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Essential Provence Wine Tour

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Heart of Italy & Cinque Terre

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Bari | Appian Way Small Group Tour

Itinerary What's Included Pricing Hotels Map Request
11 days from

$50000

Small Group Tour!  Soak up the magic of Puglia with visits to its many famous sites before being amazed by the Sassi of Matera before travelling south to Sorrento. Boasting outstanding views over the Bay of Naples, Sorrento is the largest resort on the Amalfi Coast, bustling with a wide array of shopping, outdoor restaurants & entertainment choices! Rome's overwhelming history experiencing 3 days and ample time to visit its many splendours! 

Day 1: Bari

Benvenuti in Italia!    Arriving at Bari Airport or main railway station you will find your driver waiting for you and ready to bring you comfortably to your hotel in Alberobello where you will have some time to relax before an early evening Welcome briefing to meet your guide and your travelling companions followed by a Welcome Dinner (B)

Day 2 : Alberobello, Locorotondo & Cisternino

After breakfast, meet your Tour Host and start your exploration of Val d’Itria.  You will visit Locorotondo and Cisternino and pass along beautiful small villages, vineyards and ancient olive trees. Locorotondo is very close to Alberobello and is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Here, the town itself is the main sight. It's a pleasant place to spend an hour or two wandering, taking photographs and sitting at cafe tables. The historic part of town - the Centro Storico - is circular and perched on top of a hill. It's a whitewashed maze of little lanes lined with historic buildings, some humble and faded, others retaining rather grand baroque archways and architectural details.   The territory of Cisternino was already inhabited during the Middle Palaeolithic period by humans who reached the area from the north and the south of Puglia. These populations left numerous traces of their presence here, such as tools that they used like spears spikes, blades, scrapers and chisels used to engrave bones.  Cisternino is today a small charming old town centre that has remained virtually intact for centuries with its white houses, narrow streets, little churches and elegant central piazza with a series of panoramic viewpoints from which you can appreciate the surrounding countryside, dotted with its rolling hills, dry stone walls and Trulli roofs piercing the green fields. Cisternino is nice to visit at any time of day, though the magical moments are the summer's evening when the sun sets and the locals come out for their evening stroll.   We will have a wine and cheese tasting followed by a farmer lunch in a beautiful Masseria,  from where you will see the green of olives and the blue of the Adriatic sea.  Return to Alberobello where you will have time to explore the city on your own.  Alberobello is a fascinating place to visit, above all because of the Trulli, the traditional dome-shaped buildings made from the local stone. The town is surrounded by the olive groves and vineyards typical of the Puglia region. Trulli is a word that derives from the Greek "tholos"  ("dome"), the typical shape of the buildings. Each whitewashed “trullo” is built without any lime or cement and has a conical roof on the outside. Return to Alberobello for an evening on your own. (B.L)

Day 3 : Ostuni, Polignano & Monopoli

Today, visit Ostuni, Polignano & Monopoli.  Ostuni, perched on three hills 218 metres above sea level, is better known as the “White Town”, thanks to the characteristic whitewashed houses of its historic centre, a tradition the inhabitants still keep on. The Fifteenth-century Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral dominates the town, with a façade sporting a 24-rays rose window of rare beauty. A series of churches and elegant houses embellish the old town, surrounded by Aragonese walls, where there are the two ancient town gates, Porta Nova and Porta San Demetrio.  The small town of Polignano enjoys a spectacular position. Placed approximately 50 miles south of Bari it is erected on the edge of a rocky gorge. The town is considered one of the most ancient establishments in Puglia and was populated by serial invaders ranging from the Huns to the Normans. People come here to view the crashing waves, visit the caves and crowd out the panifici (bakery) in the atmospheric historical centre.  In Monopoli, you will experience the “Paese Vecchio” as the locals usually call the heart of the town, where you will find an unusual concentration of cultural heritage and churches,  positioned literally one next to another. You will find small and charming homes, once inhabited by heroic fishermen and expert farmers, whose children are still dedicated to producing great wines.  Walking among the narrow streets, between arches and alleys, you will feel sea air and fragrances of freshly hanging laundry or tomato sauce cooked for hours. At the end of the tour, you'll return to your hotel in Alberobello (B)

Day 4 : Alberobello | Matera | Sorrento Coast

After breakfast this morning you will meet your driver to travel to Sorrento with an en-route stop in Matera where you will have free time to explore the city. Matera is an ancient city that seems to have existed forever. It is the third oldest city in the world, after Aleppo and Jericho, with over 10,000 years of history.  From natural cavities carved by wind and rain of the past to the first man-made caves, we can discover how easy it was to shape the limestone material of the Sassi rock. Hence real underground dwellings, in the belly of Mother Earth, which will leave you speechless. A  woven structure that has intrigued experts has also discovered how it had been possible to live with the absence of running water. There is still a lot to tell about the water systems created to collect water, one of the elements that have helped to give in Matera the title of a  World Heritage Site. You can visit the most beautiful churches, starting from the Duomo on the Civita; walk through the beautiful streets and traffic-free squares, populated with people; you can enjoy the most picturesque alleys, and you will continue your visit in the heart of the two Sassi’s. You will have free time for lunch before continuing to Sorrento,  where you will arrive late afternoon and enjoy an evening on your own. (B)

Day 5: Amalfi Drive

The beauty of Amalfi Coast is legendary and has inspired artists, writers, and musicians over the centuries and widely considered Italy's most scenic stretch of coastline, deemed by UNESCO  "an outstanding example of a Mediterranean landscape, with exceptional cultural and natural scenic values". These delicate fishing villages embrace the hillsides or stretch in deep green valleys, along a dramatic coastline, challenging the force of gravity. Your driver-guide will lead you first to the town of Amalfi where you will have free time to explore the medieval part of the city with the imposing Dome of St.Andrew and ancient buildings dated from the times when Amalfi was one of the maritime power in the Mediterranean Sea.   You will stop in Minori for a sweet-tasting at Sal de Riso, one of the most celebrated pastry chef in Italy Later, you will ascend to Ravello, considered the most romantic and beautiful small towns in southern Italy. Perched on severe, terraced slopes, the French novelist André Gide used to say that Ravello was closer to the sky than the sea. Covered with luxuriant gardens, peaceful and somnolent roads, you will find corners providing unforgettable views over the sky-blue coast below. Return to Sorrento in the late afternoon (B)

Day 6: Pompeii

Today we will visit the ancient Pompeii. Pompeii is not a time machine but the closest thing you can find to learn about everyday life in an ancient Roman city. Once a vibrant town,  Pompeii’s fate was sealed with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 7.9 A.D. Today, Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the most visited archaeological sites in all the world.   Pompeii was a major port town for the Roman empire, which dominated the whole  Mediterranean Sea. As a classic port, the town was filled with sailor’s hotels, bars, public baths, taverns, and brothels. The archaeological site and continuous excavations give visitors the best look there is on ancient Roman days. Visit the Roman Forum; the theatre, whose acoustics are so good you don’t need microphones to be heard from the stage; the public baths with towering columns. Built-in 70 A.D., the Anfiteatro is the oldest-known Roman amphitheatre in existence. Now covered in grass, it originally held up to 20,000 spectators.   Return to Sorrento for lunch ( not included) and enjoy an afternoon of relaxing or continue your exploration of the city. Tonight enjoy a candlelight dinner in Sorrento with sea view  (B.D)

Day 7: Sorrento

Today is yours to pass as you choose, a perfect day to relax or take the opportunity to continue the exploration of the magnificent region.   You may consider one of our many optional tours and we suggest a visit to the Isle of Capri, a tour to Paestum to visit the Greek Temples and taste the original buffalo mozzarella or explore Amalfi Coast by boat. (B)

Day 8: Sorrento | Rome

After breakfast this morning you'll be transferred to the railway station of Naples with ample time to board your train with reserved seating to Rome where you will find your driver waiting to bring you comfortably to your Rome hotel.   Dinner this evening will be hosted at a nearby restaurant within walking distance of your hotel.(B.D)

Day 9: Rome | Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica + Heart of Rome Walking Tour

This morning, after breakfast you'll meet your driver and head to the Vatican Museum where you will enjoy Skip-the-Line entrance.  Your visit will be memorable: our guides have drawn up a route to include all the major sights as well as some unexpected surprises. See the Belvedere Courtyard with Apollo Belvedere & Laocoön & His Sons, Raphael Rooms, the Galleries of the Candelabra, of the Maps and of the Tapestries, the Sistine Chapel and the Pinecone Courtyard plus St. Peter's Basilica ending with the magnificent view of the imposing Cathedral from St. Peter's Square.  You'll return to your hotel with your driver and enjoy some free time for lunch on your own or simply take some time to relax before, late in the afternoon you'll meet your tour leader for a walking tour of the Baroque Town visiting Piazza Navona, the Pantheon,  the Spanish Steps, Piazza di Spagna, the Italian Parliament and the fascinating narrow streets of ancient Rome.   Now you can return to your hotel with your tour leader or remain in the historic centre to enjoy dinner on your own in the very heart of the eternal city. (B)

Day 10: Rome

Today is yours to pass as you choose. This tour has been designed to offer the best of each city visited combined with ample free time to customise your travel experience as well as take your time to relax. Optional tours to choose from today include and Imperial Rome Tour with Colosseum Visit, or, visit one of the most beautiful art collections in Europe at Palazzo Borghese. (B)

Day 11: Rome

Today marks the end of your Appian Way Small Group Tour.  At a time to suit your departing flight your driver will bring you to the airport with ample time to check-in and begin your journey home. Arrivederci! (B)

Guaranteed departures

Guaranteed departures: July 17 & 31; August 28; September 11 & 25; October 9 & 23; November 6, 2020  April 9 & 23; May 14 & 28; June 11 & 25; July 9 & 30; August 20; September 3 & 17; October 1 & 15, 2021