Rome • Vatican ~ St. Peter's Basilica • Catacombs • Assisi • Florence • Siena • 3 day extension option Geneva & Zermatt (Alps) Switzerland
10 Days ~ $3699 or 13 days ~ $4599 - Our prices include airfare from your hometown and exclusively 4 or 5 star hotels everywhere
Scroll down to view the itinerary; click on the trip date to book your trip online.
There are no trip dates scheduled at this time.
Trip Includes
- Fr. Bob Suit will be with the group to celebrate daily Mass.
- Round-trip airfare from your hometown connecting in a major city to fly overseas is included. If your city has a direct flight to your destination, we will guarantee a direct flight as long as it is available.
- Airport Taxes, Security Fees, and Fuel Surcharges!
- Exclusively 4 or 5 star hotels in downtown areas.
- All breakfasts and all dinners. Wine is included with all dinners.
- Transportation with luxury bus.
- All entrance fees to all the sites.
- All tips to everyone involved in the tour.
- The tour fees for our guides. Our tour guides are well educated, caring, and professional. Most of them have their PhD's in Church history, archeology, philosophy, languages, or Theology.
- Luggage handling. Please pack light, one piece of luggage and one carry-on.
- Dress casually throughout the whole trip. Shoulders and knees should be covered when visiting Basilicas or churches.
- We limit our group to a maximum of 24 passengers, unless the priest on the trip requests a larger group. Small groups with a 5 star service in 4/5 star hotels.
- If you are traveling alone and you allow us to find you a roommate, you don't pay the $900 single supplement. If you wish to have your own room and you are not open to rooming with another passenger, then the single supplement fee is $900.
- Taxi and wheelchair can be provided gratis for those passengers who cannot walk, with prior notice at registration. A traveling companion has to push the wheelchair throughout the trip.
- At the time of registration, as a part of the total balance, a non-refundable $500 (hotel and airfare deposit) is due in the form of a credit card. For example, if your trip costs $3,700, when you sign up, you pay a $500 deposit, then your balance would be $3,200 and is due 4 months before departure date. If you sign up after the final payment due date or at the last minute, you pay the entire cost of the trip at registration.
Trip Does Not Include
- Lunch
- Insurance ~ The total trip cost is non-refundable, we recommend trip insurance to protect your investment.
Trip Itinerary
Trip Itinerary
Day 1: Monday September 17: You will depart from your hometown airport in the United States.
Day 2:Tuesday September 18: Upon arrival, you will be met at the airport by one of our local tour guides. We begin with visiting the first of 4 Rome Basilicas, the "Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Wall" where the body of St. Paul is buried. It is the second largest Basilica in Rome and one of the five largest in the world. Afterwards, we will stop and check into the hotel refresh and relax. In the afternoon we will celebrate Mass at St. Mary Major, the main Basilica dedicated to Mary in Rome; home to the remains of Jesus' manger, brought to Rome by St. Helen; the tomb of Bernini (the Architect of St Peter's); the tomb of St. Jerome, who lived in Bethlehem, next to the manger of Jesus while he translated the Bible from Greek to Latin; and the Salus Populi Romani, the oldest icon in the world of the Virgin Mary painted by St. Luke. We will have dinner at a local restaurant, with red and white wine, and stay overnight in Rome.
Day 3:Wednesday September 19: We will be outside most of the day today- dress casual with comfortable walking shoes. This morning we will celebrate Mass early*, then gain entrance into St. Peter's Square for the Audience with the Pope ( 10:00 am) but will need to leave from the hotel early. Following the General Audience there will be time for lunch near the Vatican. We will spend the afternoon visiting the historical center of Rome. Our first stop will be the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain; follow tradition and throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain. Later, walk to the Pantheon, the oldest functional building in the world. We will end at the Piazza Navona for dinner at a local restaurant, including red and white wine before we return to our hotel in Rome..
Day 4:Thursday September 20: Scavi Tour at 11 and 11:15 AM. Today we will spend the day in Vatican City, the smallest country in the world. Tour of the Borghese or the Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel (the Pope's private Chapel). After the Vatican museums we will directly enter the Basilica of St. Peter. (All of our tours in advance, reducing waiting in long lines to gain entrance). St. Peter's is the largest Basilica in the world and the building itself is great piece of art by Bernini. Vatican rules dictate that your shoulders and knees must be covered out of respect while in St. Peter’s Basilica, (long pants, capris. covered shoulders). In the afternoon, enjoy the Colosseum. Built in 80 A.D., it still stands as one of the greatest monuments in human history. Later we will go to the Roman Forum and Santa Maria Antiqua, then celebrate Mass at Santa Maria in Trastevere, followed by dinner including wine, in the area, before returning to our hotel in Rome.
Day 5:Friday September 21: Visit to the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the first Basilica ever to be built in the Roman Empire under Constantine. In the afternoon, we will celebrate Mass at the Catacomb of the Domatilla/Callixtus where the Good Shepherd was found; The Good Shepherd in the catacombs is One of the most represented in the art of the catacombs, and immediately takes on a Christological significance inspired by the parable of the lost sheep. Then experience an underground tour. 500,000 people were buried throughout the catacombs. Enjoy a scenic ride back to our hotel, followed by dinner at a local restaurant before retiring to the hotel for the evening in Rome.
Day 6:Saturday September 22: This morning we will say good-bye to Rome as we head north toward the Tuscany region arriving in the beautiful town of Assisi, where we will celebrate Mass at either the Tomb of St. Francis or the Basilica (based on reservation availability). There will be time to see the tombs of Sts. Francis and Clare, take a self-guided tour of the Basilica of St. Francis, with time to take in the peace and serenity of Assisi. We recommend enjoying lunch at one of the quaint cafés. Dinner with wine at a restaurant in Assisi. We will stay overnight in Assisi.
Day 7:Sunday September 23: Today, will be our first day in Florence. Our tour will include Ponte Vecchio; Piazza della Signoria; the Duomo (Cathedral) Cattedral di Santa Maria del Fiore and the Baptistery. Tour of the Uffizzi, home to Michelangelo's masterpiece, The David, and then walk the Vasari Corridor, or possibly spend the morning in prayer and meditation. The tour guide will be available to assist you, if you are interested in seeing more sites. Our dinner will include red and white wine and will be at a local restaurant in Florence before retiring for the night at the hotel in Florence.
Day 8:Monday September 24: Enjoy a second day to explore Florence. the Church of San Marco; the elegant church of San Miniato al Monte, where you can climb the steps and wander through its halls, crypt and monumental cemetery; the Bell Tower of Giotto, Santa Croce, and consider a climb to the top to view the city. Find some time for the open market as you enjoy choosing what to do on your own. The tour guide will be available to assist you, if you are interested in seeing sites like: Santa Maria Novella Church, Tuscany's most important Gothic church, with billowing sails and ostrich feathers (Medici family emblem). The church houses artistic treasures, donated by wealthy patrons, many with chapels named after them. We will dine together, including wine, and stay again in Florence.
Day 9:Tuesday September 25: Today we will enjoy a scenic 90 minute drive to one of the most treasured city's of Italy: Siena. See one of the most stunning cathedrals in Italy, with art by Michelangelo, Donatello, Pisano, and Bernini, featuring a frescoed library considered one of the best frescoed spaces in Italy! Admire the city’s unique, scallop-shaped main piazza, dominated by a 14th-century tower. It’s also home to a treasure trove of important art, including Lorenzetti’s seminal frescoes of “Good and Bad Government”, relics like the head of St. Catherine, and the famous Palio horse races. Dinner in either Siena or at a local restaurant in Florence- it's your last night to splurge on delicious gelato! Don't forget to pack before going to bed on your last night in Italy.
Day 10:Wednesday September 26: Our private bus brings us to the airport in Florence to fly back to USA.
OPTIONAL EXTENSION:($4599 whole trip)
Day 11:Wednesday Sept. 26- Fly from Rome to Geneva. We will have a delightful dinner at a restaurant before retiring to our hotel for the night in Geneva.
Day 12:Thursday September 27: Tour of the Mont Blanc and Chamonix. We will return for dinner at a local restaurant and retire for the evening in Geneva.
Day 13:Friday Sept 28: Today we say Ciao! as we return home to the United States. We will need to get an early start to the airport in time for our flight.
*The itinerary in Rome may be adjusted depending on confirmation of Scavi Tour dates.