Milan, Florence, and Rome Itineraries & Tour Packages

My husband and I just returned from a two-week vacation in Italy. With the help of Zicasso and our travel company, we were able to fit every wish into this short time.

We started out in Rome, then went on to Florence for some amazing history. We then traveled to the Tuscany and Chianti countryside for private cooking and wine experiences. We loved the small villages we explored and the little family-owned wineries and olive farms.

A highlight was staying in a bed and breakfast in Ponzano that overlooked the beautiful olive gardens and countryside. We explored the small villages of San Gimignano, Montepulciano, and Montalcino, and felt like we had discovered authentic local life.

The tail of our trip was spent in the beautiful Lake Como area, with a day trip to Lugano, Switzerland.

THE BEST VACATION EVER!!!!

I must admit that I was somewhat uncomfortable arranging a group tour to Italy with someone I communicated with only via the Internet and telephone.  However, after my first communication with our agent -- I knew that she “had it.”  She understood exactly what we wanted to do.  She was right-on in both concept and execution.

Our ten-day adventure in Italy began with a private transfer with an English speaking local driver from the Rome airport to our fantastic 3 star boutique hotel located right in the historical center of Rome.  During our three days in Rome, we had fantastic private tours of Ancient Rome, the Coliseum, and the Vatican Museums.  Extremely knowledgeable, English-speaking guides led all of our tours.  Sense of Italy had arranged for VIP, skip the line, priority entrance for all tours -- saving us from long waits in long lines.

After our busy 3 days in Rome, we departed via private van transfer from our hotel in Rome to the Chianti Region of Tuscany.  The transfer included stops on the Val D’ Orcia to visit the amazing Villages of Montalcino and Montepulciano.  The “light lunch” and wine tasting we enjoyed in Montalcino was one of the highlights of our trip.  In Tuscany we stayed 7 Nights in a beautiful, historic villa located on one of the best wine estates of Chianti (Villa Le Corti near San Casciano) where we were met with a fantastic welcome dinner. During our time in Tuscany we were transported by private van from our villa to private tours of Siena, San Gimignano, Florence, Pisa and Lucca.  On each of our stops we were met by knowledgeable English speaking guides that clearly were proud of the history of their country, and were anxious to share it.  Interspersed in all of this activity were numerous exceptional meals with opportunities to taste (and drink) very fine Italian wines.

When we finally were forced to leave Italy, our agent arranged for private transport accommodating our varying departure times from the Florence airport and train station.

Thanks to this travel company and our agent for designing the perfect vacation for our group.  The only complaint that I heard was that we ate too much — wow was all the food delicious.  I really don’t know how she did it.  All of the tours were great — the van drivers friendly and helpful, the guides knowledgeable, and the sites spectacular.  Our stay in the villa was a great experience.  We were treated royally everywhere.  We all marveled at our agent's ability to get us, the vans, the guides, the food and wine, etc. all at the right place at the right time.  She is a genius!!!!

Jeff E

When we started planning our trip to Italy, I knew I wanted to work with a travel agent—specifically, someone who specialized in Italy and was based there. After reaching out to several agencies and reviewing their responses, we chose Zicasso and, more specifically, our travel agent. She is based in Milan and from my very first interaction with her, I knew we had made the right choice.

Our trip could not have been more perfect. Our agent put a lot of thought into every location and planned activity. At the outset, we had a few discussions with her about what we wanted from the trip and, after that, we were happy to leave most of the details in her capable hands. Our goal was to explore mid-to-northern Italy and everything—from the hotels and tours to the free time and transportation—was beautifully organized.

Our 11-night trip started in Milan and ended in Florence, with overnight stays in Milan (one night), Lake Como (three nights), Venice (three nights), and Florence (four nights). Initially, I was hesitant about staying at Lake Como for three nights, but our agent encouraged me to do a little research. I’m so glad she did, as it turned out to be incredible. We had more self-guided time at Lake Como, which was perfect as we adjusted to the time change. In Venice, our itinerary became more structured, but we still had plenty of time for our own explorations. By the time we reached Florence, we had activities and tours planned for every day, which was just what we wanted.

A highlight for my family was a full-day trip into Tuscany, where we visited San Gimignano, an organic vineyard in Chianti, and finished with a tour of Siena. Our day trip to Rome allowed us to see the main attractions and we concluded the journey with a tour of Florence and the Accademia Gallery. Every tour our agent arranged was spot on.

Throughout our trip, she was wonderfully communicative—always available when we had questions, but never intrusive. She even helped us with a couple of last-minute requests: booking a hotel in Milan for one night and arranging train tickets to Verona for an impromptu visit to Juliet’s balcony. Whenever we needed something, she was there.

When we return to explore the mid-to-southern part of Italy, there’s no question that we’ll be asking her to plan our trip again. I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a seamless, thoughtfully curated Italian adventure.

When we inquired about a trip on Zicasso, they told us a few companies would reach out to us with different offers on our desired location. It only took one reply back from this agent for me to know that we would have a more personable experience with this travel agency. (Mainly because he was straight up with us concerning itinerary ideas, especially regarding weather and how it is unpredictable in March. He patiently worked with my fiance and me for quite a while before we approved the final itinerary filled with transportation to and from hotels, private tours (some meant to be small group, but we ended up being only ones), and pre-planned relaxing train-rides. There wasn’t a moment of our trip that we had to worry or even think about- really. Our first stop was Rome, where we spent 3 days. Upon arrival at the airport in Rome, we had a driver waiting for us, which was a huge relief since we were tired and last thing we wanted to stress about was how to get to our hotel. Our local point-of-contact for the agency also called once we arrived to make sure we had everything we needed. He was great! Once we reached our hotel, we slept off the jet-lag and then our holiday started. March is the early beginning of the tourist season, so we were able to do many things without waiting. Not saying it was empty, but we had room on the sidewalks and were in and out of restaurants in no time at all. I also highly recommend planning free days in each city, as you will want to look around for yourself and take your time in certain parts. Even if you spend a week in every city, you always leave feeling like you needed much more time, as there is so much to do and so little time in a day. We spent 3 days/4 nights in Florence. It was in Florence that we were able to easily tour a good bit of what Tuscany has to offer. Through tours our agent set up for us, we visited the beautiful cities of Siena, San Gimignano (Our Favorite), Lucca, Pisa, and the Chianti Region. We tasted sooooo many wonderful wines and privately ate at local restaurants for lunch. We also took a short train ride to Venice for a day trip, as I craved a gondola ride. Everything was planned so perfectly. The minute we stepped off the train in Venezia our guide to get us to our marked location was there with a water taxi to take us to St Mark’s Square. There, she directed us to our gondola and we spent the day wondering around Venice until meeting up back with her and the water taxi to take us back to the train station. After Florence, we traveled to Sorrento (our other favorite!) along the Amalfi Coast. It was magical and the weather was perfect. We had our own boat to visit the grottos (no wait for the Blue Grotto either!) and to the Isle of Capri; and although most of the shops were closed on the isle (early season still), it was beautiful and we were able to relax on the beach. We saw Pompeii and even hiked up Mount Vesuvius. Sorrento was a quaint and charming city and we made friends with quite a few locals. We truly had a wonderful honeymoon and I would recommend this agency to everyone. We could not be happier!

Thanks for helping me organize my family (of 10 with diverse age from 15 to 63) trip to Italy, from Dec 17 to Dec 31. Whilst different member of my family have different expectation and requirement, I would like to comment you and your team on having planned an excellent trip that not only met each and everyone's interest and expectation but truly exceeded it.

Your planning have brought us to the lovely cities of Parma, Modena, Florence, Orvieto, Civita Di Bagnoregio, Naples, Rome, Venice, Cortina d'Amprezzo and back to our starting point Milan. Throughout the trip, we have a well balance itinerary that covered

- beautiful churches such as the Duomo in Milan, Rome, Florence,

- archeological site like Pompeii, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, Pisa, Verona (learning more about romeo and Juliet)

- great local eating places (recommended by the guides you chose)

- lovely country side and unique sight in San Gimignano, Civita Di Bagnoregio, Orvieto, Lake Como,

- great gallery likes Uffizi, Academia

- Interesting activity such as Snow Mobile excursion in Cortina, Learning Cooking 

- Shopping activities

With so much, yet your team immaculate planning never have us rushing from sight to sight, we were both able to enjoy and learn as much as we can of each sight and at times added more activities.

The team of guides you chose, have truly turn stone and history into exciting stories that the provided the group deeper understanding of the sights we visited and saw. Really like to thank each on of them like our guides in Florence, Pisa, San Gimignano, Orvieto and Civita Di Bagnoregio, Naples and Pompeii, Rome, Verona, Venice and Milan.

But most importantly, thank you for getting our driver, he truly ensure our comfort whilst driving steadily through jams on our way to Naple and snow storm on our way to Cortina d Amprezzo and also took very good care of us ensuring we know what to do where we have no guides and leaving us clear instruction when we needed help. He is truly a wonder.

I will definitely tell my friends heading to Italy about this company.... A wonderfully great experience.

We took this trip last year, and I realized when I came back to Zicasso to plan our next trip that I had never posted a review.

This was a 25th anniversary trip for my husband and me. We splurged on this trip. We wanted something special. We were overwhelmed by a trip that not only met, but far exceeded our expectations. Our Italy travel agent planned every detail and stayed in contact with us throughout our travels. She gave us a flip phone and called us shortly after we reached each destination to make sure everything was to our liking. And when we did run into a slight problem with our gondola ride in Venice, I was able to get in touch with our agent on a Sunday, and she took care of it immediately. Every driver and tour guide she set us up with was professional and well-informed about their part of the country. And they all spoke English very well. We felt pampered every step of the way.

Even with 2 weeks to spend in Italy, it felt like a whirlwind trip. Our agent managed to fit in everything we wanted to see and do and some things we hadn't even known we wanted:  A gondola ride and a tour of St. Mark's in Venice; a guided trip to the Accademia to see the statue of David and to the Uffizi Gallery, as well as time to walk across the Ponte Vecchio in Florence; wine tasting in Tuscany, not only of Chianti but also Brunello di Montalcino (what a treat); visits to Siena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, and others in the area; a guided tour of Pompeii; visits to Amalfi, Ravello, and an inland winery near the Amalfi coast; a private cooking class; guided tours of the Colosseum, the Forum, the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica.

My husband and I would wholeheartedly recommend this agent and her travel company to anyone who is planning a trip to Italy.