Italia Bella: Rome to Venice (Family Travel)

Of all of Tauck's popular Italy tours, this is the one designed with your family in mind – on which you'll share the splendors of Italy together! Explore the imperial city of Rome and the legacy of the powerful Roman Empire that ruled the world millennia ago. Look up at the celebrated ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, as well as around at other Vatican treasures, on a private after-hours tour of the Vatican Museums, without the usual crowds! Discover the amazing art masterpieces of fabled Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance; travel to the Tuscan city of Pisa to see the famous Leaning Tower and watch a pizza-making demonstration; and explore Orvieto's fascinating medieval tunnels. Take the high-speed Eurostar train to Venice and a remarkable world of Renaissance architecture surrounded by water. Tauck's most family-friendly of Italy tours includes a gondola ride and serenade along Venice's historic canals, a true delight!

Day-by-Day Itinerary

2009 Itinerary

Prices

8 Days from $3,455 plus airfare

Need to Know

Inclusive Prices

Not Included

Additional Information

Preparing To Go

• An optional sports jacket for men
• Casually-elegant outfits for women
• Short and long sleeve shirts
• Shorts, slacks and jeans
• Tee shirts
• Socks
• Light-weight sweater
• Light-weight jacket
• Comfortable yet sturdy walking shoes that have already been broken-in
• Raincoat and rain hat
• Collapsible umbrella
• Swimwear
• Sunglasses and sunscreen
• Insect repellent
• Wash cloth – not all European hotels provide washcloths, so you may want to bring one along if you prefer them. A package of reusable cloth wipes is an excellent alternative
• Camera, lenses, batteries, memory cards and plenty of film
• Travel iron
• Tauck Bridges backpack
• Copies of your travel documents that should be secured in the safe in your hotel room while traveling

Elevation ― The maximum overnight elevation on this tour is approximately 170 ft (50 m) in Florence.

Health ― Italia Bella: Rome to Venice, though paced to accommodate all our guests, is nonetheless an active tour. You should be in good health and able to walk reasonable distances over uneven terrain, as some of the most memorable sightseeing can only be accomplished on foot. Italy is home to innumerable historic buildings and sites, some dating from antiquity. Therefore, roads, walkways and architecture will present difficulties for some guests with physical limitations. You will encounter cobblestone streets, narrow passageways, and some steep and winding staircases. There are several long walking tours ranging form 1½ hours in Venice to 4 hours in Vatican City. For the most part, however, the amount of walking you do at the various sites and towns is at your discretion.

We regret that we cannot provide you with individual assistance for walking, dining or other personal needs. If you need such assistance, you must be accompanied by an able companion who will help you.

Please check with your health insurance provider to determine whether you are covered while traveling. If you will not be covered under your current policy, we strongly suggest that you arrange for adequate coverage while on tour.

Please advise your Tauck Director on tour if you or the children traveling with you have any serious allergies. Also, adults may want to bring along children's aspirin or medicines as a precaution, as access to these may be limited.

If you have a medical condition which might limit your participation in activities, please consult your physician for pre-departure health advice and notify Tauck as soon as possible, if you have not already done so. We will advise your Tauck Director accordingly.

If you are a U.S. citizen, no vaccinations are currently required for travel to Italy. For complete vaccination and inoculation information, contact your physician, the public health service in your area, or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. The Travelers' Health Section of the CDC operates a 24-hour, prerecorded "Travelers' Health Hotline" at 877-394-8747 (toll-free in the U.S.). You may also log on to the CDC Internet website by clicking here.

If you are a citizen of another country, please check with an embassy or consulate of Italy to determine what vaccination(s) may be required for your travel.

Luggage Restrictions -

Checked Luggage – General

While it is common that airlines allow passengers to check more than one piece of luggage per person, space constraints during your Tauck journey make it difficult to accommodate extra luggage. We ask that you limit your checked luggage to one average size suitcase per person.

In addition, airlines have adopted stricter policies enforcing number, size and weight limits. Luggage exceeding maximum restrictions may require expensive overage fees, frustrating and hurried re-packing at the ticket counter, or even risk being left behind.

Many carriers require checked luggage not exceed a weight of 50 lbs (22.7 kg) per piece. Airlines revise luggage policies frequently and often without notice; therefore, Tauck cannot be held liable to the weight limit listed above. We urge you to check with your airline before traveling to determine current number, weight and size restrictions. It is also important to note that restrictions for luggage number, weight and size may vary with the same airline based on the class of service you select. First and Business Class ticket holders may have different restrictions than Coach Class travelers.

Tauck World Discovery cannot be held liable for additional fees or inconveniences imposed by the airline due to luggage number, weight or size policies.

Please be sure to attach your Tauck luggage tag to your suitcase before leaving home.

And don’t forget your Tauck Bridges backpack!

Carry-on Luggage - General

Although oversize bags and wheeled, carry-on luggage are popular for airline travel, they are often not convenient or appropriate for motor coach travel or for many on-tour flights. Most modern sightseeing motor coaches offer limited space for numerous or larger items. Space under seats or in the overhead rack is typically small, and designed to accommodate items like coats, hats, purses, and small camera bags, etc.

For your day-to-day travel while on tour, we recommend that you limit your hand luggage to a small, soft-sided carry-on piece, and only those items you need handy during the day such as purses, make-up, medications, cameras, film, etc. Items too large to fit under the motor coach seat or in the overhead rack must be stored in the luggage bays beneath the motor coach, and may not be accessible during daytime travel.

Travel Document Requirements ― If you are a U.S. citizen, you will need a valid passport to enter Italy; however, you do not need a visa for the short duration of this tour. Please note that longer stays abroad for any purpose may require additional travel documentation.

If you are a citizen of another country, you should contact an embassy or consulate of Italy to determine what travel documentation is required.

We strongly recommend that your passport be valid for six months beyond the completion of your tour. In addition, we recommend that you make at least two photocopies of all the travel documents that you bring with you. Include copies of the photo page of your passport that contains the date of issuance, date of expiration and your citizenship, as well as the front and back sides of your driver’s license. Secure one set of copies in the safe in your room while traveling and leave one set behind with someone at home who will assist you in the event your documents are misplaced, lost or stolen.

Travel with Children

Age Recommendations ― Children 3 years of age or older at the time of travel are welcome on this Tauck Bridges journey. Based upon our experience with family travelers, for each itinerary we have a minimum recommended age to encourage comfort and enjoyment for all of our guests. We recommend that children be 8 years of age or older to participate fully in all activities planned for this tour. All children must be accompanied on activities by a parent or guardian. At least one guest in the traveling party must be 21 years of age or older in order to make a reservation.

Babysitting ― Tauck Bridges journeys are designed for adults and children to share the wonder of discovery together. However, our guests have occasionally inquired about babysitting services. If you are interested, your Tauck Director will put you in contact with the appropriate hotel staff with whom you may make babysitting arrangements, to ensure your precise needs are met. There is usually an additional fee for these services. Many hotels do offer babysitting services that may be arranged on site; however, babysitting services are not guaranteed at all of our hotels. Please note that our Tauck Directors are not responsible for providing babysitting services.

Safety and Welfare Responsibility ― We welcome the participation of child travelers on our exciting excursions. If you are traveling with a child on a Tauck Bridges journey, you have the sole responsibility for ensuring that that the child with whom you are traveling follows all rules of safety throughout the tour. By traveling with Tauck Bridges, you release Tauck Bridges, Tauck, Inc. and our partners of all liability for any risks and/or injuries to the child with whom you are traveling.

Special Travel Documentation for Children

Authorization for Travel

If you travel into or out of the U.S. with children under the age of 18, you should be aware of the following: because of increasing incidents of child abductions in disputed custody cases and because children are at risk as possible victims of child pornography, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) strongly recommends that unless the child is accompanied by both parents, you should have a note from the child's other parent (or, in the case of a child traveling with grandparents, uncles or aunts, sisters or brothers, or friends, a note signed by both parents) stating that the parent(s) not traveling acknowledge that the parent(s), family members, etc. who are traveling into or out of the U.S. with the child have permission to do so.

CBP also suggests that this note be notarized. While CBP may not ask to see this documentation, if they do ask, and you do not have it, you may be detained until the circumstances of the child traveling without both parents can be fully assessed.

If there is no second parent with legal claims to the child (deceased, sole custody, etc.) any other relevant paperwork, such as a court decision, birth certificate naming only one parent, death certificate, etc., would be useful.

All children who are U.S. citizens should also have a certified copy of their birth certificate or baptism record for ID. Children over the age of 14 are also required to have a photo ID.

Many other countries also share this concern for children who travel without both parents. To ensure smooth travel, Tauck requires all guests to comply with the travel regulations of each country visited. This information is available from each country’s consulate.

Authorization for Emergency Medical Treatment

In the unlikely event of a medical emergency, a medical facility will require permission from the child’s parents to provide treatment. Therefore, we strongly suggest that you bring along a letter from both parents authorizing emergency medical treatment for their child.

Tauck is not responsible for the disruption of travel caused by improper documentation for any travelers, including children traveling without both parents. While there is no definitive format or standard for these letters, click here to view a sample letter for guardians or one parent traveling with a child.

Destination Information

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