Tailormade tour Antiquities of Rome, Naples and Sicily by train Italy

We include flights from London automatically but can offer flights from UK regional airports. Upon arrival in Rome you are transferred by private car and driver to your hotel in Rome.

The two full days in Rome include two tours with a private guide and including a pick-up by car from your hotel. Both tours are of a duration each of three hours. One tour is of Imperial Rome which includes entrance and guiding at the Colosseum, the spectacular amphiteatre dating from the 1st century AD and the Roman Forum, ancient Rome’s political, religious and commercial centre. The second tour is of Classical Rome and includes the Pantheon, the Piazza Navona, the Montecitorio Palace designed by Bernini, the Column of Marcus Aurelius and the Trevi Fountain. The rest of your time in Rome is at leisure. To continue the theme of ancient Rome, we suggest a visit to Ostia Antica, reached by train and a short walk. This was once an ancient Roman city, home to about 100,000 inhabitants during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, and port of Rome, and today is a significant archaeological site with well-preserved buildings, frescoes and mosaics. In Rome, not far from Termini station, is the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, a museum of ancient art and architecture, containing paintings, bronze and marble sculptures and sarcophagi.

There are frequent trains from Rome to Naples but we suggest taking one in the morning so that you can acclimatise in the city in the afternoon and perhaps visit the Archaeological Museum on this first day. Once in Naples, you are met at the station and transferred to your hotel by private car. The Archaeological Museum houses a priceless collection of the artefacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum. Another site that is highly recommended is the Museum of the Chapel of Sansevero, an architectural gem in its own right as well as possessing a magnificent display of sculpture and paintings. Depending on the season, you might want to ask us to book you seats at the opera in the Teatro di San Carlo during your stay.

You have two full days in Naples with included excursions both days. The first is transport to and from Pompeii and the services of a private guide for four hours to visit Pompeii. The eruption on 24 August AD 79 buried this once thriving city of some 20,000 people and today offers a fascinating insight into Roman life and urban planning at that time. Excavations over past centuries and more recent decades have revealed hundreds of private homes, business and public buildings, reflecting a range of architectural styles. Graffiti provide examples of vulgar Latin at the time. Bakeries, shops, snack bars, wool workshops are evidence of daily life; the amphitheatre, public baths, gymnasium and aqueduct illustrate the governance of the city; and town houses such as the House of Menander and the Villa of the Mysteries demonstrate social structure. The second excursion to the Campi Flegrei lasts for five hours in total with transport by private car and driver, and the services for three hours of a private guide. A visit to Campi Flegrei is a perfect combination of art, history and geology. Visit the Macellum, the ancient market of the city. Walk through the atmospheric streets of the historic centre dominated by the famous Rione Terra. In the archaeological park admire the remains of the Acropolis, with the temples of Apollo and Jupiter, and some remains of the lower city such as the Temples of Italici and the Forum, the thermal building known as Masseria Grande, the amphitheatre, and the Arco Felice. The tour includes a visit to the remains of the residential complex known as the Terme di Baia, a favourite resort of the Roman aristocracy. 

Make your own way by taxi from the hotel to the railway station. The train leaves Naples at 09.45 hrs. You follow the dramatic coast south through Campania, Basilicata and Calabria to reach the Strait of Messina where your train boards the ferry for the crossing to Sicily. You arrive at Taormina-Giardini station in the late afternoon and then you are transferred by private car to your hotel in nearby Taormina. The town stands at an altitude of 250m above sea level and forms a perfect balcony overlooking the sea towards Mount Etna. A popular destination, it is renowned for its peaceful atmosphere, beautiful monuments, and tranquil gardens. Taormina has a rich and extensive history; its Teatro Antico di Taormina is the second largest amphitheatre in Sicily, harking back to Taormina’s origins as a Greek ‘polis’. The Botanic Gardens of Villa Comunale offer a number of exotic and shady pathways for an afternoon stroll, as well as several intriguing structures that make up the villa complex. The Gothic Badia Vecchia is the town’s former abbey, and its design has been heavily influenced by Arabian and Norman art, much like the Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano. The Palazzo Corvaja was part of the town’s reinforced defences and was built in the style of Abraham’s first temple in God’s name. Alternatively, the Palazzo Ciampoli exemplifies the town’s medieval history. There are lots of restaurants in Taormina, within easy walking distance of your hotel.

You have two full days based in Taormina and we have included a two hour walking tour of Taormina with a private guide and a full day’s excursion of eight hours in total, with private car and driver and guide at each destination to either Agrigento (and Piazza Armerina) or Siracusa (and Noto). Agrigento has the best-preserved Greek temple complex in the world and the valley of the temples world heritage site was described by Pindar as ‘the most beautiful of mortal cities’. Founded in c. 580 BC by Greek colonists, Agrigento retained is splendour and dominance as one of the leading cities of the golden age of Ancient Greece. The Romans captured the city in 261 BC during the First Punic War and it suffered badly during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) when Rome and Carthage fought over it. The Romans eventually captured the city and its importance was noted by Cicero. The city remained inhabited until the late 7th century. On the way back to Taormina you visit the Villa Romana del Casale at Piazza Armerina. Casale was the residence of the Emperor Maximilian who ruled the empire from 286 to 305 AD and has been designated a World Heritage site on account of its exceptional mosaics. Siracusa is home to the archaeological park of Neapolis which houses significant Greek and Roman monuments. You can see the Greek theatre, the Roman amphitheatre, the Latomia del Paradiso, and the Altar of Hieron. The tour continues to Ortigia with its explosion of Christian churches, Aragonese and Baroque palaces, Arabic alleyways, fountains and squares. The tour continues to the splendid Baroque town of Noto.

A private car and driver will take you to Catania airport from Taormina in good time for your flight home. Or ask us in advance to extend the holiday with a day or two in Palermo and fly back from there.