Suggested Itinerary
Day 1 - Naples
Scheduled flight to Italy from your preferred airport – transfer with our tour manager in our private executive coach to the centrally located 4* Hotel Palazzo Alabardieri in Naples – dinner in the hotel.
Day 2 – Guided tour of Naples, Palazzo Reale, Teatrino di Corte & Museo Nazionale Archeologico
A morning day guided tour of Naples – begun by Domenico Fontana for the Spanish Viceroys in 1600, a guided tour of the Palazzo Reale reveals great halls filled with furniture, tapestries, paintings and porcelain – Teatrino di Corte was designed by Ferdinando Fuga to celebrate the marriage of Maria Carolina of Hapsburg to Ferdinand IV in 1768 – widely acknowledged as one of the world’s most important archaeological museums, a guided tour of the Museo Nazionale Archeologico explores not only many wonderful artefacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum, but also the fabulous Farnese collections containing classical sculpture which Charles of Bourbon inherited from his mother Elizabeth.
Day 3 – Herculaneum & Oplontis
Destroyed with Pompeii in the eruption of Vesuvius, a guided tour of Herculaneum explores the remains of a town built for the enjoyment of sea breezes and views across the Bay of Naples that was home to an array of sprawling villas owned by wealthy patricians – continue to Oplontis, also destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius, for a guided tour of the excellently preserved architecture and decorations at Villa Poppaea, the home of Nero’s wife and his family.
Day 4 – Pio Monte della Misericordia, Gallery of Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Duomo of San Gennaro & Cappella Sansevero
A full day in Naples begins at the 17th century octagonal church of Pio Monte della Misericordia which is home to Caravaggio’s impressive ‘Seven Acts of Mercy’ – continue to the Gallery of Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano to see Caravaggio’s ‘The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula’, thought to be his last painting – visit the Duomo of San Gennaro, built between 1294 and 1323 – sculptures in the Baroque Cappella Sansevero include Giuseppe Sanmartino's ‘Cristo velato’ (Veiled Christ), Francesco Queirolo's ‘Disinganno’ (Disillusion) and Antonio Corradini's ‘Pudicizia’ (Modesty).
Day 5 – Island of Ischia & Giardini la Mortella
Transfer by coach to the Port of Naples for our hydrofoil crossing to the Island of Ischia, the largest island in the Bay of Naples and our guided tour on arrival takes in the old town – this afternoon we visit Giardini la Mortella, the spectacular subtropical and Mediterranean garden developed since 1956 by the late Susana Walton, Argentinian wife of the British composer Sir William Walton – return by hydrofoil to Naples and our hotel.
Day 6 – Naples
Morning free at leisure before our transfer to your preferred airport for our scheduled flight home.
Tour Features
4* Naples hotel
All excursions & guided tours included
Welcome dinner
Professional tour manager
Scheduled flights to Italy
Return hydrofoil to Ischia
Executive coach in Italy
One free place per 10 paying passengers
Naples - guided tour
Palazzo Reale
Teatrino di Corte
Museo Nazionale Archeologico - guided tour
Herculaneum - guided tour
Oplontis - guided tour
Pio Monte della Misericordia
Gallery of Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano
Duomo of San Gennaro
Cappella Sansevero
Island of Ischia - guided tour
Giardini la Mortella
Hotel
Five nights at the centrally located 4* Hotel Palazzo Alabardieri in Naples. Located just a short distance from the Piazza del Plebiscito, facilities at the hotel include a restaurant and a bar and all rooms are en suite. Dinner is included the first night and the remaining four nights are on bed and breakfast basis.
Tailor-make this tour
Your tailor made tour
Here are some more suggested places of interest:
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Museo di Capodimonte - housed in a palazzo built in 1738 by the Bourbon King Charles III and home to a magnificent collection of Italian paintings with works by Titian, Botticelli, Perugino, Raphael and Sebastiano del Piombo
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Catacomba di San Gennaro - became a Christian pilgrimage site when San Gennaro's body was interred here in the 5th century and its treasures include 2nd century Christian frescoes and 5th century mosaics
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Certosa e Museo di San Martino - founded as a Carthusian monastery in the 14th century, this charterhouse has been decorated, adorned and altered over the centuries by the likes of Giovanni Antonio Dosio in the 16th century and Baroque master Cosimo Fanzago a century later
- Underground Greek-Roman remains at San Lorenzo Maggiore - remains of the Greek meeting place and marketplace, known as the Agora, and a Roman food market or ‘Macellum’
Tour Reviews
Reviews for The History & Art of Naples, Herculaneum & the Island of Ischia
Date of tour: March 2024
Now that I have settled back into the cold and the wet, I wanted to thank you for all your help in putting together our very successful holiday to Naples last week. Everyone enjoyed it from the hotel to the marvellous Eliana. Helped by the near perfect weather and the help from Giovanni as well. Again thank you for your guidance and help, we shall have to think of where to go next.
KO, Malmesbury
Everything was wonderful. I had visited Naples with my husband many years ago, staying with friends which had been most interesting, but Tom brought to us the wonder of the structure of Naples and its history: the building of palaces and grand churches through the centuries. Peter brought us the great history of music in Naples, through the period of Naples' pomp. We had, in addition, the great privilege of him playing on piano, harpsichords and finally a wonderful organ in the Jesuit church. Thank you for what was a wonderful experience with both Peter and Tom giving us their respective encyclopedic knowledge: your hard work on our behalf really gave me a trip I will not forget.
Joanna F
Date of tour: May 2016
Every one of the 30 travellers thoroughly enjoyed the trip and I have received letters and emails from 23 people saying just that. The hotel was in a perfect position on the sea front and they did allocate good rooms to us all. Sitting having the excellent buffet breakfast looking out at the Bay of Naples with Capri in the distance was always a pleasure. The rooms, public rooms, bar, dining room, lifts etc and the staff were all great. Very good choice – thank you. Our guide Fiorella greeted us with a broad smile at Naples Airport, where the transfer went smoothly with a VERY quick luggage retrieval, which was impressive. She gave us some information and a mini guided tour on the way to the hotel which was helpful. She proved to be a complete joy as a guide and as a person. She is extremely knowledgeable, hugely enthusiastic about Naples and all things Neapolitan, attractive, charming and with a great sense of humour. She also has a lot of empathy in sensing when people are tiring and possibly need a break. We all realised we had hit the jackpot having her for our visit – so a very big THANK YOU from us all. (I hope you managed to pass on my letter to Fiorella). The food in the hotel was generally good as we had a tasty buffet dinner on the night we arrived and breakfasts were always excellent. The itinerary was well thought out and just right to have the day on Ischia and another at Herculaneum when, luckily, the weather was perfect – sunny but not too hot. The only day of rain was when we were in the Museum. La Mortella was a delight and I think we were all sad that it was not possible to spend more time there. Thanks for arranging the tea/coffee snack in the cafe, which was very pleasant. Also the concert goers were grateful for a longer time to change/eat before the show – Vengerov did us proud by finishing with 4 encores – all well known pieces. Changing the homeward journey to an earlier time was very helpful.
All in all Tailored Travel did us proud – thank you.
SA, London
Date of tour: May 2016
Thank you for all your hard work in arranging the Naples trip. I think without exception that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the trip with the right mixture of culture and other interests. The hotel location was wonderful and we all relished sitting having breakfast looking out over the Bay of Naples with Capri rising like Bali Hi in the distance. Being within walking distance of the opera house etc. was a bonus. Also, the hotel did us proud in the room allocations, so WELL DONE. Our guide, Fiorella, was superb and jewel to be cherished. She absolutely MADE the visit being very knowledgeable, enthusiastic, charming, great sense of humour and quick to see when we were flagging. We were very lucky to have her so a very big THANK YOU from us all. The days at Herculaneum and on Ischia were brilliant – and the sun shone throughout.
SA, London
Call us on
020 7064 4970
to tailor this tour
for your group
Tailor make your group tour
Remember this itinerary is just our suggestion. Tailor make this tour exclusively for your group to suit your members’ budget or preferences. You could:
- stay at a 3* hotel
- with more dinners included
- for more (or fewer) days
- include different excursions – see ‘Tailor-make this tour’ tab for suggestions
- include UK airport coach transfers
- bring a specialist lecturer
- include all entrance fees & gratuities
Call us on
020 7064 4970
to tailor make the perfect tour
for your group
