Amber Road Tours

Small group regional tours

Italy is a relatively new nation, largely formed in the 1860's from many different cultural areas that now correspond to the twenty political regions. Though all share a common geographical and historical heritage each region has its own dialect, accent, flavor, food and wines. Venice, Rome and Palermo have very little in common with each other - they could easily be considered as belonging to separate countries.

We invite you to experience this marvelous peninsula slowly, one or two regions at a time, a few trips over a lifetime.

Amber Road Tours offers unique package itineraries for groups of up to 18 persons from the Veneto to Tuscany to Puglia and Sicily. Our tours include visits to well-known cities such as Verona, Florence and Syracuse, but also many less frequented towns and villages off the usual tourist itinerary. Traveling as a small group allows us to visit small villages unobtrusively, find hotels in historic districts where room space is often limited, and dine in small restaurants where you will find the best food and ambiance. On our tours you will be taken on a cultural, historical, gastronomic adventure through the regions of north, central and south Italy, an area that presents a visible and extant past of more than three thousand years - best seen and experienced off the beaten path.

Hotels

In many of the medieval and renaissance towns where we stay there are few hotels. So while there may be large numbers of tourists during the day, you will find the evenings delightfully void of tourist activity and animated by typical Italian life. Our hotels are located in quiet settings, most often within the city walls in buildings dating from the 13th to 19th centuries and from where you have easy access to pedestrian zones. All of the rooms have private bath and are air-conditioned. We stay 2 to 4 nights in each hotel. Buffet breakfast is included.

Dining

Many of our lunches and dinners are group events and are included in the price of our package tours. These meals are fixed menu. We choose a variety of restaurants where you can savor regional dishes and taste the local wines. For the rest of your meals you are free to make your own gastronomic explorations. When you order your own meals, sometimes in places where English is not spoken, you learn more about the food, the wines, the people and the language of Italy. Buon Appetito!

Day to day

We will visit one or two of the places on the itinerary each day. Some mornings or afternoons you will have for exploring on your own. When we are not moving around as a group or with a local guide you will be provided with a city map to facilitate your visit. On the average we will spend about two hours a day traveling, doing our best to avoid traffic and crowds, moving along the back roads whenever possible.