Vernazza Cinque Terre

Tours and Holiday Packages to Italy

Italy Touring are a dedicated tour company specialising in escorted, semi escorted and independent travel to Italy.

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Ciao Everyone
With our 2024 tours starting to book already, we can see it is going to be another busy year of travel to Italy!  Popular destinations like Puglia and Sicily which have a high demand are already booking fast. Click here to explore some of our new Italy tours for 2024, hand selected from the very best Travel Suppliers and Partners. More tours will be added over the next couple of months so come back and view them again soon or reach out so we can contact directly to ensure you hear about them first!
We would love for you to experience Italy’s most sensational destinations and discover the wonderful food & wine, exquisite scenery and breathtaking architecture that Italy has to offer.
From exploring the Mediterranean coastline to discovering the ancient wonders of Rome, our expertly selected tours represent our passion for Italian adventure. We are a family owned business who live and breathe Italian travel. We regularly visit Italy to uncover some of the country’s best kept secrets and deliver this magic in a way that no other tour operator can offer. 
Owners Andrew and Angela have recently led another small group tour around Sicily, and working with our local suppliers and partners, Italy Touring offers a range of tour options to Sicily for you to have a look at if Sicily is on your list of destinations to visit.  
With an extensive range of selected escorted, semi-escorted, small group and day tours, as well as thoughtfully curated independent travel itineraries & luxury travel, our holiday packages are sure to have something on offer for everyone.
Get in touch with us today to start planning your Italian Journey!

Featured Tours

Favignana

13 Days

Sicily Small Group Tour- Palermo to Taormina 2024

Join us on this carefully crafted tour of Sicily for an immersion into the history , culture, and highlights of this unique destination.

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7 Days

7

Best of Puglia Tour 2024

Experience Puglia in 2024 with this carefully curated tour, showcasing the very best that Puglia has to offer.

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8 Days

Sicilian Carousel Tour 2024

A carefully curated tour program which combines the incredible history alongside the beauty of the culture and cuisine.

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Let us help you discover the diversity of Italy

Italy, a country with a rich culture and history, each region different to the next.

Breathtaking scenery, stunning architecture, wonderful food and wine, superb shopping from top brands to local markets, art galleries and museums amongst the best in the world, and the Italian way of life!

As a dedicated Italy specialist, Italy Touring has selected a range of tours from local suppliers to best enable you to truly enjoy your visit to this country. We have chosen a range of tours that cover the must see highlights and regions of Italy, as well as a few tours to lesser known but equally interesting parts of Italy.

Our focus is Italy and we hope to share the wonders of this country when you arrange your travel with Italy Touring.

Vatican Italy Touring

Language Italian

Religion Catholic

Italy Population 61 Million

Founded 735BC.

Andrew & Angela Geils

Founding Directors, Italy Touring

Andrew & Angela Geils

My passion for Italy started some 15 years ago when our family travelled to this wonderful country.

From the amazing city of Rome, a “walking museum”, to the island of Sicily with its Greek and Arab influences to the walled city of Bergamo in the north, to Florence and magical Venice and so much more. Its people, food, culture and style left a lasting impression.

Very recently we visited Puglia , taking in the whitewashed villages and stunning coastline, Trulli houses and ancient olive groves as well as the amazing town of Matera with its labyrinth of streets with ancient stone cave dwellings. We have also travelled to the far north at Lake Garda, visiting the Lake districts, driving through Tuscany and Umbria, Naples and numerous places in between.

“My passion for Italy started some 15 years ago when our family travelled to this wonderful country.”

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Complete the form to enquire about our tours and to make bookings. One of our friendly staff will get back to you as soon as possible!

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

When is the best time to visit Italy?

April/May and September/October are great times to visit Italy. The weather is still nice but temperate in comparison to the hotter summer months and there are fewer tourists. Because of this, both flights and hotels are often cheaper across these seasons. Summer (mid-June through August) is considered Italy’s peak tourist season – flights and hotels across these months will typically be more expensive and tourist locations will be more crowded. If you’re into skiing, the best time to hit the slopes is roughly late November to late April, but the season can vary depending on the level of snowfall.

There’s no set formula for the best way to cover a country in a limited amount of time. Everybody has different preferences for the way they travel and what works for one person may not work for another. Italy offers so much for us travellers to explore and it can be difficult to find a balance between staying long enough in each location and checking off all the items on your bucket list. We often recommend that you make a list of the top regions, cities or attractions you’d like to see. Plan your itinerary using that list and don’t be afraid to drop items if you think you’re trying to cover too much – there’s always next year! It can also be a good option to consider an organised tour. If you haven’t traveled to Italy before, joining up with an escorted tour or group tour is the best way to see the main highlights. Specialised tour operators know the top locations, best restaurants, and can take the hassle out of your trip, meaning that you can focus on what matters – enjoying yourself! Remember, you don’t have to exclusively travel by escorted tour, it makes for a great holiday if you combine an escorted tour with some independent travel.

Compared to Australia, Italy is not a particularly expensive place to eat out. If you decide to take a seat at a restaurant, it is likely that you will be asked to pay a ‘pane e coperto’ which translates to a ‘bread and tableware’ charge. This charge usually starts at around 3 euros and can add a significant sum to the bill. Being offered water or antipasto is not free and will appear on the bill. If you’re looking to save money, and have a more authentic dining experience, avoid eating near popular tourist attractions. Tourists unwittingly pay extra due to confusion over what constitutes normal pricing and lack of adjustment to the local currency. This, coupled with higher rent and less authentic food, can make for an expensive and sometimes bland meal. Even just travelling one street away from popular tourist attractions can provide a much more affordable and authentic meal.

It’s a well-known fact that Italy offers some of the best food in the world. Italian cuisine is popular in many western countries, and for good reason! The best piece of advice we can give you is to eat regional specialties. If you’re in Rome try to avoid having a Florentine steak. If you’re in Bologna try some of their famous tortellini. Here are some of our favourite meals and their accompanying regions:

– Florentine steak – Florence
– Ribollita – Tuscany
– Polenta – Northern/Central regions
– Ossobuco – Milan
– Risotto – Lombardy
– Carbonara – Rome
– Arancini – Sicily
– Tiramisu – Veneto
– Pizza – you can find great pizza in all regions of Italy!

These are just a small selection of regional dishes. Try asking your waiter what is local to the region.

There are a handful of tips to insure you don’t run into anything unexpected:

1. ‘Riposo’, equivalent to a Spanish siesta. The length of the break varies from business to business, but usually lasts for around 90 minutes between 1pm and 4pm. Locals use this time to go home, have lunch and relax with their family. To avoid any inconvenience, be aware that shops and restaurants may be closed between these hours, especially in rural areas.

2. Try to speak Italian – The locals are for the most part polite if you try to speak their language, so using simple expressions such as ‘ciao’, ‘grazie’ and ‘prego’ (‘hi’, ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re welcome) will take you a long way.

3. Pickpocketing does happen. Don’t let fear of pickpocketing spoil your holiday, but remain vigilant and keep a close eye on your belongings.

4. Train Travel: Trains in Italy are fast, frequent, and a relatively inexpensive way to travel between cities. Rome’s Termini station is Italy’s hub for rail transport, with connections offered to most major cities. Rail is often the best option, as transport to and from the airport can negate any time you save by flying. There’s also the added bonus that you get to see Rome’s beautiful countryside if you travel by train.

Italy, like most European countries, is safe to travel to. Violent crime in Italy is very low, but some tourists may encounter petty crime, such as pickpocketing and scams. Pickpocketing is easily preventable – store your wallet in a secure location on your persons and keep a close eye on your belongings. Scams can be a little trickier to avoid, but here are some tips to help:

1. Know what you’re paying for in advance. This means checking the menu before entering the restaurant and agreeing on a firm price for services

2. Be wary of people that approach you for seemingly no reason in touristy areas

3. Never hand over money because you feel pressured into doing so. Remain polite, but firm in these scenarios

An international driving license is required to drive in Italy. If you have booked an Italian tour from Australia that requires you to drive it is recommended that you retrieve an international license. You can also drive if you have a sworn translation of an Australian license.