*Rate is per person, land only, double occupancy, tour inclusions and available options may vary based on departure date. Please select a date below for more details.
Be whisked away into the beauty and history of Italy when you journey to Venice, Florence, and Rome. Journey to the wine-producing Romagna countryside for a relaxing two-night stay in a wine resort, and visit the Republic of San Marino, an enclave state of Italy. See how gondola oars are crafted before cruising the canals of Venice on one yourself. Witness a performance of Vivaldi’s famous Four Seasons in the city he lived in. Explore Orvieto, an ancient Etruscan hilltop city. Try your hand at making Italian culinary classics before sitting down to dinner. Discover Rome’s artistic masterpieces. Come along with us and embrace the history, culture, art and romance of this incredible country.
Give yourself the luxury of extra time in Venice, the “Queen of the Adriatic.” Start your trip early with a pre tour extension and make the most of your time in Italy’s floating city. Join a local guide for a walking tour of Rialto, the oldest bridge spanning the Grand Canal. This 500-year old bridge is so integral to the history of the city that it inspired international writers, such as Shakespeare. In The Merchant of Venice, his Shylock recites his famous monologue on the bridge. Enjoy ample time of leisure to explore this whimsical, romantic city. Your other option is to begin your vacation with a pre night in Venice.
HostedEnjoy a mix of time on your own and some planned tour activities. A local expert is available during part of your stay to guide you during scheduled activities and provide recommendations. In addition, your accommodations, daily breakfast, and any transfers to connect with your main tour are included.
Pre Tour Extension
From$1,170.00 pp*
Day 0
Overnight Flight
Give yourself the luxury of extra time in Venice, the “Queen of the Adriatic.” Start your trip early with a pre-tour extension and make the most of your time in Italy’s most romantic city.
Day 1
Venice, Italy
Arrive in Venice, the floating city home to lavish art collections, wonders of architecture, and where marbled palaces tower over gondola-laden canals. Your hospitality desk representative will be present in the hotel’s lobby for two hours this evening, providing you with suggestions for your time at leisure.
Day 2
Breakfast
Venice
This morning, join an expert local guide for a walking tour of the 500-year-old Rialto Bridge and San Polo’s district. Rialto is the oldest among only four bridges spanning the Grand Canal. Pause at the top, taking in the views of the city’s prime waterway, flanked by the ornate facades of Venice’s noble palaces. Enjoy an afternoon at leisure. You may choose to experience the local cuisine at a typical bacaro, a small wine bar where locals stop for a glass of wine – traditionally called ombra – and a quick bite of local tapas – that Venetians call cicchetti.
Day 3
Breakfast
Venice
Enjoy a whole day to explore Venice at your leisure. You can meander amongst the historic streets, taking in the city’s unique architecture and gondola-laden canals. Perhaps you’ll visit the Venetian Ghetto, the oldest Jewish quarter in Europe. Or take a local public waterbus ride to the nearby island of San Giorgio which offers spectacular views of St. Mark’s Square and the Doge’s Palace. This evening, join your fellow travellers arriving for the main tour.
Pre Night Stay
Hotel-Maison Venezia UNA Esperienze
$355.00 pp
Post Night Stay
Hotel-Ponte Sisto Hotel
$230.00 pp
Unique Experience
Must-See Inclusions
Glide under bridges and along canals during a gondola ride in Venice.
Embark on a walking tour featuring Florence's artistic and architectural gems.
Discover the long-lost Etruscan civilization during a visit to hilltop Orvieto.
Included
Included
Cultural Experiences
Let classical music transport you back in time during a concert of Vivaldi’s famous Four Seasons.
Discover the craftsmanship behind the Venetian gondolas during a visit to a local Remèr oar-making workshop.
Be dazzled by medieval mosaics in Ravenna that gave inspiration to the poetry of Lord Byron and to Cole Porter’s romantic song, Night and Day.
Included
Included
Culinary Experiences
Experience the flavours of Trastevere – Rome’s medieval district – during a food tour dinner.
Participate in a hands-on cooking class dedicated to Romagna’s piadina flatbread and tagliatelle pasta.
Taste traditionally made Parmigiano cheese and balsamic vinegar at a vocational school dedicated to culinary arts and agriculture.
Included
Included
Accommodations
Arrive Earlier
Pre Night: Maison Venezia UNA Esperienze
From $355 per night
Accommodations were not what I expected for a first class tour
Jack De Leon
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This tour offered the right amount of free time and educational site touring. Everything was top notch including the tour guide. Best of everything!
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Every aspect of the trip surpassed our expectations!
Michelle Duplantis
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Your tour guide Chiara Brandi was outstanding. Her historical knowledge was impressive. She kept everyone on time withiut coming across pushy.
Michael Foster
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Well planned
Fun
Educational
I especially enjoyed the gondola ride in Venice
Loved every minute in Florence —would have liked more time there and in Venice,and less at the wine resort
Marilyn Miller
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some inclusions were not interesting
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Great value for everything I saw and experienced about Italy. The history, food and culture was wonderful! Our guide Manny was so knowledgeable and helpful. 5 stars for him!
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In one of the hotels I slept on a pull out chair. The tub in Rome was too high to get in or out safely
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Collette tours are very organized and customer service is great. Our tour guide Allesendro was excellent!
Ruma Das
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Guide was excellent. Daily balance of events was well planned. The overview and experiences superb
Geraldine Tibbits
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Spending 3 days at winery was too much. No options to do anything at night .
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Awesome trip to remember
Linda Wagner
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Great experience of a trip
Brenda Garrison
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Wonderful fun experience!
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Lots of wonderful people!
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Great tour. Would recommended this to others.
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Great experience
Tour Guide Alexa was amazing
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Best of Italy vacation was an experience of a lifetime.
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everything was perfect. especially the leader
Margaret Daugherty
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Alexa was excellent ! Was on top of things. Had a surprise for us, the American cemetery in Florence . Great surprise. Very friendly , knowledgeable and genuine .
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Great places to stay, great places to visit, great local guides, and great tour manger. We were well taken care of. I especially liked that our tour group was small, 24 people.
Laura Kruger
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The locations, logistical planning and tour manager expertise
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Everything was wonderful. Vanessa, our tour guide, was amazing! She was so much fun and very attentive to everyone’s needs.
Lisa Mackenzie
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Wonderful
Marisela Cooper
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From the wonder and surprise of Venice to the history and grandeur of Rome, the Best of Italy is an informative and fabulous tour. Most favorable moment? There are several! The visit to Murano and the Vivaldi concert in Venice; the farm-to-table lunch in the Po Valley; the exploration of San Marino; beholding St Mark's in Venice, Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, and St Peter's in Vatican City.
Joanna Haston
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Best of Italy was a lovely tour with a great overview of some of Italy's highlights. Excellent for the 1st time traveler to Italy.
My favorite activity was the Vivaldi concert in Venice.
The hotels were all very nice and in excellent locations so that exploring the cities on our own in our free time was very easy. Tour manager, Davide, was extremely knowledgeable and helpful.
Karen Ratcliffe
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Ravenna and Republic of San Marino - off the beaten track and memorable
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Wonderful tour! Highly recommend!
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We had the best time! We had the time of our lives. Simone was kind, funny, informative and kept us on time. I enjoyed every stop and adventure!
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This was an excellent tour; it covered many different types of museums, buildings, gardens, and gave us a good overview of the country of Italy.
Jane Lafferty
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Savio and Daniel the buss driver were the Best. Both were Wonderfull. I wouldn't change a thing about our trip. It was perfect. Bottles of drinking water is the only struggle we had and the was only a minor problem.
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Tour manager was amazing. Went to many places you would not on your own. Catacombs, Raving Mosiac church, as well as all the key highlights in the cities. Great trip HIGHLY recommend it.
Robin Erickson
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The tour included many of the high profile sites, and included unusual visits to a hands on cooking class, a visit to a parmigiana-reggiano cheese school; and the process of making balsamic vinegar. A very interesting presentation on the craftsmanship of oar making in Venice. A unique visit to San Marino. The Catacombs visit was remarkable, as was the Sistine Chapel.
Throughout our tour Ned provided intricate detail of each city and places of interest which were valuable. His care throughout the trip was evident and truly appreciated.
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The trip was fantastic and our guide Ned was just great. Very pleasant, accommodating and knowledgeable.
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There were too many wonderful aspects of the trip to really pin down one favorite.
If pushed…I would choose the city of Florence!!!
The little towns of Ravenna and Chiusi were also a highlight.
Amy Benevides
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Mara, the tour manager, was great with her insight and suggestions for our free time. Particularly enjoyed our day in San Marino and vatican tour.
Allen Johnson
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Absolutely loved the whole tour, especially the vineyard we stayed at and the hands on cooking class we had making piadinni flatbread. Was awestruck by the beautiful churches with the mosaic tile ceilings and walls and the Vatican and Sistine chapel. I also loved visiting the high school culinary and hospitality class and learning about how the Parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar are made and the tremendous luncheon they made for us. The food tour on our last day was also so much fun. Loved the gondola ride in Venice and the Murano glass blowing. Our tour guides were all extremely knowledgeable and especially Guilo Passiarella whose humor and tremendous knowledge made everyday so much fun!
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Excellent all the way around. The tour manager was extremely knowledgeable about each city, street, museum, hotel, restaurant, language, safety, history, and mode of transportation. The hotels were incredible and in the heart of each city. Our guide made the Best of Italy fabulous. My travel agent was incredible. She made everything possible. I couldn't be happier with all the details that went into all the planning.
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Everything was great and the tour manager was over the top fantastic!
My only concern... it would be great to have a way to keep those who are not suited for a tour. The activity level was 3 (moderate activity, steps, uneven surfaces, etc.). There were 5 of 24 who were not suited for the tour which meant the remainder of the group had to go slower - sometimes oppressively slower. It diminished the potential experience we could have had.
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Everything was great, especially the tour manager - over the top fantastic! The only thing which would have made the tour better if there was a way to prevent those who should not have been on the tour. Specifically, the tour is listed as an activity level 3 (moderate activity, steps, etc.). The tour group was slowed by 5 of the 24 attendees including one who used a cane periodically to walk.
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I think the tour guide, Minnie makes the tour!
We were told 16 passengers, had 24! Not cool!
Places you visit are great, individual tour guides are a roll of the dice. Some were good? Others knew their stuff, but walked at their pace, and rambled off so many facts, you remembered none! Taking pictures was routinely done on the run!!
Hotels are middle of the road, for the price I expected better. One had a broken toilet seat, and when repaired eventually, had 2 pieces of metal, dropped into to bowl!
Overall, the meals were very heavy in pasta, and prosciutto, with hardly a fresh or cooked vegetable in sight!
I believe we had one meal with chicken, and 3 with badly cooked fish! So, not impressed there!
Judith Hermann
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Rome was the best with Vsicsand St Peter’s basilica
Joseph Kirkland
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Venice— taking water taxis and gondola ride
Romagna countryside—the wonderful wine resort, wine tour, bread making class and glass blowing
Florence—all the wonderful churches museums
Rome—Sistine chapel and seeing the Pope in St. Peter’s square
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The plane ride home
Kenneth Smith
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Famous iconic sites and museums were not included and then sold out! Also illness / Covid was brought into the bus first day then spread throughout. We were so sick by the end of trip we missed all of Rome and part of Florence. In addition, gondola ride was canceled with no compensation.
Mary Smith
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It was great, plenty busy, but not overly. Saw some beautiful sites and loved Giulio!
Pamela Klein
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Enjoyed the mix of planned and unplanned time as well as the variety of excursions and cultural activities.
Ray Brooks
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My favorite place was the wine resort in Tuscany. I loved my huge private room overlooking the vineyard. I enjoyed the hands-on cooking class and every meal there.
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The visit to the Murano Glass factory was amazing. Watching the guy start with a molten piece of glass and end up with a beautiful horse was such a surprise! There were such beautiful vases and glasses in the shop, I wish I could have bought so many things.
Jean Herron
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I enjoyed the tour as a whole, I don't think there was a favorite thing. Our time in Romagna at the wine resort was especially nice.
One thing I was disappointed in was the Vatican tour, it was supposed to be a before hours, breakfast at the Vatican private tour. Instead it was just the normal tour.
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I loved riding in the gondola in Venice. The food was delicious, the countryside was beautiful, the Colosseum and Vatican were impressive. The whole trip was wonderful!
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Hotels, breakfasts, and provided meals were great. Stops along the way were very enjoyable and informative. Favorite bonus stop that I would never have thought to do was SanMarino. I wish we'd have had more time there. Was disappointed that food "cooking " class was not what I had hoped for, neither was wine tasting. Wine was great, but there wasn't really instructional experience despite staying at winery. Those were 2 things i was really looking forward to and left me wanting. History and outside guides were very good, particularly Venice tour guide.
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The overall experience was great! Italy is beautiful. The flight over was miserable. The inability to see our seat assignment until we reached the airport was frustrating. I called Collette several times to ask about upgrading to premium economy. The Collette representative in each case was not knowledgeable or helpful with the cost or even the possibility of upgrading. I was told twice that someone from 'the flight desk' would call me back with information. I received one call back and was quoted a price so high I assumed it had to be a mistake.
The tour manager was extraordinary. She was incredibly knowledgeable, personable and attentive.
The accommodations were very nice. As for the itinerary I would have preferred more time in Venice, Florence and Rome and less time at the Borgo Conde Wine Resort.
We will see Italy again...but we will book our own flights.
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The entire tour was incredible. Our tour guide, Mara, was amazing and our coordinator, Chuck Cinelli, was the perfect host. Italy is an amazing land. We’ll return on one of Chuck’s tours in the future.
Rod Singletary
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professional and friendly tour director. Great overall accomodations and dinners.
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The Best of Italy failed to include "the Best of Italy. We had to pay extra to go into the Colosseum &The Pathanon. Not enough time spent at the Vatican, it was rushed. The odd things they included was a pontoon ride on the Po River. It was ecological excursion that wasn't what I expected to do in Italy. Then went to a local school where we thought we would see the art of making cheese and balsamic vinegar, instead students just told us about these things. We also spent three nights at a wine resort, one night would have been fine, it would have been nice to have more time in Florence, we only had 2 days.
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The best of Italy Collette tour to with my tour manager Chiara was really run. She had a very inviting personality and made me feel included with the group. She was also very knowledgeable about all things Italian.
She’s a real history buff, which I appreciated because it made the commutes to the places we were visiting in Italy (which were a bit long at times) more exciting! She also took the time to give the group some really amazing recommendations of places to visit or dine at in Florence, Venice and Rome. All and all I had a great time sight seeing and experiencing Italy with Chiara and the amazing people I got to know in our group. I would highly recommended her to a family member or friend and also I would love for her to be my tour manager again.
Chyna Lowers
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Every aspect of the trip surpassed our expectations!
Michelle Duplantis
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
This tour offered the right amount of free time and educational site touring. Everything was top notch including the tour guide. Best of everything!
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
Accommodations were not what I expected for a first class tour
Jack De Leon
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
Your tour guide Chiara Brandi was outstanding. Her historical knowledge was impressive. She kept everyone on time withiut coming across pushy.
Michael Foster
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
Well planned
Fun
Educational
I especially enjoyed the gondola ride in Venice
Loved every minute in Florence —would have liked more time there and in Venice,and less at the wine resort
Marilyn Miller
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
some inclusions were not interesting
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
In one of the hotels I slept on a pull out chair. The tub in Rome was too high to get in or out safely
Reviewed on
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Great value for everything I saw and experienced about Italy. The history, food and culture was wonderful! Our guide Manny was so knowledgeable and helpful. 5 stars for him!
Reviewed on
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Collette tours are very organized and customer service is great. Our tour guide Allesendro was excellent!
Ruma Das
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
Guide was excellent. Daily balance of events was well planned. The overview and experiences superb
Geraldine Tibbits
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Lots of wonderful people!
Reviewed on
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Wonderful fun experience!
Reviewed on
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Great experience of a trip
Brenda Garrison
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
Awesome trip to remember
Linda Wagner
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
Spending 3 days at winery was too much. No options to do anything at night .
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
Great experience
Tour Guide Alexa was amazing
Reviewed on
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Great tour. Would recommended this to others.
Reviewed on
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Best of Italy vacation was an experience of a lifetime.
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
everything was perfect. especially the leader
Margaret Daugherty
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
Alexa was excellent ! Was on top of things. Had a surprise for us, the American cemetery in Florence . Great surprise. Very friendly , knowledgeable and genuine .
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
Great places to stay, great places to visit, great local guides, and great tour manger. We were well taken care of. I especially liked that our tour group was small, 24 people.
Laura Kruger
Reviewed on
Trip Rating:
The locations, logistical planning and tour manager expertise
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