Exclusive Best of Rome Tour

Escape the overcrowded cruise line tours on this exclusive Best of Rome excursion. With no more than 35 guests (and often less) on tour at at time, you will enjoy a very personalized experience that differs greatly from the 50-plus-person tours offered by the cruise lines. For groups of over 9 guests, headsets will be provided.

Your Rome tour begins when you are met at the cruise terminal. Here you will board your air-conditioned vehicle for the 80-minute drive to Rome. As you drive from the coast into the city, you will watch as the flat coastal area slowly disappears while you gradually climb up through farms and orchards to reach the City of Seven Hills. When you arrive in Rome, you'll see Capitoline Hill located between the Forum and the Campus Martius. Designed by Michelangelo, Capitoline Hill is one of the seven famous hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans and contains several ancient ground-level ruins, Medieval and Renaissance palaces and the Victor Emmanuel Monument.

Next up on your Rome excursion, you will visit the symbol of the Eternal City, the Roman Colosseum. Here, you will have time to take pictures and admire it from the outside. The Colosseum is one of the most recognized monuments of ancient Rome, where gladiators, Christians and wild beasts once battled to the death in front of 50,000 spectators. Nearby, the imposing triumphal Arch of Titus was erected in A.D. 81 by the Emperor Domitian in honor of the victories in battle of his brother and father in Judea.

You will then proceed to the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum, where you will be provided with skip-the-line tickets to explore the site that is widely regarded as the birthplace of the Roman Empire. To this day, it still preserves the remains of Iron Age settlements connected with the earliest core of the city of Rome, and you will see hundreds of ruins of imposing buildings that were created for high Roman society in ancient times. The hill was home to important civic cults and became the residential district of the Roman aristocracy, with elegant houses characterized by exceptional painted and paved decorations.

The Roman Forum or Forum Magnum, considered to be the heart of the Ancient Rome, was was the official meeting point for Roman citizens who went there to participate (or even simply to assist) in the administrative, political, economic and religious affairs that concerned the community to which they belonged. The Roman Forum was the true center of the entire Roman civilization.

Departing the Colosseum area, you will walk to the Palatine Hill, Circus Maximus, and the Victor Emanuel monument, all on your way to the old section of Rome. Continue your stroll, passing through the narrow, twisting streets to the Trevi Fountain, named after the area of Rome where it is found. The fountain stands 85 feet high, 65 feet wide, and is the largest Baroque fountain in the city. A traditional legend holds that if visitors throw a coin with one's right hand over one's left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain, they are ensured a return to Rome. You will also visit the Pantheon, an excellent example of ancient Roman architecture. It was built in A.D. 126 as a temple to all the Gods of Ancient Rome. If time permits, you will also see the Navano and Farnese Squares.

Then, time will be provided for a quick lunch on your own.

Next, your driver will take you to the world-famous Vatican City. Along the way, you will see the Castle of the Angels and Bernini's Bridge of the Angels. At St. Peter's Square, you will have approximately 45 minutes of free time to visit St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica (the largest church in the world), or browse for souvenirs. Since St. Peter's is extremely popular, please be aware that you may encounter lines to enter the Basilica.

After your visit to St. Peters, you will be driven back to your ship pier.

Please Note: This tour does not include an inside tour or tickets to the Colosseum, but you will have the opportunity to view the Colosseum from outside. Given the traffic in Rome, the itinerary may vary according to local conditions. Crowds are to be expected at all sites and lines for St. Peter's Basilica may exceed over one hour to enter. If fewer than nine people are on your tour, you will travel in a small vehicle with excellent access to all sights, and a guide who is also your driver will lead your tour. If more than nine people are on your tour, headsets will be provided, and you will have a driver to Rome, where you will meet your guide for the guided portion of the tour.

Exclusive Ancient Ephesus

Meet your professionally trained guide and drive to Ephesus, approximately 30 minutes from Kusadasi. Famous in antiquity for its Temple of Artemus during the years of the Roman Empire, the Greek port of Ephesus became the greatest city in Asia Minor. You will start your 90 minute Ephesus tour at the upper Magnesia Gate, and work your way down through the city, ending near the ancient Harbor.

Along the way, you will see the Forum, the Odeon, the Library of Celsus, Temple of Artemis, the Thermal Baths of Scolastika, and the Great Theater, built in the Greek era and reconstructed in the Roman period. With your skip-the-line access, you can fully enjoy these sites, which have played host to events as varied as Paul and his sermons to the Ephesians, to concerts by Sting, in part due to their remarkable acoustics.

You will walk along the Arcadian Way, where once Mark Antony and Cleopatra rode in procession. You will hear stories of Alexander the Great, the Virgin Mary, and many other famous visitors who walked the same marble streets that you are walking. As you depart the Ephesus site, you will be able to view the hilltop ruins of the Basilica of St. John in the distance, which was erected over his grave in the 6th century A.D. by Emperor Justinian.

Returning to the town of Kusadasi, guests will have the option to end their Ephesus tour in the shopping area, where they can attend a Turkish carpet explanation and explore the shops filled with jewelry, carpets, leatherware, and copper goods, or both. Turkish salespeople expect you to haggle and quite often you can get 10-15% off the listed price. Treat it as an adventure. The cruise pier is a 5-10 minute walk from the main shopping area.

Guests not wishing to attend the optional carpet shopping should stay on the bus and they will be taken directly back to the pier.

Exclusive Pompeii and Amalfi Coast

Departing from the Maritime Station cruise pier in groups of never more than 30 people max, you will meet your guide and your driver, who take you on an approximately 45 minute drive along the road that follows the Bay of Naples towards Mount Vesuvius and the ancient City of Pompeii, which lies in its shadow. Ironically, one of the ancient world's worst disasters preserved time in Pompeii, where you will experience life as it was lived in 79 AD. Once a thriving empire, it was devastated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD when 30 feet of volcanic ash and pumice stone covered the city.

Upon arrival in Pompeii, you will enter by one of its ancient gates, and a short walk will take you to the city's hub, the Forum. Surrounded by lavish temples and porticoes, you'll begin to grasp the lifestyle of the inhabitants. Admire the mansions and the art of wealthy patricians who moved to Pompeii to escape the turmoil of Rome; view countless paintings and inscriptions. See the streets with raised pavements on both sides and the stepping-stones that ensured pedestrians a safe crossing at intersections. Your guided visit to Pompeii is approximately 2 hours.

After your visit to Pompeii sit back and appreciate about a 40 minute drive to the door of Amalfi Coast: Vietri sul Mare, the picturesque seaside resort situated on top of a hill facing Amalfi Coast. It is one of the most popular holiday resorts in Italy. You will have approximately two hours to yourself in Vietri to buy lunch, shop, take pictures, or stroll the narrow streets and several churches on your own. You will then drive back to Naples.

Please Note: Crowds are to be expected at all sites and lines for certain attractions may exceed over one hour to enter. The tour itinerary may be reversed but will still cover the mentioned sights. Heavy traffic congestion should be anticipated and may affect the duration of the excursion. On select days or holidays, heavy delays in traffic may contribute to a change of itinerary at the operator's discretion. The entrance fee to Pompeii is included, and your tour of the ruins is guided.