Lead-in price per person, based on two sharing. Tap any month and we’ll confirm live availability and the best price for your dates.
From prices are per person, based on two people sharing. What you pay depends on your travel dates, how many nights you want, your departure airport and anything you add — tell us what you need and a UK specialist will confirm your price. ATOL 10713 protected.
A holiday to Italy costs from £359 per person, based on two people sharing. That covers 9 nights and return flights from London. January 2027 is the cheapest departure currently on sale. Secure it with £99pp and pay the balance nearer the time. Every holiday we sell is ATOL 10713 protected.
Nine nights exploring Italy with return flights from London and 4★ accommodation. The tour is built around Venice’s canals and gondola culture, and scenic high-speed rail journeys across Italy. ATOL protection under licence 10713 applies and a £99 per person deposit holds it. January is the cheapest month to travel and July the dearest, with the shoulder months either side giving you the best of both. The cities beyond Venice, how the nine nights divide between them, the hotels, the rail sectors and your meal arrangement are all set with you and confirmed in writing before you pay.
It is a rail tour of Italy built around your dates rather than a fixed coach route, and that is the single thing to understand before you book.
Venice is on every version of it, and the movement between cities is by high-speed train — which in Italy means city centre to city centre in one to three hours, with no airports and no check-in queues.
The rest of the route is yours. Which cities you add, how the nine nights divide between them, which hotels you stay in and what is covered at mealtimes are all set with you and confirmed in writing before you pay anything beyond the deposit.
Tell us what you want out of Italy when you enquire — Renaissance art, Roman archaeology, food, the lakes, or a first visit that takes in the headline cities — and we will build the route around that. If you would rather take a tour with its cities named up front, our 12-night Ultimate Italy Tour covers Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan from £799.
It is the longest trip in our Italian range for the lowest nightly cost, and it is the one to take if time matters more to you than a fixed itinerary.
Across the range the lead-in prices run: four nights in Naples and the Amalfi Coast, four nights in Rome and Florence, nine nights on this tour, six nights across Milan, Lake Como and Venice, and twelve nights on the Ultimate Italy Tour.
At £359 for nine nights this is comfortably the most nights per pound we sell in Italy. The trade is that the shorter trips fix their cities in advance and this one is built around you — which suits some travellers exactly and others not at all.
If you would rather know the route before you book, the 12-night Ultimate Italy Tour names Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan and starts at £799 per person. Prefer the time and are happy to shape the itinerary with us? This is the better value by a distance.
January if price decides. On an Italian city and rail itinerary that is a genuine recommendation rather than a compromise.
Italy’s headline sights are indoors or queued for outside — galleries, churches, museums, palaces. In winter those queues largely vanish. The trade is cold and shorter days, not a closed destination.
| Month | Worth knowing |
|---|---|
| January 2027 | Cheapest; cold, galleries empty |
| February 2027 | Venice Carnival falls here |
| November | Mild, quiet, good light |
| December | Christmas markets, quiet midweek |
| October | Arguably the best month of the year |
| March 2027 | Spring, lengthening days |
| May | Warm, before the crowds build |
| June | Hot and filling up |
| September | Warm and easing off |
| August | Very hot; cities partly shut |
| July | Dearest, hottest, busiest |
October is the best month overall — comfortable for the amount of walking a nine-night tour involves, and well below the summer prices.
This tour has the widest calendar of any of our Italian holidays, running through to March. If your dates are awkward, this is the Italian itinerary most likely to have them.
Venice is on every version of this route. St Mark’s Square and the Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, the Rialto and the Grand Canal are the set pieces, and the gondola culture is part of what the tour is built around. The real pleasure is the back lanes away from the main route.
The trains are the other confirmed element, and in Italy they are genuinely a pleasure rather than a chore. The high-speed network links the major cities city-centre to city-centre in one to three hours, with no airports and no check-in.
Nine nights is a real amount of time by Italian standards. Our four-night breaks give you two nights in each of two cities. This gives more than double that, which is the difference between seeing a place and spending time in it.
Italy rewards a longer trip more than most European countries, because the distances between its great cities are short and the trains are fast. Nine nights lets you add a smaller place — Bologna, Verona, Siena — between the headline stops, which is where most people find the trip they actually remember.
It also means you are not sightseeing every day. A long lunch, an afternoon with no plan and a second visit to a gallery you liked are what nine nights buys over four, and they are worth more than another cathedral.
Italian trains reward a little planning. The high-speed services between the major cities are booked to a seat and sell cheaper further out, while regional trains are turn-up-and-go. Knowing which you are on saves both money and a platform scramble.
All quoted at enquiry against your dates.
Flights are from London, between two and three hours depending on the airport, with regional UK airports at a supplement confirmed at enquiry. Italy is one hour ahead of the UK.
Movement between cities is by high-speed train. How many sectors your route includes, and between which cities, is set with you and confirmed in writing before you pay.
Italy’s high-speed network is one of the best in Europe. Rome to Florence is around an hour and a half, Florence to Venice around two, Venice to Milan around two and a half — all city centre to city centre. Local and regional trains are slower and require ticket validation before boarding.
Checked against GOV.UK foreign travel advice on 17 September 2026.
Italy is in the Schengen area, so British passport holders need no visa for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Your passport must have been issued within the last 10 years of your arrival date and be valid at least three months after you leave. A passport renewed early before October 2018 may carry months that no longer count.
The EU’s biometric Entry/Exit System is rolling out, replacing passport stamps with fingerprints and a photograph on your first crossing. It is free, lasts three years and speeds up later trips. ETIAS is not currently required.
The city tourist tax is charged per person per night at each hotel, in every Italian city, and is not in the package price. On a multi-city tour you pay it repeatedly at different rates.
Validate regional train tickets before boarding, using the platform machines. High-speed services booked to a seat need no validation, but regional ones do and fines are issued on the spot.
Book timed entries before you fly. The Uffizi, the Accademia, the Vatican and the Doge’s Palace all sell slots and none is included here.
Dress codes are enforced at major churches — shoulders and knees covered, and they turn people away at the door.
Pack light. A nine-night rail tour means handling your own luggage on station platforms and, in Venice, over bridges.
Your booking is covered by our ATOL licence 10713 and we hold IATA accreditation 91285611. It is held with a deposit of £99 per person, with the balance due before travel.
Prices are per person, based on two people sharing. October is the best month for a tour with this much walking. Whatever month you choose, ask us for the full itinerary in writing before you pay — on this tour that matters more than on any other Italian holiday we sell.
From £359 per person, reduced from £460, for nine nights with return London flights and 4★ accommodation. January is cheapest and July dearest — the widest monthly spread of any of our Italian holidays.
Venice is on every version of the route, and the tour moves between cities by high-speed rail. Which other cities you take in is built around what you want from Italy, and we confirm your full itinerary in writing before you pay.
This is the most nights per pound we sell in Italy — nine nights, against six nights and a four-night break. The trade is that the shorter trips fix their cities in advance and this one is shaped with you.
Be curious rather than worried, and ask for the itinerary in writing before you pay. If what we confirm looks right for what you want, the price is the price and it is a good one. If it does not, we will point you to a better-fitting Italian holiday.
We set the split with you rather than fixing it in advance — that is how a tailor-made itinerary works. Tell us your priorities when you enquire and we will confirm the exact plan in writing before you pay.
The tour uses 4★ hotels throughout and we confirm the exact properties in writing before you pay. In Venice the islands-versus-mainland question matters most — say which you would prefer when you enquire and we will price it.
Your meal arrangement is confirmed in writing before you pay, at every hotel on the route. Tell us what you would like when you enquire — on a nine-night tour, breakfast included is usually worth having and we will price it either way.
Movement between cities is by high-speed train across Italy. How many sectors are included, and between which cities, is confirmed at enquiry along with the rest of the itinerary.
October — comfortable for the amount of walking a nine-night tour involves and well below the summer prices. January is cheapest and, on an Italian gallery and rail itinerary, a genuine recommendation rather than a compromise.
Yes, for this kind of trip. Italy's headline sights are indoors or queued for outside, and in winter those queues largely vanish. The trade is cold and shorter days rather than a closed destination. Pack a proper coat and good shoes.
Yes, and this tour runs furthest into 2027 of any Italian holiday we sell — January, February and March. If your dates are awkward, this is the Italian itinerary most likely to have them available.
It is a real amount of time by our range's standards. Our four-night breaks give two nights in each of two cities. Nine gives more than double that, which is the difference between seeing places and spending time in them.
St Mark's Square and the Basilica, the Doge's Palace, the Rialto and the Grand Canal are the set pieces, and gondola culture is part of what the tour is built around. The back lanes away from the main route are the better part of the city.
No. Italy is in the Schengen area and British passport holders can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Your passport must have been issued within the last 10 years of your arrival date and be valid three months after you leave. Checked against GOV.UK on 17 September 2026.
Yes, charged per person per night at each hotel in every Italian city and payable locally rather than in the package price. On a multi-city tour you pay it repeatedly, at rates each city sets separately.
On regional trains, yes — use the platform machines before boarding. High-speed services booked to a seat need no validation. Fines are issued on the spot and being a visitor is not accepted as a reason, so it is worth getting right.
No. The Uffizi, Accademia, Vatican and Doge's Palace all charge separately and all sell timed slots. Book before you fly — it is the single practical thing that most changes how an Italian trip feels, and none of it is in the package.
As little as you can manage. A nine-night rail tour means handling your own case on station platforms and, in Venice, carrying it over bridges. A small case is far easier than a large one on this kind of itinerary.
The Ultimate Italy Tour names its cities — Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan — across twelve nights from £799. This is nine nights with the itinerary confirmed at enquiry. If you need to know the route before booking, take the other one.
It is built for first-time Italy travellers and culture lovers, and nine nights is a sensible length for a first visit. Just get the itinerary confirmed in writing first so you know which Italy you are seeing.
Ninety-nine pounds per person, with the balance due before travel. The holiday is ATOL 10713 protected and we hold IATA accreditation 91285611. Prices are per person, based on two people sharing.
Contact us before you fix anything, because on this tour the itinerary needs confirming first rather than the dates. Once you know what is included, the winter and early-spring months hold availability well and the summer ones do not.
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