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12-Day Venice, Florence, Rome | Small Group Italy Tour

The Italy small group tour includes a maximum of 24 travelers. This first-class Italy small group tour visits Italy’s famous art cities Venice, Florence, and Rome. Also, the tour itinerary includes visits to the Emilia Romagna countryside for a 3 night stay at a vineyard.

The Italy small group tour size allows you to visit places that larger tours miss. Consequently, it allows for an intimate and authentic Italy tour experience where you will get to know the locals. 

Full days of touring ensure that you’ll see all that you’ve come so far to see. And with the majority of meals included in your price, you’ll enjoy the varied flavors of your destination, and easy convenience.

You’ll see hidden gems that only locals know about. Linger longer at sites that catch our interest. Enjoy greater access to smaller and more enriching venues that reveal the true essence of local culture. Meet the locals up close, where they live.

And with so few in the group, you’ll have greater access to your Tour Manager, a wellspring of local knowledge and insider tips.

Click here for the Venice, Florence, Rome small group Italy tour daily itinerary

Highlights

12-Day Italy Small Group Tour Itinerary Map

Italy Small Group Tour Highlights

  • Small group size up to 24 travelers
  • Venice visit a gondola shipyard followed by a gondola ride.
  • Venice enjoy an evening musical concert of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
  • Discover the Po River Delta area
  • See the byzantine mosaics in Ravenna
  • Visit the Republic of San Marino
  • Enjoy cooking demonstration and indulge in farm to table meal
  • Explore Florence on a walking tour
  • Discover Etruscan civilization in Tuscany’s Chiusi
  • Rome choose between three tour options
  • Enjoy a Rome food tour in Trastevere neighborhood

Italy Small Group Tour Package Includes

  • Small groups of maximum 22 travelers guaranteed
  • For price of Italy tour with air click on a date of departure and submit the form.
  • 10-nights in first class accommodations
    • 2 nights Venice
    • 3 nights Emilia Romagna
    • 2 nights Florence
    • 3 nights Rome
  • Italian city hotel taxes
  • Hotel portage
  • All transfers and sightseeing per itinerary in modern air-conditioned vehicles
  • 17 meals: 10 buffet breakfasts, 2 lunches, 5 dinners
  • Bottled water during sightseeing excursions. Bottled water, coffee, and tea with all meals
  • Wine is included with lunch and dinners
  • Services of English-speaking tour manager throughout
  • Comprehensive, guided sightseeing and entrance fees per itinerary
  • Comfortable wireless earphones for enhanced touring

Accommodations

Italy Small Group Tour Accommodations

Venice 2 Nights, Maison Venezia Una Esperienze ★★★★

Emilia Romagna 3 Nights, Borgo Conde Wine Resort ★★★★

Florence 2 Nights, Grand Hotel Cavour ★★★★

Rome 3 Nights, Ponte Sisto Hotel ★★★★+

Optional Tours

Rome – Colosseum

Duration: 4 Hours

On a compelling tour of its most famous antiquities, discover why Rome has been known through the ages as the “Eternal City.” The city’s ancient remnants serve as an undisputed testimony to its former glory as the seat of an empire. Hear the distant echoes of 45,000 cheering spectators when you visit the Colosseum, the site of legendary gladiator contests. Walk up the steps like millions have before you, marveling at the ingenuity and scale of this world-famous structure.

Your tour continues with a guided visit to the Campidoglio – Rome’s Capitol Hill. Once a temple dedicated to Jupiter, the area was redesigned by Michelangelo during the Renaissance. From the Campidoglio, admire expansive views of the Roman Forum, the social space that once was the beating heart of the Empire.

Rome – Vatican Museum with Breakfast

In the early hours of the morning, journey to the world’s smallest independent State for a “pre-opening” visit of the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel.

Your visit begins in the Pinecone Courtyard, a space that juxtaposes antique marble statuary and contemporary bronze sculptures. Here enjoy an al fresco* buffet breakfast prepared with fresh produce from the Papal Farm in Castel Gandolfo. In the tranquility of the early morning, enjoy your coffee and take in the view over the cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica, designed by Michelangelo.

Then, 1 hour ahead of the Vatican Museums’ opening to the general public, enjoy the ability to roam freely through one of the world’s greatest Art collections. With the aid of an audio guide, you’ll be able to independently explore the Museums’ highlights, such as the Gallery of Maps, the Gallery of Tapestries and of course, a visit to the Sistine Chapel.

The chapel’s famous ceiling frescoes took Michelangelo four years to complete, while his brilliant Last Judgment, resting on the altar wall, was a topic of controversy for centuries.

This option must be booked no later than 60 days prior to tour departure date. Cancellations within 60 days of tour departure will be nonrefundable. Due to the very limited number of tickets available, this option is not available for purchase on tour.

*In case of inclement weather, breakfast will be served indoors.

Submit form or call 800-227-1577 to book your Italy small group tour.


Venice, Florence, Rome Small Group Italy Tour Itinerary

Day 1 Overnight Flight to Italy

Today depart for Italy on your overnight flight.  This fabulous Italy tour begins in magical Venice. Then travels to Florence. And ends in the eternal city Rome.

This tour also includes 3 nights in Italy’s heartland the Emilia Romagna region. Known for its fine food, wine, and sports cars.  While there the tour includes a special visit the Republic of San Marino, an enclave state of Italy.

Come along with us and embrace the history, culture, art and romance of this incredible country.

Day 2 Venice, Italy – Tour Begins

Welcome to enchanting Venice (UNESCO) with its 117 tiny islands surrounded by a latticework of 150 canals and 400 bridges. This evening, meet your fellow travelers over a welcome dinner.

Meals: Dinner

Accommodations: Maison Venezia Una Esperienze

Day 3 Venice – Gondola Boatyard & Ride – Classical Music Concert

This morning, explore the traditional Venetian craftsmanship behind one of the city’s symbols: the sleek, iconic gondola boats. Visit a local boatyard, one of only two still active in the city, and glide along the canals during a gondola ride.* Afterwards, enjoy an afternoon at leisure in the floating city. Perhaps you’ll follow the advice of the locals who say the best way to discover Venice is to “get lost.” Or, you could explore St. Mark’s Square adorned with marbled palaces and seek out the perfect view over the Bridge of Sighs. This evening, delve into Venice’s classical music heritage while you enjoy a live performance of the Four Seasons** composed by the great Venetian Antonio Vivaldi.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Maison Venezia Una Esperienze

Day 4 Venice – Po River Sailing – Romagna Countryside

Say “Ciao” to Venice as you journey towards the Romagna region, famous for its epicurean lifestyle and its joie de vivre. Along the way, visit the Po Delta (UNESCO). Since ancient times, this delta has been the border between the Venice and the Ravenna regions, once two independent states. These wetlands will give you a glimpse into what Venice and Ravenna looked like to ancient Roman settlers making their way here from the south. You’ll explore these wetlands by pontoon boat,* learning about how the ecosystem here actually aided the Romans in escaping the barbarians that harried them. You’ll also learn about the lives of fisherman and farmers whose lives have changed very little over the last 1000 years. Take in the tranquil scenery before stopping for lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, continue to your hotel nestled among vineyards in the Romagna countryside and settle in for your 3-night stay.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Accommodation: Borgo Conde Wine Resort

Day 5 Romagna Countryside – Choice on Tour

Today, it’s your choice! Bask in the bucolic landscape at your wine resort hotel and pamper yourself with an organic wine-infused mud treatment in the onsite spa -OR- spend the day exploring Ravenna (UNESCO). During the darkness that enveloped the last days of the Roman Empire, Ravenna emerged as a center of power thanks to its strategic position. The city’s rulers – the Byzantines, the Goths – adorned its churches with dazzling mosaics. During a guided walking tour, discover the city’s most illustrious monuments including the mosaics that inspired Cole Porter’s Night and Day. This evening, join the local chef for a hands-on cooking class centered on Romagna’s most typical pasta dishes with colorful names such as garganelli or strozzapreti (priest-stranglers), and enjoy the results of your work for dinner.

Meals: Breakfast & Dinner 

Accommodation: Borgo Conde Wine Resort

Day 6 Romagna Countryside – San Marino – Romagna Countryside

Grab your passport*** and journey to the landlocked Republic of San Marino, the fifth-smallest country in the world. Perched at the top of Mount Titano, the old town of San Marino (UNESCO) gives visitors sweeping views over the Adriatic Riviera and the gentle rolling hills of the Romagna countryside. Explore the Old Town’s intricate system of fortification towers, walls, gates and bastions during time at leisure. This evening, wrap up your stay in the Romagna Countryside with a wine-pairing dinner at your wine resort hotel.

Meals: Breakfast & Dinner 

Accommodation: Borgo Conde Wine Resort

Day 7  Romagna Countryside – Emilia Food Valley – Florence

Today, travel to the Emilia region, Italy’s foodie haven. Meet students and teachers at a vocational high school**** for an Impact Moment dedicated to the Culinary Arts and Agriculture. Here, Italy’s future chefs and farmers learn how to make Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese according to traditional codes, dating back to the 1300s. Students also try their hand aging Balsamic vinegar, a generational process taking anything from 12 to 25 years. Enjoy a farm-to-table light lunch prepared by the culinary students using ingredients from the School’s farm. Later, continue to Florence (UNESCO), the “Cradle of the Renaissance” and your home for the next 2 nights.

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch   

Accommodation: Grand Hotel Cavour Florence

Day 8  Florence

This morning, meet a local expert for a walking tour of a city that is a work of art all on its own. Your guide will highlight the Piazza del Duomo, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Baptistery. You’ll also visit the Piazza della Signoria with its impressive Palazzo Vecchio. The remainder of the day is yours to explore Florence’s cultural riches independently. Perhaps you’ll visit to one of the city’s many museums,***** such as the Uffizi or Academy Gallery, where Michelangelo’s David is kept.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Grand Hotel Cavour Florence

Day 9 Florence – Chiusi – Rome

This morning traverse southern Tuscany, the ancient land of the Etruscans. This mysterious civilization predated the Romans, who assimilated them, erasing most of their way of life, even though many early kings of Rome were Etruscans. By all accounts, they were an advanced society and culture. On a guided walking tour of Chiusi, once part of the Etruscan Dodecapolis, you explore the town’s underground water system – which has so many twists and turns that it was nicknamed Labyrinth of King Porsenna. You’ll also visit the small archeological museum housing some of the most interesting artifacts archeologists found in the surrounding hills. Arrive in Rome (UNESCO) in the afternoon and settle in for a 3-night stay.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Ponte Sisto Hotel

Day 10 Rome

This morning, it’s your choice! Explore Rome in 1 of 3 ways: delve into Rome’s second Golden Age on a walking tour exploring its Renaissance and Baroque heritage and featuring Caravaggio’s paintings, alongside the Pantheon and Navona Square -OR- explore Rome’s Christian heritage on a panoramic tour featuring the Catacombs and the medieval basilica of St. Sabina on the Aventine Hill -OR- uncover Rome’s most recent archeological discoveries on a tour of the Ara Pacis, the Mausoleum of Emperor Augustus and the Spanish Steps. The afternoon is yours to explore more of Italy’s capital city. Perhaps you’ll join an optional tour for an in depth visit of the Colosseum and the Capitol Hill with its monumental piazza designed by Michelangelo.

Meals: Breakfast 

Accommodation: Ponte Sisto Hotel

Day 11 Rome

Make the most of a free day in the Eternal City. Perhaps you’ll stroll through the Borghese Gardens for views of the city’s skyline or join an early morning “Breakfast with Michelangelo” option to the Vatican Museums. Your visit begins with a buffet breakfast in the Pinecone Courtyard with views of Michelangelo’s cupola – the dome sheltering St. Peter’s Basilica. Then, 1 hour ahead of the Vatican Museums’ opening to the general public, enjoy the ability to roam freely through one of the world’s greatest Art collections. With the aid of an audio guide, you’ll be able to independently explore the Museums’ highlights, including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Gather tonight to toast the end of your Italian adventure during a food tour* in Rome’s bohemian Trastevere district.

Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Accommodation: Ponte Sisto Hotel

Day 12 Rome – Tour Ends

Arrivederci Roma! Your tour comes to a close today, leaving you with many fond memories of incredible Italy.

Transfer to the airport for your departure flight. When you book the small group Italy tour with air the transfer is included.

Meals: Breakfast

* When all-inclusive Italy vacation prices are quoted to include airfare the price includes fuel surcharges, airport taxes, Italy airport transfers and fees. All prices are per person based on twin occupancy. Italy tours with air & land tour prices apply from the gateway airport. Prices will vary from alternative gateway airports or cities and may be higher. The total price will be emailed to you prior to any deposit being required. Airline baggage fees may apply. Please review all terms and conditions before booking.