A Family Get-Away: Tour of Italian Coast
I created this travel plan for a final project for an English course at the University of Washington. The project was to create a piece of composition of a genre of my choice based on previous projects I had done for the course. This is not a legitimate travel package but rather a hypothetical travel package for a family of four to take a 2 week tour of the Italian coast over the summer. If you're planning a trip to Florence, Rome, Naples, Pompeii, or the Amalfi coast and are looking for some ideas, skim through this plan for inspiration.
Introduction:
Picture taking your quaint family of four to your local airport and flying to Italy for 2 weeks of summer exploration. You spend a few calm days in Florence, getting over your jetlag and exploring the city. Then you move on to Rome, where you take in the surreal religious history and architecture of the sprawling city by visiting the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and so much more. Then the second week of your trip you take a speed train to Naples, where a rental car awaits you and a week-long road trip through Pompeii and the Amalfi coast filled with wine and food tours galore will fulfill your desire for sun, waves, and culture. This could be you and your family if you buy this travel package.
Down below, you will be given the itinerary as well as airfare, transportation, tour, and hotel details.
!! Unless part of a guided tour, food and drink expenses are not included in this package !!
Itinerary:
Tuscany
Cityscape of Florence, Italy; picture taken from Dream of Italy
Day 1 (June 15th)
You check into your hotel after landing in Florence. Once you have settled into your room, you can take it upon yourself to sightsee and explore Florence unguided. I would recommend walking to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and admiring its baroque design. This day is meant to spend recouping from the flight and just to get a feel for the city and the country.
Day 2 (June 16th)
You will have a scheduled tour of Florence for the entire day, where you and your family will be taken by a local guide with up to 12 other people to see the Uffizi Gallery, the Statue of David, and many other famous sites of the city. The tour does have a break for lunch, which isn't included in the package, so you can take your family to a local pizzeria or café for some bites. After the tour the rest of the day is yours to explore other wonders of Florence (See Tour Details for a link to the tour's website).
Day 3 (June 17th)
This day, you and your family will go on a Tuscan tour, where you'll begin with a walking tour of Siena and its infamous cathedral, go to the Chianti hills and feast on Tuscan eats and sip on fruity wines, then explore the medieval San Gimignano, and lastly, gawk at the leaning tower of Pisa. Once done with this tour the rest of the day is yours to relax, do more site seeing, or a take a family power nap (See Tour Details for a link to the tour's website).
Rome
The Colosseum, Rome, Italy; pic taken from Rome.us
Day 4 (June 18th)
In the beginning of the day, you will check out of your hotel in Florence. You will take a high speed train to Rome (See Transportation Details for more information on the train system). You will check into your hotel and get settled in. Later in the afternoon, you will have a guided tour where you visit the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. Food is not included on this tour, so afterwards, you should grab dinner somewhere in the city (See Tour Details for a link to the tour's website). If you still have more energy, you can visit the Trevi fountain, which is a breathtakingly gorgeous fountain sculpted in the 18th century and designed by Nicola Salvi.
Day 5 (June 19th)
This day, you will take another guided tour, where you will visit famous historical landmarks of Rome, like the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill (See Tour Details for a link to the tour's website). Food is not included with this tour and pick up from your hotel is not an option, however you can select a pick up spot with the tour guides.
Amalfi Roadtrip
Amalfi Coast, Italy; pic taken from Rick Steves Europe
Day 6 (June 20th)
This is your last day in Rome. You'll check out of your hotel and take another high speed train to Naples, where you will check into your next hotel. Since this is the first day in Naples, you can just relax and enjoy the vibes of Piazza del Plebiscito, you can go straight into adventuring and explore the Naples Harbor, or observe the Naples Cathedral.
Day 7 (June 21st)
This day will be your one and only full day in Naples. You'll start off the day climbing Mount Vesuvius on a guided tour. On this tour, you will take a 3.5 hour group hike up the Mountain and stroll around the crater of the mountain. This mountain that eradicated the city of Pompeii appears intimidating from down below, but once you're on the very top, the panoramic views of Naples and beyond will leave you breathless (See Tour Details for a link to the tour's website).
Day 8 (June 22nd)
This day will mark the beginning of your family road trip around the Amalfi coast. You will check out of you hotel, pick up your rental car at the Naples Airport at 12:00pm (12:00), and drive down south about 25 minutes to Pompeii, where you will check into your hotel (See Transportation Details for further info about the rental car). You and your family will then take a personally guided 3 hour tour of the Pompeii ruins. Your tour guide will be a professional Archaeologist, who has worked with the ruins in the past and will give you an up close, personal, and educational accounting of Pompeii's ancient society, culture, and history (See Tour Details for a link to the tour's website).
Day 9 (June 23rd)
You will check out of your hotel and hit the road again, driving about 30 minutes southeast to Salerno. After you check into your hotel, you will explore all the Salerno has to offer, starting with the famous Salerno Cathedral, then following with a stroll through Rione Duomo district. The district starts at Piazza Della Libertia, and then you keep walking down the street and observe all the shops, cafés, and eateries there. To finish the day, you will take your family to explore Fort La Carnale, where I would suggest even stopping to eat dinner.
Day 10 (June 24th)
You move once more down the coast after checking out of your hotel, and driving only 20ish minutes west over to Amalfi. You will check into your hotel and afterwards visit the medieval Amalfi Cathedral, take to the many beaches there, and go on a wine tour of the Apicella Winery. You will get a tour of the historical family vineyard, A ‘Scrapata prefillossera and then continue with a visit to the winery where you will learn about the production process, fermenting red and white wines, stabilizing and aging (See Tour Details for a link to the tour's website).
Day 11 (June 25th)
Towards the end of your coastal road trip, you will check out of your hotel and drive to Sorrento, where you can spend a peaceful early afternoon relaxing on Piazza Tasso, the main square of Sorrento. You will then check into your hotel and visit the Marine Grande, relax on the Marameo beach, and in the evening take a Gourmet Girls food tour to experience the rich food culture in Sorrento (See Tour Details for a link to the tour's website).
Day 12 (June 26th)
You will check out of your hotel and drive back to Naples, where you will return your rental car at 12 pm (12:00) at the Naples Airport. You will then take a high speed train to Florence, where you will check into the same hotel you stayed at when you and your family first arrived in Italy. This gives you the wonderful opportunity to walk around Florence one last time and see sights that you couldn’t see before, like Giotto’s Campanile, Piazza del Duomo, or Boboli Gardens and Palazzo Pitti.
Day 13 (June 27th)
This day can be spent mentally preparing for the journey back home or continuing to explore Florence.
Day 14 (June 28th)
You will sadly say goodbye to Italy, check out of your hotel for the final time, take a train to the airport and fly out of Florence.
Airfare Details:
Flight Details for outgoing and returning flights
On the flight to Florence, the air travel would be through AirFrance. The first flight, which is set to Seattle at SeaTac on the 14th of June but can be changed depending on your starting location, will take off at 4:30 pm (16:30) and will land at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France at 11:15 am (11:15). There is one layover of 1 hour and 30 minutes in Paris and then the second flight takes off from Charles de Gaulle Airport at 12:45 pm (12:45). The flight lands in your destination of Peretola Airport in Florence, Italy at 2:30 pm (14:30) on June 15th.
Flight Details for outgoing flights to Florence, Italy
When leaving Florence, air travel will also be through AirFrance and there will be a layover in France. The first flight takes off from Peretola Airport in Florence, Italy at 9:50 am (9:50) and lands at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France at 11:40 am (11:40). There is a layover of 1 hour and 30 min and the connecting flight back to Seattle (or your destination) will take off at 1:30 pm (13:30). If you're landing in Seattle, WA you will reach your final destination at 2:30 pm (14:30) of June 28th.
Flight Details for returning flights to Seattle, WA, United States of America
Transportation details:
When traveling between Florence, Rome, and Naples, you will be using the Frecciarossa High Speed Train System in order to take you and your family from one city to the next efficiently.
Here is the link to the Italian train service:
Once in Naples, you will pick up a rental car at the Naples airport which you will use to take a road trip around the Amalfi coast from the 22nd of June until the 26th of June. You will pick the car up at 12:00 pm (12:00) on the 22nd and drop it back off at the same time and same location on the 26th of June. More car details like make, model, and cost per day are pictured down below.
Rental Car in Naples information page
Hotel details:
In Florence → 4 nights at Hotel Pendini
Hotel Pendini is located in the cultural center of Florence along the historical Piazza Della Repubblica. With this hotel being in the center of the city, this will allow you easy access to all the sites of Florence.
In Rome → 3 nights at Una Hotels Decó Roma
Una Hotels Decó Roma is located only 350 feet away from Termini Train Station and walking distance from the Bascilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore. The hotel is also in close range to Monti which is where the Closseum, the Foro Romano, and the Pantheon are located.
In Naples → 3 nights at Palazzo Firenze
Palazzo Firenze is a brand new hotel located right in the center of Naples. It has deluxe rooms and suites which will be perfect to accommodate your family. They also have a swimming pool which will be just what you need after a long adventurous day of exploring the city.
In Pompeii → 1 night at B&B Pompeii Olympus
This cute and homey Bed and Breakfast is only a short walk away from the ruins of Pompeii making ruins and everything else Pompeii has to offer easily accessible.
In Salerno → 1 night at Hotel Olimpico
This gorgeous hotel has everything that you will possibly need during your down time in Salerno. Hotel Olimpico has a 20 meter pool where you can order drinks and snacks at their outdoor bar and a private beach where you can rent an umbrella and lounge chairs, have access to showers and changing rooms, all reserved for hotel guests. The hotel has a restaurant where you and your family could dine at and the hotel is located within Salerno.
In Amalfi → 1 night at the Hotel Residence Amalfi
Being an aristocratic place of the 18th century, The Hotel Residence Amalfi is a stunning historical hotel located right along the Amalfi coast near the quaint little seaside city of Amalfi. Restaurant Sensi is located within the hotel which gives your family an option for dinning but with the hotel being so close to the city, it gives you and your family easy access to all that the city has to offer.
In Sorrento → 1 night at Hotel Antiche Mura
Hotel Antiche Mura is located in the heart of Sorrento with a bar/lounge, outdoor pool, a shuttle service, and much more. The hotel is less than a mile from the Sorrento Cathedral, Corso Italia, Piazza Tasso, and Deep Valley of the Mills so you can explore Sorrento by foot as long as your heart desires.
Guided Tour details:
Florence in a day tour (see Uffizi, David, and many more with a guided tour)
Tuscan walking tour with lunch at a winery
Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica guided tour
Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill guided tour
Mount Vesuvius guided tour from Naples
Pompeii ruins personally guided 3 hour tour
Wine tour of the Apicella Winery
Gourmet Girls food tour
Meet with your personalized Travel Agent today to finalize your summer family getaway to the Italian Coast!
Estimated Package Cost: $ 14,300
!! This total may change if there are personalized customizations made to the trip for you !!
Again, this is not an active tour of Italy connected to any travel agencies. This is a fictional tour created for a project. For those of you who skimmed through this looking for some inspiration for your own trip to Italy, I hope this helped you with your research!
