Wine tasting and olive oil sampling. Day trips from Rome by private car with English speaking driver guide. Tuscany isn’t the only beautiful country in Italy and neither it is the only place where they make good wine. If you are in Rome and want to see some beautiful countryside, you don’t need to spend your day driving on the motorway to get to Tuscany and back, a few miles from Rome you can visit some amazing sites and taste great wines and foods. Spend your time sightseeing, sampling local wines and other products instead of spending your day driving on the motorway. However, we’re ready to take you on day trips to Tuscany, Florence, Chianti, Pompeii, Positano, Amalfi, Assisi, Orvieto, Umbria or anywhere else you like.
Half day tours in Rome’s countryside by private car with English speaking driver guide. Private tours by car for small groups.
You can choose to start at 9 or 9:30 am and we come to meet you at your hotel in Rome. We reach Tivoli by driving on the motorway and the trip takes about 45 minutes. Once there your driver/guide will park his car and stroll with you through Tivoli’s quaint medieval streets to reach Villa D’Este. If a driver/guide that has the ability to guide you through the Villa D’Este will not be available the day of your tour, you will have a driver and a guide, two different persons. When, in 1549, the Cardinal Ippolito II D’Este (son of the famous Lucrezia Borgia) was appointed governor of Tivoli, he wasn’t happy with the old governor’s residence which had been originally a Benedictine convent. However, the place had a spectacular view and an abundant natural water supply for fountains and gardens, so the convent was taken down and the construction of his villa began in 1560. This beautiful building is now world known for its astounding gardens, decorated by hundreds of artistic water fountains, frescoes and statues. Also to be mentioned in Tivoli are the Rocca Pia castle dating back to the 15th century, which you’ll be seeing from the outside and will be able to take pictures, and Hadrian’s Villa which is located at the foot of the hill. Willingly, this tour can be extended to 6 hours and include the visit to the nearby Hadrian’s Villa.
We meet at your hotel in Rome around 9/9:30 am and drive to the hills south-east of Rome. They call this area the Roman Castles since these towns originated from the castles the Roman nobles built on the most suitable hill in their property. Over the years the people built their homes outside the castles so to be protected by it and finally they built walls around the city for more protection. When better times came, in the Renaissance, those castles were made into villas and the nobles spent their summers there in better climate than Rome. The location and the climate were ideal for cultivating grape vines and the area has always been known for producing wonderful white wines. The wines are usually named after the town where they are produced and, to my advice, the most famous is the wine produced in the town of Frascati. The area has beautiful hills and lakes and the little towns have a special quaint atmosphere. The first one of the towns we reach is Grottaferrata, there we can visit the Abbey founded in the 10th Century by St. Nilo. Later we proceed driving on the beautiful “Via dei Laghi” (the road of the lakes) to Nemi. The road climbs the hills between the woods of the Alban Hills and offers breath taking panoramas of the towns and the lakes. Nemi is a lovely little town overlooking the homonymous lake and known for producing special strawberries. Finally we’ll reach Castelgandolfo which is the most charming of the small towns in the area. It will be possible to make a stop at local restaurant for a typical lunch. Castelgandolfo was chosen in the 17th Century by Pope Urban VIII Barberini to be the Summer Residence of the Popes, so that’s where still today the Pope spends there the months of July and August. The Papal Residence cannot be visited, but the Palace can be seen from the outside. In Castelgandolfo are also shops that represent the local wineries, so you can go wine tasting. The area is also well known for its food and willingly you could have a nice lunch in one of the restaurants in the area. Wine tasting can also be arranged at one of the local wineries.
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4 hours
Tivoli or Castelgandolfo and Nemi or Ostia Antica Private guide & skip-the-line tickets included |
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From 6 people onward
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€ 175.00
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5 persons, per person
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€ 210.00
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4 persons, per person
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€ 265.00
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3 persons, per person
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€ 330.00
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2 persons, per person
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€ 470.00
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1 person
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€ 950.00
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Youngsters, 0/17 years, 20.00 € off the price
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You can choose to start at 9 or 9:30 am and we come to meet you at your hotel in Rome.
We reach Tivoli by driving on the motorway and the trip takes about 45 minutes.
Once there, your driver/guide will park his car and stroll with you through Tivoli’s quaint medieval streets to reach Villa D’Este.
If a driver/guide that has the ability to guide you through the Villa D’Este and Hadrian’s Villa will not be available the day of your tour, you will have a driver and a guide, two different persons.
You’ll be visiting Villa D’Este first and then, after stopping for some lunch, you’ll drive to Hadrian’s Villa and visit it with your guide.When, in 1549, the Cardinal Ippolito II D’Este (son of the famous Lucrezia Borgia) was appointed governor of Tivoli, he wasn’t happy with the old governor’s residence which had been originally a Benedictine convent.
However, the place had a spectacular view and an abundant natural water supply for fountains and gardens, so the convent was taken down and the construction of his villa began in 1560.
This beautiful building is now world known for its astounding gardens, decorated by hundreds of artistic water fountains, frescoes and statues.
You will be spending about one or one and half hours in Villa D’Este and a total of about two hours in Tivoli.
Your lunch break could be an incredibly special one if you wish. The “Sibilla” restaurant has been a restaurant and an inn since 1720.
Kings and queens stayed there and, in more recent times, other celebrities amongst whom were astronauts, actors, singers etcetera.
On a nice day you can have your lunch outdoors and appreciate even more what makes the Sibilla restaurant unique, you sit by the ruins of two ancient Roman temples, one dedicated to the Goddess Vesta and the one that the restaurant is named after, that of the Tiburtine Sibyl. This was a fortune teller whom the Ancient Romans, including Cesar Augustus, visited to enquire about their future. Last, but not least, from the Sibilla restaurant you can enjoy the beautiful panorama of Gregorian’s Villa and its waterfalls.
After lunch, you’ll be driving down the hill to finally reach Hadrian’s Villa which you’ll be visiting with the help of your guide.
The emperor had this villa built in the 2nd century AD to serve as a peaceful retreat away from Rome’s hectic life and governed the empire from the villa.
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7 hours
Castelgandolfo - Papal Palace & Gardens - or - Villa D'Este & Villa Adriana Transportation, private guide & tickets included |
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From 6 people onward
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€ 280.00
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5 persons, per person
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€ 285.00
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4 persons, per person
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€ 350.00
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3 persons, per person
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€ 430.00
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2 persons, per person
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€ 605.00
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1 person
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€ 1,200.00
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Youngsters, 0/17 years, 30.00 € off the price
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An unforgettable day in the country visiting two of the most interesting sites in Italy, each unique in its kind! A full day tour to one of the most impressive ancient monasteries in Italy, the “Sacro Speco” founded by St. Benedict of Norcia, combined with a great lunch and the visit of Villa D’Este and outstanding Villa built for the Cardinal Ippolito II in the 16th century and its famous park decorated with many spectacular fountains. We will meet you at your hotel and get on the motorway to drive to Subiaco. We will reach the place in about one hour. Subiaco is famous for being the location of two important monasteries: St. Benedict’s, called “Sacro Speco” and St. Scolastica, but also for having been the birth place of two of the most famous Italian women: Lucrezia Borgia and Gina Lollobrigida! It’s the “Sacro Speco” though the real attraction in Subiaco. This incredible monastery built and decorated between the 12th and 13th century is really unbelievable. Built on the cave where St. Benedict lived, it consists in a labyrinth of chapels all beautifully decorated with frescos, and one of the frescoes is a portrait of St. Francis made when he was still alive and before he received his stigmata. It’s in fact the only picture of the Saint without the stigmata and the halo! After visiting the “Sacro Speco”, before we move to Tivoli to visit Villa D’Este, we can stop for lunch in Subiaco, in a little family run restaurant housed in the cellars of the Rocca (castle) of the Borgias where the famous Lucrezia was born.Once in Tivoli we’ll stroll through the streets of the medieval town to get to the Villa D’Este and visit the place. Built in the 16th Century for the Cardinal Ippolito D’Este (son of the famous Lucrezia Borgia) when he became the governor of Tivoli, the beautiful villa is world known for its astounding garden decorated by hundreds of artistic water fountains. Time permitting, on the way back to Rome, we will stop to look at the marble quarries at the foot of the hill on the way to Tivoli.
We’ll meet you at your hotel in the morning and drive to Ostia, via Italy’s oldest motorway, the “Via Del Mare” in about half an hour. Ostia Antica “Ancient Ostia” was originally founded by the Romans to protect their city from any potential sea borne invader but later became Rome’s most important sea port, the landing for all cargo ships that supplied Rome with all its necessities. The walk though the ruins of Ostia can be compared to the visit of the ruins of Pompeii, though Ostia is much quieter since it doesn’t get all the visitors the more famous Pompeii gets, and its exploration is therefore much more relaxing. Ostia was abandoned after the fall of the Roman Empire and only at the end of the 19th century the Italian Government started to dig out the ruins and the entire city hasn’t been dug out yet! You’ll able to choose between having your lunch in Ostia before getting back on the road on on the hills of the Roman Castles when we get there, in other words, do you want to eat meat or fish? We’ll get back on the “Via Del Mare” and then via the G.R.A. freeway that enables us to skirt Rome, we’ll get on the Via Appia which will take us to Castelgandolfo. This is a lovely little town by a volcanic lake where, since the 1600’s the Popes have had their Summer Residence. The Papal Palace cannot be visited, but you’ll enjoy walking the quaint streets and the panorama of the lake. This area goes by the name of Castelli Romani (Roman Castles) since the hilltop towns originated from the country castles of the Roman noble families. Later, in the Renaissance, most of the castles were made into more comfortable residences where the nobles could spend the summer away from the heat of Rome. Which is what happened to the castle of the Gandolfo family when the Pope bought it. The ideal climate and the fertility of the soil of the hills did so that what is mainly cultivated in this area is grapes from which the famous Castelli Romani wine is produced. Therefore, if you decide to have lunch in this area, you can also try the different kinds of wines it produces. We proceed then driving on the “Via dei Laghi” (Lakes’ Road) to Nemi. We’ll climb the hills driving through the woods of the Alban Hills enjoying breathtaking panoramas. Nemi is a lovely little town on another volcanic lake that’s named after the city (or vice versa!). The town is known for the special tiny strawberries cultivated in its environment. At the end of the tour, you’ll be driven back to your hotel. If you wish, we can also arrange for you to visit of a local winery!
We’ll meet you at your hotel in the morning and we’ll drive to Tivoli to visit the Villa D’Este, the renowned residence built in 1550 for the Cardinal Ippolito II D’Este with its fantastic gardens and incredible fountains. At the end of the tour of the Villa we’ll not drive down from the Tiburtini mountains to get back on the motorway towards Rome like most would do, but we’ll instead drive through the olive groves the the area of Tivoli is known for. The road we’ll be traveling on does not have much traffic, we’ll be driving on the mountain side surrounded by olive groves, but offers breath taking panoramas. We can stop for a memorable lunch, in a little out of the way place only frequented by locals, that will cost less than breakfast at your hotel but will be really authentic and home cooked. We will drive through a few interesting medieval towns and we’ll stop to take pictures and admire the view. We’ll finally descend the mountains to cross the valley and climb the Alban Hills where they mostly grow grapes and make the famous white wine that generally goes by the name of “Vino dei Castelli” (wine of the castles) but changes it’s denomination according to the city where it’s produced and so you have the Frascati, Marino, Velletri wines etcetera. Once we arrive in the area of the Roman Castles we’ll drive though Marino and Frascati to get to Castel Gandolfo, built on the ridge of a volcanic lake, where the Pope has his Summer Residence, and we’ll stop for a look around. We’ll then drive to Nemi, a lovely little town similar to Castelgandolfo and also built on the ridge of another volcanic lake, but with more charm and tasty little strawberries that are sold practically everywhere and that you’ll be able to taste. After our visit of Nemi we will return to the hotel driving on the Via Appia.
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7 hours
Ostia, Castelgandolfo and Nemi or Tivoli, Castelgandolfo and Nemi Private guide & skip-the-line tickets included |
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From 6 people onward
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€ 330.00
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5 persons, per person
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€ 380.00
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4 persons, per person
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€ 450.00
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3 persons, per person
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€ 590.00
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2 persons, per person
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€ 820.00
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1 person
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€ 1,490.00
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Youngsters, 0/17 years, 10.00 € off the price
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10/12 hours
Long range day trips from Rome to other major attractions in Italy.
Private tours by car with driving guide for small groups.
Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance, the home of Michelangelo, the city of art, Italian literature, science… Surely Florence would deserve more than just a day trip from Rome, but if you’re in Rome and you have one day, let’s do it! We meet you in the morning and drive to Florence (Firenze in Italian) via the motorway A1. The trip takes less than 3 hours and the scenery along the motorway is absolutely beautiful. We drive through north Lazio, Umbria and finally Tuscany. This is some of the most spectacular countryside in the world and you’ll not just see it through the car’s windows, but the most interesting facts about the areas we’ll pass through will be commented and the most interesting towns will be pointed out to you. Arriving in Florence we’ll make our first stop at Piazzale Michelangelo where we can enjoy the spectacular view of the whole city and then continue to the city center to visit the Accademia Museum where the famous statue of David by Michelangelo is kept. We could then stop for a quick lunch and continue to explore the city in the afternoon including in our tour the church of Santa Croce, where people like Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and Dante are buried and where the famous leather school of Florence was started by the Franciscans and we can see the artisans and their disciples at work. We could then continue to Piazza della Signoria, the main square of Florence, and the Ponte Vecchio and the gold craftsmen at work. Obviously you’ll also be taken to the Duomo, the cathedral of Florence. For those who would like a more thorough visit of the museums and the churches a driving guide from Rome can provide, can arrange for a local guide to meet us and take you on a 3-hour tour which will include a guided visit to the sites as per your specific interest. The supplementary cost for this guide tour is presently 200 Euros. We might even be able to squeeze in some time for shopping. At the end of the tour you’ll be driven back to your hotel in Rome.
You can choose to travel to Florence by train for a lower price, but not much lower for groups from 4 up, but please consider the following:
• The train takes 1.5 hours but considering the time needed to transfer to the train station and the fact that you need to be there 15 min. before train’s departure the trip will take the same time the car takes: 2.5/3 hours.
• As you’re travelling in a train there’s no one there to tell you anything about what you’re seeing and you only see the scenery from one side of the train.
• Once in Florence you’ll have to find your way to the places and this will take time and the consequence will be that you’ll not be able to see half of what we can show you.
You’ll be met at your hotel in the morning and driven to Assisi via the A1 motorway and the Via Flaminia passing through north Lazio and Umbria. The drive will offer beautiful panoramas which will change from the rolling hills of the Tuscia region to the mountains of Umbria covered with woods, because of which Umbria is also referred to as the “green heart of Italy”. This tour will take you to: Assisi, the city of St. Francis built out of the local “Pietra Subasia” stone. In spite of the disastrous earthquake that devastated it years ago, Assisi is still appears as a perfectly preserved medieval Umbrian town and one of the most charming. Really an enchanting place, walking through its streets you feel an intense mystical atmosphere that would be difficult to experience anywhere else. From Assisi we’ll on the freeway and drive past Perugia towards Deruta the city of ceramics where we might stop to look at some of the shops selling the local artistic products. We will then continue to drive in the countryside and the beautiful landscapes to Todi which is another charming medieval Umbrian town, a bit out of the way for most tourists, built on top of a hill overlooking the Tiber river, this town has a unique charm and exquisite food this is where we could stop for lunch. Todi is referred to as the model sustainable city and the ideal place where to live due to its scale and its ability to change and reinvent itself over time. Finally we’ll reach Orvieto where we’ll be visiting the famous gothic cathedral and one of the typical wine cellars dug out of the tufo stone underneath the buildings. Orvieto is in fact built on top of a plateau of “tufo” stone which also served as the quarry for the material for the town’s buildings, including the huge “Duomo” church, which was built with the tufo the inhabitants of Orvieto quarried underneath their homes and the resulting space was then used for cellars or even workshops. Orvieto’s cathedral, the Duomo, is considered one of the most beautiful in Italy and surely its facade, entirely decorated with gold mosaics, is impressive! After a stroll through the beautiful streets full of characteristic shops, we’ll get in the car to drive again on A1 motorway and return to Rome.
Again we have to say that the tours and excursions we list on this website are nothing but suggestions, we want to give you an idea of what you can see in a half day or a full day and, in this particular case, you are free to change the itinerary and spend the whole day in Assisi or omit Assisi and visit other places, for example Civita di Bagnoregio or simply spend more time in Orvieto and Todi and visit a winery and/or an oil press.
You’ll be met at your hotel in the morning and taken on a great tour that will cover the most beautiful coastline of Italy and its most famous excavation site. We’ll drive on the A1 motorway through southern Lazio to reach Campania and Naples. We skirt Naples and continue to on the A3 motorway which will then get us onto the Sorrento Peninsula. The drive offers unforgettable panoramas. Driving along the winding coastal road, on top spectacular overhanging cliffs, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples we’ll be able to see from far the isle of Capri, the city of Naples and the mount Vesuvius. We’ll then drive over the hills to our first stop: Positano. This lovely, small coastal town founded by the Romans, was a poor fishermen’s village until the 1950’s and then it became one the most famous vacationing places in the world, also thanks to Steinbeck and the American military who were sent there for rest and recuperation during WWII and today tourism is surely the main industry there. All this because Positano is simply spectacular, just the vies of it from the top of the cliff is worth the trip there. After our exploration of Positano we’ll drive to Sorrento which is a another charming resort area. Located at the tip of the Sorrentina peninsula that separates the Gulf of Salerno from the Gulf of Naples. This town is larger than Positano but equally interesting. We suggest to have lunch in Sorrento at a little “trattoria” on the old marina, away from the most touristy side of Sorrento. You’ll enjoy walking around the streets of Sorrento and looking at the colorful shops selling typical products like Limoncello, inlaid wood works, ceramics and embroidery. After a good lunch, whether an authentic fish and mozzarella based typical Italian lunch by the sea or a quick snack, we’ll hit the road again to visit Pompeii. The most famous excavations in the world? The most famous volcanic eruption in the world? Maybe, what is sure is that we can take you to see the place and we’re sure that you’ll be thrilled by the visit! You’ll have about 2 hours to spend visiting the excavations, which means you’ll just scratch the surface considering the fact that Pompeii was a city of 30,000 inhabitants when the volcano destroyed it, but you’ll be satisfied. After visiting Pompeii we’ll get on the motorway again to return to your hotel in Rome.
Driving guides aren’t allowed to guide their clients through the ruins and we recommend you hire a local guide to get the most out of your visit. The cost for hiring a local guide is about 150 Euros, for a group up to 6 people, for a satisfactory 2-hour tour. The alternative is renting an audio guide, a sort of portable mp3 player that you take with you and activate once the spot marked on the map they give you and tells the story of what you see from that particular spot. After visiting Pompeii we return to Rome to arrive there in the early evening.
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10/12 hours
Florence or Assisi and Umbria or Positano, Sorrento and Pompeii Private guide & skip-the-line tickets included |
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From 6 people onward
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€ 320.00
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5 persons, per person
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€ 375.00
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4 persons, per person
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€ 440.00
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3 persons, per person
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€ 500.00
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2 persons, per person
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€ 750.00
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1 person
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€ 1,450.00
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Youngsters, 0/17 years, 10.00 € off the price
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10/12 hours
Tour with driving guide - Local guides and tickets not included Florence or Assisi and Umbria - or Positano, Sorrento and Amalfi Coast |
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From 6 people onward
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€ 225.00
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5 persons, per person
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€ 260.00
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4 persons, per person
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€ 310.00
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3 persons, per person
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€ 380.00
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2 persons, per person
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€ 555.00
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1 person
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€ 1,100.00
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Youngsters, 0/17 years, 10.00 € off the price
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Combine the tour to the Colosseum , Roman forum & Palatine Hill with a city tour of Rome, explore the major highlights aboard a golf cart!
Make the tour even more exciting Tour! Visit the colosseum for 1 hour on a golf cart tour of the city of Rome with a private guide and "skip-the-line tickets".
With us it is possible! With this tour you will see the most highlights of the city of Rome, you will tour the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica!
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