Description:

LUXURY COACH TOUR highlights include Rome, Florence, Lake Maggiore, Venice, Assisi, Sorrento. Coach Tour includes Full buffet
Breakfast daily - 5 Three Course Dinners including special welcome & farewell Dinners with wine in Rome.

FIVE STAR CELEBRITY 14 DAY CRUISE includes ports of call at Venice, Kopor, Corfu, Malta, Messina Bari, Ravenna, Santorini and
Split. Includes all on board Meals & Entertainment.

20 August 2012, Fly from Australia to Rome with Emirates

21 August 2012, Join Coach Tour

ITALIAN MOSAIC COACH TOUR - OVERVIEW

This classic Italian holiday is our most popular, with departures throughout the year. Two-night stays in Rome, Florence, Lake Maggiore**, Venice, and Sorrento, plus one night in St. Francis’ Assisi, offer plenty of time to visit the main sights with a Local Guide. Discover St. Peter’s, the Sistine Chapel, and the Colosseum and Roman Forum in Rome, Michelangelo’s David and Santa Croce Basilica in Florence, and St. Mark’s and Doges’ Palace with the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. Stops are also made in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower, in dynamic Milan, in subtropical Lugano in Switzerland**, in Romeo & Juliet’s Verona, to see Juliet’s balcony, and in Ravenna, to visit the Basilica of St. Apollinaris of Classe. The two nights in Sorrento include visits to Pompeii at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, and to the Isle of Capri, including a jetfoil boat ride and a funicular ride to Capri village. End this wonderful vacation back in Rome. Welcome and farewell dinners at local restaurants are included.

Meals

Breakfast - 12
Lunch - 0
Dinner - 5

Standard Features

ROME: Welcome and farewell dinners at a local restaurant; guided sightseeing, visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Square & Basilica, and the Colosseum and Roman Forum
PISA: Marvel at the legendary Leaning Tower
FLORENCE: Guided walking tour, visit Michelangelo's David, and Signoria Square
MILAN: Orientation including the Galleria
LUGANO (SWITZERLAND):Visit the subtropical town
VERONA: Walking tour including Juliet's balcony and the Arena
VENICE: Private boat ride; guided walking tour, visit St. Mark's Square & Basilica, Doges' Palace and the Bridge of Sighs; glassblowers' demonstration
RAVENNA: Visit the Basilica of St. Apollinaris in Classe
ASSISI: Guided sightseeing, visit St. Clare's Church and St. Francis' Basilica
POMPEII: Guided walking tour of the excavations
SORRENTO-CAPRI: By jetfoil
CAPRI: Guided visit of Capri village, including a funicular ride
MEALS: Full buffet breakfast daily (B); 5 three-course dinners (D) (departures 0124, 0221, 1023-1218; 0122 & 0219, 2013 have 4 three-course dinners included), including special welcome and farewell dinners with wine in Rome
Inside visits and special features are shown in UPPERCASE in the tour description, including admission charges where applicable.

DAY BY DAY COACH TOUR ITINERARY

Day 1 ARRIVE IN ROME, ITALY.

After arrival check into your hotel. At 5pm, meet your Tour Director and travelling companions for a special welcome dinner with wine at one of Rome's lively restaurants. (D)

Day 2 ROME.

Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo's ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement. Continue to monumental ST. PETER'S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman legions marched in triumph. Then, time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities. (B)

Day 3 ROME-PISA-FLORENCE.

North to Pisa for pictures of its amazing Leaning Tower. Continue to Florence, the capital of Tuscany and home to Renaissance splendour. Why not join an optional dinner at a Tuscan restaurant? (B)

Day 4 FLORENCE.

Follow your Local Guide to the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo's David. Admire the magnificent cathedral, Giotto's Bell Tower, the Baptistry's "Gate of Paradise," and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE, and see Ponte Vecchio. Afternoon free to relax or to find out more about Florence's artistic wealth. (B)

Day 5 FLORENCE-MILAN-LUGANO, SWITZERLAND-LAKE MAGGIORE, ITALY.

Drive through the Apennine hills past Bologna, home of Europe's oldest university, to dynamic Milan. An orientation features its gothic Duomo, glass-domed GALLERIA, and famed La Scala Opera House. Then, continue to Lugano in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. A leisurely break to stroll along the lake, window-shop on the refined Via Nassa, or sip an espresso on the Piazza Riforma. Next, a scenic drive along Lake Maggiore, one of Italy's most beautiful areas. Spend two nights at your elegant resort. (B,D) NOTE: Departures 0124, 0221, 1023-1218; 0122 & 0219, 2013 overnight in Milan instead of Lake Maggiore; Dinner on day 5 and Lugano visit not included.

Day 6 AT LEISURE BY LAKE MAGGIORE.

A restful day to sleep in or maybe join an optional excursion to the baroque palace and peacock gardens of enchanting Isola Bella (open Mar.26-Oct.23, subject to change). (B,D)

Day 7 LAKE MAGGIORE-VERONA-VENICE.

East to Verona, medieval setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, to see Juliet's Balcony and the well-preserved Arena. Join the locals for lunch before continuing to Venice, deemed by some the most romantic city in the world. Enter in style by PRIVATE BOAT. (B)

Day 8 VENICE.

Highlights of your guided walking tour are ST. MARK'S SQUARE and the byzantine BASILICA, lavish DOGES' PALACE and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Then, watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in the age-old manner. Later, discover Venice at your own pace or take an optional gondola ride. (B)

Day 9 VENICE-RAVENNA-ASSISI.

Follow the sparkling Adriatic coast to Ravenna to see the mosaics in the 6th-century BASILICA OF ST. APOLLINARIS IN CLASSE. Afternoon arrival in Assisi. Visit ST. CLARE'S CHURCH and ST. FRANCIS' BASILICA with a Local Guide. (B,D)

Day 10 ASSISI-POMPEII-SORRENTO.

Today, visit POMPEII, the Roman city both destroyed and preserved by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Overnight in the charming, bayside resort of Sorrento. (B)

Day 11 SORRENTO. EXCURSION TO CAPRI.

Speed across the bay by JETFOIL to the Isle of Capri. Ride the FUNICULAR to Capri village for a guided visit of this pretty town. Free time to explore the little shops on the Piazzetta before returning to Sorrento. The remainder of the day is at leisure. (B)

Day 12 SORRENTO-ROME.

Return to Rome. This evening, enjoy a farewell dinner with wine in a local restaurant to celebrate the success of your vacation. (B,D)

Day 13 ROME.

Your holiday ends with breakfast this morning. (B)

2 September 2012, Rail from Rome to Venice. Stay 2 nights in Rome at a four star hotel

4 September 2012, Board your 5 Star Celebrity Silouhette Cruise

CRUISE ITINERARY

Day 1 Venice, Italy 5:00 PM
Day 2 Koper, Slovenia Docked 8:00 AM 6:00 PM
Day 3 Split, Croatia Tendered 8:00 AM 6:00 PM
Day 4 Dubrovnik, Croatia Docked 7:00 AM 8:00 PM
Day 5 Kotor, Montenegro Tendered 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
Day 6 Corfu, Greece Docked 8:00 AM 6:00 PM
Day 7 At Sea
Day 8 Valletta, Malta Docked 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
Day 9 Sicily (Messina), Italy Docked 8:00 AM 6:00 PM
Day 10 At Sea
Day 11 Bari, Italy Docked 7:00 AM 4:00 PM
Day 12 Ravenna, Italy Docked 9:00 AM 7:00 PM
Day 13 Venice, Italy Docked 10:15 AM
Day 14 Venice, Italy

17 September 2012, Fly from Venice to Australia with Emirates

**Note - Please advise your consultant if you would like to extend your stay in Venice. Extra accommodation is at own expense.