Italy: Tuscany, the Alps & the Riviera (2012)

Rome • Florence • Santa Margherita • Bolzano • Venice
  • 14 days
  • from only:
  • $2395
  • $172 per day
    Land Tour Only
  • 15 days
  • from only:
  • $3045
  • $203 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
NIT 2012 Map
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
What Makes This Trip Unique
It's Included
Featured Accommodations
Pre- & Post-Trip Extensions
Rome, Italy
Venice, Italy
Optional Tours
Know Before You Go
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your vacation, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two vacations to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the Grand Circle vacation that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your vacation
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your vacation with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of Grand Circle vacations to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Chicago, Miami

10hrs

Minneapolis, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, DC (Dulles)

13hrs

New York (JFK)

9hrs

Boston, Los Angeles

12hrs

Phoenix, San Francisco

17hrs

Baltimore, Dallas, Denver, Seattle

14hrs

Tampa

15hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Rome, Italy. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the Grand Circle family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on a Grand Circle trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-221-2610
or click here.

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Post-Trip: Venice, Italy

3 nights from only $595

Explore Venice, an architectural masterpiece famous for its 150 canals and more than 400 bridges. Venice instills in visitors an indelible fascination, from the elegance of the Piazza San Marco to the grandeur of St. Mark's Basilica. Walking its streets or floating along in one of its gondolas, the sights you encounter cast a spell that is unforgettable. You'll spend three more nights in this romantic city, and enjoy ample time to explore on your own or discover the city with us on optional tours.

Single Supplement: FREE.

Please note: This extension may not be available on all departures. Ask your Travel Counselor for details.

It's Included

  • Accommodations for 3 nights at the Moderate First-Class Continental Hotel, or similar
  • 4 meals: 3 breakfasts, 1 dinner
  • Included tour: Venice walking tour
  • Exclusive services of a Hospitality Desk representative
  • All transfers


Optional Tour

Twilight Gondola with Dinner ($120 per person)

Day 1
Venice

This morning, become acquainted with the area in a discovery walk around your hotel. You may also choose to visit Murano Island, famous for its manufacturing of glass. 

This afternoon, the sights of this romantic city at your own pace today, perhaps exploring more of the famous Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square), the center of Venice. Visit the Palazzo Ducale, or Doges’ Palace, a Venetian-Gothic palazzo considered by many to be the grandest civic structure in Italy. It served as the residence and seat of the Doges, who ruled Venice for more than 1,000 years.

Later, perhaps you’ll get a taste for everyday Venetian life if you choose to pause for some light snacks and a glass of wine at a local bacari, a typical Venetian coffee shop. This evening is yours to discover one of Venice’s excellent restaurants, many specializing in fresh, local seafood.
Day 2
Venice/Optional Twilight Gondola tour & dinner

After breakfast this morning, the day is yours to further explore the canals and narrow streets of Venice. Visit the Frari Church, home to masterpieces by Titian and Bellini, great masters of the Northern Italian Renaissance. Or discover the Ghetto of Venice, instituted in 1516. The word "ghetto" comes from Venetian dialect, meaning foundry, because originally there were two iron foundries here. You will find five synagogues, one of the most beautiful restored with funds from Germany. Also here is the oldest continuously functioning synagogue in Europe.

This afternoon, join us for an optional gondola ride with music. You will be poled through canals by one of the city’s many colorful gondoliers. Here, you will have a chance to see the Grand Canal, Venice’s great road of water, lined with many Venetian-Gothic-style palazzi. Your excursion concludes with an included dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 3
Venice/Day at Leisure

With another day to pursue your own interests in Venice, you can revisit a favorite site in more depth or continue to find new treasures. You have time to explore the Venice lagoon, or stroll through the halls of the Accademia Gallery, housing a remarkable collection of paintings—masterpieces from the 14th to 18th centuries. You may want to visit the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, housed in an old, 17th-century Customs House. Here is the eclectic private collection of works owned by Peggy Guggenheim, who lived in a Venetian palazzo for 30 years until her death in 1979. Or you might want to take a vaporetto ride to the Island of Lido, containing Venice's premier beach resort, for a swim in the Adriatic. This evening, enjoy an included dinner back at your hotel.

Day 4
Venice/Return to U.S.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight home.