Categories 3, 4, and 5 refer primarily to varying degrees of excellence in rooms .

Land Price in U.S. $, with 1 Euro = $1.50, does not include air fare

*Full Land package includes everything in Basic Category, plus full day tour of French Riviera with Eng speaking driver / guide in private sedan and full day private guided tour of Cinque Terre.
Full land package prices are considerably lower for groups of 3 or more.
E-mail: info@travelplansintl.com

• Meet and greet with our rep at the airport in Genoa (or Nice)
• 2 private sedan transfers to and from airports and escort from train station
• Eight nights with breakfast in first class, superior, or deluxe hotels or B&B
• Italy - France rail pass, unlimited first class use for any 5 days
• Full day private guided tour of Cinque Terre villages and National Park
• Cinque Terre Park and railway pass
• Full day private guided tour of the French Riviera and perched villages, emphasis on venues not rail accessible
• Detailed daily itinerary
• Trip Packet with maps and guidebooks
• Extensive Pre-trip consultation

Depart U.S.A.
Day 1
Depart U.S.A. for Europe gateway of your choice.  Meals Aloft

Italian Riviera (Private 8 hour guided tour of Cinque Terre)
Day 3

The trip pack provided by Travel Plans International includes a one day pass for the Cinque Terre National Park and the Cinque Terre railway. After an early breakfast , you are met at the hotel by your English speaking guide who will provide a private eight hour introductory tour of selected parts of the National park, and the five villages of Cinque Terre. The guide will show you how and where to buy tickets in case if you want to use the railway or ferry system another day or if you want to explore the park by bicycle, horseback, or hiking.
The five small, ancient villages are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. They have been referred to as Cinque Terre since 1448 but many of the houses and shops were built in the 10th century. For over a thousand years, the villages could be reached only from the sea or by walking dangerous cliffside paths, so the villages were isolated until the middle of the 20th century and are largely unspoiled although now increasingly popular with tourists. B

For extra price, our driver will provide a private sedan tour of the Portofino Coast today. However, your full land package price includes five days unlimited use of the Italian and French National railway system. In combination with the coastal ferry system, your rail pass and our detailed itineray will enable you to see the most beautiful and interesting parts of the Portofino Coast. You will pay a modest price onsite for the ferry.

To many, the marina village of Portofino and the Portofino Peninsula National Park are the most beautiful features of the Italian Riviera. Neither of these points are served by rail, but both are on the ferry system, as are Santa Margherita Ligure, Sestri Levante, and Rapallo, which also offer rail service. Your daily itinerary will include a proposed route for today. B

You can use your rail pass to return today to the Portofino Coast, to Cinque Terre, to both, or to any other part of Italy. Florence and /or Pisa could be done as daytrips, for example.

Horses can be used to explore the Cinque Terre park for 25 Euros per hour (roughly $32) and bikes are available for 5 Euros hourly. Horsedrawn carriage is also available. However, most people who venture away from the villages prefer hiking.

There is a protected cliffside path that you should consider walking: Via dell' Amore (Lover's Lane) which connects Manarola to Riomaggiore and which provides fabulous views of the Mediterranean crashing into the cliffs below. Two of our featured hotels are in Manarola, which is also accessible by rail and by car. Vernazza (pictured left) seems frozen in time and its simple beauty is quite a contrast to the wealth and elegance that you will witness in Portofino.

The ancient fishing village of Portovenere is easily accessible from Cinque Terre with the ferry system. Travel Plans International facilitates destination weddings at the castle in Portovenere, which is well worth a visit. B

Italian Riviera / French Riviera
Day 6
You have reserved first class reserved seats on the train to Nice, Cannes, or Monte Carlo (about 6 hours travel time on location of hotel). Our representative will meet you at the train and take you to the hotel. If you are traveling in May, you likely will be arriving on the French Riviera during the Cannes Film Festival or during the festivities surrounding the Gran Prix. Give us sufficient lead time to arrange tickets for these events and we will do so.  The itinerary will help you explore the area near the hotel this evening. B

French Riviera and Perched Villages (Private 8 hour guided tour)
Day 7

Your driver / guide will meet you at the hotel at 9 A.M. and will provide an 8 hour private sedan tour of the venues that you select (you will be charged extra if you exceed 8 hours or 200 miles). Keep in mind that many of the most popular venues (Monte Carlo, Nice, Cannes, Antibes, Eze, Beaulieu- sur-Mer, Villafranche-sur-Mer) have train service and your private sedan tour should include venues not served by rail. If today is market day in Vence, go there first and be sure to see to discover the Rosary Chapel, designed by Henri Matisse.  Reflected lemon yellow, emerald green and ultramarine blue stained glass windows create visual harmony that floods the minimalist white chapel with different colors depending on the season and hour of the day.  Matisse said, “This chapel is for me the accomplishment of a lifetime, the realization of an enormous work, difficult and sincere.” 

 From Vence it is a ten minute drive to explore Tourettes-sur-Loup, a fortified 13^th century perched village overlooking the beautiful Loup Valley.  Houses form the town’s ramparts creating a unique structure that protected the medieval village from invasions. If you continue to Gourdon, another perched Provence village worth seeing, you probably will not have time to drive the Middle or Lower Corniche, the famous highway between Monte Carlo and Nice. So, consider returning to the French Riviera with a brief stop in St. Paul du Vence, the delightful artists’ mecca perched on a limestone spur with a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean.

Have the driver take the motorway eastbound to Monte Carlo. A look at the opulence and size of the boats in the harbor below will provide an indication of the popularity of this area among the rich and famous.  Drive the Lower Corniche to Nice (and then to your hotel). This road is dotted with quaint holiday resorts, opulent villas, fishing villages and ornate pink houses with green shutters, past Villefranche-sur-Mer and other charming towns that you can explore with your rail pass tomorrow. Since St.-Jean -cap-Ferrat is not served by rail, consider stopping if time permits. B

Use your rail pass and Travel Plans International itinerary today to explore the picturesque former fishing village, Villafranche-sur-Mer. In Beaulieu-sur-Mer, tour the splendid Villa Kerylos, a unique replica of an ancient Greek villa, complete with furniture, mosaics, and art objects.  On most days, the Riviera sun shimmers on the cobalt blue Mediterranean Sea coast, the Côte d’Azur, famed for its warm winters, colorful limestone cliffs, pine forests, deep fertile valleys and towering palms, an enchanting land of inspiration to poets and painters. Consider having a late lunch at Chateau Chevre d' Or which is pictured upper left and which offers some of the most panoramic views of Monte Carlo and the French Riviera).

Then proceed to Monaco and Monte Carlo. The town of Monaco, capital of the Principality, sits on a rock 200 feet above the sea and is home to the Royal Palace, government buildings, the Tropical Gardens and the Oceanographic Museum. High above the port stands one of the most famous cities in the world, Monte Carlo, a playground for European royalty.  For years, life in Monaco has been centered on Monte Carlo and its famous Grand Casino, pictured left and which you should visit one evening if only to gawk.  B

 This afternoon, see Chateau Grimaldi in the ancient port town of Antibes.  Picasso lived and worked at the Chateau Grimaldi in the mid-1940’s and he permanently loaned to the Chateau’s museum all of the work completed during his stay:  24 paintings, nearly 80 ceramic pieces, 35 drawings, 27 lithographs, two sculptures, and a tapestry.  Also on display are works by Léger, Calder, and other artists. 

 Most summer nights, there is a sunset champagne cruise departing from the dock in Beaulieu-sur-Mer (please ask about extra cost). Return to the hotel for your last night on the French Riviera. Choose the type of dining/night life you prefer for your last night and we will make reservations if you wish. B

Private transfer to the airport in Nice for your flight home.  B/Meals aloft