DAY 1 - Sunday - Depart USA

Boarding your overnight flight, you’re off to Italy on the adventure of a lifetime!

DAY 2 - Monday - Arrive in Venice, Afternoon Free, Dinner with Group

Benvenuti a Venezia! We are pleased to offer complimentary motorboat transfers from the Venice airport to your hotel at scheduled times. Your Buckingham Tour’s Tour Director will be at the airport to greet you.

After you settle in at your hotel, take a stroll through Venice, relax and get ready for a fun-filled evening of introductions and laughter. Get lost in the traffic free streets and alleyways. There are so many wonderful things to see! Tonight we’ll enjoy our first dinner together as a group at our favorite restaurant in Venice just steps from St. Mark’s Square. Here at Buckingham Tours, our approach to dining is truly unique. Our favorite’s dishes represent the region and season we are traveling to. We call this, parla come mangia or “speak the language of your food”. From our unique, oftentimes “off-the-beaten path” restaurants we visit includes a variety of handcrafted dishes with a local traditional touch — it's truly an immersion into authentic local Italian food and wine. To make sure things go smoothly, your Tour Director will be available to make sure you interpret any menu item and offer suggestions. For the five total included dinners, your Tour director will select a variety of appetizers, featuring regional seasonal cuisine, and will select your wine for the evening. There’s a variety of red and white wine from the region you're traveling. BB, D

DAY 3 - Tuesday - Venice, City Sightseeing, Murano Glass Factory, Dinner on your own.

This morning we’ll meet our expert local guide for a walking tour of St. Mark’s Square, the great Byzantine Basilica, the Bridge of Sighs and an inside visit to the amazing Doge’s Palace.

Next we’ll board our motoscafi to visit one of the world’s oldest glass blowing factories on the island of Murano.

This afternoon, you’ll have a chance to “get lost” in the city’s labyrinth of canals, bridges and tiny piazzas. Being a small island, it’s impossible to stray very far. But it won’t hurt to master the phrase “Dov’e’ Piazza San Marco?”

Most have waited a life time for this…an early evening gondola ride through the romantic back canals of Venice, being personally serenaded by a professional singer and violin or guitar player.

Dinner is on your own tonight and there are lots of great choices around your hotel. Even Hemingway’s famous “Harry’s Bar” is just around the corner. Your guide will be happy to make suggestions. Just ask. Dinner on your own. BB

DAY 4 – Wednesday - Venice, on to Florence, Dinner with the group.

This morning, it’s back to the mainland where we’ll meet our dependable water taxi to the high-speed rail station where we are off to Florence. Tonight, please be our guest at a fine local Florentine restaurant with flowing wines and great friends. Here at Buckingham Tours, our approach to dining is truly unique. Our favorite’s dishes represent the region and season we are traveling to. We call this, parla come mangia or “speak the language of your food”. From our unique, oftentimes “off-the-beaten path” restaurants we visit include a variety of handcrafted dishes with a local traditional touch — it's truly an immersion into authentic local Italian food and wine. To make sure things go smoothly, your Tour Director is here to make sure you interpret any menu item and offer suggestions. For the five total included dinners, your Tour director will select a variety of appetizers, featuring regional seasonal cuisine, and will select your wine for the evening. There’s a variety of red and white wine from the region you're traveling. BB, D

DAY 5 – Thursday - Florence, Sightseeing including ‘The David’, Dinner on your own

Florence, the fountainhead of the Renaissance-city of Dante, Boccaccio, Botticelli and Da Vinci! Enjoy a breathtaking panorama of the city atop Piazzale Michelangelo, followed by our tour of the Academy of Fine Arts where Michelangelo’s proud David stands, the majestic Cathedral built in 1296, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery with its ‘Gates of Paradise’ doors.

We follow the medieval streets to the most striking square in Florence, Piazza della Signoria and then to Florence’s most compelling Franciscan church built in 1294 - Santa Croce. It’s not only an artistic shrine with frescoes by Giotto, but also the burial place of 270 of the city’s most eminent inhabitants - among them Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Rossini.

In the cloister next door, we see the Pazzi Chapel - widely regarded as one of the most perfect early Renaissance creations.

Afternoon is FREE time. BB

DAY 6 - Friday - Florence, San Gimignano, Wine Tasting in Tuscany, Lunch & Dinner with group.

While the ambitious city of Florence was launching the Renaissance, just 40 miles away from Florence, San Gimmy as we refer to her, is considered one of the best preserved medieval city in Italy.

This afternoon, we’ll visit a Tuscan winery for lunch you’ll never forget and learn about the grape, the “nose”, food pairings and more importantly, which glass to use! We’ll enjoy a wine tasting with these special wines. Cin-Cin! Here at Buckingham Tours, our approach to dining is truly unique. Our favorite’s dishes represent the region and season we are traveling to. We call this, parla come mangia or “speak the language of your food”. From our unique, oftentimes “off-the-beaten path” restaurants we visit includes a variety of handcrafted dishes with a local traditional touch — it's truly an immersion into authentic local Italian food and wine. To make sure things go smoothly, your Tour Director will be available to make sure you interpret any menu item and offer suggestions. For the five total included dinners, your Tour director will select a variety of appetizers, featuring regional seasonal cuisine, and will select your wine for the evening. There’s a variety of red and white wine from the region you're traveling. BB, L, D

DAY 7 - Saturday - Morning high speed rail to Rome, Imperial Rome & the Coliseum, Dinner with the group.

This morning we enjoy our relaxing train ride south to Rome through Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio - the “green heart” of Italy.

This afternoon, we enjoy a panoramic tour of “Imperial Rome” including Castel Sant’Angelo, the Roman Forum, Largo Argentina, the Jewish Ghetto and the Circus Maximus. Then we’ll enter the Coliseum, reliving the brutal entertainment of the gladiators and the lions, refereed by the Emperor himself. Tonight, we rejoin the 21st century with a typical Roman dinner with the group at a fabulous local favorite of mine, a 5-minute walk from the hotel. Here at Buckingham Tours, our approach to dining is truly unique. Our favorite’s dishes represent the region and season we are traveling to. We call this, parla come mangia or “speak the language of your food”. From our unique, oftentimes “off-the-beaten path” restaurants we visit includes a variety of handcrafted dishes with a local traditional touch — it's truly an immersion into authentic local Italian food and wine. To make sure things go smoothly, your Tour Director will be available to make sure you interpret any menu item and offer suggestions. For the five total included dinners, your Tour director will select a variety of appetizers, featuring regional seasonal cuisine, and will select your wine for the evening. There’s a variety of red and white wine from the region you're traveling. BB, D

DAY 8 - Sunday – Rome, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, Dinner on your own.

This morning, it’s a 10-minute drive to another country – Vatican City! With our expert local guide, we’ll tour the Vatican Museums, a treasure trove of ancient Greek sculptures, medieval tapestries, and Renaissance paintings.

Our visit culminates in the Sistine Chapel, the room where the Pope is elected. Next we visit St. Peter’s Basilica, by far the largest church in Christendom. We’ll see Michelangelo’s Pieta, sculpted when he was just 24, as well as Bernini’s seven-story bronze canopy located above the main altar. Here at Buckingham Tours, our approach to dining is truly unique. Our favorite’s dishes represent the region and season we are traveling to. We call this, parla come mangia or “speak the language of your food”. From our unique, oftentimes “off-the-beaten path” restaurants we visit includes a variety of handcrafted dishes with a local traditional touch — it's truly an immersion into authentic local Italian food and wine. To make sure things go smoothly, your Tour Director will be available to make sure you interpret any menu item and offer suggestions. For the five total included dinners, your Tour director will select a variety of appetizers, featuring regional seasonal cuisine, and will select your wine for the evening. There’s a variety of red and white wine from the region you're traveling. BB

DAY 9 – Monday - Rome, Day of Leisure, Farewell Dinner.

A free day in Rome! But don’t sleep in too late - there’s much to see and do! Ask your Tour Director for suggestions.

Why not start with an espresso in Piazza Navona, toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure your return and stroll across the Tiber for a look at the Vatican. Rome is a great city for walking, shopping and people watching.

Tonight, you’re free to enjoy a night in Rome on your own with your new friends. Be sure to have an ice cream at one of the best shops in Rome, close to the Trevi Fountain, “Il Gelato di San Crispino”. BB, D

DAY 10 - Tuesday - Rome, Flight Home or off the Amalfi Coast Extension

This morning, you board your flight home, arriving in the USA the same day. While we say “arrivederci” to Italy, we realize we’re taking a little piece of it back home with us. Or for those lucky to stay, we are off to the amazing beautiful and stunning Amalfi Coast. From Rome, we charter a motor coach bus to take us to the seaside town of Amalfi, then on to Sorrento that afternoon. BB,

DAY 11 – Wednesday – Rome to the Amalfi Coast, Isle of Capri, Dinner on your own.

Speed across the glittering bay by Jetfoil to the world-famous Isle of Capri. Ride the funicular to Capri village for a guided visit of this beautiful town. Free time to explore the little shops on the pretty piazzetta before returning to Sorrento. The remainder of the day is at leisure. BB

DAY 12 - Thursday – Amalfi Coast, FREE Day or Pompeii, Dinner on your own.

A scenic drive southwards along the Highway of the Sun. Arrive in fascinating Pompeii, the Roman city both destroyed and preserved by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Your Local Guide will walk you past Patrician homes, public baths, and commercial districts that strikingly recall day-to-day life when Rome was at the apex of her power. That evening, a spectacular dinner experience awaits. Here at Buckingham Tours our approach to dining is truly unique. Our favorite’s dishes represent the region and season we are traveling to. We call this, parla come mangia or “speak the language of your food”. From our unique, oftentimes “off-the-beaten path” restaurants we visit includes a variety of handcrafted dishes with a local traditional touch — it's truly an immersion into authentic local Italian food and wine. To make sure things go smoothly, your Tour Director will be available to make sure you interpret any menu item and offer suggestions. For the five total included dinners, your Tour director will select a variety of appetizers, featuring regional seasonal cuisine, and will select your wine for the evening. There’s a variety of red and white wine from the region you're traveling. BB

Day 13 – Friday – Fly home out of Naples, Italy.

We will have a bus waiting for you to take you to the Naples airport. BB