Pricing
Departures: Throughout the year as a private journey.
2010 Prices:
Main Tour:
Per person sharing room from $8,380
Lakes Tour:
Per person sharing room from $4,980
Amalfi Coast Tour:
Per person sharing room from $3,980
2011 Prices:
Main Tour:
Per person sharing room from $8,890
Lakes Tour:
Per person sharing room from $5,180
Amalfi Coast Tour:
Per person sharing room from $3,980
For more information, to book, or to speak to an R. Crusoe & Son tour specialist, please call us at 800-585-8555.
What Makes This Journey Best?
Main Tour: Investigating Italy
- Option to cruise to the Venice's Lagoon Islands by private launch.
- Enjoy "no-wait" entry into the Galleria dell’Academia, the Uffizi, and the Vatican museums.
- Private contrada tour in Siena.
- In Chianti, take a private wine estate tour and have a tasting.
Pre-Tour: Ravishing Italian Lakes
- Explore Lake Como on a full-day excursion by private boat.
- Visit Stresa and the historic Borromean Islands in Lake Maggiore.
Post-Tour: Romantic Amalfi Coast
- Trace the famous corniche along Amalfi's dramatic coast.
- Poke around the hill towns of Amalfi, Ravello, and Positano.
- Visit romantic Capri via hydrofoil.
- Stay in hand-selected rooms at Le Sirenuse or Il San Pietro.
Local Flavor
Italy, like her cuisine, is best savored slowly- one day, one person, one meal, one museum at a time. This is a country steeped in history, the arts, religion, intrigue, and divine food. Travelers can't help but abandon themselves to its passion. Whether standing in awe beneath the ceiling of a spectacular chapel or spending an afternoon in a
caffè over a steaming espresso, one finds that Italy leaves an incredible mark. Years later, a song, a particular purple sky, or an Italian phrase mentioned in conversation brings back memories of an incomparable journey.
Investigating Italy. A 3-part journey. 11-21 Days.
Ah Europe. If you've been mulling over the idea of revisiting the Boot, the time is now. Never been? Don't wait another minute.
R. Crusoe has come up with a wise approach to Italy. We offer a three-part guided tour: take the main portion, Investigating Italy (Venice, Florence, Siena, and Rome), which you can read about below; add a leg beforehand with a trip to the Ravishing Italian Lakes (Lake Maggiore, Lake Como, and Verona); extend your trip at the end with our four-day Romantic Amalfi Coast tour (Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, and Capri); or go whole hog, and do all three. Customize the journey to your exact tastes and time limits.
There's a selection of top hotels and resorts along the route, and we've secured our favorite Italian guides just for you and yours.
What could be more perfect?
MAIN TOUR: Investigating Italy. 11 Days. Venice first, city of enchantment. Think life inside a Canaletto canvas. Piazza San Marco. The Doges’ Palace. Glorious time on your own. Opt to island-hop in the lagoon—to Murano, Torcello, and Burano. Each boasts its own distinct personality.
Travel to Florence by first-class rail. Pack your walking shoes; this is a city best approached on foot. From the Duomo, spin off to the Baptistry. Your guide points out the greatest masterpieces on a tour through the Galleria dell'Accademia. Skip the inevitable entry lines—we have reservations. Consider a side-trip to Modena for a lesson in the production of balsamic vinegar on a family farm.
Deep inside Tuscany to Siena, scene of the annual breakneck Palio horse race. Our guide fills us in on the event and the neighborhoods represented by the riders. Stop at a wine estate for a private tasting of Super-Tuscans and more.
Back in Florence, more art, this time at the Uffizi, where our guide sheds light on the museum's highlights by Botticelli, Giotto, et al. Once again, our reservations mean there’s no waiting in line to enter.
Finally, train to Rome, where we check in to a luxury hotel. Once settled, we divide our time between explorations of imperial Rome and the Vatican, a complex of 11 museums with more treasures than you can image.
PRE-TOUR: Ravishing Italian Lakes.
6 Days. The
Italian lakes, especially Como, have been a magnet for composers, poets, writers, and royalty for centuries. See why. Board a private launch to Tremezzo and Villa Carlotta. The formal gardens are a knock-out (we understand the princess who lent her name to the place was, too).
In Bellagio, Pliny built his Villa Tragedia, and later Steve Wynn got inspiration for his Las Vegas hotel (we still like the original better).
On a lake cruise, tour the cluster of islands owned by the Borromeo Dynasty, power brokers in this part of Italy for generations.
We leave the lakes behind for Verona, next. Colonized by the Romans in 89 B.C., enlarged during the Dark Ages, and gilded in the
Renaissance. In total, today it is a glorious mishmash of artifacts, including Juliet's balcony.
POST TOUR: Romantic Amalfi Coast.
4 Days. Gather in
Rome and head south to the Amalfi Coast via Pompeii, where, in A.D. 79,
Mount Vesuvius blew its stack and created an eternal moment in time for
the residents there. See clearly into the past with remnants left
behind. It’s an eerie and poignant visit.
Nearby Positano hangs a thousand feet above the sea. It's a holiday destination you ought not miss. Trace the
Amalfi Coast—the charming towns of Amalfi, Ravello, Positano. Then board a
hydrofoil for a trip to the island of Capri, a magical place and the spot of
choice for Roman emperors to go mad.
Hydrofoil back to the Italian mainland for your flight home.
Viva Italia.
To request a detailed itinerary for this journey (and others), click here.