A Culinary Journey through Tuscany
From: $3149
per person dbl*
• 7 Night Stay at One Hotel in Chianti
• Truffle Demonstration & Tasting at a Tuscan Estate
• Florence Walking Tour
• Academy Gallery & the Statue of David
• Pasta Making Cooking Class
• Winery Tour & Tasting
• Pecorino Cheese Tasting
• Music & Wine Experience with a local Sommelier
at a Farmhouse in Montalcino
• Sienna Walking Tour
• Dinner at Tuscan Farmhouse & Winery
• San Gimignano
• Gelato Tasting
• Lunch at a local Farmhouse famous for Saffron
• Lake Trasimeno Boat Excursion
• Island Maggiore with Lunch & Wine
• Full Day at Leisure to Relax or Explore on Your Own
7 Nights First Class Hotel Accommodations, 16 Meals: 7 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches & 6 Dinners, Professional Tour Director, Hotel Transfers, Motorcoach Transportation, Admissions per Itinerary, Sightseeing per Itinerary, Baggage Handling at Hotels
March 16, 25 • October 28 •
November 4, 11 – $3149 dbl**
April 22 • may 13 • September 16, 12 • October 7, 14, 21 – $3249 dbl**
1 2 3 4
5 Night(s) Tuscany – Hotel Borgo Di Cortefreda, Boccioleto Resort, Villa Sabolini, Hotel Garden Sienna or Similar – Tuscany
2 Night(s) Florence – Hotel Villa Neroli or Similar
Hotels are subject to change. On some dates alternative hotels may be used.
BOOKING DISCOUNT SAVINGS* – UP TO $200 PER COUPLE/$100 PER PERSON
A Culinary Journey through Tuscany
9-DAYS
DAY 1: DEPART USA
Board your overnight flight to Europe.
DAY 2: ARRIVE FLORENCE – TUSCANY
Arrive in Florence, meet your Tour Director and transfer to your hotel in Tuscany for a five-night stay. The Chianti and Umbria Regions of Tuscany are filled with picturesque landscapes, rolling hills, olive groves, beautiful vineyards and charming Tuscan hilltop towns. Enjoy a Welcome Dinner this evening.
(D) Overnight: Tuscany
DAY 3: ORGANIC COOKING CLASS – OLIVE OIL EXPERIENCE
Today enjoy an Organic cooking & pasta making class and lunch. Enjoy a welcome drink while the chef discusses the class, recipe and food to be made. The restaurant staff will assist you with putting on your aprons and the cooking fun begins! At the end of the cooking class you will get to eat and enjoy what you have prepared for lunch. Later this afternoon visit a local Olive Oil producing farm to learn how olive oil is produce. Sample some organic extra virgin olive oil, along with vinegar and Chianti Classico wine. Dinner is included this evening.
(B,L,D) Overnight: Tuscany
DAY 4: VOLTERRA & SAN GIMIGNANO
Today we travel to Volterra, another ancient and beautiful hilltop Italian city. Enjoy some free time in Volterra then continue to a family-run farmhouse that specializes in saffron production for lunch. This afternoon we visit San Gimignano, the epitome of a Tuscan hill town, where nobles built more splendid towers to outdo one another and indulge in their need for status. The medieval structures of this city have largely remained intact and San Gimignano, with its large number of art treasures, is truly considered an open-air museum. Next enjoy a delicious gelato ice cream in one of the oldest gelateria in Italy that produces unique flavors of gelato which are famous world-wide. Later, visit a local Tuscan Farmhouse and enjoy dinner featuring typical Tuscan dishes paired with local wine.
(B,L,D) Overnight: Tuscany
DAY 5: LAKE TRASIMENO – ISLAND MAGGIORE – UMBRIA REGION
Begin your morning with breakfast and journey to Lake Trasimeno located in the Umbria Region of Tuscany. The heart shaped Lake Trasimeno is surrounded by rolling hills, olive groves, woods of oak and cypress trees, vineyards and sunflower fields that frame castle-topped medieval towns and villages. Next enjoy a boat cruise to the Island Maggiore, where we will have lunch at a traditional restaurant located on the lake. Return to your hotel with the evening at leisure.
(B,L) Overnight: Tuscany
DAY 6: TUSCANY AS YOU WISH – PISA & LUCCA OPTIONAL
Today is a full day at leisure to explore on your own or join the full day optional tour to Pisa & Lucca. See the remarkable Leaning Tower of Pisa and more of Pisa’s “field of miracles,” such as the Duomo and the Baptistry. Visit Lucca and explore the Old Town filled with quaint shops and Gothic palaces. Lucca’s great era was in the Gothic time just before the Renaissance, and the city contains stunning architecture from that period.
(B) Overnight: Tuscany
DAY 7: SIENA – TUSCAN ESTATE DINNER – FLORENCE
This morning travel to Siena, the heart of Tuscany, where a local guide awaits you for a walking tour in the Old Town. The highlight is the Piazza del Campo, the seashell-shaped square on which the famous horse-race, the Palio, takes place each year. Enjoy lunch on your own. Later this afternoon travel to a lovely Tuscan Estate. Learn about truffles followed by delicious tastings of oil and truffle butter bruschetta, salami, pecorino cheese, and wines from the estate with and included dinner to follow. Later, travel to Florence and check into your hotel for a two-night stay.
(B,D) Overnight: Florence
DAY 8: FLORENCE SIGHTSEEING
Today enjoy a Florence City Tour featuring a visit to the Academy Gallery to see Michelangelo’s original Statue of David, an incredible sight. View the Cathedral to see Giotto’s Bell Tower and Baptistry with its impressive ‘Gates of Paradise’. Buildings that demonstrate the traditions of Florentine art and architecture from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Also see the open-air museum of Piazza Della Signoria & Santa Croce, which houses the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo. The evening is at leisure for dinner on your own.
(B) Overnight: Florence
DAY 9: FLORENCE – CIAO AND HOMEWARD BOUND
Ciao ! Transfer to Florence Airport for your flight home with wonderful memories of Tuscany and Florence OR join the 3-night optional tour extension to Rome. (B)
3-NIGHT ROME EXTENSION
Inclusions: Three Nights Hotel in Rome (Mama Shelter Hotel, Hotel Cardinal St. Peter or Similar), 3 Breakfasts, Tour Director, Deluxe Motorcoach, Assisi Walking Tour, Rome City Tour, Entrance into Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel, Sightseeing & Admissions per Itinerary, Baggage Handling & Airport Transfers.
**Extension must be booked with your initial $500 tour deposit. Due to group air policies outbound air could be a different schedule than the rest of your group for Rome extension passengers. • 20 passenger minimum
Single Room Supplement + ($1250) Triple Room Reduction – ($50) per person **Rates are Land only, per person double
Call for Roundtrip Air Package Rates and details
Land only rates do not include hotel transfers.
Roundtrip air package includes hotel transfers
On some dates alternate hotels may be used
* Booking Discount Details – Make your Final Payment by check & receive $200 per couple/$100 per person savings on Air Inclusive Bookings. Land Only/Own Air Bookings receive $100 per couple/$50 per person savings.
OPTIONAL ROME EXTENSION
OPTIONAL ROME EXTENSION: **RATES: $1199 PP DBL / +$450 SINGLE SUPPLEMENT
OPTIONAL 3-NIGHT ROME EXTENSION
DAY 9: FLORENCE – ASSISI – ETERNAL ROME
Travel south today into the Umbrian countryside to the beautiful hilltop town of Assisi, a well-preserved medieval hill town designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its art and architecture, and the hometown of St. Francis, the revered patron saint of animals and founder of the Franciscan order. Enjoy a guided walking tour to visit both the upper and lower parts of the great Basilica of St. Francis. St. Francis was born here in 1182. Later travel to the ‘Eternal City’ of Rome and the capitol of Italy. Check into your hotel for a 3-night stay. The evening is at leisure.
(B) Overnight: Rome
DAY 10: ROME SIGHTSEEING – VATICAN MUSEUM – SISTINE CHAPEL
Enjoy a Rome City Tour to see some of the highlights of the city such as, the Colosseum, The Arch of Constantine, Circus Maximus, Piazza Venezia, the Pantheon and more. Next it’s off to visit another country – Vatican City. With our expert local guide, tour the Vatican Museums – a massive collection of ancient Greek sculptures, medieval tapestries and Renaissance paintings. See the Sistine Chapel, its ceiling painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. This room, receives more than five million visitors each year and is also where the Pope is elected. Next, visit St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City for a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica to view the art and architecture of one of the largest and most famous churches in the world. We’ll see Michelangelo’s Pieta as well as Bernini’s seven story bronze canopy located above the main altar. The evening is at leisure to explore Rome on your own.
(B) Overnight: Rome
DAY 11: ROME – FREE DAY AS YOU WISH
The entire day is free to explore Rome on your own. Perhaps a tour inside the Colosseum, a walk
on Via Veneto, climb the Spanish Steps, indulge in an espresso or cappuccino in the Piazza
Navona at a local café or shop for souvenirs.
(B) Overnight: Rome
DAY 12: ROME – CIAO – FLIGHT HOME
Transfer to the airport for your flight home with wonderful memories of Tuscany, Florence and Rome.
(B)
