoy a private-guided historical walking tour. Along the way, you'll learn about the city's remarkable past and its challenging future. You'll visit St Mark's Basilica, the 15th-century Doge's Palace, cross the Bridge of Sighs, and view Marco Polo’s home. This afternoon, you'll have some free time to visit more of the city's magical settings, and optionally a romantic gondola ride.

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Day 11: Marco Polo Airport

Depart from the hotel on a classic Venetian speedboat direct to Marco Polo Airport and check-in for your return flight.