Join us on this Grand Explorer holiday for a journey of discovery, as we capture some of Europe’s most spectacular natural and ancient wonders. From vast volcanoes to the Rome Colosseum, our tour begins with the mighty Mountains of Italy, as we take in the vast Vesuvius, the haunting ruins of Pompeii and the mighty Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano. Guests also have the opportunity to join a boat trip to Stromboli, to see the spectacular volcano, which has been continually erupting for over 2000 years. In contrast, we then visit Austria’s highest mountain, the icy Grossglockner glacier, which offers breath taking views of the surrounding alpine scenery. On this grand coach tour we also spend time in the popular resort of Sorrento, visit the ancient wonders of Rome and give guests the opportunity to visit the Isle of Capri and the Sicilian town of Syracuse.
16 days from $4723 pp
We offer flexible payment options
Once you have booked your tour either online, or by telephone ( 1300 811 500 ), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can:
Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.
For your convenience, you may choose to start this tour in the UK or at the first city in Europe.
We depart our overnight hotel early this morning as we begin our journey towards Italy. During the day we will travel through Switzerland, bypassing places such as Basel and Lucerne before arriving at our hotel in the Parma area for an overnight stay.
We continue our journey south bypassing Bologna, home of the famous Bolognese sauce and the Tuscan capital of Florence. We continue past the ‘eternal city’ of Rome and later Naples, Italy’s third largest city, before arriving at our hotel on the Sorrento Peninsula for a three-night stay.
Today we visit the historic town of Pompeii at the foot of Mount Vesuvius on our included excursion. We begin our day with a visit to Pompeii, and the spectacular ruins of what was once a great Roman city. In 79AD the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the town of Pompeii in about 6/7 metres of stones and ash. Painstaking excavations, which are still ongoing, began in the 18th century and have uncovered a remarkable hidden city. Accompany your expert guide around the town, walking along roads with indents from the passing of chariot wheels and discovering the remains of homes, shops and public baths (entrance to the ruins is included). We then continue to the awe-inspiring Mount Vesuvius. Discover the history of the volcano’s activity. The coach will take you within 1000 metres of the summit and from here you can walk to the very top and admire the splendid, panoramic views across the bay. Please note: there is a local charge of approximately €10 to visit the crater.
Included Highlights
A free day in Sorrento today, or you can join our superb optional excursion as we sail across the Bay of Naples to the Isle of Capri. Visit the fabulous villa of Dr Axel Munthe (entrance cost is extra – approximately €8), a Swedish doctor, whose bestselling book “Story of San Michele” tells of his time on Capri. Continue to Capri town, famous for its main square Piazza Umberto, which has a pretty white church and several open-air cafes where you can sit and watch the world drift by. Leading off the square are medieval looking alleyways and arcades full of shops selling handicrafts of the island, clothing, shoes, ceramics and jewellery made from coral and gold. There is so much to see and do on this tiny island paradise you will be sorry to leave.
Included Highlights
Optional Excursions
Our optional excursions are a great addition to enhance your holiday experience and are highly recommended.| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
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$248 | $255 | $265 |
We leave our hotel and travel south to the ‘foot’ of Italy and take a ferry across to Sicily where we stay for the next five nights.
Today we take an unforgettable drive up Mount Etna, the highest volcano in Europe. Standing at 3350 meters (10,991ft) Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of eruption. Although it can occasionally be very destructive, it is not generally regarded as being a dangerous volcano. Thousands of people live on its slopes and in the surrounding areas where the fertile volcanic soil support extensive agriculture. Our coach takes us within 1900 metres and if the weather is good why not enhance your experience of Etna with a visit to its summit (at own cost, payable locally). A 15-minute gondola ride takes you to 2504 metres and offers some fantastic views of the landscape, which has been characterised by countless lava flows. For the more adventurous, we then join the special modernised ‘Busses’ which, driven by expert drivers, take you on a 20-minute journey to an altitude of 3000 metres. There will be some free time at the summit to photograph the impressive central and southeast craters before we commence our descent. Later in the day we travel to Taormina for free time where you can explore the sights or perhaps visit some of the many shops along the car free main street ‘Corso Umberto’.
Included Highlights
Enjoy a free day to relax in resort.
*Please note: customers travelling on the optional excursion to Stromboli will receive a packed lunch instead of dinner on this day.
Optional Excursions
Our optional excursions are a great addition to enhance your holiday experience and are highly recommended.| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$213 | $220 | $228 |
A further day at leisure today or why not join our optional excursion to Syracuse, once the most powerful of all Mediterranean cities and the home of the famous natural Philosopher, Archimedes. Accompanied by our guide, we are introduced to the delights of this lovely town. We see the Grand Theatre whose cavea is one of the largest ever built by the ancient Greeks. Entrance to the Archaeological area is also included.
Optional Excursions
Our optional excursions are a great addition to enhance your holiday experience and are highly recommended.| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$100 | $105 | $110 |
We say goodbye to Sicily as we travel back to the foot of Italy and head north to Fiuggi and onto our overnight hotel.
We leave our hotel this morning as we head north towards our overnight hotel in Tuscany. En route we visit the beautiful Italian capital city of Rome. A lovely place to explore on foot. To make the most of your visit, why not join our optional guided sightseeing tour. The sightseeing tour takes place on both coach and foot and will introduce you to the city’s wonderful sights, including the mighty Colosseum (entrance not included), Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Although Rome is a relatively compact city, we would remind you that this is a walking tour, not suitable for anyone with mobility difficulties and we would recommend you wear suitable shoes for the day.
Included Highlights
Optional Excursions
Our optional excursions are a great addition to enhance your holiday experience and are highly recommended.| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$70 | $73 | $75 |
We continue our journey north as we head towards the Austrian Tyrol. We pass the beautiful border town of Vipiteno, the ancient city of the wealthy Fugger family. We continue our journey across the magnificent Brenner Pass and to our hotel where we stay for two nights.
Our included excursion takes us along the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse and up the Grossglockner, which at 3,789 metres, is Austria’s highest mountain. We view the icy world of the massive Grossglockner Glacier from the magnificently situated Franz-Josefs-Heights panorama viewing platform.
Included Highlights
To Belgium for an overnight stay.
If you are leaving the tour in Europe, you will say farewell to the group after breakfast this morning. If you joined the tour in the UK, today you will return and continue to your original joining point.
Book online OR call our friendly travel advisers on:
1300 811 500
If you prefer, then you can join the tour at the hotel. To do this, we will require a copy of your passport for identification purposes and you must advise us at the time of booking.
No reduction will be given if you should choose to do this.
We are unable to guarantee that the hotel will be able to meet your dietary requirements. We find that the majority of European countries do not generally cater for vegetarians and that the meal supplied may well be what everyone else is having minus the meat.
We will of course endeavour to arrange for a vegetarian meal at the hotel. We do however suggest that you advise us of your dietary requests at the time of booking and recommend that you speak to the receptionist on arrival with regard to your request.
You will stay in minimum 3-star hotels for one night in the Parma area of northern Italy; one night in Fiuggi, to the south of Rome; and one night in Tuscany.
You will spend three nights on the Sorrento Peninsula in a 3-star hotel such as the Hotel Central Park in Massa Lubrense, followed by five nights on the island of Sicily at a minimum 3-star hotel such as the Hotel Kennedy in Sant Alessio in Siculo.
In the Austrian Tyrol you will spend two nights in a minimum 3-star hotel.
Overnight stays in northern France and Belgium are in city-style hotels.
Front row seats can be reserved for $35pp (up to 6 days' duration), $55pp (7 & 8 days' duration) and $60pp (9 days' duration and over) on all European tours. This offer is only available for bookings of two or four persons on the front row and is subject to availability. In addition to this, seats on the second row can be reserved for $18pp (up to 6 days duration), $35pp (7 & 8 days duration) and $42pp (9, 10 and days duration) $50pp (12 days and over). Guaranteed front/second row seats cannot be reserved on transfer journeys to/from the interchange. Children under 15 years cannot occupy a front row seat due to French Law. Central view seats are free.
Please note: On some coaches the legroom on front seats may be slightly less than that available on other seats due to the presence of a modesty board in front.
If your tour is cancelled for any reason and front/second row seats are not available on your new tour, you will be refunded the supplement. No other compensation will be payable.
Alternatively, we can take seating requests on your booking. However, requests are not guaranteed. All seat numbers are confirmed on travel documents approximately 7-10 days prior to departure.
Transfer coaches are routed approximately 2-3 weeks before departure. The route taken depends on where passengers are booked to travel from on any particular date as to which route is taken. If you require further detailed information regarding the route to the port you can contact our Customer Service Department on 1300 811 500 two weeks before you are due to travel. With regard to the route taken by the main tour coach, this is determined by the driver.
With regard to the route taken by the main tour coach, this is determined by the driver.
When it comes to getting you to your destination, McLachlan European Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you to choose from.
