• 14 day Escorted Tour
• First Class Hotel/Resort
• 24 meals
• House wine and mineral water with lunch and dinner at the Grand Hotel**** Ischia & Lido Resort & SPA
• Most admissions included.
Stay and Visit ® Italy – Orofino Tours presents an unforgettable Discover Italy tour of South Italy from Rome, Capri, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast to Sicily. Let us whisk you away on this luxury tour with excursions to Vatican City, Pompeii Positano and much more... You will live the "dolce vita" while in our beautiful, hospitable and centrally located four-star hotels. Your lunches (L) and dinners (D) will include house wine and mineral water at the Grand Hotel**** Ischia & Lido Resort & SPA (buffet style). Breakfasts (B) will be continental style buffets.
Day 1 – Departure from your city to Rome
Day 2 – Rome – We are met at Fiumicino Airport and transferred to our hotel Grand Hotel**** Olympic, located the city center of Rome, the capital city of Italy founded by the twins Romulus and Remus. This Great City will be our home for the next three days. (D)
Day 3 – Rome - Morning at leisure. This afternoon we will have a tour of Imperial Rome. One of the symbols of Rome is the Coliseum, the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire and used for gladiatorial combat. The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. The Spanish Steps is a set of steps climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna and Piazza Trinità dei Monti. It is named after the nearby Embassy of Spain (1653). The famous Scalinata is without a doubt the longest and widest staircase in Europe. The Trevi Fountain is the largest and most ambitious of the Baroque fountains in Rome. This fountain was immortalized by
films such as “Three coins in the Fountain, Roman Vacation, La Dolce Vita“.(B & D)
Day 4 - Rome - Morning tour of Vatican City with a professional guide. The story of the “Vatican” started about two thousand years ago when the Apostle Peter was buried across the Tiber river in 67 A.D. The Basilica of Saint Peter is one of the four major basilicas of Rome. It is the most prominent building inside the Vatican City and built on the ruins of Old Saint Peter's Basilica. As you enter, to your right, Michelangelo’s “Pieta’” is displayed. The “Colonnade” was built by Bernini (1656 - 1666). The Vatican Museums display works from the extensive collection of the Roman Catholic Church. The Sistine Chapel is in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope. Its fame rests in its decoration, frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists including Michelangelo. The ceiling is legendary and it is in the Sistine Chapel that every new Pope is selected.
Other places of interest worth visiting on your own are: Piazza del Popolo with the church of Santa Maria where masterpieces of Pinturicchio, Raphael, Caravaggio and Bernini can be admired; Piazza Navona it is considered the most beautiful baroque square in Rome; The Pantheon is still the biggest concrete dome in the world (27 B.C.); Borghese Museum and Gallery with Bernini’s masterpieces “Apollo and Daphne”, “The Rape of Persephone“; Piazza Venezia with the monument to Italy‘s king Vittorio Emanuele (The Wedding Cake); Trastevere where the locals enjoy their favorite dishes of “abbacchio and spaghetti a’ matriciana”. (B & D)
Day 5 - Pompeii & Ischia - Morning departure to the beautiful island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples. On the road we will stop in Pompeii mainly famous for the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii, destroyed during a catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. A professional guide will give insights of life during Roman times. Arrival at the Grand Hotel**** Ischia Lido Resort & SPA in the afternoon. (B & D)
Day 6 - Capri - Mini-cruise to the island of Capri. A funicular carries us up to Piazza Umberto I, the world famous ''Piazzetta'', lined with luxury boutiques, expensive restaurants and paparazzi chasing celebrities. Features of the island are the Marina Piccola, Belvedere of Tragara which is a highly panoramic promenade lined with villas, Faraglioni (rugged rocks jutting up from the sea), Anacapri, the Blue Grotto and the ruins of the Imperial Roman villas. (B & D)
Day 7 - Sorrento - A short walk to the port and… mini-cruise on our way to the best-loved resorts: Sorrento, the lemon-scented jewel of the peninsula. Free full day in Sorrento to shop for the local specialty inlaid carving (intarsia), to enjoy the best views of the enchanting bay of Naples or to have lunch and wine in a local trattoria. Back to Ischia for a quick swim or relaxation in the spa before dinner at the hotel. (B & D)
Day 8 - Amalfi & Positano - A short walk to the port and… on our way to the enchanting Amalfi Coast, thought by many to be the most beautiful stretch of scenery in the entire Mediterranean. A landscape masterpiece, a “vertical village” and it really seems to be standing, leaning against a rocky wall. We will visit two of the areas best-loved resorts on a mini-cruise and spend approximately 2 hours in each place. Amalfi the coast’s main town lies at the mouth of a deep ravine surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery and Positano that dangerously perches in an enclave on the hill leading down to the Mediterranean coast. Positano has contributed to the revival of the entire Amalfi coast. (B & D)
Day 9 - Taormina - Today we will have a very early departure from Ischia to Naples and continue all the way down to Taormina with a dominating view of Mt. Etna in the foreground. After a late check-in we will have free time to relax and, perhaps, have a "limoncello" or two. Taormina has popular beaches on the Ionian sea, which is remarkably warm. The most remarkable monument remaining in Taormina is the ancient theatre, which is one of the most celebrated ruins in Sicily. Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world with almost constant eruptions. (B & D)
Day 10 - Taormina - After such a long journey we will have the morning free to recover and relax. In the afternoon we will have a guided tour of the town and its lovely streets and buildings as well as the imposing Greco-Romano theater with its view of Mt. Etna, Roman bath and Gothic church of St. Agostino. This lovely resort town has been described as a Sicilian Monte Carlo without the casino or royal family. It was here, in romantic Taormina, that D.H. Lawrence was inspired to write Lady Chatterly's Lover, one of the most passionate and erotic love stories of its era. Taormina has endlessly winding medieval streets and tiny passages, each with its own secrets, great restaurants, cafés and ice cream bars. Some of these intriguing places are secluded gardens hidden by stone walls others are set on terraces overlooking the coast or in more public but equally pleasant squares. Taormina is beautiful by day but in the evenings its atmosphere is simply enchanting, whether you stroll the illuminated streets or indulge in the view of the coast over a delicious dinner. Then there's the spectacle of Mount Etna's nocturnal fires as lava flows along the snow-covered slopes of Europe's greatest natural wonder, leaving a stream of steam and light in its wake. (B & D)
Day 11 - Piazza Armerina & Agrigento - We will get an early start driving across the interior of the island and to the southern coast. On our way to Agrigento we will stop in Piazza Armerina and Villa Romana del Casale with its remarkably well-preserved Roman mosaics. Agrigento is a dense town on the southern coast of Sicily founded on a plateau overlooking the sea. Ancient Akragas covers a huge area but is exemplified by the famous Valle dei Templi. (B & D)
Day 12 - Agrigento - In the morning we will visit the Valley of the Temples where we will encounter some of the best preserved Greek temples in the world, remains of the city called the most beautiful city of the mortals by the Greek poet Pindar. Valle dei Templi is a large sacred area on the south side of the ancient city where seven monumental Greek temples in the Doric style were constructed during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. The best preserved temples are two very similar buildings traditionally attributed to the goddesses Juna Lacinia and Concordia. The latter temple is remarkably intact. The other temples are much more fragmentary, while the largest by far is the Temple of Olympian Zeus, it is believed to have been the largest Doric temple ever built. After our visit we will then en-route to Palermo. (B & D)
Day 13 - Palermo - In the morning we will tour the exotic city of Palermo. We will visit the majestic Duomo, the Palatine Chapel rich with its spectacular mosaics, the richly decorated Church of San Giovanni and Piazza Pretoria with its ornate 16th century fountain. In the afternoon we will go to the hill town of Monreale with spectacular views of Palermo and the sea. The Duomo is world famous for its intricate, breathtaking mosaics and its peaceful cloister enclosed by 228 decorated columns. (B & D)
Day 14 – Palermo - Transfer to Palermo Airport, have a safe return home, treasure the memories and… grazie and arrivederci a presto! (B)
We reserve the right to change the itinerary and schedule times for logistic reasons.
We appreciate your comments and testimonials.
Departures from North America
03/22/08
04/19/08
05/17/08
06/21/08
07/19/08
09/20/08
10/18/08
11/22/08
Price
All departures $ 3.999 per person based on double occupancy.
Single supplement: $ 500 for a single room or $ 999 for a double room, single occupant.
Airfares are not included.
For more information and for reservations contact: Stay and Visit ® Italy – Orofino Tours
North America Office
7256 South Tamiami Trail
Sarasota - Florida - 34231 - USA
Tel: 941-870-2498
Toll Free: 1.877-222-4857
Fax: 941-870-3497
E-Mail: info@stayandvisit.com
Stay and Visit Inc.
DBA: STAY AND VISIT ® ITALY is a registered trade mark.
Day 3 – Rome - Morning at leisure. This afternoon we will have a tour of Imperial Rome. One of the symbols of Rome is the Coliseum, the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire and used for gladiatorial combat. The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. The Spanish Steps is a set of steps climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna and Piazza Trinità dei Monti. It is named after the nearby Embassy of Spain (1653). The famous Scalinata is without a doubt the longest and widest staircase in Europe. The Trevi Fountain is the largest and most ambitious of the Baroque fountains in Rome. This fountain was immortalized by 
Day 8 - Amalfi & Positano - A short walk to the port and… on our way to the enchanting 
