Rome in one day from the port of Civitavecchia

Meet your driver at the port of Civitavecchia at 8:00 am and drive to Rome

The vehicle will be parked on the pier and the driver will be standing by the gangplank posting your name..

These listed here are Rome's major highlights, which you don't want to miss, and the average time it takes to see them:

St. Peter's (1 hour or more), Piazza Navona (20'), Pantheon and St. Mary's above Minerva (20'), Trevi Fountain (20'), Capitol Hill (Roman Forum view) (30'), Colosseum (about 1 hour).

Here below are the other sites that you'll just be driving by and/or stop shortly to take pictures:

Palazzaccio (Old Court House), St. Andrew's, St. Mary's Above Minerva, Piazza Venezia (Monument to Victor Emmanuel II), Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps), Theatre of Marcellus, Synagogue, Mouth of Truth and Keyhole (Roman Curiosity), Circus Maximus, Palatine Hill.

Several other attractions will be pointed out just while you'll be driving by them, such as:

Castle St. Angelo and its bridge, Italian Senate, The Marble Foot and Cat Street (Roman Curiosity), Trajan's Column, Imperial Fora, Trajan's Market, The Maps of the Empire, Arch of Constantine, Marcus Aurelius's Column, Parliament and Council of Ministers, St. Nicholas in Chains, temples of Apollo, Vesta and Janus, Quirinal Palace.

More sites and curiosities, less known than the places listed above, will be brought to your attention while driving. Remember: you'll always see more than you'll be expecting to see!

We start from Civitavecchia around 8:00 or 8:30 am. I'll be waiting right on the pier where the ship docks. I park the car as close as possible to the footbridge and you identify me easily because I post your name on the car's windshield.

The tour takes total 9 hours, from when we start at the port until we return to the ship. The drive to Rome takes about one hour and the trip back to the ship takes just the same amount of time.

We'll do a sort of a loop tour. Depending on the day of the week and traffic conditions, we may start from St. Peter's Basilica and end with the Colosseum or vice versa. Saturdays and Sundays are the best days to sightsee in Rome, most of the locals leave for the week end and consequently traffic is easy and you cover more ground.

A rapid calculation will tell you that just these few places will take about three and a half hours to see, but also you have to consider the time needed to go from one to the other and the stops you'll want to make to look at the sites on your way. There are in fact several very interesting places you get to see as you drive through the city, some of these places aren't easy to find because kind of hidden or not easy to notice. You'd have trouble finding some of these sites, presuming you'd be informed of their existence, but for us it's only a short stop on the way!

These places are:

Palazzaccio (Old Court House), St. Andrew's, St. Mary's Above Minerva, Piazza Venezia (Monument to Victor Emmanuel II), Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps), Theatre of Marcellus, Synagogue, Mouth of Truth and Keyhole (Roman Curiosity), Circus Maximus, Palatine Hill.

Several other attractions will be pointed out just while you'll be driving by them, such as:

Castle St. Angelo and its bridge, Italian Senate, The Marble Foot and Cat Street (Roman Curiosity), Trajan's Column, Imperial Fora, Trajan's Market, The Maps of the Empire, Arch of Constantine, Marcus Aurelius's Column, Parliament and Council of Ministers, St. Nicholas in Chains, temples of Apollo, Vesta and Janus, Quirinal Palace.

This is the usual itinerary, it takes you to the major highlights of the city of Rome and at the end of the day you can sure say you've seen Rome!

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

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Rome and the Vatican (Sistine Chapel) in one day from the port of Civitavecchia

Day trip from the port of Civitavecchia to Rome and Vatican

including guided tour of the Sistine Chapel. 9hours/200km.

Rome and the Vatican in one day.

The tour takes between about 10 hours, counting from when we start at the port at:8:00 am, until we return there, around 6.00 pm. This tour focuses on the Vatican, I recommend to make a Vatican entry reservation to make sure you don't waste your time standing in line to get in the Vatican. Depending on traffic conditions and on your own requests, it can include more or less sites, but for sure you'll always return to your ship satisfied of the number of places you saw and the narration.

We meet in Civitavecchia at 8:00 am (vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on its windshield) and we drive to Rome. We should be arriving in there around 9/9.30 am and, if you want me to make a Vatican entry reservation, the Vatican will be our first stop, otherwise we'll reverse the itinerary and go there in the afternoon. Being the tour centered on the Vatican and since you'll end up using most of your limited time ashore to visit just this one place, realistically, I can only guarantee that we'll the following: Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's (3 hours or more), Colosseum (about 1 hour). Trevi Fountain (20'), Piazza Venezia (drive).

It will depend on other factors, traffic and you personal interest mainly, if we'll be able to include in the tour these other sites: Capitol Hill (Roman Forum view) (30'),  Piazza Navona (20'), Pantheon St. Mary above Minerva (20/30'),

More sites and curiosities, less known than the places listed above, will be brought to your attention while driving. Remember: you'll always see more than you'll be expecting to see!

We start from Civitavecchia at  8:00 am. I'll be waiting right on the pier where the ship docks. I park the car as close as possible to the footbridge and you identify me easily because I post your name on the car's windshield.

Here below you can read how the day evolves if we don't make a Vatican entry reservation, but in case we do make a reservation, the itinerary will be reversed and we'll tour the Vatican first thing in the morning.

We should be arriving in Rome around 9/9.30 am and, if you want me to make a reservation, the Vatican will be our first stop, otherwise we'll reverse the itinerary and go there in the afternoon. This tour is obviously centered on the Vatican and, be prepared, that's a tough one. The tour, which includes obviously St. Peter's Basilica, takes about three hours. During this time you'll not have the chance to take a brake and sit down. There's no air-conditioning, except when you're in the Sistine and in the Gallery of Tapestries and so it's hot. And it's crowded, which makes it even more hot. Do I sound like I don't want to take you there? Wrong! I do, but I would love you not to go it within a tour of Rome if this is your first time here. I'm used to all this, but I know you'll be exhausted. Anyway, if you decide to pay the 30 Euros to book your entrance, we can go first thing in the morning and that's a little better. It's better because it's cooler, but also because at the end we can go and sit down and have some lunch, so you rest before you start touring again. I said the tour of the Vatican takes about three hours, but between getting there, getting in and getting out, almost four hours easily pass. Then you go for lunch which takes at least another hour. At this point there will not be much time left to see other sites. I said from the beginning that including the Vatican in a shore tour of Rome forces you to leave out of the tour other sites, but I can guarantee we can include at least the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain. For the rest, it depends mostly on how you move around and how traffic moves around the day we'll do this tour.

These places are: Palazzaccio (Old Court House), St. Andrew's, St. Mary's Above Minerva, Piazza Venezia (Monument to Victor Emmanuel II), Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps), Theatre of Marcellus, Synagogue, Mouth of Truth and Keyhole (Roman Curiosity), Circus Maximus, Palatine Hill.

Several other attractions will be pointed out just while you'll be driving by them, such as: Castle St. Angelo and its bridge, Italian Senate, The Marble Foot and Cat Street (Roman Curiosity), Trajan's Column, Imperial Fora, Trajan's Market, The Maps of the Empire, Arch of Constantine, Marcus Aurelius's Column, Parliament and Council of Ministers, St. Nicholas in Chains, temples of Apollo, Vesta and Janus, Quirinal Palace.

This is the usual itinerary, it takes you to the major highlights of the city of Rome and at the end of the day you can sure say you've seen Rome!

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many different ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot of it, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a larger group (more than 8 participants), you may want to hire a minibus and an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour of Etruscan sites from the port of Civitavecchia

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion to Roman Tuscia, 9 hours:

We meet in Civitavecchia at 8:00 am (vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on its windshield) and we drive to Tarquinia, just a few miles away. Then we go to Ceri, where we'll have lunch. In the afternoon we drive to Cerveteri to visit the little town itself and the Etruscan necropolis in the locality called “Banditaccia”. We return to the ship around 5:00 pm.

The room inside was decorated like a rich home, with paintings and bas-reliefs.

Find out more about the Etruscans here.

When these tombs where found they contained the items that we can now see in the museums: arms, jewels, pottery, statues, mirrors etc.The Etruscans were mysterious people who populated central Italy long before the days of Rome's greatness, People far advanced in civilization the Etruscans (apparently they called themselves Tyrrhenians) rose to prosperity and power, then almost disappeared from history, leaving behind themselves unsolved questions about their origin and culture. A common theory is that they came from Asia Minor and they would be the Lydian's described by the Greek historian Herodotus who left Asia because of famine and colonized northern and central Italy. They commenced with the Greeks, the Phoenicians and the Egyptians and they were obviously influenced by those cultures. They tried to overrule the Romans by merging with them rather than trying to conquer them; the last three of the “seven kings of Rome” were in fact Etruscan. It seems that the Romans changed from kingdom to democracy just to get rid of the Etruscan kings. The Etruscans were than expelled by the Romans who later conquered and absorbed them, finally adopting many of their advanced arts, customs and institutions. Little remains of the Etruscan literature and their language has been only partially deciphered. The knowledge we have of the Etruscans only comes from studying the remains of their city walls, houses, monuments, and especially their tombs. The tombs in fact contained weapons, exquisite jewellery, coins; statues of stone, bronze and terra-cotta. Plus their famous black pottery (bucchero). Grecian and Oriental influences are seen in the style of their pottery.

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour to Tuscia and Umbria from the port of Civitavecchia

We meet in Civitavecchia at 8:00 am (vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on its windshield) and we drive to Tuscania. Then we stop in Montefiascone and finally arrive to Orvieto for lunch. After visiting Orvieto we head back and, if your not too tired and if time allows, we stop in Civita di Bagnoregio, Vulci, or Tarquinia on the way back. We return to the ship around 5:00 pm.

More sites and curiosities, less known than the places listed above, will be brought to your attention while driving. Remember: you'll always see more than you'll be expecting to see!

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour to the Roman Tuscia

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion to Roman Tuscia, 9 hours:

We meet in Civitavecchia at 8:00 am (vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on its windshield) and we drive to Caprarola. After visiting Caprarola we start heading back in the direction of the port Ceri where we can have lunch. On the way to Ceri though, If time allows it, we can stop to visit the castle of Bracciano. After lunch we stop to visit the town of Cerveteri and the Etruscan necropolis “La Banditaccia”. We return to the ship around 5:00 pm.

More sites and curiosities, less known than the places listed above, will be brought to your attention while driving. Remember: you'll always see more than you'll be expecting to see!

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour of the Roman Castles

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion to Roman Tuscia, 9 hours:

We meet in Civitavecchia at 8:00 am (vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on its windshield) and we drive to to the hilltop towns south east of Rome. We will visit the towns of: Grottaferrata, Frascati, Marino, Castelgandolfo and Nemi and the return to the port by 5:00 pm.

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour of  the Roman Castles and Ostia Antica

Excursion to Ostia Antica, Castelgandolfo and Nemi.

Wine tasting tour. 9 hours

Not on Mondays !

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion to Roman Castles and Ostia, 9 hours:

After meeting at the port at 8.00 a.m. (vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on its windshield) we  drive to Ostia via the motorway and, after the visit, we go to Castelgandolfo and Nemi and we'll stop in one of these two places for lunch or we can have a light lunch by the lake. We'll return to the port by 5:00 pm.

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour of Tivoli & Roman Castles

Shore excursion to Tivoli, Castelgandolfo and Nemi.

Wine tasting tour.  9 hours

Not on Mondays !

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion to Tivoli & Roman Castles, 9 hours:

We meet in Civitavecchia at 8:00 am (vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on its windshield) and we drive Tivoli (vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on its windshield) we  drive to Tivoli. After visiting Villa D'Este we drive through the olive groves and vineyards to Castelgandolfo and Nemi and we'll stop in one of these two places for lunch or we can have a light lunch by the lake. We'll return to the port by 5:00 pm.

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour of Tivoli

Not on Mondays !

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion to Roman Tuscia, 9 hours:

We meet in Civitavecchia at 8:00 am (vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on its windshield) and drive to Tivoli. In Tivoli we'll visit Hadrian's Villa first and then, after stopping for lunch at an authentic Italian restaurant we drive up the town and visit Villa D'Este. We'll return to the port by 5:00 pm.

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour to Florence and Pisa

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion to Florence and Pisa, 9 hours:

We meet in Livorno at 8:00 am (vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on its windshield) and drive to Pisa for some short sightseeing and then continue to Florence (duration of the trip about 1 hour). We tour the highlights of Florence until about 4:00 pm, and return to the ship at about 5:00 p.m.

On the way to Florence a stop will be made to admire the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. Once in the city you will be taken to see all the major highlights, such as: Piazzale Michelangelo (panorama of the city), Piazza della Signoria (Main Square), The Duomo (Cathedral), Santa Croce (the church where Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante and other famous Florentines are buried and the famous leather school of Florence was started by the Franciscan Monks), Accademia Museum (Michelangelo's David), Ponte Vecchio and more...

Please note that your driving-guide, though very knowledgeable and speaking perfect English is not authorized to tour you inside museums. In case you like to include in your visit of Florence a guided tour of the Uffizi, the Accademia or the Medici Chapel, I would recommend to hire a local walking guide for the cost of 150 € for 3 hours.
Return to the ship at about 5:30 p.m.

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour to Siena and San Gimignano from the port of Livorno

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion to Siena and San Gimignano, 9 hours:

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour to Volterra and San Gimignano

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion to Volterra and San Gimignano, 9 hours:

After meeting at the port at 8:30 a.m. (your vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on it's wind shield) drive to San Gimignano the famous town of the "fine towers". This mediaeval jewel is one of the main tourist attractions in the region. It rises on a one-thousand feet high hill and its towers dominate the Elsa River Valley (Val D'Elsa). Like many other towns in the area, also San Gimignano originates from a small Etruscan village (300-200 BC). It developed then into a town in the 10th century and was named after the Holy Bishop of Modena, St. Gimignano, who saved the village from the barbarians.

The town owes its wealth and importance to the fact that it was on the "Via Francigena" which was the medieval route that linked France with Rome, and was traveled by pilgrims and merchants. If time allows it, on the way to San Gimignano a stop can be made to admire the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. Once in San Gimignano you will be given time to see all the major highlights. Please remember that your driving-guide, though very knowledgeable and speaking perfect English is not authorized to give tours inside churches and museums.

Willingly you can take your lunch in San Gimignano before heading towards Volterra.

Volterra is another town the Etruscans founded and later they had to surrender to the Romans.

Today it appears as a quaint and lovely medieval towns rich in art, Roman ruins and shops selling artistic goods manufactured in the most famous local product: the transparent Alabaster Marble. After spending time in Volterra to visit the city you'll be taken back to Livorno to board your ship.

Return to the ship around 5:00 pm.

After meeting at the port at 8:30 a.m. (your vehicle will be parked on the pier with your name on it's wind shield) drive to San Gimignano the famous town of the "fine towers". This mediaeval jewel is one of the main tourist attractions in the region. It rises on a one-thousand feet high hill and its towers dominate the Elsa River Valley (Val D'Elsa). Like many other towns in the area, also San Gimignano originates from a small Etruscan village (300-200 BC). It developed then into a town in the 10th century and was named after the Holy Bishop of Modena, St. Gimignano, who saved the village from the barbarians.

The town owes its wealth and importance to the fact that it was on the "Via Francigena" which was the medieval route that linked France with Rome, and was traveled by pilgrims and merchants. If time allows it, on the way to San Gimignano a stop can be made to admire the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. Once in San Gimignano you will be given time to see all the major highlights. Please remember that your driving-guide, though very knowledgeable and speaking perfect English is not authorized to give tours inside churches and museums.

Willingly you can take your lunch in San Gimignano before heading towards Volterra.

Volterra is another town the Etruscans founded and later they had to surrender to the Romans.

Today it appears as a quaint and lovely medieval towns rich in art, Roman ruins and shops selling artistic goods manufactured in the most famous local product: the transparent Alabaster Marble. After spending time in Volterra to visit the city you'll be taken back to Livorno to board your ship.

Return to the ship around 5:00 pm.

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour to Pisa, Lucca and Calci

Short description of the itinerary for the shore trip to Pisa, Lucca and Calci, 9 hours:

After meeting at the port at 8:30 am, the first stop will be at the Carthusia of Calci (10 miles before Pisa). This 1500 rooms monastery is entirely frescoed and has an incredibly rich decoration thanks to the wealth of the Carthusia monks who used it from 1366 to 1987. Religiously isolated at the foot of the Monte Pisano (2700ft a.s.l.) the place fascinates with its frescoes and tromp-l'oeil which date back to the last renovation operated between 1764 –1797. The Carthusia today houses the Museum of Natural Science and Territory of the University of Pisa. After visiting the Carthusia, we will head for Pisa. The famous Leaning Tower needs no presentation, but maybe not everybody knows that it was built to be the bell tower of the "Duomo" (Cathedral) of Pisa and therefore it is only one of the masterpieces of the Romanesque architecture in the they call "Miracle Square". Having time and desire one can also visit the nearby cemetery which is considered one of the most beautiful in Italy. Many of the funeral monuments there were sculpted by famous artist of the Renaissance. There is also a legend that says that in the cemetery they have the earth the Crusaders brought back from the Mount Calvary in 1203.

Finally we'll reach Lucca. One of the loveliest cities in Italy. Like most of the other cities in Italy it was originally a Roman settlement and its topography still reveals its Roman roots. Especially in the main square which was built over the ruins of an amphitheatre, practically a smaller version of the famous Colosseum. Lucca also has its belt of walls perfectly preserved and as you approach it you feel like you're stepping back to the middle ages and someone even asked me if we needed to do something special to get the permission to get in!

In other words Lucca is a place nobody should miss, and in particular shouldn't miss its restaurants!

Return to the ship at about 5:30 p.m.

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour to the Cinque Terre (& Portofino)

Short description of the itinerary for the Shore excursion to Cinque Terre (& Portofino). 9 hours:

You'll meet your driving guide at the port at 8:00 am and head for the Cinque Terre -The Five Lands-, these are five mediaeval fisherman ports, all disposed along a 5-7 miles gulf, which developed isolated through the ages as they could only be reached by sea. They feature an intact architecture and unbelievable landscapes.

You'll reach Riomaggiore, the first of the five towns and walk through it to get on the "Via dell'Amore" -Walkway of Love- a famous and romantic easy walkway carved along the cliffs which will take you to the second town, Manarola, in about 15/20 minutes. From Manarola you can take the train or the boat, unless you want to hike the mountain path, to Vernazza, the 4th of the Five Lands. This is considered the most picturesque of the towns and you should be getting there in time to have your lunch in one of its typical restaurants. This itinerary has to be very flexible, not everyone wants to do the same thing; some people want their driving guide to stay with them and as they go by boat or train to the next towns, others instead prefer to go on their own and be met at the last one of the Five Lands, Monterosso al Mare. This way they can save time and include a visit of Portofino or the Marble Quarries of Carrara in the day's trip. After you get back to the car, either returning to where you had parked it if your driving guide goes with you or meeting him in Monterosso, in the afternoon you will drive to the world famous Marble Quarries of Carrara. You'll see mountains that are entirely made of this snow-white pure material, driving on roads carved into the

Marble itself, you will enter the Quarries, where the views you will have are absolutely breath-taking. These are the quarries where Michelangelo used to spend a lot of time at looking for the special block of marble that already had the statue in it!

Since Portofino is the furthest of the all the places, those who want to visit it should drive there first and then go to to the Cinque Terre. It would be instead rather easy to stop at the Quarries on the way back to the ship when leaving the Cinque Terre area early enough for it. Normally you don't have the time to go to both places: Portofino and the quarries.

Return to the ship at about 5:00 pm.

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Tour Tuscany in the Chianti. Wine tasting tour

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion of Tuscany in the Chianti , 9 hours:

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Half day tour of Naples

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion to Sorrento Positano and Pompeii, 9 hours:

We meet at the port at your convenience and go on a 4-hour tour of Naples which will cover its major highlights, such as Posillipo, Castel Dell'Ovo the National Archeological Museum, Royal Palace, Mergellina, Maschio Angioino Castle or any other attraction of your preference. A lot of people say Naples is not a safe city, and I cannot disagree in full, but surely it's a beautiful city and it's worth a look around. Hiring a local driver is surely the best and safest way to see the place, he'll know where to go and where it would be unsafe to go and suggest the best itinerary. Even better it would be to hire a guide as well, not only it would be safer with driver and guide, but wanting to get the history of the places you visit, especially if you want to visit the National Archeological Museum where they keep all the findings from Pompeii, that's the best way to tour Naples.

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

Half day excursion to Pompeii

Pompeii, the ruins per antonomasia.
Not far from the port of Naples and surely worth a half-trip. This is another trip for those who don't want to spend the whole day touring but still want to go ashore to see an interesting site. For those who may have visited Pompeii, they could go to the less famous, but still very interesting, excavation site of Herculaneum. Those who want to save some money, instead of hiring a guide they could rent a portable audio guide or buy a guide book.

Short description of the itinerary for the shore excursion to Sorrento Positano and Pompeii, 9 hours:

We meet at the port at your convenience and drive to Pompeii or Herculaneum. Once on the spot you'll have the time to explore the archaeological site and get some refreshments before returning to the ship. If time allows it, you'll also visit a Cameo Factory, cameos are in fact one of the famous products of the areas and it is always interesting to find out what they really are and how they're made.

You are always free to modify the itinerary at your pleasure.

This and all the other tours I'm listing in this website can be done in many ways: if you know where to go and you want to save some money, you can hire a car with chauffeur; if you want some narration, but not a whole lot, you can hire an English speaking driver, if you want more details and better English spoken, you hire a driving guide; if you want to really visit a place thoroughly, or if you are with a large group, you may want to hire an official guide. The best solutions will be suggested for each tour.

You start from the port of Naples around 8:00/8:30 am and drive to Pompeii. Once in Pompeii you'll visit the excavations, which generally takes two hours, and then continue along the beautiful coastline to Sorrento. You'll stop along the way to admire the gorgeous panoramas and take pictures so the trip will take about one hour.
Our service will end in Sorrento. You'll be getting there around 1:00/1:30 pm and before parting from your driver or guide you'll be given all the information about how to return to your ship or continue touring on your own.

Generally you need to be back at the ship by 6:00 pm so you have the whole afternoon to yourself and this are some ideas about how to spend it:

1. You can just spend the rest of the time in Sorrento, strolling through its typical streets and maybe have a nice lunch by the sea and/or go for a swim in Sorrento's beautiful blue and deep waters before catching the hydrofoil that will bring you back to the port of Naples. The pier where the hydrofoil docks in Naples is right next to the one where your ship will be docked.
   Make sure you get on the hydrofoil that goes to "Molo Beverello" for that's where your ship will be.

2. If you like you can take the hydrofoil to Capri, spend about 3 hours on the island and then catch the hydrofoil that goes from the marina of Capri to the port of Naples.
   Once in Capri you can take a boat to the Blue Grotto; rather large boats take you from the marina to the Grotto and once there you transfer onto smaller boats to tour the inside of it. This may take from 1.5 to 2 hours. The Blue Grotto is not always accessible though and in this case you can take the funicular to the city of Capri and then a taxi or a bus to the city on top, Anacapri.
   You may also decide to tour the island by taxi, the characteristic taxis of Capri would charge about 100/150 Euros for the tour, but you'll have to negotiate the price first. More about Capri
   Make sure you get on the hydrofoil that goes to "Molo Beverello" for that's where your ship will be.

3. In case you shouldn't feel comfortable doing any of the above on your own, we can transfer you back to Naples or you can pick one of the full day tours in this page.