Compare Archaeological Wonders of Southern Italy and Sicily by National Geographic Expeditions vs Amalfi Coast, Capri & Rome Break by Original Travel

Days 1 & 2: U.S./Naples, Italy/Sorrento

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation: Imperial Hotel Tramontano

Depart on an overnight flight to Naples. Upon arrival, take a scenic drive to Sorrento, a picturesque seaside town that will be our home for the next three days. After free time this afternoon, meet for a welcome reception and dinner.

Day 3: Pompeii/Mount Vesuvius

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Imperial Hotel Tramontano

Spend the morning in Pompeii, a city frozen in time when Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, blanketing the area in a thick layer of ash and debris. The site was only discovered many centuries later, and the first excavations in 1748 revealed dwellings, everyday objects, and the bodies of Pompeii's residents, all remarkably preserved in the volcanic ash. Venture into this splendid and haunting city on an insider's tour, see its frescoed villas, and get a rare glimpse of daily life nearly 2,000 years ago. Then head up to Mount Vesuvius and hike to the crater's edge with a volcanologist. Take advantage of a free night to try out one of Sorrento's fine restaurants.

Day 4: Paestum/Amalfi

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Imperial Hotel Tramontano

Journey south through the province of Salerno to the Greco-Roman city of Paestum, a World Heritage site. Wander among its three magnificent Doric temples, and see impressive frescoes and carved friezes from the site at the museum. Stop for lunch at a farm where mozzarella is produced on our way to the spectacular Amalfi Coast. As we trace these dramatic shores, marvel at an ever-changing vista of sheer cliffs that plunge to the sea and pastel villages stacked up the rocky slopes. In the town of Amalfi, once one of Italy's four great maritime republics, stroll into the historic center to visit its stunning Romanesque cathedral.

Day 5: Naples/Palermo

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Grand Hotel et Des Palmes

Spend the morning at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, home to a grand collection of Roman artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as an extensive collection of Greek antiquities. We fly to Palermo, Sicily, this afternoon and check into our hotel in the old city.

Day 6: Monreale/Palermo

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Grand Hotel et Des Palmes

After a panoramic tour of Palermo, travel to nearby Monreale for a visit to its Norman cathedral. Wander through Moorish-style arcades and cloisters and examine its exquisite gold mosaics illustrating biblical tales. Back in Palermo, take a guided tour of the Duomo, an eclectic cathedral that combines elements of Gothic, baroque, neoclassic, and Norman architecture. View the mosaics of the Cappella Palatina, a unique gem of Arab-Norman art, and descend into the catacombs of the Convento dei Cappuccini, where mummies and skeletons of Palermo's former elite are still dressed in their finery.

Day 7: Segesta/Selinunte/Agrigento

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel Baglio della Luna

Head west to Segesta, where a beautifully preserved hilltop temple was begun in the fifth century by the indigenous Elymian people and never completed. Continue south to Selinunte, home of the ancient city of Selinus—once a rival of Segesta. Perched on a clifftop overlooking the sea, these ruins make up one of the largest archaeological parks in Europe. Enjoy a picnic lunch looking out over the Mediterranean Sea before traveling to Agrigento, a prominent city in Magna Graecia before it was sacked and fought over by the Carthaginians and Romans in the fourth and third centuries B.C. Explore the incredible Valley of the Temples, where temples to Zeus, Castor and Pollux, and Herakles dominate the landscape.

Day 8: Piazza Armerina/Syracuse/Taormina

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Grand Hotel Atlantis Bay

Journey into Sicily's mountainous interior to the World Heritage site of the Villa Romana del Casale, near the town of Piazza Armerina. The villa's exquisite mosaics—some of the best preserved in the Roman world—were buried in mud for centuries and only rediscovered in the late 19th century; they are still being restored. Arrive in Syracuse, a city that once rivaled Athens in culture and economic strength. Venture down the winding streets of Ortigia, a tiny island linked to Syracuse by a bridge, and pass the sixth-century-B.C. ruins of the Temple of Apollo, which has served as a church, a mosque, and a military barracks. Then visit the stunning Greek theater and the adjacent quarry, now a massive grotto with resonating acoustics dubbed the "Ear of Dionysius." Drive up the coast to the lovely cliff top town of Taormina and settle into our hotel.

Day 9: Mount Etna/Taormina

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Grand Hotel Atlantis Bay

Europe’s largest active volcano, Mount Etna dominates eastern Sicily. Ascend to 10,000 feet above sea level by cable car and 4x4 to the very rim of this legendary volcano and behold a fascinating landscape forged by countless eruptions. Descend to Taormina for a walking tour and time at leisure before we gather for a farewell dinner tonight.

Day 10: Taormina/Catania/U.S.

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, transfer to the Catania airport for your return flight.

Day 1: UK – Naples

Accommodation: Casa Angelina

There are several flights a day from London and other UK airports, with the flights ranging from two and a half to three hours. Upon arrival at Naples airport, meet your driver in arrivals to be chauffeured to your hotel on the beautiful Amalfi Coast.

The journey should take around an hour and a half and along the way you’ll catch your first glimpses of the rocky clifftop views Amalfi is so famous for. Once checked in and freshened up, head out for your first, wonderfully Italian, meal of the holiday.

Day 2: Pompeii

Recover from perhaps rather an over indulgence of lovely Italian wine last night with a leisurely breakfast and lots of coffee, polished off on your hotel's terrace. By mid-morning and now feeling ready for the day, it's time to hit the road with a private transfer one hour north to the ancient ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Completely buried (sometimes to a depth of 20ft) by burning hot ash after the devastating eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, these astonishingly well preserved Roman towns were rediscovered under the now solidified pumice rock in 1788, and are now a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The beautiful volcanic backdrop is a poignant reminder of the power of nature. Amazingly you can still walk down intact Roman streets and wander into what would have been temples, shops and cafes; and your private guide will really help you to get to grips with the layout and day to day activities that once filled this fascinating place. Our guides are exceptionally well qualified and know the crowd free areas of Pompeii and Herculaneaum like the back of their hands, so if you want to design your own route or have a particular sight you really want to see, then they can easily adapt the tour to suit

Day 3: Path of the Gods

Get up nice and early this morning as we’ve planned a spectacular walk for you, and you don’t want to be doing it in the midday heat! A hearty breakfast is also going to be key, so enjoy it in the sunshine as you slowly wake up. The walk we recommend is along the Sentiero degli Dei, or Path of the Gods.

To get there you’ll take a half an hour taxi from the hotel to the start of the trail, which is on the outskirts of Bomerano. From here it is an easy three hour walk to Nocelle, where your driver will be waiting to meet you and take you back to the hotel - after a long leisurely lunch of course! We think the trail certainly lives up to its name and provides some of the most dramatic and haunting panoramic views in Europe. Plus, it’s almost always blissfully quiet so as you take in the clifftop ocean views, it can like just you and the mountains. John Steinbeck rhapsodised in 1953 that the Amalfi Coast was, ‘a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there but becomes beckoningly real after you are gone.’ Sounds about right. Spend your last night on the Amalfi coast capturing some final shots of the cliff edge and the sunset over the ocean. When you’re ready, head to Restaurant Il Refettorio at Monastero Santa Rosa for dinner, where Chef Bob will ensure your meal is full of fresh local ingredients and precision-perfect flavour. The fusilli with baby squid, Piennolo’s tomatoes and basil scented aubergine comes particularly highly recommended.

Day 4: Amalfi Coast – Capri

Accommodation: Capri Palace hotel or JK Place Capri

After breakfast this morning you will be collected from the hotel and driven to the port in Sorrento or Amalfi (depending on where you are staying) where you will board a fast ferry to Capri - which should take anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour, with an impressive arrival into the harbour in Capri. You will then be transferred to your hotel in Capri which should take around 15 minutes.

Enjoy lunch either at the hotel or at one of the lovely restaurants on the island recommended in our detailed Dossier. This afternoon you can relax by the pool until evening and then indulge in that most Italian of traditions, the passeggiata, or evening stroll. By now the day-trippers have departed the island and it will be you and the Caprese locals wandering the pretty streets of Capri town. The Piazzetta is the 'finish line', and this tiny square is home to four fun bars, the best of which is the original, Al Piccolo. Try and grab a table on the first floor terrace (gold dust) and watch the square fill up while nursing a Bellini made with fresh island-grown peaches. Next stop, dinner, and we can pre-book a table at Aurora, home to the pizza all'aqua (a lighter take on the traditional Neapolitan pizza base) and every visiting A-lister. Blag yourself a table (again, gold dust, but we can help) outside on buzzing Via Fuorlovado for prime people watching and choose an oversize bottle from the peerless Italian wine list.

Day 5: The Isle of Capri

You’ve only got one full day on Capri, so make the most of it. Spend the morning wandering around the town stocking up on classic Capri pants for the ladies and dapper trousers from Laboratorio for the chaps before descending the sinuous steps down a cliff face to the water’s edge for lunch at Caprese institution Fontelina restaurant overlooking the iconic limestone Faraglioni rocks that rise vertiginously from the sea just offshore.

Despite its charmingly low-key vibe (thatched roof, open sides, beach umbrellas), so popular has the place become that they do two lunchtime sittings, and we will have booked you a table here. Order the spaghetti vongole and a jug of the delicious house sangria and when you’ve finished go for a refreshing swim around the rocks before you are picked up from the Fontelina jetty for an afternoon cruise around the island. Your skipper will keep you stocked up with chilled Peronis as you motor around and between the Faraglioni rocks before Capri heading around to the other side of the island and the Blue Grotto, a large sea cave that glows a mysterious piercing azure as if there’s an internal light source shining up from the cave floor. During the day the cave is crowded with visitors who are rowed in in tiny rowing boats.

Day 6: Capri – Rome

Accommodation: Hotel de Russie

After an earlyish breakfast you will be transferred back to the harbour in time for you to take the hydrofoil or fast catamaran ferry back to the mainland – this time into Naples - which will take around an hour.

You will be transferred around two and a half hours north into the city centre of Rome. As before, we’ve planned this so you will arrive in time for lunch, and our trusty Dossier should again come in use. This afternoon is yours to spend wandering and acclimatising to the buzz of city life. As evening settles in, sip an Aperol Spritz or two and then explore bohemian Trastevere - the old Jewish Quarter and home to many of the city’s best restaurants - in search of the perfect Italian dinner.

Day 7: When in Rome

Feeling fully refuelled after a good night's sleep, it's time for a full day of exploration. Despite the wealth of things to do and sites to see, Rome is a surprisingly small city, and arguably best explored on foot.

For first timers it's probably best to start at the beginning with a tour of the ancient city centre - the Forum, Palatine Hill and Colosseum, and we have booked a local guide who can bring an already colourful story even more vividly to life on a morning tour of Imperial Rome. Then, after lunch, pay a visit to the smallest country on Earth - Vatican City. We will have pre-arranged tickets to view the Sistine Chapel but if you want to splash the cash we can also arrange a private view of Michelangelo's masterpiece.

Additional Activities

Private Tours - we can arrange private tours of Palazzo Colonna, Palazzo del Quirinale or Galleria Villa Borghese

Foodie Rome Tour

Hidden Rome - a half day guided tour with an archaeologist to explore underground Rome, a labyrinth of ancient crypts, sewers, tunnels and buildings

Day 8: Rome - UK

It might be your final day but the trip isn’t over yet. A visit to the effortlessly fashionable Italian capital wouldn’t be complete without a spot of shopping; so whether you treat yourself to a new Prada handbag, a classic Italian scarf, or just a great bottle of wine, make sure you do go home with some goodies.

Depending on what time your flight is, there might be time for one last lunch and a gelato (can we tell we’re rather parial to Italian ice cream?) in the sun, before a private transfer to the airport for the two and a half to three hour flight.