Italy 2026 — Nick & Ella

🏛

ROME

Depart Jul 3 · Arrive Jul 4 · 3 Nights Rome

🏨 Hotel Artemide, Via Nazionale — BOOKED

July 3 — Friday · Departure Day

12:33 PMFLIGHT

Flight 301 — GCM → Charlotte (CLT)

Departs Grand Cayman 12:33pm, arrives Charlotte 4:45pm. Booking ref: NGCVVG. Layover at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

7:15 PMFLIGHT

Flight 720 — Charlotte (CLT) → Rome FCO

Departs Charlotte 7:15pm, arrives Rome FCO 10:20am July 4. Booking ref: NGCVVG. Overnight transatlantic flight.

July 4 — Saturday · Arrival

10:20 AM — LandBOOKED

Arrive Rome FCO — Check In to Hotel Artemide

Land at FCO 10:20am. Take the Leonardo Express to Roma Termini — €14, 30 minutes. Hotel Artemide is right on Via Nazionale, 5 minutes walk from Termini. No hire car needed in Rome — the city is entirely on foot, you collect the car on July 7.

🌐 Website 📸 Instagram

Mid Afternoon

I Pizzicaroli — Cured Meats & Cheese

A few blocks from Piazza Navona. Charcuterie boards bigger than the tables — porcini and truffle spread, bruschetta, cured meats and cheese on oak cutting boards, incredible wine selection. Surprisingly low prices. The kind of place where you go for one board and stay for three hours. Perfect first afternoon in Rome.

📸 Instagram

7:00 PM — DinnerBOOKED

Dinner — Trattoria Vecchia Roma

Via Ferruccio 12/b/c (Esquilino) · 7:00 PM, table for 2. A beloved old-school Roman trattoria near Piazza Vittorio, famous above all for its carbonara — generous, unfussy, exactly what you want on night one. Best of all it's a ~15-minute walk from Hotel Artemide, so no taxi needed after the long flight. Booking ref #Z43hyo.

🌐 Tripadvisor

July 5 — Sunday

8:00 AM — Start Here

Trevi Fountain — Early, Before the Crowds

The most famous fountain in the world — 26 metres high, Baroque masterpiece completed in 1762. At 8am you'll nearly have it to yourselves — by mid-morning it's shoulder to shoulder. The legend: throw a coin over your left shoulder with your right hand to ensure a return to Rome.

🌐 Turismo Roma

9:15 AM

Pantheon — At Opening

A 10-minute walk from Trevi. One of the most extraordinary buildings ever made — a perfect concrete dome with an oculus open to the sky, built in 125 AD. Entry €5. Doors open at 9am — be there early, it's completely different before the crowds arrive.

🌐 Website

Mid Morning

Il Vittoriano — Altare della Patria

Piazza Venezia, on the walk from the Pantheon to the Colosseum. The colossal white-marble monument to Victor Emmanuel II — the "wedding cake" — with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and its eternal flame at the top of the steps. Vast, gleaming, impossible to walk past without stopping.

🌐 Official Site

Late Morning

Colosseum — Walk Past, View from Outside

15-minute walk from the Pantheon. The exterior is extraordinary — the scale of it doesn't hit you until you're standing in front of it. Walk around the full perimeter. The Roman Forum and Arch of Constantine are right there too. No need to go inside — the outside view is the moment.

🌐 Official Site

Lunch

Lunch — Ristorante Elettra, Antica Trattoria

Via Principe Amedeo 72A–74A, Esquilino — a classic Roman trattoria going strong since 1922, just around the corner from Hotel Artemide. Honest Roman and Lazio cooking — carbonara, amatriciana, saltimbocca — friendly staff, fair prices, outdoor tables. Exactly the kind of old-Rome lunch you came for.

📸 Instagram 🌐 Tripadvisor

8:00 PM · DinnerBOOKED

Dinner — Felice a Testaccio

Via Mastro Giorgio 29, Testaccio · 8:00 PM, table for 2 (under Ella). Widely considered the best neighbourhood restaurant in Rome — retro checkered floors, white tablecloths, and a cacio e pepe finished at the table, tossed in the bowl in front of you. The unrivalled star of Testaccio. Table held only 20 min past 8:00 · 2-hour limit · card guarantee on booking (€15pp if cancelled under 12h before).

🌐 Website 📸 Instagram

July 6 — Monday

9:00 AM

The Vatican — St. Peter's Square & Basilica

Be at Piazza San Pietro for 9:00 AM — the security queue for the basilica is shortest early. The square, Bernini's colonnade, and the basilica itself are free to enter (dress code: shoulders and knees covered). Optional: climb the cupola for the classic view over the square. If you want the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel, those need timed tickets — check availability at museivaticani.va. Afterwards, walk back across Ponte Sant'Angelo toward Piazza Navona.

🌐 St. Peter's 🌐 Vatican Museums

Late Morning

Piazza Navona & Campo de' Fiori Walk

The two great piazzas of central Rome connected by a 10-minute walk through ancient streets. Navona has Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers at its centre. Campo de' Fiori hosts a morning market — fruit, vegetables, flowers, street food. Free, entirely walkable, beautiful in the morning light.

📸 Photos

12:30 PM — LunchBOOKED

Lunch — Carpaccio Beef Restaurant

Via Marche 9, off Via Veneto · 12:30 PM, table for 2 — a short taxi from Campo de' Fiori. One of Rome's trendiest tables: burgundy velvet armchairs, black marble, 1970s Venetian style. The name says it all — legendary beef and truffle carpaccio, plus serious steaks (Wagyu and Creekstone selections). Afterwards you're a 15-min walk from Hotel Artemide for the 5pm Vespa pickup.

🌐 Book on TheFork 📸 Instagram

5:00 PMBOOKED & PAID

Ride Rome on a Vespa with a Local Driver

Hotel pickup from Artemide at 5:00 PM. 3-hour guided evening Vespa tour with a local driver — you ride pillion, no licence needed. See Rome's landmarks lit up at golden hour and dusk. English, 2 adults. Booking ref 1412697665. An unforgettable way to see the city before dinner.

July 7 — Tuesday · Drive Day

10:00 AMCAR PICKUP

Collect Hire Car — Centauro, Fiumicino (FCO)

Pickup 10:00 AM, Vía Portuense 2483 (Centauro shuttle from FCO). Ref IT882147190 · Tel +39 0683793686.

~11:00 AM

Drive FCO → Allerona — approx 2 hours

North on the A1 into Umbria — about 2 hours.

🫒

ALLERONA

July 7 – 10 · Wedding · Southern Umbria

🏰 SPAO Borgo San Pietro Aquaeortus · spao.it

July 7–10 — The Wedding

Venue

SPAO Borgo San Pietro Aquaeortus

Strada Provinciale SP50 km.10300, Allerona (TR) · spao.it

A fully restored medieval borgo in Umbria, reserved exclusively for luxury weddings — an entire private village where history, architecture and Italian charm merge. Originally an 11th-century fortress of Williamite monks, restored over more than twenty years. The wedding dinner takes place in the Piazza Grande, embraced 360 degrees by medieval buildings. 25 suites of various sizes on site — all guests stay within the borgo itself. Sit at the crossroads of Umbria, Tuscany and Lazio.

🌐 Website 📸 Instagram

July 10 — Friday · Drive to Sorrento

Morning — Leave Early

Drive Allerona → Sorrento

South past Naples to the Sorrentine Peninsula — Vesuvius rising ahead on the way down.

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SORRENTO

July 10 – 12 · 2 Nights

🏨 Hotel Mediterraneo — BOOKED · Pay Day Before

July 10 — Friday · Arrival Day

Arrival

Check In — Hotel Mediterraneo

Pay the day before check-in. Arrive and settle in. Hotel is well located for walking Sorrento's clifftop streets and Piazza Tasso.

🌐 Website 📸 Instagram

4:00 PMBOOKED

Frantoio Gargiulo Olive Oil Farm — Sant'Agnello

Pickup from Hotel Mediterraneo at 4:00 PM · private transport · English guide. A genuine working oil mill 5 minutes from Sorrento — walk through century-old olive trees, see the stone presses and cold-extraction machinery, then a proper tasting: 15 types of extra virgin olive oil, bread to dip, limoncello and liqueur creams. People consistently call it the highlight of their Sorrento stay. Reserved · card auto-charged 8 Jul ($97.46) · free cancellation before 4 PM on 9 Jul · conf. 1798616837.

🌐 Website 📸 Instagram

Evening

Piazza Tasso, Corso Italia & Shops

The heart of Sorrento at its most beautiful in the early evening light. Walk the Corso Italia, browse the shops, have a gelato, watch the world go by from Piazza Tasso.

📸 Photos

Dinner

Dinner — Ristorante Pizzeria L'Abate

Piazza Sant'Antonino 24 — right on one of Sorrento's loveliest piazzas, a short stroll from the hotel. Classic Sorrentine cooking and proper wood-fired pizza, tables out on the square for people-watching over dinner.

🌐 Info & menu

July 11 — Saturday · Capri Day

8:50 AM · Meet at Il FaroBOOKED & PAID

Capri Boat Trip — Half Day Small Group + Blue Grotto

Meet at 8:50 AM by Hotel Il Faro, Via Marina Piccola 5, Sorrento — a driver takes you to the departure port. Final pickup point to be confirmed with Buyourtour — may be moved nearer Hotel Mediterraneo.Half-day small-group trip: hydrofoil out to Capri, the Blue Grotto, and a boat tour of the island's dramatic southern coast — sea caves, the Li Galli islands where Nureyev once lived, and the Green Grotto — with a swimming stop. Back in Sorrento by early afternoon, before the cruise-ship crowds. Included: driver pick-up & drop-off, English-speaking skipper, dry snacks & soft drinks (water, Coke, beer), a glass of Prosecco & a limoncello tasting. Pay in cash on the day: €18 pp Blue Grotto + €10 pp destination fee = €56 total for two. Bring: passport/ID, swimsuit, sunscreen, sun hat & cash. Booked via Buyourtour by Amo Italy Travel — Fabiana, info@buyourtour.it.

🌐 Booking page 🌐 Buyourtour (operator)

Afternoon

Lunch — SpizzichiAMO (Sandwiches)

A cosy family-run sandwich shop on a quiet side street in the heart of Sorrento — homemade focaccia stuffed with locally sourced meats, cheeses and vegetables (some from the owner's own garden). Try the Scostumata. Relaxed, local, great value — perfect after a morning on the water.

🌐 Tripadvisor

Dinner

Dinner — Ristorante Pizzeria Le Grazie

Via Santa Maria delle Grazie 28/30 — a warm, local trattoria-pizzeria tucked into the old town lanes, a few minutes' walk from the hotel. Honest Sorrentine plates and wood-fired pizza without the tourist-strip markup. Tel +39 081 807 4521.

🌐 Website 📸 Instagram

After Dinner

Gelateria David

One of the best gelaterias in Sorrento — natural flavours only, no artificial towers of colour. Locals eat here. The perfect end to the day.

📸 Instagram

July 12 — Sunday · Drive Day

11:30 AM · Lemon Tour + LunchBOOKED

Lemon Tour & Lunch — La Limonaia, Sorrento

11:30 AM · 2 people. A guided walk through La Limonaia's terraced lemon gardens — how the giant Sorrento lemons grow and how limoncello is made — followed by a relaxed home-style lunch among the trees. A lovely final Sorrento morning before the coast road. Eat well before the drive — the SS163 demands full attention. Booked under Nicholas · €130 total (tour €35pp + lunch €30pp).

🌐 Website

Afternoon

Drive Sorrento → Amalfi — ≈1 Hour (SS145 + SS163)

The legendary SS163 coast road — one of the world's great drives. About an hour.

🌊

AMALFI COAST

July 12 – 15 · 3 Nights · Based in Praiano

🏨 Hotel Piccolo Sant'Andrea, Praiano — BOOKED

July 12 — Sunday · Arrival Evening

AfternoonBOOKED

Check In — Hotel Piccolo Sant'Andrea

5-star boutique hotel in Praiano — 27 rooms, modern design, indoor and outdoor pool, spa, gym on site. Rooms have private terraces with outdoor sea-view showers. Free shuttle to Positano and Praiano village.

🌐 Website 📸 Instagram

7:00 PMBOOKED

Dinner — Il Pirata, Praiano

A restaurant carved directly into the cliffs of Praiano, with waves crashing on the rocks below as you eat. Candle-lit cave dining, accessible by boat or a staircase cut through the cliff face. One of the most dramatic and unique dining settings in all of Italy. The perfect first dinner after the drive down.

🌐 Website 📸 Instagram

July 13 — Monday · Chill Day

Day Out

Visited Positano

The vertical postcard of the Amalfi Coast — pastel houses stacked impossibly up the cliffside, bougainvillea-draped lanes winding down to the beach at Marina Grande, and boutiques and spritzes all the way. The view from the road above is the classic; the view from the sand looking back up is even better.

📸 Photos

Day Out

Visited Amalfi Town

The coast's namesake town — the striking striped Duomo di Sant'Andrea rising above the piazza on its grand staircase, lanes of paper shops and lemon everything (this is sfusato lemon country), and the harbour where the whole coastline unfolds. Gelato on the cathedral steps is mandatory.

📸 Photos

6:30 PM DepartureBOOKED & PAID

2-Hour Sunset Boat Cruise — Praiano/Positano Harbour

Departs 6:30 PM. Traditional gozzo boat from Praiano/Positano harbour. Cruise west along the coast — Furore Fjord, sea caves, the Arc of Lovers rock formation (a natural arch shaped like two elephants kissing). All as the sun sets over the Mediterranean. Sun sets at approximately 8:30pm.

📸 Photos

Dinner — After the Cruise

Dinner — Lo Smeraldino, Amalfi

Piazzale dei Protontini 1 — right on the Amalfi waterfront, feet from the boats. A classic since 1949: fresh seafood and wood-fired pizza with the harbour lights on the water. The perfect landing after an evening on the sea. Tel +39 089 871070.

🌐 Website

July 14 — Tuesday · The Big Day

7:00 AM — Leave Hotel

Path of the Gods — Nocelle Short Hike

~25–30 min drive to Nocelle village. Walk 2km west along the clifftop trail — 600m above the sea, the entire Amalfi Coast laid out below from Positano to Capri on a clear day. 2 hours total out and back. Start at 7am — non-negotiable in July heat. Grip shoes, 2 litres of water each, SPF 50+.

📸 Photos

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NAPLES

July 15 – 17 · 2 Nights · Fly Home July 17

🏨 Hotel Excelsior Naples — BOOKED · Via Partenope 48

July 15 — Wednesday · Arrival Day

Morning Drive

Drive Praiano → Naples — ~1h 10min

Coast road to the A3 motorway — about 1h 10. In Naples in good time for the 3pm check-in and 4pm Cappella Sansevero.

Lunch — 5 min from the hotel

Lunch — 10 Diego Vitagliano Pizzeria, Santa Lucia

Via Santa Lucia 78 — a 5-minute walk from the hotel, in the old Borgo Santa Lucia. One of the most awarded pizzerias in the world (a 50 Top Pizza fixture) — feather-light contemporary Neapolitan pizza from one of the city's star pizzaioli. Tel +39 081 1822 0660.

🌐 Website 🌐 Tripadvisor

4:00 PM — After LunchBOOKED

Cappella Sansevero — The Veiled Christ (with Guide)

Met at 3:50 PM at Piazza San Domenico Maggiore 16 — guided tour, 40 minutes. A marble sculpture of Christ beneath a burial shroud so impossibly fine it appears to be actual wet fabric. Done in 1753. People genuinely gasp. The single most extraordinary thing on the entire trip. 📵 No photography allowed inside — the Veiled Christ is one you have to see with your own eyes, which is exactly why there are no pictures here.

🌐 museosansevero.it

AfternoonBOOKED

Check In — Hotel Excelsior Naples

Via Partenope 48. Right on the Naples seafront overlooking the Bay of Naples, Capri and Vesuvius. Rooftop restaurant, fitness centre, elegant rooms. 11-minute walk from the Royal Palace and Piazza Plebiscito — perfectly located for everything on the Naples plan.

🌐 Website

Dinner — Arrive 7pm Sharp

Dinner — Starita Pizzeria, Via Materdei 27

No reservations — arrive at 7pm opening to get a table. Open since 1901, setting of a famous Sophia Loren film. One of the finest pizzerias in Naples by local consensus. Order the montanara (fried then oven-baked) or the classic margherita. Closed Mondays — you are there on a Tuesday, all good.

🌐 Website 📸 Instagram

July 16 — Thursday · Full Naples Day

MorningTO BOOK

Gran Caffè Gambrinus — Coffee Experience with Arturo

Piazza del Plebiscito, next to the Royal Palace. Hosted by Arturo, third-generation owner of this legendary café open since 1860. You gather in the ornate Belle Époque main hall, hear the café's history, see coffee cups used by heads of state, craft an espresso with a master barista, and taste a traditional Neapolitan sfogliatella pastry.

🎟 Book on Airbnb 🌐 Website 📸 Instagram

Late Morning

Spaccanapoli Walk — 45 Minutes

The ancient Greek street that cuts Naples perfectly in two — laid out around 470 BC, unchanged since. Walk it end to end, 45 minutes. Loud, chaotic, completely alive. A church every 50 metres, street markets, laundry above your head. The realest street in Italy.

📸 Photos

12:00 PM — Lunch

Lunch — All'Antico Vinaio, Corso Umberto I, 28

The best mortadella sandwich in Naples. Order the La Paradiso — thinly sliced mortadella, stracciatella cheese, pistachio cream and crushed pistachios on fresh focaccia baked to order. €8–14, large enough to share. Right in Centro Storico, steps from everything on today's plan.

📸 Instagram

3:00 PM · 3 HoursBOOKED & PAID

AVPN Pizza Making Class — 3 Hours

The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana — the governing body that certifies authentic Neapolitan pizza worldwide. Max 10 people. Learn the actual technique — dough, San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella — then bake in a traditional wood-fired oven. Leave with a certificate and the skills to recreate it at home.

🌐 Website

July 17 — Friday · Departure Day

7:30 AM

Check Out — Hotel Excelsior Naples

Bags ready the night before. Relaxed breakfast — no need to rush this morning. Final espresso on the seafront.

By 9:00 AMCAR DROP-OFF

Drop Hire Car — Centauro, Via del Riposo 18

Return by 9:00 AM — Via del Riposo 18, 600m from Naples Airport. ~25 min from the hotel. Tel +390 683 662 959.

~9:15 AM

Taxi — Naples Airport area → Naples Centrale

Taxi to Naples Centrale — ~20 minutes (rank or FREE NOW app).

~10:00 AMBOOK IN ADVANCE

High-Speed Train — Naples Centrale → Roma Termini

Departure around 10:00 AM · 1h 10 to Roma Termini. Book ahead.

🚄 Book Italo 🚄 Book Trenitalia

~11:20 AM

Leonardo Express / Taxi — Roma Termini → FCO

Leonardo Express, 32 min — at FCO by ~12:00, over two hours before the flight.

2:15 PMFLIGHT

Flight 53 — FCO → Miami (MIA)

Departs FCO 2:15pm, arrives Miami 7:05pm. Booking ref: KDDQMR.

July 18 · 10:15 AMFLIGHT

Flight 1300 — Miami (MIA) → Grand Cayman — HOME

Departs Miami 10:15am July 18, arrives Grand Cayman 10:56am. Booking ref: MWJTGB. Welcome home.