Day trips from Rome to Florence - Naples - Assisi - Positano - Pompeii

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These are excursion other Italian regions:

Campania, Tuscany and Umbria, they require a full, ten-hour, day.

Florence in one day	Pompeii	Pompeii and Sorrento
Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri	Pompeii, Sorrento and Positano	Assisi and Umbria

· Florence in one day

Drive to Florence from Rome to tour the cradle of the Renaissance.

Once in the city of Florence you will be taken to see all the major highlights, such as Piazzale Michelangelo (panorama of the city), Piazza della Signoria, The Duomo (Cathedral), Santa Croce (the church where Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante and other famous Florentines are buried and the famous leather school of Florence was started by the Franciscan Monks), the Accademia Museum (that's where Michelangelo's David is kept), Ponte Vecchio etc.. Maybe you'll want to use your time in Florence to sightsee and/or shop, but in case you like to taste the

famous Florentine cuisine and Chianti wine. I'll be glad to suggest a good and handy restaurant. We'll leave Florence between 4:30 or 5:00 pm and will reach Rome in the evening.

Rates per vehicle for this excursion:
sedan (1/4 persons) 735 Euros;

minivan (4 persons) 760 Euros;

minivan (5/7 persons) 800 Euros;

minivan (5/7 persons) 850 Euros.

Driving times:
Rome to Florence: 2hr 30'

Florence to Rome: 2hr 30'

· Pompeii - One day excursion to Pompeii from Rome.

We leave from your hotel around 8:00 a.m. and drive to Pompeii. A stop can be made on the way there to visit a famous Cameo Factory and see the old artisans make cameos the same way the Greeks where making them 3000 years ago. This short stop also gives you the opportunity to stretch your legs and taste the famous Neapolitan Espresso coffee and the Sfogliatella pastry at the nearby coffee shop. We arrive in Pompeii to visit the famous excavations at about 11:00 a.m.. Unfortunately, though I would love to guide personally my clients through the ruins, I am not allowed to do so. They have local guides there and they are the only ones who have the permit for guiding through Pompeii's ruins. The cost for hiring a local guide is about 100 Euros, for a group up to 6 people, and the tour lasts nearly 2 hours. The alternative to hiring a personal guide is the audio guide, a sort of portable CD player that one takes along and activates once he arrives to the spot marked on the map, that comes with, it and tells the story of the particular site that moment he's looking at. After the tour and eventually a lunch break at one of the local pizzerias, we return to Rome.

	Rates per vehicle for this excursion: sedan (1/4 persons) 630 Euros; minivan (4 persons) 670 Euros; minivan (5/7 persons) 700 Euros; minivan (5/7 persons) 725 Euros.
	Driving times: Rome rest stop (Cameo Factory): 2hr Cameo Factory to Pompeii: 20' Pompeii to Rome: 2hr15'
Rates for these tours include: pick up and drop off at the hotel, full-day excursion (10 hr approx.), driving guide, vehicle, motorway tolls and fuel. Additional time, over 10 hours, will be charged 50 Euros per hour (any vehicle). Rates do not include: Lunch, drinks, personal purchases or any thing not specifically listed as included.

· Pompeii and Sorrento - One day excursion to Pompeii and Sorrento.

We leave from your hotel around 8:00 a.m. and drive to Sorrento first. Sorrento is a lovely resort area at the tip of the homonymous peninsula which separates the Gulf of Naples from the Gulf of Salerno. The drive to Sorrento offers unforgettable panoramas. Driving along the winding road, built on spectacular overhanging cliffs, the isle of Capri, the city of Naples and the mount Vesuvius appear in front of your eyes. On the way to Sorrento, we can make a stop to visit a famous Cameo Factory and see the old artisans at work making cameos the same way the Greeks where making here them 3000 years ago.

This short stop gives us the opportunity to stretch our legs and taste the famous Neapolitan Espresso coffee and the Sfogliatella pastry at the nearby coffee shop. Arriving in Sorrento about one hour can be spent walking around its narrow streets and looking at the colorful shops selling typical products like Limoncello liqueur, inlaid wooden furniture, embroidery and ceramics. Sorrento is also a good place for a nice, typical seafood based lunch by the sea in a good restaurants right on top of the wonderful cliffs or down by the seashore for a rather moderate price. Leaving Sorrento in the early afternoon, we drive to Pompeii to visit the famous excavations.

Unfortunately, though I would love to guide personally my clients through the ruins, I am not allowed to do so. They have local guides there and they are the only ones who have the permit for guiding through Pompeii's ruins. The cost for hiring a local guide is about 100 Euros, for a group up to 6 people, and the tour lasts nearly 2 hours. The alternative to hiring a personal guide is the audio guide, a sort of portable CD player that one takes along and activates once he arrives to the spot marked on the map, that comes with it, and tells the story of the particular site that moment he's looking at. After visiting Pompeii we return to Rome to arrive there in the early evening.

Rates per vehicle for this excursion:
sedan (1/4 persons) 735 Euros;

minivan (4 persons) 760 Euros;

minivan (5/7 persons) 800 Euros;

minivan (5/7 persons) 850 Euros.

Driving times:
Rome to Cameo Factory (pit stop): 2hr

Cameo Factory to Sorrento: 40'

Sorrento to Pompeii: 40'

Pompeii to Rome: 2hr15

· Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri

Only from June through September, when days are long enough...

This tour is practically the same as the one described above to Sorrento and Pompeii, but in the Summer we can manage to squeeze in a short excursion to the beautiful island of Capri. We drive to Sorrento and board the hydrofoil to Capri, return to Sorrento in the early afternoon and stop to visit the excavations of Pompeii on the way back to Rome. Return to Rome in the evening.

In Capri I work in collaboration with a local Taxi Driver who has been able to perfectly upkeep a Vintage FIAT from the 60's, also a Stretch Convertible, which is very cute and much better suits the "Dolce Vita" atmosphere of the island, rather than a newer car. He also speaks some basic English, and is a nice courteous person. All the other Taxi Drivers use a special FIAT Stretch Convertible New Car, car for 7 passengers. Going to Capri, one thing you'll want to see is the "Blue Grotto".

Normally tourists are routed on a big boat which from the Marina Grande goes to the Grotto, once they get to the grotto they have to wait to be transported to smaller boats that fit its entrance, and once they are done they are brought back to the bigger boat to go back to the port. This takes a couple of hours. The best alternative to go there by car, you save the time taking trip by boat and the wait outside of the entrance to the Grotto. The charge for the tour of the island is 150 Euros. You'll be driven to the different sites and picked up again at a set time than driven to the next place. Few people know you can drive to the Grotto and get tricked with the big boat, this way you can visit the grotto in 1hr rather than 2-3 without waiting a long time. Once you are done with the grotto, you will be taken to Anacapri and Town of Capri Itself.

Rates per vehicle for this excursion:
sedan (1/4 persons) 735 Euros;

minivan (4 persons) 760 Euros;

minivan (5/7 persons) 800 Euros;

minivan (5/7 persons) 850 Euros.

Driving times:
Rome to Cameo Factory (pit stop): 2hr

Cameo Factory to Sorrento: 40'

Sorrento to Capri by boat: 30' each way

Sorrento to Pompeii: 40'

Pompeii to Rome: 2hr15'

· Pompeii, Sorrento and Positano

Another tour for the High Summer, when days are longer!

This is almost exactly the same as the tour to Sorrento and Pompeii but, in this case, before going to Sorrento we do a little side trip on the famous Amalfi drive. We reach as far as Positano and spend some time there. After visiting Positano we drive to Sorrento to be there in time for lunch. In the early afternoon we leave Sorrento and stop to visit the excavations of Pompeii on the way back to Rome. Return to Rome in the evening.

Rates per vehicle for this excursion:
sedan (1/4 persons) 735 Euros;
minivan (4 persons) 760 Euros;
minivan (5/7 persons) 800 Euros;
minivan (5/7 persons) 850 Euros.

Driving times:
Rome to Cameo Factory (pit stop): 2hr

Cameo Factory to Positano: 40'

Positano to Sorrento: 30'

Sorrento to Pompeii: 40'

Pompeii to Rome: 2hr15'

· Assisi and Umbria – One day excursion to Assisi from Rome

Visit the famous city of St. Francis in the heart of Umbria. Gorgeous countryside. Return to Rome in the evening. The trip to Assisi is a great opportunity to see the famous Umbria, the region of Italy that rivals with Tuscany for the beauty of the countryside. The drive to Assisi from Rome takes about two hours and one gets to see some breathtaking panoramas. Umbria, the green heart of Italy they call it and it really is lush! Assisi was, in the pre-roman age influenced by the nearby Etruscans. Asisium was its name as it became a Roman municipality. The martyr Rufino introduced the Christian faith the 3rd century A.D.. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Assisi was sacked by the Goths and later recaptured by the Byzantines. Subject to Spoleto, it flourished again during the 11th and 12th centuries as an independent township, though it was troubled by wars. Subdued by Barbarossa, it was here that Federico II was educated. St. Francis and St. Claire were born here during this period (St. Francis 1181, St. Claire 1193).
From the 16th century to 1860, except for the brief Napoleonic period, it was part of the Papal States. Stone-cutters and masons gave Assisi an incomparable appearance, and time seems to have stopped before its beauty.

Its narrow streets between buildings built with in the typical local stone called Pietra Subasia with their red tile roofs make you think you’ve been traveling in a time-machine, rather than in a in normal car, to get there. Arriving in Assisi we stop to see the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, which is at the bottom of the hill, and than climb to the town to visit St. Claire’s . After lunch we visit St. Francis’.

Wanting to see more of Umbria in one day, the visit of Assisi can be limited to the church of St. Francis and a stroll through the typical streets, so the rest of the day can be spent visiting Deruta, famous for its ceramics, Todi and Orvieto.

The Upper Church of Saint Francis in Assisi

Rates per vehicle for this excursion:
sedan (1/4 persons) 630 Euros;
minivan (4 persons) 670 Euros;
minivan (5/7 persons) 700 Euros;
minivan (5/7 persons) 725 Euros.

Driving times:
Rome to Assisi: 2hr

Assisi to Rome: 2hr

Assisi to Deruta: 20'

Deruta to Todi: 20'

Todi to Orvieto: 30'

Orvieto to Rome: 1hr 10'