True Small-Group®
Italy Tour: 16 Passengers or Less 8
Days,
7
Nights
Amalfi Coast Vacation
DATES
&
RATES
2010
Departure
Dates
Tour
Price
Single
Supplement
Call
$2,979.00
Consider
an
affordable,
custom
trip
for
you
and
your
companions.
Groups
of
2
or
more!
DATES
&
RATES
2011
Departure
Dates
Tour
Price
Single
Supplement
Call
$2,979.00
Consider
an
affordable,
custom
trip
for
you
and
your
companions.
Groups
of
2
or
more!
True Small-Group & All Inclusive* Italy Tour
Two Styles of Small-Group Touring to Choose from:
Travel in style with our Grand
Deluxe Tour
$2979
PER
PERSON
BASED
ON
DOUBLE
OCCUPANCY,
Published
Rate:
$4115.00
(Credit
Card)
Save
with
Cash/Check
Discounted
Rate:
$2979
per
person
based
on
double
occupancy.
Single Supplement: $790 - Travel Insurance: Inquire
for best rates.
Really, the Hotels make a Huge Difference: Located
in the middle of town - truly. You won't have to take a taxi
or shuttle to get to the sites you've paid to be close to!
On average, 5 Star properties with full buffet breakfasts
and amenities. Compare our hotel location and quality with
the mainstream and you'll see why QueensLander Small Group
Tours is the best choice for Italy.
Try our Value-Packed Classic
Budget Option - Same Tour, Different Hotels & Amenities
$2596 per person based on double occupancy. Upgrade to 5 Dinner
Plan for $297 per person.
Same great sightseeing with our professional guides and yes,
you go inside! Gratuities optional. Dinner Plan optional.
Hotel rooms are small, but safe and located in the hearts
of the towns and villages - Typical small, European style
lodging with many bathrooms featuring only a shower. Single
Supplement: $590 - Travel Insurance: Inquire for best rates.
About the Classic Budget Breakfast: Breakfast in Italy really
is not a grand affair, which is why we offer the standard
Italian breakfast with most of our Classic Budget hotels:
coffee, juice, croissant.
What’s the difference
between the Deluxe and Budget Packages we offer?
Deluxe Tour
Hotels: Rated 4+ and 5+ Star with all the amenities and traditional
Italian architecture and ambiance located in the heart of
the cities and towns. Private bathrooms with amenities.
Breakfasts: Buffet Breakfast with Cappuccinos!
Dinners: 5 dinners with regional wine
Admissions: Included, No Lines!
Sightseeing: Included, with Professional Guide
Gratuities: Included
Budget Supreme Tour
Hotels: Rated 3 Star properties: small rooms, small private
bathrooms some featuring only showers, safe and located in
the heart of the cities and towns.
Breakfasts: Lite/Continental - some hotels may not feature
a continental breakfast.
Dinners: Welcome Dinner with regional wine.
Admissions: Included, No Lines!
Sightseeing: Included, with Professional Guide
Gratuities: Not Included
Arrival & Departure Transfers
- NEW
Deluxe Meet & Greet and Boat Across the Bay of Venice
Arrival Transfer: $95 per person (2 passenger minimum)
- we meet you at the Venice airport once you clear customs
and walk to our private boat for transfer across the beautiful
Bay of Venice. Arrive our hotel where you're met for a welcome
refreshment and time to freshen up before your arrival orientation
walk with the Tour Captain.
Departure Transfer from Rome Hotel to Rome Airport:
$59 per person (2 passenger minimum).
Note on air departure times: Make sure your departing flight
is no earlier than 11am so you don't have to get up too early!
Departure Transfer from Sorrento Hotel to Naples Airport:
$95 per person Sorrento Hotel (Amalfi Coast) to Naples
Airport (2 passenger minimum).
Note on air departure times: Make sure your departing flight
is NO earlier than 11am or preferably 12:00pm or later out
of Naples back to your home! Otherwise you will be getting
up in the middle of night!
Other Departure Transfers: Inquire with Reservations
Ready to Book? Our Italy program director,
Mark Story, is at your service!
QueensLander Guarantee: Never an additional
charge or increase once you book AND pay in full.
Small-Group Touring means small groups of 6 to 16 passengers.
True Small Group!
A QueensLander Exclusive: Your Tour Captain invites you to
dine on non-included dinner nights - join or explore on your
own!
Prices on above tours are per person based on double occupancy.
Fuel and currency surcharges may be applied until ticketd
AND paid in full. Air arrangements are not final until ticketed
by
QueensLander. Air is not included in the base package of Italy's
Great Cities Tour.
Deposit: Land Only: $500 per person. Travel Cancellation & Interruption Insurance:
visit www.Travelex.com and enter location code 06-0051.
“Open my heart and you will see,
Graved inside of it, ‘ Italy.’” -Robert Browning
Small-Group Italy Tours,
italy tour, tour italy, Italy tour package, travel italy,
italy travel, italy vacations, italy vacation packages and
Italy trips!
Dear Italy Tour Enthusiast,
QueensLander Tours extends our personal
invitation for you to join us on the Italy Tour
of a lifetime, and one you won’t soon forget.
QueensLander Tours' small-group “Italy's Great Cities”
touring program has grown increasingly popular over the
last two years with Italy being our #1 destination of outbound
US travelers to Europe.
If you’ve ever been to Italy, then
you can relate to the above sentiment by Robert
Browning...Italy is a place that, once you’ve
been, it never quite leaves you. It becomes
a part of you, always there, whispering to you
like a long-lost friend, wanting you to stop
in for a visit and if you’ve never been,
then you only have to imagine places like the
Colosseum in Rome, the Duomo of Florence or
the water-filled streets of Venice to awaken
inside of you the part that longs to see and
experience a place where history is so alive,
it speaks to you from every plaza, every church
and even the very stones beneath your feet.
[Continues Below]
This is the "Great Cities of Italy
Tour,” and we’ll be focusing on four of the
most well-known in all of Europe - Venice, Florence (located
in the heart of Tuscany), Sorrento and of course Rome, along
with visits to charming seaside villages like Positano and
Amalfi on the Amalfi Coast, and Tuscany's Cortona, Siena
and San Gimignano with their undiscovered secrets!
Let’s start
in Venice…Ah, Venezia!
VENICE - VENEZIA
Your introduction to Italy begins in what may well be the
most enchanting city in all of Italy-Venice, and it is here
in Venice, where cars are not allowed and fresh seafood
beckons from every neighborhood trattoria, where we begin
our tour. Who hasn’t wanted to see this “most
romantic” of cities, with its water-filled canals
and that famous Venetian glass? Here, you’ll have
the opportunity to do just that, including a private boat
for a tour along the Giudecca canal. We’ll also visit
Saint Mark’s Square and Saint Mark’s Basilica,
the Doges’ Palace and the Bridge of Sighs.
Take advantage of Venice and enjoy
an authentic gondola ride or simply wander the streets of
Venice and get lost in this city's romance!
The romance of this city is apparent at every step…take
a few minutes to just soak it all in. From Venice, we head
to the heart of the Tuscany region, Florence.
FLORENCE - FIRENZE
Florence will then be our home for the next few nights.
Florence is known as the birthplace of the Renaissance,
and for good reason. Florence is home to some of the most
famous artwork in the world, by geniuses such as Botticelli,
Brunelleschi, Cellini, Donatello, Fra Angelico, Ghiberti,
Giotto, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael. Even if you’re
not well-schooled in art history, Michelangelo’s David,
Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Giotto’s
campanile (bell tower) and Brunelleschi’s
dome on the Duomo are a few of the sights with which you
are probably familiar.
We’ll join our guide
for a walkabout tour of Florence, where we’ll see
many of the sites described above as well as get an in-depth
commentary on the history of Florence. And as before, you’ll
also have plenty of time to enjoy shopping the various markets
or to do some sightseeing on your own.
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN
- SAN GIMIGNANO & SIENA We venture deep into the Chianti countryside (known
as “Chianti”for the fine wines produced in this
region - look for the Black Rooster to ensure you have true
Chianti produced wine) to immerse ourselves in the romance
that is Tuscany.
San Gimignano’s skyline
is impressive, made up of the 13 remaining towers dating
back from the 11 th century (it once had as many as 72 towers!).
Also known as the Manhattan of Tuscany (because of its skyscraper
skyline), San Gimignano rises on a hill dominating the Elsa
Valley and exudes character from every stone. You’ll
feel like you’ve stepped back in time to the Middle
Ages as you walk along the cobblestoned streets of this
charming town.
Siena is a city that has perhaps
preserved its original character more markedly than any
other city in Italy. The narrow streets and medieval gates,
walls and towers will have you again feeling like you are
transported back to the Middle Ages. The soaring skyline
is its pride and is dominated by the gothic cathedral (Duomo)
and the taut needle of the Torre del Mangia. Siena’s
piazza is perhaps one of the most unusual we will see on
our trip. It's a lot of walking but well worth it.
After our full day of exploring
under the Tuscan sun we make our way to Rome, where all
roads lead. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the view as we
pass through some of the most beautiful scenery in Tuscany.
ROME - THERE WAS ONCE
A DREAM CALLED ROME
"All Roads Lead to Rome…”
In “City of the Soul,”
William Murray quotes a friend of his who had this to say
about Rome: “It’s not only the physical beauty
of the place…It’s the smell of it, the aura
of great history in the stones of every street and every
building. To be in Rome is to be in touch with everything
in life that really matters.”
It is in Rome, one of the
world’s great cities, where we’ll spend the
last three nights of our tour. We’ll stay in the heart
of the city, with easy access to all the major historical
sites. We’ll take you on guided tours of the Colosseum,
the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill where you'll see the splendor
that was once Rome...we also do a brief tour of the Sistine
Chapel and Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican. You
are also welcome to join us on optional tours of the monuments
of Rome, where we’ll explore the Pantheon and the
Piazza Navona. Other optional tours include an evening “illuminated”
tour of Rome, for a guided tour of Rome at night. As in
each of the cities we will visit, you will have plenty of
time on your own to explore as you wish, whether that includes
joining us on one of our optional tours, strolling down
hidden streets to see where the day might lead you or sitting
in Artists’ Square sipping a cappuccino, watching
the people go by.
Finally, we're off to the southwest coast...it's the Amalfi
Coast and it is truly one of the most scenic destinations
in the world. Welcome to Positano and Sorrento. We overnight
in the village by the sea, Sorrento, and words don't do
this leg of our journey justice. Just wait and see!
At tour’s end, we depart
from Naples airport to go back home to the United States,
but if you would like to stay a little longer, we have a
lot of suggestions for some places you might like to visit…it’s
entirely up to you. But whatever you choose, whether to
come home at tour’s end or whether to stay so you
can take an excursion down to the Isle of Capri or maybe
the Cinue Terra, just know that you’ll be leaving
with the kind of priceless memories that some people only
dream of, and quite possibly an extra suitcase full of souvenirs!
Something for everyone…
Whether you’re a “first-timer” to Italy
or have visited many times, we invite you to join us for
“ Italy in the Fall.” We have specially designed
a tour catered to those of you who have never been to Italy.
For one set price, you’ll be staying in first-class
accommodations in each city and have the experience of local,
English-speaking tour guides. You’ll have a chance
to visit all the major, “must-see” sites, plus
enough free time on your own to visit the places that really
matter to you…or, you can simply enjoy that time
relishing your first taste of Italian espresso in the town
plaza-it’s entirely up to you. Also included are in-depth
tours in each city, group transportation in an air-conditioned
motorcoach, admission and entrance fees for each stop on
our tours, breakfast each morning and four all-inclusive
dinners.
And if you have been to Italy
before and maybe want something a little different, you
have the opportunity of choosing to go as a “first-timer”
(there are many sites you could see a hundred times and
still find something new!) or adding on whichever tours
and attractions are to your liking and interest, essentially
building your own trip (simply call us at 1 (877) 865-6711
for a custom quote).
That all sounds great! But…
By now, you might be thinking,
“Gee, I’d really love to see Italy, but I just
can’t right now, maybe someday I’d like to go…Well,
that someday is now. Just think about this-when you look
back on your life, what do you see? If you’re like
me, you remember the times spent with friends and family,
maybe family vacations, places you’ve visited, experiences
shared with loved ones. It becomes easy to put things off,
things that you’ve dreamed of, or maybe something
you’ve always wanted to do, but someday will always
just be “someday” unless you do something about
it NOW.
You may also be thinking,
“But traveling to a foreign country can be intimidating-where
to stay? What to see? Where to eat?” This is where
I come in! I take care of all the details, so you can simply
focus on enjoying what little time you have over there.
QueensLander Tours is dedicated to making each trip you
take with us the best you’ll ever experience. Your
time is precious-you want to see as much as you can while
you’re there. Your money is precious-you want to make
every dollar count…Every detail is taken care of
so that the only thing you have to worry about is what to
pack. Lynette of Brisbane, Australia had this to say about
us:
QueensLander's dedication
to making our touring experience informative, entertaining
and their attentiveness to each detail was absolutely delightful...having
our QueensLander Tour Captain along as well as a genuine
local (and knowledgeable) guide onboard made for a fantastic
touring experience of Italy and Europe!"
By now, you’re probably
wondering, “But how much does all of this cost?”
Good question. But first,
let’s consider just the cost of a good hotel. Frommer’s
2006 guidebook on Italy suggests several “moderately
priced” hotels, all of which average around $250 a
night (most a lot more) . Even an “inexpensive”
hotel averages over $150 per night. Even then, the prices
vary widely, depending on where in the city you want to
stay. There are similar listings or both Venice and Florence.
And these are just for “inexpensive” or “moderately”
priced hotels!
For our “First-Timer’s,”
all-inclusive package, what we’re offering are first-class
accommodations in the heart of each city, easily accessible
to the very places you want to see, plus several meals,
transportation, guided tours and the peace of mind knowing
that it’s all taken care of for you. That’s
little more than you’d spend on just “moderate”
accommodations!
In addition, if you have traveled
in Italy before and maybe want to be a little more independent,
we have an additional option we call our “returning
traveler” option. You’ll still get the same
first-class customer service and first-class accommodations
from us, but you’ll have the freedom of spending your
days as you wish, with the option of adding on only those
tours/meals/etc. that you are interested in, as these are
not included but are all available as “optional”
tours.
Whether you want to go as
a “first-timer” and let us worry about all the
details or you want to be a little more independent and
essentially “build your own trip” (while knowing
all the major stuff is taken care of), we have the perfect
trip for you. Call us-we can’t wait to talk to you!
( 1-877-865-6711 )
Frances Mayes in “Under
the Tuscan Sun” once said that “…most
trips have an underlying quest. We’re looking for
something. What? Fun, escape, adventure-but then what?”
Everyone travels for different reasons, but my question
for you would be what are you looking for? And,
no matter what the answer to that may be, I can guarantee
one thing-this trip can be life changing. To experience
another culture, to open your eyes to another part of the
world, to step in another’s shoes, if even for a few
days, it changes you, even if only a little.
Remember Robert Browning,
from the beginning of the letter? “Open my heart and
you will see, Graved inside of it, ‘ Italy.’”
Come, if you dare, and you may just leave with a little
bit of Italy etched on your soul as well.
I do look forward to traveling
with you to Italy. Please drop me a line with any question
you might have!
Sincerely,
Mark Story - You can ask me any question about Italy, this tour or
any vacation you're planning to take to Italy by calling
or email:
1 (877) 865-6711 Mark@QLTours.com
Italy Tour Program Manager
QueensLander Tours
Small Groups
Great Guides
All Admissions
Off-the-Beaten-Path
Discover Small Group Italy Touring – "We loved QueensLander's Italy
Tour – everything was perfectly arranged
each step of the way!"
– Joe & Billie Devine, Italy Tour
Manhattan Beach, California
Italy Tours, Italy
Tour Packages, Italian Tours, Italy Travel, Travel
to Italy
"Discover
the cuisine and delicious wine - it literally
flows on this tour - every dinner and the amazing
wine road in Tuscany - wonderful!"
Truly
Get a Taste of Tuscany with Italy's Great Cities Tour:
Featuring Cortona, San Gimignano, Villas Dievole
& Marsili, Venice, Florence & Rome.
Call Now to Book: 1 (877) 865-6711
Yes, you
can extend your vacation
to the Amalfi Coast - see extensions below!
Extend your Italian
Vacation!
Amalfi
Coast 3 Day Extension ~Discover the beauty that
is the Amalfi Coast with Positano, Amalfi and
Sorrento. Breathtaking!
Admissions throughout, Small
Group Touring with QueensLander's exclusive approach
to Italy Touring, all gratuities included, no
tipping guide, driver or tour captain - Worry
Free! Hotels have been personally inspected by
our own Hotel Snob, Mark Story.
Italy's Great Cities Tour
Hotels & Highlights
Admissions throughout, Small Group Touring with
QueensLander's exclusive approach to Italy Touring,
all gratuities included, no tipping guide, driver
or tour captain - Worry Free! Hotels have been
personally inspected by our own Hotel Snob, Mark
Story.
Hotel Saturnia
& International, Venice
Located near St. Mark's Square, the Saturnia is
a delightful way to start your Italy Tour - a
14th century palace. Or perhaps the Palace Bonvecchiati
or Cavalletto.
The Hotel Helvetia & Bristol in
Florence is part of the Leading Hotels of the
World is situated perfectly in the heart of Florence
and is about a 3 minute leisurely walk to the
Ponte Vecchio and Duomo. Or perhaps you'll enjoy
Grand Hotel Baglioni or the Hotel
Davanzati in Florence.
In Cortona you will enjoy the Villa Marsili
or similar.
While enjoying your time 'under the Tuscan sun'
discover the romance of this quaint Tuscan town.
In Rome, the Hotel de la Minerve or similar.
Rome provides perfect
location near the Spanish Steps and boutique shopping
areas as well as the Tiber River!
Extending to Amalfi Coast?
Hotel Bellevue Syrene (5 Star) or Hotel BelAir
(4 Star) in Sorrento.
Okay, so you won't want to leave these hotels.
Perched perfectly on the cliffs at Sorrento and
each guest room has an incredible view!
WHY QUEENSLANDER FOR
ITALY TOURING?
Small Group Touring™
- Only Way To Go! Many companies boast interesting
itineraries and complement that with a large group
of bus junkies (sometimes upwards of 75 people!).
With QueensLander's Italy's Great Cities Tour, you are guaranteed a small group tour experience of
this delightful land. We mean it when we say small:
average size groups range from 10 to 16 passengers.
Licensed Professional Italian Guides
We are proud to comply with Italy law, and offer
only professional, licensed guides throughout our
Italy's Great Cities Tour experience.
While enjoying your time 'under the Tuscan sun'
discover the romance of this quaint Tuscan town.
Okay, so you won't want to leave these hotels.
Perched perfectly on the cliffs at Sorrento and
each guest room has an incredible view! 