The Traveling Professor runs several small group tours to Italy every year.   We go to Rome, Florence, the Amalfi Coast, and Venice.  We even do tours to The Veneto region which encompasses Padua, Verona, Vicenza, and Lake Garda.   Travelers complain that Italy has become too touristy, too crowded, and too expensive.   Listen to what I say about making your trip to Italy more pleasant.

We just returned yesterday morning from a 2-week tour with nine travelers.  We did our "Grand Tour" of Italy to include Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Florence, and Venice.  We saw the great sites of Italy, ate some delicious meals, but the best thing about our tour were the friendships we made.  Check out the blog post for a quick overview to see what our ambitious small group did in Italy, where we stayed, and what we ate.

The Traveling Professor is off on a "Grand Italy Tour" with 9 travelers.  We will tour Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Florence and Venice.  The weather should be terrific this time of year and we are looking forward to another great small group tour of Italy.  In the blog post, I have published our ambitious and exciting Italy itinerary.

Because of the strong dollar and The Professor's business relationships with some of the best hotels on the Amalfi Coast and Florence, luxury Italy is back at bargain prices.   Here's the opportunity to stay at the super-luxury Grand Excelsior Vittoria in Sorrento while we visit Capri, Positano, Ravello and the Amalfi Coast.   Then we go up to Florence for a few days at the spacious and centrally located Guelfo Bianco, just steps away from Michelangelo's David.    And if that's not enough, we have a TOP hotel for you in Venice on an optional 4-day extension.   Read more to get the details on The Traveling Professor's luxury tour to Italy. 

Florence is one of the most popular stops on The Traveling Professor's tours to Italy.   One of the big draws to Florence are the multitude of dining options scattered all about the city.  When we travel to Italy, we like to eat at top-quality spots without breaking the budget.  Take a look at my blog post to see my selections for the best places to eat in Florence.

I'm back from my tour to Italy that included visits to Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Florence, the Tuscan hill towns of Monterrigioni an Castellina, and Venice.    We had a small group tour of about 12 travelers, from all over the United States and Canada join us.  The weather was unpredictably cool, but delightful.  In our two weeks in Italy, we only experienced one day of inclement weather and even that day was not so bad.   Read the blog post to find out more about our tour to Italy.

I got back late last night from leading another small group tour to Italy.  We visited Florence, Padua, Verona, Venice, Vicenza then headed down to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast for a few days.   We traveled with as many as 12 adults and as few as six.  The weather was terrific, the food was out of this world, the places we visited were glorious and the friendships we made will last for a long time.   Read my blog post and find out the highlights of our tour of Italy.

The Traveling Professor goes to Italy about 4 times a year with his small groups of about 12 travelers and The Professor travels there an additional one or two times a year, strictly for research of course, LOL!   The Professor is constantly searching for the best places to eat.   In this blog post, take a look at his picks for the best places to eat in Florence Italy.

Let's face it, traveling to places like Rome, Florence and Venice, one can expect big crowds.   On our small group tours to Italy we have seen lines hours long into places like the Colosseum and the Basilica in Venice.   The tourist push to see sites like David in the Accademia in Florence or the Uffizi Gallery can be unbelievable.  Even on The Traveling Professor's Tours to Italy much of our itinerary planning is done with crowd avoidance in mind.  In today's blog post I will give advice on how to beat the crowds in places like Rome, Florence, and Venice.   Hopefully, with these tips in mind a tour to Italy will be more enjoyable for you.

Our small group tour to Italy arrived in Florence on Tuesday night and it has been a great success.  We are preparing to leave this morning to travel to Venice by high-speed train.  I am sure on our adventure to Venice we will be talking about all we saw in Florence including our countryside wine tour, all the great sites of Florence including the Duomo, the frescoes, the artisan's workshops, the great Italian art, and the wonderful scenery and history of Renaissance Florence, Italy.   Please see the blog post to view our photos and comments on this wonderful small group tour to Italy.