5-Day Best of Italy Trip

Rome, Italy

Take your time with five days to explore the best of Italy! After a taste of Italy's capital, venture north of Rome and navigate your way through Assisi, Siena, Florence, Padua, and Venice. Your journey will take you away from modern highways and large cities to discover the real Italy, where ancient villages are just waiting to be explored.

Departing Rome, you will travel through Umbria to Assisi and join the millions of pilgrims who arrive each year to pay homage at the home of St. Francis. Steeped in medieval tradition, Siena's Gothic buildings will also entice you on your next coach stop.

Art and architecture, paintings and sculptures, museums and galleries - let the Renaissance-inspired city of Florence captivate you before you make your way to the Shakespearian city of Padua. The town was the setting for Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.

Spend the last full day of your travels navigating the canals of Venice, composed of more than 100 tiny islets. Take a gondola ride or lose yourself down narrow winding streets.

USD $662.03

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Michele H	November 2011
We loved this trip and had a wonderful time!We were the only Americans but in spite of the language differences we enjoyed every moment thanks in part to Susanna.Everthing was well organized and timed and you even provided excellent weather along with visits to very interesting and beautiful cities. The extra offerings were great too!

Review by: Ginny S	November 2011
Our tour guide Clara was so personable and helpful. She had to work so very hard speaking in 3 languages to our busload of 52 persons. The disadvantage about this tour company is that having to speak in 3 languages we were not given as much information as say a guide who only had to speak in English. Also, this tour company booked the busload at 2 different hotels in Rome and Venice and this required more time in pickups, dropoffs and especially in explaining what each group was supposed to do. The tour company should have separate tours for those staying at 3 star vs. 4 star hotels and should limit the languages to 2 , at most. However, our tour guide Clara was so good that she made the tour a wonderful one. For the money we visited lots of small towns as well as getting to see Florence and Venice. Thanks Clara.

Review by: robert m	November 2011
What a great way to maximise a short stay in Italy. Clara the tour director was very helpful and well ahead of the game, A must do if you have a short amount of time and want a good snap shot of various regions and locations.

Review by: Andwen	October 2011
We thoroughly enjoyed the 5 day Best of Italy bus trip, met some great people from around the globe and were hoted extremely professionally and efficiently by our guide Carlos and bus driver Sabotino throughout.

Review by: Faizal S A K	October 2011
Fantastic trip that really shows you the best of Italy. Only issue I have is the all the add-ons which should be included upfront in the price

Review by: Clara S	October 2011
Excelente, el viaje como estaba planeado, los hoteles muy buuenos, el guia manejo el tour muy profesionalmente. Mi recomendacion es que aceptan hacer este tour con mucha gente, en este habian 52 personas

Review by: P K	October 2011
very enjoyable

Review by: Louisa Pui C	September 2011
Our tour was big with 61 guests and led by Mario. 1st day was very hectic as we had to chase after the tour leader for about 20 minutes at the various city stops after long bus ride of 2-3+ hours. On the bus, there was some briefing about the cities to be visited and once we were led into the city centers, we were left to wander on our own for around 2-3 hours. There were 5 optional tours which cost a total of EURO 150 which included excursion to Pisa, Venice by Night and Condola ride etc. Have to pay extra EURO 4 per person per night at the hotel as well as recommended tips of EURO 15 for the tour leader and driver. In Florence, other than 1 short city tour in the morning, the whole day will be left on our own if we are not joining the Pisa optional tour. Was able to see a few medieval towns which other group tours might not cover. 4-star hotel in Venice on the island and the restaurant there were excellent. However, the hotel in Florence was a tourist hotel and very chaotic at check-in due to 3-4 tour buses arriving at the same time and jammed into 2 lifts. Those guests who are slow and with weak legs cannot join this tour.

Review by: Winslie Joseph R	August 2011
Tour was good the hotels were excellent,the guide and driver were great, but one thing Viator needs to review is Venice when they picked us up from Mstra they told us that we have to find our way back from Venice which for elderly people who cant walk far is very difficult and so it cost the four of 40 euro to get back to the Hotel in Mistra we cant Understand why the coach which took us could not drop all of us back at the hotel,this was not mentioned in the Itinerary,if not we would have booked the four star tour.

Review by: Suresh M	August 2011
Excellent! Well organized, good meal and wonderful time.

Review by: IGOR N	August 2011
Food could be better.

Review by: EDUARDO A	August 2011
One of the best trips to Europe I have taken. The hotels at the 4 star rate were quite comfy and with a nice sense of luxury. Their location within Italy, specially in Venice were prime sites. The bus was a bit crowded and camped as usual, but it does not deter you from enjoying the views and the site seeing schedule. The food was great. Our tour guide Carlos was excellent. _br/_ I had a great time with the tour guests and the extras offered by the program were worth the price, specially the gondola ride across the river. It was worth every penny. I would recommend this package to anyone who is heading for the first time to Italy. I've come to trust the company and I look forward to my next trip.

Review by: Theresa P	July 2011
This trip was well worth every penny. It was well organised and our tour guide was fantastic, providing so much information in two languages. Everything worked smoothly and we felt comfortable and that there was personal attention to all despite the size of the group. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone interested in seeing more than just Rome on their visit to Italy. Thanks for a wonderful week.

Review by: Yvonne v	June 2011
EXCELLENT TOUR GUIDE CARLOS. HOWEVER, THE BUS ITSELF WAS NOT THE USUAL SPACIOUS SIZE WE HAVE EXPERIENCED ON OTHER TOURS. THERE WERE FOUR EVENING MEALS INCLUDED WHICH IN OUR OPINION IT WOULD BE BETTER TO LET PEOPLE BUY THEIR OWN FOOD AS THERE WERE SQUABBLES AND COMPLAINTS AMONGST OTHER PASSENGERS, NOT US, BUT STILL IT MAKES THINGS UNPLEASANT FOR EVERYONE.

Review by: Jessica F	June 2011
Overall great value for your dollar, but I wasn't impressed with the hotels and where they seem to put tours in the hotels. Also the tour I bought online wasn't exactly the tour I got. So if you are going to advertise itinerary then make sure it is what you advertise.

Review by: Bobbie J	June 2011
We had a wonderful 5 days. Our guide was organized and caring. He went the extra mile for the seniors on our tour. They were given options and safe places to wait for the more active travelers. We never felt controlled but our guide was never far away. We wanted to venture out on our own for an afternoon and our guide gave us perfect train times and fees. Being in Italy for the first time, it was nice to have friendly guides to introduce you to what's there. No one wants to spend so much time on a bus, but watching those drivers maneuver the streets and getting from place to place in comfort was worth the time spent in route. Thanks Viator.

Review by: Elizabeth T E	May 2011
Fantastic tour......

Review by: DEBRA M	April 2011
Horrible food and 2nd class accomodations. This was a real disappointment.

Review by: Sherry E	April 2011
I really enjoyed the trip. The only problem we had was their were 60 Spanish speaking people to 15 English speaking people. So most of the talking was in Spanish. Missed alot of what was said. Very disappointed!

Review by: Artur E	February 2011
very nice trip, whole family enjoyed a lot. thanks

Review by: Xin Z	October 2010
this tour is great, just a bit too expensive

Review by: Kenneth B	October 2010
The sights and itinerary were great. The accomodations very acceptable. This was supposed to be an English speaking tour and not to my knowledge a Tri Language Tour. The tour instructions and information given in 3 languages was Frustrating, Distracting and not at all what I had expected for a tour. 2/3 of the time I couldn't understand the information and the other 1/3 was difficult to hear as 2/3 of the people were having a conversation over our tourguide's descriptions. If the Tour is not going to be in one language it should be advertised as such. I would not in the future book a 5 day mixed language tour!

Review by: Scott R	August 2010
The tour was very good. We got to see a lot of Italy on the five days of this tour. The hotels were nice, but the food could have been better. Also, our tour was conducted in both English and Spanish, which can get a little frustrating at times since the tour guide switched languages quickly and had a very heavy accent.

Review by: Vivian C	August 2010
Had a good time. Visited a lot of places. The optional tours were also good, especially the one to see Michelangelo's David in the museum in Florence. Did not join the Gondola ride as it looked rather stupid and too touristy. Our tour guide was also very good and could speak 5 languages. The main problem about this tour was that it was not a pure English tour, hence the multi-lingual guide. Every information had to be repeated in several languages, so we spent mcuh more time listening to the guide than was necessary if it was an English only tour. You also need to pay attention all the time because you don''t know when she would switch to English. The other disappointment was that we chose to pay more for better hotels but the hotel in Florence was not up to 4-star standard and the food was horrible. It was also not near the main tourist sights. It was not a 10-minute walk. More like 30-40 minutes. The hotel in Venice was very good though. Beautiful and right by the Grand Canal. All in all, I enjoyed the trip and it was value for money.

Review by: Anonymous	August 2010
This was a good trip and would recommend it to those who want to see a bit of a lot of great places. However below is a few criticisms that could have easily been overcome. 1. Bus was way too small, no leg room whatsoever. The bus seemed to be designed for people 5 ft 6 and under only. 2. You are dropped of in the middle of places like Assisi, Siena, Bologna and you are told to meet back at a particular meeting place - you are not provided with any maps. You did not want to stray too far to see things without maps in case you missed the bus. Surely a basic tourist map of these towns could be included with the information packs or handed out as you hop off the bus. 3. Times for wake-up call, breakfast, meet the bus each morning was confusing. A complete listing of these times should have been made available at the start of the tour, this would have settled a lot of the confusion that was felt on our tour. 4. The meals at the places we stayed were very very ordinary. 5. Our tour leader seemed totally disinterested in the trip until we got to Venice where she seemed to come to life. Spent quite a bit of time saying that there was nothing to see in Florence and for a more interesting trip go with her to Pisa. The cynic in me felt this was because she getting a cut from optional tours, of course I don't know if that was true. We chose to stay in Florence and had one of the best days we had while in Europe. Florence is a great city. Apart from the above criticisms we loved every place we visited

Review by: Haider A	August 2010
I highly recommend everyone to go on this 5-Day best of Italy trip, especially if your tour is with Stephano. We enjoyed the beautiful scenary, aswel as stephano's knowledge of the history, and everything else. Before stopping in a village, Stephano would tell us history and helpful tips and recommendations on where we should go. The local guides were very interesting, we loved Recardo, the local guide for Piza. we made new friends, and had a great time exploring Italy. Thank you Stephano for making this trip awesome! your the best

Review by: Rodrigo M, Brazil	July 2010
They chose really special places for this tour. I also recommend to take all the extra trips, specially Pisa and Venice by night. In the end, instead of going back to Rome by bus, which takes the whole day, I recommend taking a night train from Venice.

Review by: Pui Sze Jessie W	July 2010
The trip was ok. We saw a lot but i think the bus trip was a bit too long.

Review by: Deborah R, United States of America	June 2010
This was a great trip but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that can't do a lot of walking, because there is a lot of walking BUT every step was worth seeing all the wonderful sights that we saw. Our Tour guide Suzette was very nice and knowledgable. My favorite was Venice and Rome. Thank you for the experience.

Review by: Victor R, United States of America	May 2010
Words cannot fully describe this unbelievable tour. Unquestionably worth every cent we paid. Our guide, Stefano was very organized, kind, knowledgeable, patient, understanding, calm and funny! He was able to speak 3 languages fluently on our trip. He worked tirelessly every day explaining all there was to know about so many subjects in Italy and all our stops. The people, the history. This was "soup to nuts" as we say in America. We always felt we were in good hands. We were in Europe for 14 days. This was by far the best tour to do. The hotels included were meticulous, the food was more than ample and fresh. Hoorah for Viator 5-Day Best of Italy Trip. Unbeatable. Take your camera and keep shooting, this tour emcompasses much more than you could imagine. We can't wait to go again with our friends and family.

Review by: Roma R, United States of America	May 2010
Trip was very good and it is worth the money and did see what we could have not made it without booking this tour. The guide was very good, cooperative, informative but did realize were explaining in spanish, italian in detail and short informative in english. Hotels were very good, but food provided by the hotel in Florence good have have good but it was very poor. Food at Venice was extremely good. Also, feel when there are people of different origin, food should be also covered for different origin. On whole trip was very good and would recommend to take the trip if you really have short period of time in Italy.

Review by: Ana M	May 2010
The hotel where we stayed in Florence was not a four star hotel even though they claimed to be. Dinner was included with this tour at this hotel, the same menu was served both nights in a row and the food was cold. Also, when our friends at out table ordered wine, an open bottle was brought to them and it was not what they had ordered yet they were served this wine and charged for it! The rest of the trip was fun and great. Our tour guide Clara, was very helpful and fun.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	April 2010
Got to see all the major sights and had time for own sightseeing.

Review by: Shri N, United States of America	April 2010
The service was great and tourist guide was awesome.

Review by: SHRI N	April 2010
The service was great and tourist guide was awesome.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	November 2009
Overall we had a wonderful trip in Italy. This tour enabled us to be able to see more than we could have on our own. We will be back and will check out your website. The cities we visited were very beautiful. Well organized drop offpick up schedule. Our guide, however, would leave us to our own without enough information and with a language barrier we were unable to get enough cultural and historical perspective of the cities visited. We never even received maps or written guides. Our hotels were nice, food just average, and service was good.

Review by: Anonymous, Bermuda	August 2009
The trip was great. For a single person traveling it was a wonderful way to see the different places and feel quite comfortable. Our guide was wonderful. I am now looking to book a tour next month for Spain with Viator.

Review by: Rebecca P, Australia	August 2009
This tour is a perfect for those who don't have a lot of time in Italy, and it has good value for money. All the organisation is done for you. The only thing is I would have prefered a little more time in each of the places visited, but others didn't so everyone is different. The tour guide and bus driver were excellent.

Review by: Phyllis C, Canada	July 2009
We had a wonderful coach driver and a very experienced translator/tour guide, who guided and organized 65 travellers during the 5 days. If you are looking for a good but fast paced introduction to some of the most interesting and famous cities in Italy, I recommmend this tour.

Review by: Heather A, United Kingdom	July 2009
As a single traveler, this was a easy way to see the northern parts of Italy without the hassle of arranging transport or having to study your guide book for information regarding what you where seeing. Our guide was brilliant and extremely knowledgeable. I highly recommend that you book the hotel on the island of Venice and spend a night walking around after most of the other tourist have gone for the day. Venice at night is GREAT! The tour was great, and ours was a brilliant tour guide, fun and friendly with great knowledge of all the places we visited. The hotels I stayed in were of a really good standard (even if some customers on the tour always complained about the air-con), and I had no complaints about them.

Review by: Natasha Shammul K, Pakistan	July 2009
Everything was perfect: the tour guide, the bus driver, the cities and places visited, the hotels we stayed at, and especially the people we met on the tour! It was absolutely incredible!

Review by: Evelyn E, Philippines	July 2009
The experience was well worth it, as the tour guides were trying their best to show us the places that need to be seen considering the time costraint. We would have prefered to stay in a hotel in the city center of Florence to utilize the spare time to walk around.

Review by: Anonymous	July 2009
As a single traveler, this was a easy way to see the northern parts of Italy without the hassle of arranging transport or having to study your guide book for information regarding what you where seeing. Our guide was brilliant and extremely knowledgeable. I highly recommend that you book the hotel on the island of Venice and spend a night walking around after most of the other tourist have gone for the day. Venice at night is GREAT! The tour was great, and ours was a brilliant tour guide, fun and friendly with great knowledge of all the places we visited. The hotels I stayed in were of a really good standard (even if some customers on the tour always complained about the air-con), and I had no complaints about them.

Review by: Catherine P, United States of America	May 2009
The tour was a great value. It was better than expected. We saw lots of fabulous places in a short time. The bus was very comfortable, and the four star hotels were very nice. The tour guide was excellent. He spoke good English and was very organized, informative, and concerned for all guests on the tour. It was a great experience that we will never forget!

Review by: Oscar Eduardo L, Mexico	March 2009
This was a beautiful trip. We knew several cities Assisi, Siena, Florence, Pisa, Padua, Venice and Montepulciano. The person in charge of the tour made an amazing work. It was a perfect combination of beautiful cities and outstanding service. We truly recommend this trip.

Review by: Daphne O, United States of America	March 2009
Very good value tour. We covered a lot of sites across Italy, and we especially enjoyed Siena. All the staff were very helpful, and we were looked after. We would do this again and are happy to recommend it.

Review by: Rusela C, Ireland	January 2009
The driver and tour guide are very good. Helpful in assisting with luggage and very supportive and always smiling-very friendly. About the trip it was nice but since it's Italy scenic spots were almost all Basilica not interested at all, much better if we visited Museum and other attractions. Loved Pisa and Venice, majestic. It was a dream come true seeing those places.

Review by: K T, New Zealand	November 2008
A worthwhile trip for a quick glimpse of Florence and Rome. The tour manager and tour guides were excellent! Very, very knowledgeable and resourceful. Accommodation and meals are of a good standard. Plenty of free time is provided so you can also do your own exploring. There were a couple of short stops enroute which I thought we could have done without and had more time in the other places - just an opinion rather than negative feedback.

Review by: Cherian G, United Arab Emirates	October 2008
The itinerary was well planned though it could have been better. The fixed menus at the hotels were a disappointment. The guide was good and so was the driver. They were very helpful and friendly. We had a good time.