Tours to Italy

Leave the planning to the experts and the background research to a trained guide with a tour—whether the classic motorcoach trip, a more active trip by horse, bike, or foot, or an educational tour or study trip.

In this section you'll find information on all the ways to see Italy with someone else doing the planning and taking care of all the details. That means resources for finding and booking tours in all of the following categories:

• Escorted and guided tours - Italy by bus, the classic motorcoach tour in a group and with a guide. My or many not include airfare as well. Dullest way to travel, in my opinion, and anyone can easily do Italy on their own using the resources on this site—or find a more interesting specialty tour using the resources below. But if a guided tour is the way you prefer to take your vacations, who am I to judge? I'd rather help you find the best darn bus tour out there. » more
• Package tours - This is not a guided tour. There is no bus. There is no guide. You do your own daily sightseeing on your own, and are merely buying the big ticket items—airfare and hotel, or air and car, or all three—as a set and at a discount. Most common: air-hotel vacations and air-car packages. » more
• Supported independent - The premium version of a vacation package—hotel and transport (and a bit of sightseeing) along with a local contact who can act as a congierne for your vacation, giving advice and helping arrange activities. This person is not, however, a guide. It's still independent travel—just with the major logistics taken care of and the expensive stuff bought as a set at a slight discount. » more
• Specialty tours - Includes everything from educational trips (cooking schools, language lessons, study programs, and tours with a particularly brainy bent) to active vacations (bike tours, walking/hiking tours, horseback vacations, and adventure trips). » more
• Niche group tours - This is the section with all sorts of information, resources, advice, tour companies, and guidebooks for, well, let's call them niche groups—travelers with special interests or needs, whether it be family travel, religious tours, senior and mature travelers, travel for people with disabilities, women travelers, single travelers, gay and lesbian travelers, and students. » more
• Run your own tour - There are resources out there both for finding private guides in Italy's major destinations, and for people who need to book plane tickets and other travel products for large groups (10 people or more)—reunions, big family/friend vacations, school classes or scout troops, corporate retreats.
• Day tours & microtours - Sometimes you want your trip to be your own, but would love to take walking tours of town, docent tours of museums, escorted day trips to visit vineyards in the surroudning hills or, say, see Pompeii and Naples in a single day from Rome. Tehse are what I call "microtours" and they are a great way to enhance your vacation and get the best of both worlds—independent travel, but with expert guides when you want them. » more

Section index

• Tours FAQ (what questions to ask, are tours right for you, etc.)
• Classic escorted group tours
• Specialty tours
• Active vacations
  • Bike tours
  • Walking/hiking tours
  • Horseback vacations
• Educational travel
  • Cooking schools
  • Language lessons
  • Art, history, and other brainy tours
  • Study programs
• Package tours
  • Air-hotel vacations
  • Air-car packages
  • Untours (air, hotel/villa, car/train, local support)
• Niche groups
  • Family travel
  • Religious tours
  • Senior and mature travelers
  • Handicapped travel
  • Women's tours
  • Tours and tips for singles
  • Gay and lesbian tours
  • Tips for racial minorities
  • Jewish Italy
  • Student tours
• Design your own group tour
  • Private guides

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