Day 1: Rome Guided Walking Tour
After your private airport transfer and check-in, your guide introduces you gently to the city’s iconic highlights with a private walking tour of the city, where you will be introduced to:
- Spanish Steps at golden hour
- Trevi Fountain, luminous and theatrical
- The Pantheon’s perfect dome
- Piazza Navona’s Bernini fountains
- Campo de’ Fiori’s lively square
As you get to know the soul of the city by strolling its heart, your guide will share stories of Popes, artists, and rival architects, while pauses for espresso and gelato set an unhurried tone.
Evening at leisure.
Day 2: Rome Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
Today, Rome’s imperial theatre unfolds not as ruins, but as a living stage, brought vividly to life through privileged access and expert interpretation.
VIP Colosseum Underground & Arena Floor
With special access, descend beneath the Colosseum into the underground chambers where gladiators once waited in darkness before emerging into the roar of 50,000 spectators.
From here, step onto the reconstructed arena floor, a perspective few visitors experience, and look up into the vast amphitheater as combatants, emperors, and condemned prisoners once did.
As you move through these restricted spaces, your guide will illuminate:
- The extraordinary engineering system of lifts, trapdoors, and staging mechanisms
- How spectacle was used as political propaganda to secure loyalty and control
- The lived reality of gladiators – training, status, survival, and myth
The Colosseum becomes more than a monument; it becomes a machine of power.
Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
From spectacle to statecraft, continue into the Roman Forum, once the beating heart of civic life.
Walking among temples, basilicas, and triumphal arches, your guide will reconstruct the political drama that unfolded here: speeches, trials, religious rituals, and imperial processions.
Ascending Palatine Hill, the legendary birthplace of Rome, you’ll explore the remains of imperial palaces overlooking the Forum below.
Together, these sites reveal Rome not simply as ancient history, but as the blueprint of empire.
Day 3: Vatican Masterpieces Tour & Panoramic Rome
Begin your day with privileged early access to the Vatican Museums, entering before general admission crowds arrive.
Early Entry Vatican Experience
In the quiet of the morning, explore the galleries with space to appreciate their scale and artistry, moving at a measured pace through centuries of papal patronage and artistic achievement before the public doors open.
Your guide will take you to explore:
- The Gallery of Maps
- The Raphael Rooms
- The Sistine Chapel beneath Michelangelo’s ceiling
- Continue into St. Peter’s Basilica, where your guide highlights Michelangelo’s Pietà and Bernini’s Baldachin.
Optional: Dome climb for sweeping views across Rome’s rooftops.
Day 4: Tivoli Day Trip
Your private driver will collect you from your accommodation in the morning for a scenic 45-minute journey east into the hills of Tivoli, long favored by emperors and aristocrats seeking fresh air and perspective beyond the capital.
Hadrian’s Villa
Begin at Hadrian’s Villa, the vast 2nd-century retreat of Emperor Hadrian.
Far more than a country house, this was a self-contained imperial city, complete with baths, libraries, theatres, and reflecting pools.
As you walk through the sprawling ruins, your private guide will explain how Hadrian, a well-traveled and intellectually curious ruler, designed the estate to recreate the landscapes and architectural influences he admired across his empire.
The scale speaks not only of luxury, but of authority, a ruler shaping his environment to mirror the world he governed.
Villa d’Este: Water, Power & Renaissance Ambition
Continue to Villa d’Este, a 16th-century masterpiece of garden design. Here, terraces unfold in elegant symmetry, animated by hundreds of fountains that cascade, spray, and echo through shaded pathways.
Your guide will reveal how Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este used hydraulic innovation and theatrical landscaping to project influence and prestige. The gardens are not simply beautiful; they are statements of Renaissance confidence, where engineering, mythology, and artistry merge in motion and sound.
After time to explore and absorb the atmosphere, return comfortably to Rome in the afternoon.
Overnight in Rome.
Day 5: Rome to Naples
This morning, your private driver transfers you to Rome’s high-speed rail station as you board the First Class train for the one-hour journey to Naples.
Private Historic Naples Walking Tour
Explore the UNESCO-listed historic center with your private guide.
Highlights include:
- Spaccanapoli, the narrow artery slicing through the old city
- The Duomo of San Gennaro, guardian of Naples’ patron saint
- Underground Naples, revealing Greek and Roman foundations
- A traditional pizzeria for authentic Neapolitan pizza tasting
Day 6: Pompeii & Herculaneum
Ancient cities frozen beneath volcanic ash reveal daily Roman life with astonishing intimacy.
Walk original streets, step inside preserved villas, bathhouses, and bakeries. Learn how families lived, traded, and worshipped before Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
Pompeii with Private Archaeologist
Your archaeologist explains:
- Urban planning
- Fresco symbolism
- Social hierarchies
- The human impact of the eruption
- Herculaneum
- Smaller and remarkably preserved. Wooden beams, mosaics, and upper floors remain intact, offering a vivid glimpse into domestic Roman life.
Optional: Ascend Mount Vesuvius for panoramic views across the Bay of Naples.
Return to Naples late afternoon.
Day 7: Naples & Private Cooking Experience
Today is devoted to understanding Naples through what it does best: bold history and unapologetically good food. In this city, cuisine is not a trend; it is an inheritance!
Your private guide will first introduce you to the character of Naples itself, a city layered with Greek foundations, Spanish influence, Bourbon grandeur, and everyday vitality. Walking through lively streets, historic piazzas, and local markets, you’ll see how faith, family, and food shape daily life.
Private Neapolitan Cooking Class
Late morning, step into a welcoming kitchen for a hands-on cooking experience led by a local chef. Rather than a demonstration, this is an immersive class where you participate in preparing traditional Neapolitan dishes using seasonal ingredients.
Depending on the day and your preferences, you may learn to craft fresh pasta, prepare a classic ragù slow-cooked to perfection, shape authentic Neapolitan pizza dough, or assemble seafood dishes influenced by the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea.
As you cook, your host will explain the cultural roots of each recipe, why certain ingredients matter, how techniques have been preserved through generations, and how food anchors family life in Naples.
The experience concludes with a relaxed, seated meal featuring the dishes you’ve prepared, paired thoughtfully with regional wines.
Afternoon at leisure to explore independently or simply enjoy the rhythm of the city.
Overnight in Naples.
Day 8: Naples to Capri By Boat
This morning, your private driver transfers you to Naples harbor for one of the most beautiful arrivals in Italy.
Board your private vessel for a 45–60 minute scenic crossing across the Bay of Naples.
As Capri rises into view, its dramatic limestone cliffs and hidden grottoes announce your arrival long before you dock. Approaching by sea reveals the island as it was meant to be seen, cinematic, sculptural, unforgettable.
Upon arrival, you are transferred to your luxury hotel.
Walking Tour Through Capri Town
In the late afternoon, meet your private guide for a gentle introduction to Capri’s historic center.
- The elegant Piazzetta, heart of island life
- Quiet lanes lined with white façades and bougainvillea
- Panoramic viewpoints over the Faraglioni rocks
The walk is light and relaxed, simply a taste of island rhythm before dinner.
Overnight in Capri.
Day 9: Capri: Cliffs, Grottoes & Turquoise Waters
Today is dedicated to the sea, Capri’s most defining element.
Private Island Boat Tour
Board your private boat for a full coastal circuit of the island.
Sail past:
- The legendary Faraglioni Rock Formations
- The luminous Blue Grotto (weather permitting)
- Hidden sea caves carved into limestone cliffs
- Secluded coves accessible only by water
- Pause for swimming in crystalline turquoise waters, with time to relax on deck beneath the Mediterranean sun.
Your captain shares stories of Roman emperors, literary legends, and modern glamour that have shaped Capri’s mystique.
Overnight in Capri.
Day 10: Capri – Glamour, Gardens & Slow Mediterranean Living
Today is intentionally slower; Capri is best savored, not scheduled.
Stroll the refined boutiques along Via Camerelle, where island glamour meets Italian craftsmanship.
Walk to Punta Tragara for one of the island’s most breathtaking terrace views overlooking the Faraglioni.
Or simply remain at your hotel, embracing slow luxury, terrace breakfasts, afternoon swims, unhurried conversation.
As evening approaches, enjoy an aperitivo overlooking the sea as the sky turns rose-gold.
Overnight in Capri.
Day 11: Capri to Amalfi Coast
A Grand Coastal Arrival
The final chapter unfolds along one of the world’s most iconic coastlines, pastel villages clinging to cliffs, lemon groves perfuming the air, and the Tyrrhenian Sea stretching endlessly below.
Private Boat Transfer to the Amalfi Coast
Sail toward Positano, Amalfi, or Ravello (depending on your hotel selection), approaching from the water for the most dramatic perspective.
Pastel houses cascade down cliffs; church domes glint in the sun; fishing boats dot the harbor. Upon arrival, transfer to your cliffside luxury hotel and settle in. Afternoon at leisure to explore your immediate surroundings or relax on your terrace.
Overnight on the Amalfi Coast.
Day 12: Amalfi & Ravello
Today, it combines scenic driving with elevated panoramas. With your private driver, travel the winding Amalfi Coast road to Ravello, perched high above the sea.
Highlights include:
- Villa Cimbrone, famed for its Terrace of Infinity
- Villa Rufolo, whose gardens inspired Wagner
- Your guide explains Ravello’s artistic heritage and aristocratic history.
Amalfi Cathedral & Historic Center
Descend to Amalfi town to visit the striking Duomo di Amalfi, with its Arab-Norman architectural influences and intricate cloister.
Stroll the lively piazza and artisan shops before returning to your hotel.
Evening at leisure for sunset views from your terrace.
Overnight on the Amalfi Coast.
Day 13: Private Amalfi Coast Boat Day
Aboard your private vessel, cruise along the Amalfi Coast at an unhurried rhythm, passing pastel-hued villages clinging to cliffs, hidden grottoes carved into limestone, and quiet coves accessible only by water, a perspective that reveals the coast at its most exclusive and cinematic.
Discover:
- The Li Galli Islands
- Hidden coves and sea caves
- Secluded beaches accessible only by boat
- Swim in crystalline waters, relax on deck, and enjoy the rhythm of the coastline from its most privileged perspective.
- Lunch can be arranged at a seaside restaurant reachable only by water; arriving by boat is part of the charm.
Return late afternoon.
Overnight on the Amalfi Coast.
Day 14: Departure
Your private driver will transfer you to Naples Airport for your departure.
As you leave, the impressions remain: ancient stone warmed by sun, salt in the air, citrus groves, distant church bells, and sea stretching beyond memory.