Florence & Cinque Terre Tour
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FLORENCE & CINQUE TERRE TOUR • A little bit of everything – we’ll start in Florence, visiting the artisan shops in the Oltrano district, stop in to see Michelangelo’s David, and spend a day exploring the Chianti hill towns along with a fabulous wine tasting and lunch at a local winery! Then off for some wine tasting in the famous hill towns of Tuscany. Day five brings us to the fishing villages of the Cinque Terre, where our walks take us through backyards and vineyards with spectacular views over the Mediterranean Sea. We sample the local pesto, eat the freshest seafood and taste the local sweet wine, Sciacchetrà. After breakfast on our last full day, we’ll take the boat south to explore the unique town of Portovenere then celebrate your adventures that night with our traditional farewell dinner.
TOUR DATES:
October 2nd – 9th, 2024
DAY 1 | FLORENCE 4 NIGHTS • Arrive this afternoon at the hotel and settle in. We start off our week with a wonderful sunset tour of the Oltrarno district of Florence. This is one of my favorite neighborhoods, full of artisan shops, restaurants, beautiful churches and the Pitti Palace with its amazing Boboli Gardens. We stop at a local wine bar for a taste of Tuscan wine, served with a few local snacks before heading to a wonderful dinner!
Dinner
DAY 2 | FLORENCE • Our morning is dedicated to the famous Florentine sculptor, Michelangelo. We get to see his amazing work such as the David, as well as some of his unfinished sculptures, then it’s off to learn all about the wealthy merchant families and how they lived during the 1300’s. We visit Palazzo Davanzati, the most perfectly preserved merchant home in Italy, as well as visiting a few local shops who perfectly embody the Italian essence of creativity and style. The afternoon and evening is yours free to explore more of Florence or to do some serious shopping!
Breakfast
DAY 3 | FLORENCE • Your morning is free to relax, perhaps visit the mercato centrale to watch the locals do their shopping or take a morning stroll through one of the lovely gardens nearby. We meet mid-day for lunch then visit the beautiful Sant Croce church, where you can find the tombs of some famous Florentines. We then make our way up to the 1000-year old monastery, San Miniato al Monte, which has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic churches in Italy. You will also find one of the best best views of the city from here. As we stroll back down to Florence. exploring the wonderful little streets, we visit a fabulous jewelry maker like no other!!
Breakfast, Lunch
DAY 4 | CHIANTI • Today we travel into the countryside of Tuscany. We visit a wonderful hill town and have a wine tasting, cellar tour and lunch at a local family-run organic winery. You have the evening free to discover more of Florence’s wonderful restaurants!
Breakfast, Wine Tasting & Lunch
DAY 5 | THE CINQUE TERRE 3 NIGHTS • Today after breakfast, we will transfer by private coach to the Cinque Terre. On our way we stop to visit the walled town of Lucca then enjoy a fabulous lunch and wine tasting at a beautiful villa in the hills above town. After we settle into our hotel in Monterosso, we have a lovely stroll around town on our way to dinner.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
DAY 6 | CINQUE TERRE • Today we explore the rest of the Cinque Terre villages. The views are amazing – this is a place you don’t want to forget your camera! We start with a walk along the “Via Amore” in Riomaggiore making our way to Vernazza via the local train, where we will have a wonderful lunch on top of a medieval tower. After lunch we will train back to Monterosso where the rest of the day is yours to relax at the beach or sit in an outdoor café, taking in the beautiful scenery!
Breakfast, Lunch
DAY 7 | CINQUE TERRE • After breakfast today, we take the boat south to the town of Portovenere (weather permitting). We’ll have the afternoon to explore this enchanting village before returning to Monterosso and having our farewell dinner together.
Breakfast, Dinner
DAY 8 | CINQUE TERRE • Tour concludes after breakfast with a transfer to the La Spezia train station for connecting trains to all parts of Italy. I will be happy to help with any suggestions if you are continuing on with your travels!
Breakfast
TOUR DETAILS:
Tour Begins: In the afternoon at 4:00pm in our hotel in Florence.
Tour Concludes: In the morning after breakfast at our hotel in Monterosso, Cinque Terre
TOUR PRICE:
$4995 Per person/Double occupancy
TOUR PRICE INCLUDES:
- 7 nights double occupancy lodging in 3 and 4 star hotels
- All breakfasts
- 4 lunches with the local wine
- 3 dinners with the local wine
- All entry fees to parks and museums
- Wine Tasting
- All ground transportation
- All local guides
TOUR DOES NOT INCLUDE:
- Air transportation
- Transfers to and from your hotels at the beginning and ending of the tour.
- Hotel tourist tax (see Roommates section below for details)
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Required Trip Insurance
Please note that trip insurance is required to join us on a Ciao Darcy trip. Trip cancellation insurance will protect all deposits and payments for land and air costs if you are required to cancel your tour. We recommend www.travelguard.com
Minimum Travelers
Minimum Travelers: We only run trips with 4 or more guests. If a trip has fewer attendees at 45 days before the trip dates, we will cancel the trip. However, if this were to happen, we can give you the option of a private tour with a surcharge applied.
Accommodations
We have partnered with boutique hotels that meet the Ciao Darcy standards of service.
Room Options
Double Occupancy: Double occupancy pricing is the price for (1) person to stay in a shared (i.e. double) room. In other words, each person staying in that room will pay the posted double occupancy rate. If you’re a couple or friends traveling together, please know that you’ll each pay the double occupancy rate.
Single Occupancy: Need some alone time? We hear you. That’s why we offer single occupancy rooms. The single occupancy rate is what you will pay to have the room all to yourself.
Roommates
If you do not have a travel partner, you can purchase single occupancy room and have it all to yourself! We do not pair up trip attendees because we find there is not enough privacy in the rooms to allow strangers to room together.
Please note: Many cities in Italy and France have recently implemented tourism taxes on hotel stays in order to “to ensure the quality of tourist, cultural and environmental services in addition to the efficiency of public transports.” We are unable to include these taxes in the tour price as the majority of hotels require the tax to be paid in cash upon check- out. The tax is usually 1 euro per hotel star per person per night. (A four star hotel will usually be four euro per person per night).
