Full day excursion to Tivoli, Castelgandolfo and Nemi.

Wine tasting tour. 8 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to the Roman Castles, 4 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at the time you like and drive to Tivoli. In Tivoli we'll walk through the medieval town and visit Villa D'Este. After the tour of the villa we drive to Castelgandolfo on a beautiful road through the olive groves first and vineyards then. Willingly we can stop for lunch in a little out-of-the-way restaurant. We'll then tour around Castelgandolfo and Nemi in the afternoon. At the end of the tour you'll be driven back to your hotel.

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We will be driving on the motorway towards Tivoli and reach it within 45 minutes. Time permitting we will stop to look at the marble quarries at the foot of the hill on the way to Tivoli Once in Tivoli we'll stroll through the streets of the medieval town to get to the Villa D'Este and visit the place. Built in the 16th Century for the Cardinal Ippolito D'Este (son of the famous Lucrezia Borgia) when he became the governor of Tivoli, the beautiful villa is world known for its astounding garden decorated by hundreds of artistic water fountains. Once we return to the car, we drive to Castelgandolfo on a beautiful road taking us through the olive groves that Tivoli is famous for and, once down from the mountains we'll be driving through the vineyards that produce the famous white wine of the "Castelli Romani". You may have tried the most famous one "Frascati". They call this area the Castelli Romani (Roman Castles) because the towns in this area originated from the castles the Roman nobles built for themselves here. Over the years the people built their homes outside the castles so to and that's how the towns were formed. In the Renaissance, those castles were made into villas where the nobles went to spend their summers away from the heat of Rome. The location and the climate are ideal for cultivating grape vines and the area has always been known for producing wonderful white wines. Wines usually named after the town that produces them, so Frascati wine is produced in the town of Frascati. We'll visit Castelgandolfo, famous for being the seat for the Papal Summer Residence, and later we proceed, driving on the beautiful "Via dei Laghi" (the road of the lakes), to Nemi. The road climbs the hills between the woods of the Alban Hills and offers breath taking panoramas of the towns and the lakes. Nemi is a lovely little town overlooking the homonymous lake and known for producing special strawberries. The Papal Residence cannot be visited, but the Palace can be seen from the outside. In Castelgandolfo are also shops that represent the local wineries, so you can go wine tasting. Wine tasting can also be arranged at one of the local wineries.

Full day excursion to Ostia, Castelgandolfo and Nemi.

Wine tasting tour. 8 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to the Roman Castles, 4 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at the time you like and drive to Ostia. In Ostia we'll visit the excavations site and then drive to Castelgandolfo. Lunch can be in Nemi or Castelgandolfo. We'll tour around Castelgandolfo and Nemi in the afternoon. At the end of the tour you'll be driven back to your hotel.

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Located at the mouth of the Tiber river, only a half-hour drive from Rome, the visit of Ostia is like the visit of Tivoli and the Roman Castles: a relaxing trip. Ostia Antica (Ancient Ostia) was founded Ostia in the seventh century B.C., as a military fort, called Castrum, that guarded the river mouth against sea borne invasions. Ostia later gained prominence as the domestic landing for cargo boats. Ostia is easily comparable to Pompeii: you walk through the ruins of a city that was abandoned in the fifth century A.D., but you'll have the company of thousands of tourists like in Pompeii because it's not nearly as well known.Ostia was for one thousand and five hundred years a ghost town, covered by marshy swamp and infested with malaria. In the early nineteen hundreds, the Italian Government ordered the first systematic archaeological excavations, and to this day, with every unearthed stone, they add to our knowledge and understanding of a city that once stood next to Rome in grandeur. Driving from Ostia to Castelgandolfo we'll be go through the vineyards that produce the famous white wine of the "Castelli Romani". You may have tried the most famous one "Frascati". They call this area the Castelli Romani (Roman Castles) because the towns in this area originated from the castles the Roman nobles built for themselves here. Over the years the people built their homes outside the castles so to and that's how the towns were formed. In the Renaissance, those castles were made into villas where the nobles went to spend their summers away from the heat of Rome. The location and the climate are ideal for cultivating grape vines and the area has always been known for producing wonderful white wines. Wines usually named after the town that produces them, so Frascati wine is produced in the town of Frascati. We'll visit Castelgandolfo, famous for being the seat for the Papal Summer Residence, and later we proceed, driving on the beautiful "Via dei Laghi" (the road of the lakes), to Nemi. The road climbs the hills between the woods of the Alban Hills and offers breath taking panoramas of the towns and the lakes. Nemi is a lovely little town overlooking the homonymous lake and known for producing special strawberries. The Papal Residence cannot be visited, but the Palace can be seen from the outside. In Castelgandolfo are also shops that represent the local wineries, so you can go wine tasting. Wine tasting can also be arranged at one of the local wineries.

Full day excursion to Tivoli and Ostia. 8 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to the Roman Castles, 4 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at the time you like and drive to Ostia. In Ostia we'll visit the excavations site and then drive to Tivoli. Lunch can be in Tivoli or Ostia. We'll tour around Villa D'Este in the afternoon. At the end of the tour you'll be driven back to your hotel. The itinerary could be reversed, Villa D'Este in the morning and Ostia in the afternoon.

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Located at the mouth of the Tiber river, only a half-hour drive from Rome, Ostia Antica (Ancient Ostia) offer a unique opportunity to learn more about the Ancient Romans. Founded in the seventh century B.C., as a military fort, called Castrum, that guarded the river mouth against sea borne invasions, Ostia later gained prominence as the domestic landing for cargo boats. Ostia is easily comparable to Pompeii: you walk through the ruins of a city that was abandoned in the fifth century A.D., but you'll not have the company of thousands of tourists like in Pompeii because it's not nearly as well known. Ostia was for 1500 years a ghost town, covered by marshy swamp and infested with malaria. In the early the Italian Government ordered the first systematic archaeological excavations in the beginning of the 19th Century, and to this day, not all of Ancient Ostia was dug out. Driving from Ostia to Tivoli, we'll have to skirt Rome driving on the freeway the belts the city and then get on the motorway. On the way to Tivoli, time permitting we will stop to look at the marble quarries at the foot of the hill. Once in Tivoli we'll stroll through the streets of the medieval town to get to the Villa D'Este and visit the place. Built in the 16th Century for the Cardinal Ippolito D'Este (son of the famous Lucrezia Borgia) when he became the governor of Tivoli, the beautiful villa is world known for its astounding garden decorated by hundreds of artistic water fountains.

Full day excursion to Tour to Trisulti, Fumone and Fiuggi. 8 hours.

A wonderful excursion off the beaten path to discover places that are unimaginable for most tourists. Tour Ciociaria, an area just about 50 miles south of Rome uncontaminated by mass tourism yet. Experience visiting a perfectly medieval walled in town, the silence of an abbey in the mountains, the silent panoramas with sheep grazing and hilltop medieval villages. Enjoy an authentic meal prepared only with local product and eventually visit a winery. Travel a few miles in distance but a few centuries in time!

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to the Roman Castles, 4 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at the time you like and drive to

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Excursion to Sermoneta, Nifa and Valvisciolo. 8 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to the Roman Castles, 4 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at the time you like and drive to

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Excursion to the Etruscan sites:

Tarquinia, Ceri and Cerveteri. 8 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to the Roman Castles, 4 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at the time you like and we drive to Tarquinia, about 50 miles north of Rome on the coast.. Then we go to Ceri, where we'll have lunch. In the afternoon we drive to Cerveteri to visit the little town itself and the Etruscan necropolis in the nearby locality called “Banditaccia”.

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The room inside was decorated like a rich home, with paintings and bas-reliefs.

Find out more about the Etruscans here.

When these tombs where found they contained the items that we can now see in the museums: arms, jewels, pottery, statues, mirrors etc.The Etruscans were mysterious people who populated central Italy long before the days of Rome's greatness, People far advanced in civilization the Etruscans (apparently they called themselves Tyrrhenians) rose to prosperity and power, then almost disappeared from history, leaving behind themselves unsolved questions about their origin and culture. A common theory is that they came from Asia Minor and they would be the Lydian's described by the Greek historian Herodotus who left Asia because of famine and colonized northern and central Italy. They commenced with the Greeks, the Phoenicians and the Egyptians and they were obviously influenced by those cultures. They tried to overrule the Romans by merging with them rather than trying to conquer them; the last three of the “seven kings of Rome” were in fact Etruscan. It seems that the Romans changed from kingdom to democracy just to get rid of the Etruscan kings. The Etruscans were than expelled by the Romans who later conquered and absorbed them, finally adopting many of their advanced arts, customs and institutions. Little remains of the Etruscan literature and their language has been only partially deciphered. The knowledge we have of the Etruscans only comes from studying the remains of their city walls, houses, monuments, and especially their tombs. The tombs in fact contained weapons, exquisite jewellery, coins; statues of stone, bronze and terra-cotta. Plus their famous black pottery (bucchero). Grecian and Oriental influences are seen in the style of their pottery.

Full day trip to Florence from Rome. 12 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the full day excursion to Florence from Rome. 12 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at 7:30/8:00 am and drive to Florence via the "Autostrada del Sole", the trip takes approximately 3 hours, so we arrive there around 10:30/11:00 am. We tour around Florence for about one hour and head back for Rome around 4:30/500 pm. Around 8:00 pm you're back at your hotel.

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Once in the city of Florence you will be taken to all the major highlights. The first stop will be made in Piazzale Michelangelo a beautiful lookout point from where you can see a great panorama of the city. Then you'll be driven down to The Duomo, the city's Cathedral. From there you can walk to Piazza della Signoria which is the main square and it's decorated with statues made by famous Florentine artists of the renaissance. Not too far from the Signoria Square is the Ponte Vecchio, the famous "Old Bridge", where the Florentine gold craftsmen have had their shops since 1500's and you can get a beautiful view of Florence's river, the Arno. Than we'll drive to Santa Croce. This is the church where Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante and other famous Florentines are buried and the seat for the famous leather school of Florence, which was started by the Franciscan Monks. Depending on the time set for our reservation for the Accademia Museum you'll be also taken there to see Michelangelo's David. Maybe you'll want to use part of your time in Florence  also to do some shopping, You can do that as you stroll between the Duomo, Signoria Square and Ponte Vecchio, in fact that's the area where most of the shops are. If you should instead be hunting for top quality, you can walk down the famous via Tornabuoni. This street is not too far from the Duomo, but you'll have to give up some of your sightseeing time to shop there. In case you should instead like spend your time tasting 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.

Full day tour to Pompeii from Rome. 8 hours

A day trip to Pompeii from Rome to visit the excavations and have an unforgettable lunch by the sea before returning to Rome. Tour the excavations to enrich your culture learning about life in ancient Rome, but also familiarize with the Neapolitan way of life sitting by the sea enjoying a sea food based meal and some of the famous local chilled white wine.

Driving guides aren't allowed to guide you through the site and I warmly suggest to hire a local guide for the tour of Pompeii

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to the Roman Castles, 4 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at 7:30/8:00 am and drive to Pompeii. After the tour of the excavations we drive to Seiano, a place on the coast, for lunch and then return to Rome. You'll be back at your hotel around 6:00 pm.

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Full day tour to Assisi and Umbria from Rome. 10 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to Assisi and Umbria. 4 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at 7:30/8:00 am and drive to Umbria. Depending on your preferences, we may spend the day in Assisi and visit it thoroughly, or spend just a couple of hours there to see the highlights and then continue to Deruta, Todi and Orvieto.

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Full day tour to Sorrento and Pompeii from Rome. 12 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to Sorrento and Pompeii from Rome. 12 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at 7:30/8:00 am and drive to Sorrento first, making a stop on the way there. We'll drive along the and reach Sorrento, which is also the ideal place to stop for lunch. In the afternoon we drive to Pompeii to visit the excavations and then return to your hotel in Rome.

This itinerary could be reversed: Pompeii in the morning and Positano in the afternoon.

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We leave from your hotel around 7:30/8:00 am and drive to Sorrento first. After driving for 2 hours you're going to need pit stop and the Cameo factory in Herculaneum is perfect for this, not only you can use their clean restrooms (in Pompeii they're filthy!) but you can also learn about the cameos since they give you a little tour. Across the street from the factory there's a coffee shop where you can try the famous Neapolitan "Espresso".

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. 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 personally guide 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.

Full day tour to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii from Rome. 12 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to Positano and Pompeii, 12 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at 7:30/8:00 am and drive to Positano first, making a stop on the way there. We'll drive on the Coast of Sorrento and we'll cross the hills to get on the Amalfi Drive to reach Positano. We drive then to drive to Sorrento, which is also the ideal place to stop for lunch. In the afternoon we drive to Pompeii to visit the excavations and then return to your hotel in Rome.

This itinerary could be reversed: Pompeii in the morning and Positano in the afternoon.

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We leave from your hotel around 7:30/8:00 am and drive to Sorrento first. After driving for 2 hours you're going to need pit stop and the Cameo factory in Herculaneum is perfect for this, not only you can use their clean restrooms (in Pompeii they're filthy!) but you can also learn about the cameos since they give you a little tour. Across the street from the factory there's a coffee shop where you can try the famous Neapolitan "Espresso".

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. 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 a lovely resort area at the tip of the homonymous peninsula which separates the Gulf of Naples from the Gulf of Salerno. 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. The drive from Sorrento to Pompeii 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.

Unfortunately, though I would love to personally guide 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.

Full day tour to Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii from Rome. 12 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to the Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii from Rome, 12 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at 7:30 am and drive to Pompeii first, making a stop on the way there. After visiting the excavations, we drive along the coast to reach Sorrento. You board the ferry from Sorrento and reach Capri in about 30 minutes. You tour around Capri and then catch the ferry (one hour) to Naples. While you'll be visiting Capri, I'll drive to Naples and meet you there. Once we meet again in Naples, we drive back to your hotel in Rome.

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This tour is similar to 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 make a stop just before Pompeii. After driving for 2 hours you're going to need pit stop and the Cameo factory in Herculaneum is perfect for this, not only you can use their clean restrooms (in Pompeii they're filthy!) but you can also learn about the cameos since they give you a little tour. Across the street from the factory there's a coffee shop where you can try the famous Neapolitan "Espresso". After visiting Pompeii, we drive to Sorrento and board the hydrofoil to Capri. We have to be there by 1:30 pm, so there's no time to stop for lunch, you'll have time for lunch in Capri. An alternative would be to bring sandwiches and eat them on the ferry. While you'll be visiting Capri, I'll drive to Naples and meet you there and so we'll save about one hour. Once we meet again in Naples, we drive back to your hotel in Rome.

In Capri I suggest to use a local Taxi to tour the island. The taxi drivers generally speak enough English to give you a little tour and will take you all over the island. They will make stops to let you walk around the most interesting places and set a time with you to get picked up again and drive you to the next place. The usual charge for the tour of the island is 200 Euros.  Once you are done with the grotto, you will be taken to Anacapri and Town of Capri Itself. The biggest attraction in Capri is the "Blue Grotto". Normally tourists are routed onto a the big boats which, from the Marina Grande, bring them to the Grotto. Once the boat gets to the Grotto's entrance, tourists have to wait aboard to be taken inside by smaller boats that fit its 6-feet wide entrance. They spend a few minutes inside the Grotto and then they are brought back to the bigger boat which takes them back to the port. The whole thing takes a couple of hours. Few people know you can drive to the Grotto and get tricked into going on the big boat. If you drive there you can visit the grotto in 1hr rather than 2 or 3 without waiting a long time.

The alternative to using a taxi is to use the funicular to get to the city of Capri and, naturally, to go to the Blue Grotto by boat. The entrance to the Grotto is so shallow and small that if the sea is a little wavy they'll not let you visit it and in such case you can use the time to take the bus to Anacapri, which you would not have the time for if you went to the Grotto by boat.

Touring by taxi is a better alternative, you can go all over in a couple of hours. You save time skipping the trip by boat and the wait outside the Grotto's entrance on a rocking boat.

My favored taxi driver on the island is Paolo, yes same name, 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.

Excursion to . 8 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to the Roman Castles, 4 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at the time you like and drive to

More about this tour:

Excursion to . 8 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to the Roman Castles, 4 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at the time you like and drive to

More about this tour:

Excursion to . 8 hours

Short description of the itinerary for the excursion to the Roman Castles, 4 hours:

We meet at your hotel in Rome at the time you like and drive to

More about this tour: