Tuscany & the Amalfi Coast (2012)

Chianciano • Sorrento • Rome
  • 17 days
  • from only:
  • $2095
  • $124 per day
    Land Tour Only
  • 18 days
  • from only:
  • $2845
  • $159 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
2012 ACM Map
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
What Makes This Trip Unique
It's Included
Featured Accommodations
Pre- & Post-Trip Extensions
Venice, Italy
Rome, Italy
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
Grand Circle Foundation
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, 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

These options 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 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, Detroit, Houston, Orlando, Philadelphia, Washington, DC (Dulles)

13hrs

Boston, Los Angeles

12hrs

Chicago, Miami

10hrs

Dallas, Minneapolis

14hrs

Denver

15hrs

Newark, New York (JFK)

9hrs

San Francisco, Seattle

16hrs

* 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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Pre-Trip: Venice, Italy

4 nights from only $695

Explore Venice, an architectural masterpiece famous for its canals and numerous bridges. Venice instills in visitors an indelible fascination, from the elegance of the Piazza San Marco to the grandeur of the Basilica. Walking its streets or floating along in one of its gondolas, the sights you encounter cast a spell that is unforgettable.




Single Supplement: FREE.

Please note: This extension only available on select departures. Some dates may require the purchase of a pre- or post-trip extension. Ask your Travel Counselor for details.

It's Included

  • Accommodations for 4 nights at the Royal San Marco Hotel or similar
  • 4 meals: 4 breakfasts
  • 2 included tours: Venice walking tour, Murano
  • Exclusive services of a Grand Circle Hospitality Desk representative
  • All transfers

Optional Tour

Twilight Dinner with Gondola Serenade ($120 per person)

Day 1
Depart U.S.

Depart U.S. today for your journey to Venice, Italy.
Day 2
Arrive Venice, Italy

After arriving in Venice, you’ll be met at the airport and assisted to your hotel. Then you’ll join your fellow travelers for a Welcome Drink and a welcome briefing. You can inquire at the Hospitality Desk for suggestions on where to enjoy dinner on your own this evening. Of course, one of the joys of walking in Venice is discovering your own “favorite” restaurant as you wind your way through the narrow, cobbled streets.

Day 3
Venice/Optional Twilight Dinner with Gondola Serenade

There are really only two ways to see Venice—on foot and by water. After breakfast, travel by vaporetto (public water transport) to embark on a walking tour of this romantic city, visiting the famous Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square), the center of Venice. This square was the heartbeat of the Serenissima ("Serene Republic") in the heyday of Venice’s glory as a seafaring republic, and the city’s major attractions are centered here. It is one of the most beautiful and most photographed squares in all of Europe. Dominated by the lovely St. Mark’s Basilica, the spacious square is surrounded with outdoor cafés, and is the perfect place to do a little people watching Italian-style while sipping a cappuccino.

Ornate St. Mark’s Basilica is so richly embellished that it looks like it could have been moved intact from Istanbul. Though the domed church is a conglomerate of many architectural styles, its main influence is Byzantine. Its façade is adorned with marble and mosaics that depict the life of Christ and St. Mark (whose body was smuggled into Venice in a pork barrel, to confound Muslim officials who would refuse to search anything that touched pork). Outside the basilica is the campanile (bell tower), which was rebuilt after it collapsed in 1902. It is now open should you want to ascend for a good view of the six cupolas of the church.

During your included city tour, you’ll also view the Bridge of Sighs, which links the Doges’ Palace with the cellblocks that housed prisoners condemned by Venice’s Council of Ten. The “sighs” in the bridge's name stemmed from the sad laments of the numerous victims led across it to certain torture and possible death.

Enjoy the afternoon to make your own discoveries. You can choose to remain longer to enjoy St. Mark’s Square, perhaps exploring some of the little alleys that radiate from it. Perhaps you’ll get a taste for everyday Venetian life when you pause for some light snacks and a glass of wine at a local bacari, a typical Venetian coffee shop.

This evening, join us for an optional Twilight Dinner with Gondala Serenade. Here is the quintessential Venetian experience—an unforgettable ride in a gondola, serenaded as you drift along the lovely canals, followed by dinner at a local restaurant.
Day 4
Venice

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 Academia 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.

Or if you like, you may join your Hospitality Desk representative after breakfast this morning on an elective walking tour of “Hidden Venice,” seeing parts of the city most visitors pass by.

Lunch is on you own, and the rest of the day is yours for making more discoveries. The evening is yours, and dinner is on your own.
Day 5
Venice/Murano walking tour & Venetian Glassmaking Factory visit

The day is yours to make your own discoveries. The neighborhood around your hotel alone is fascinating. Perhaps you'll visit the Ghetto of Venice, instituted in 1516 and considered to be the first ghetto in the world. The word geto 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, too, is the oldest continuously functioning synagogue in Europe.

Or, join a visit to the Venetian island of Murano. Murano has been world-famous for its glassmaking since the 13th century. You’ll visit a glassmaking factory here and see a demonstration of this fine art.

Lunch and dinner are on your own today, and the evening is yours.
Day 6
Venice/Transfer to Chianciano

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Chianciano, stopping for lunch along the way, and arriving in the early afternoon. Early this evening, meet the members of your group for your Tuscany & the Amalfi Coast Extended Vacation who have arrived today.