Local Tours
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Day 1 | Arrival at Venice Airport. |
Day 2 | Discover the magnificent architecture, art and history of Venice during a private 2 hour guided walking tour with a professionally licensed, English speaking guide, followed by a 30 minute gondola ride along the Grand Canal. Enjoy an unforgettable cooking adventure and discover one of the most famous Venetian dishes: the "Cicchetti". Cicchetti are usually served as side dishes in the traditional "bacari" (wine bars), and they can be of various types. Of course you will have the honor of indulging in your freshly prepared cicchetti that will be served with an all time favorite: Prosecco wine! |
Day 3 | Together with your guide, you will explore Murano and visit one of oldest glass blowing factories where you will remain in awe as you watch the incredible craftmanship of the glass-blowers creating a myriad of incredible yet fragile objects. |
Day 4 | Check out of your hotel in Venice. Private water taxi transfer you from your accommodation to main land and continue onto Florence. Your private driver will transfer you between these two cities with a few tasty stops en route. Enjoy a visit at a balsamic vinegar farm with light lunch and tasting included. Stop in a local cheese factory and discover the art of Parmigiano making along with some tasting. Discover the history and tradition behind the world famous Italian “Prosciutto” followed by cured ham tasting and more. Upon arrival in Florence, check in to your 4 or 5 star accommodation, for a two night stay. |
Day 5 | Experience a guided street food walking tour of Florence is mandatory to catch the real soul of this beautiful eternal city. You will explore the Sant’Ambrogio area, a great destination for foodies who want to try some challenging specialty, such as the crostino nero or veal stew meatballs, but also a heavenly spot for cheese and cold cut lovers! |
Day 6 | Check out of Florence and stop for wine tasting and light lunch en route. |
Day 7 | Today you will have time to explore San Gimignano, a beautiful example of an Italian medieval town. In the Middle Ages, building a tower taller than their neighbor’s was a popular way for prominent families to show their power. You will see that this typical skyline still exists today in San Gimignano. Do not forget to taste the Vernaccia di San Gimignano wine, a typical wine from the Chianti region. |
Day 8 | Meet your driver and head on to the Val D’Orcia. Visit Montepulciano, a very quiet and characteristic uncontaminated medieval village. Time to visit Pienza, within the walls of this village, wonderful Renaissance buildings alternate with shops specializing in the sale of local cheese. Next stop, Montalcino, which has remained almost intact since the 16th century. The city has become rich and famous thanks to Brunello, one of the best Italian wines and one of the most popular in the world. At the end of the tour you will visit one of the historic wine cellars of the Tuscan countryside. You will have the chance to sip the wine varieties during the guided tasting, and bring the full flavor of the wines to life with a light gourmet Tuscan lunch. |
Day 9 | Explore Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis and the Basilica where you will find frescos of Giotto, Cimabue, and many others. Be sure not to miss the other beautiful places this almost untouched medieval town, built in pretty pink stone, has to offer. You will have time in Perugia, a hilltop town located in the centre of the Umbria region, which is a perfect blend of natural and historic attractions. Or fill your stomach with regional specialties, especially the tasty hazelnut-filled chocolate produced here. Get your chocolate bearings with a tour of the Perugina factory, on the outskirts of the city, where these treats are still made today. Here at the “Casa del Cioccolato”, you will start with a tour of the museum, learning how a cocoa bean is transformed into rich chocolate, and also about the early days of Italy’s most famous chocolatier. |
Day 10 | Enjoy your breakfast and meet your driver. Private transfer from your accommodation in Tuscany to Florence or Rome FCO Airport. Departure from Italy 😔 . |
We took a 21 day private tour of Italy. Everything was perfectly planed and executed: We have traveled the world using tours from A&K and Tauck.The Joe Banana's Tour was better than both. Our travel coordinator Milena and our driver Rafaela were both professional and personable. We were well taken care of for the whole 21 day trip. We would highly recommend them to our family and friends.
Best guided tour in italy: We enjoyed a 10 day private tour of Venice, Florence, Rome with day trips to numerous smaller cities for wonderful experiences like balsamic and wine tasting, cooking classes and gondola rides. Our driver Giuseppe’s was fantastic and the van was very luxurious. All aspects of the trip were delightful with plenty of down time, personal requests attended to and highly knowledgeable guides who enriched our experiences immensely. Our guides ensured we saw all the highlights in the many museums and churches we toured and helped us to understand ancient and Italian history and art. Would definately use Joe Banana again and highly recommend to anyone traveling to Italy. The entire experience was professional and excellently planned and carried out
I highly recommend Joe Banana and his crew for any of your vacation needs in Italy! We booked a 13 day tour with them and it was fantastic. From our first contact with Melana our entire trip was handled without us having to worry. She planned the perfect vacation for the 6 of us. All of our local tour guides were phenomenal and offered the best recommendations. Our driver Giuseppe was great and went above and beyond to make sure everything was taken care of. Wouldn't hesitate to book another trip with them!
Our family of four just finished a three week European vacation which was organized and executed by JBL Tours. This was the best travel experience we have had so far. This was our fourth trip with JBL but first one to include other countries besides Italy. The arrangements were complex but Cindy and Milena were awesome at meeting all of our specific needs including hotels, tours, guides and any thing else we requested. Our trip started in Paris and France, went thru Switzerland and then Italy from Lake Como to the Amalfi coast. Our driver, Antonio, picked us up at the Paris airport and served as our driver and sometimes guide managing all the details with local English speaking guides, tours, restaurant recommendations and multiple cruises over a three week period. Thanks to him and all the JBL staff, we never had to worry about any details. Antonio feels like part of our family now. We had the pleasure of meeting Joe in Sorrento and saw his dedication to individualized travel experience. We will definitely be using JBL in our future European travel.
We built a customized tour with Joe Banana that was centered around Sorento / Amalfi / Pompei / Rome / Vatican City. It was an INCREDIBLE trip. Everyone we interacted with from Joe Banana was great. Our main driver Raffaele and main contact Milena were always above and beyond and the fact that we found our own VRBO places to stay and Joe Banana worked that in so easily made it even better! Our local guides in Rome and Pompei were extremely pleasant and knowledgeable and we even planned a private boat day with our Captain Luigi out to Capri (HUGE BONUS)! All in all would HIGHLY recommend Joe Banana and will absolutely use them again for our next visit to a different part of Italy!
Anna at JB was amazing at helping me plan a whirlwind tour of a ton of Italy. She tailored the trip to be everything I asked for and more. Their communication throughout the trip was perfect, and we had 10 days of amazing adventures that I will never ever forget. A trip of a lifetime. I am already plotting my return to Italy, now that I have a taste of so much of it. I couldn't recommend Joe Banana more. Nothing will ever be perfect, but they are as close as it comes. I don't think anyone else would have helped me cram so much in, in the timeframe we had. We were never left without communication or a guide. From the start to the finish- TOP NOTCH planning and communication. Trust me, and use JB for your Italy travel. They KNOW Italy!
We searched for the right tour and the right company to help us celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We reached out to Joe Banana based on reviews we had read and started planning a trip for August 2023. Milenia was the best person to ask all my questions and make suggestions. She calmed my fears when I was “nervous” about things and let me know she would always be in contact with us. We spent two weeks in Italy visiting Venice, Florence/Tuscany region, Sorrento/Amalfi Coast and finally Rome. We planned all private tours and drivers and none of them disappointed. They were all fabulous. At the end of the tours we felt like family. Milenia always checked in every afternoon and asked how things went. Some days we suggested a slight change for the next day and she would always try to accommodate. All do the tours guides were phenomenal and so knowledgeable about the areas. All the drivers were friendly and great. I would 1000% recommend them to anyone and should we find ourselves back in Italy I would not hesitate to work with them again.
5 Days in Rome, Tivoli Gardens and Thermal Baths, Alba Longa, Castelgandolfo, Lake Albano
10 Days in Florence - Rome - Amalfi Coast - Capri - Sorrento
7 days in Rome - Naples - Sorrento - Positano - Amalfi - Ravello - Salerno
