Compare A Taste of Italy by Sarracini Travel vs Community and conservation in Myanmar by Audley Travel
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| Trip |
5 | Excellent
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5 | Excellent
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| Duration | 8 days | 15 days |
| Price From | $ 1,331 | $ 4,970 |
| Price Per Day | $ 166 | $ 331 |
| Highlights |
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| Trip Style | Private guided tour | Private guided tour |
| Lodging Level | Premium | Standard |
| Physical Level |
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| Travel Themes |
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| Countries Visited | ||
| Cities and Attractions |
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| Flights & Transport | Ground transport included | Ground transport included |
| Activities |
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| Meals Included |
Daily Breakfast, 2 Lunches & 2 Dinners |
N/A |
| Description |
Like a creamy gelato or hot espresso, one taste of Italy can linger for a lifetime. Travelling from eternal Rome and up through the hazy hills of Tuscany, you’ll spend eight days sampling the best of Assisi, Siena, Florence, Bologna, Padova, Venice, and Montepulciano. Catch the spirit of La Vita Bella as you explore elegant Florentine piazzas, rummage through handcrafted artisanal treasures, sip world-class wines, and float down intimate Venetian canals. Extend your visit by 2-3 days to discover the treasures along Italy’s Amalfi coast, from charmingly gritty Naples to sun-bleached Capri! |
Subject to a long period of isolation, Myanmar has remained relatively untouched by the outside world. Consequently, its temple-strewn landscapes and royal palaces survive refreshingly unspoiled. As the country has opened up, our specialists have explored Myanmar’s well-known cities and its little visited villages and countryside. Taking this first-hand knowledge, we can create a tailor-made Myanmar vacation, shaped around your preferences. Natural attractions stretch from the highlands in the north to the pristine Myeik Archipelago in the south, and the sinuous Ayeyarwady River provides a cruising route between Mandalay and the Temples of Bagan and into more remote regions. Almost every skyline is punctuated with a temple stupa: Bagan boasts a collection of over 3,000. City streets are lined with remnants of colonial rule while mountain-top villages maintain tribal traditions. Probably the country’s greatest asset are its people, whose infectious spirit and genuine smiles are hard to beat. |
Day 1: Rome
Welcome to Rome! After a meet and greet at the airport with your driver, you will be transferred to your hotel. At 8:30 pm reach the meeting point to be ready for the departure of the Rome by Night Tour. The local expert guide will lead you to discover the wonders of the Eternal City, charming by day, absolutely romantic by night. The tour ends in the Colosseum area. Enjoy on your own the rest of the night. Return to the hotel on your own and overnight stay.
Day 2: Rome > Assisi > Siena > Florence
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Early morning departure for Assisi. Visit the Basilica of St. Francis featuring masterpieces by Giotto and Cimabue. Continue to Siena, home of the Palio. End the day in Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Florence
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
After breakfast, you will spend the day venturing around beautiful Florence, the “Cradle of Renaissance, where, with the help of Michelangelo, Italian art reached its pinnacle. Spend the afternoon strolling the cobblestone streets of Florence on your own or take a short trip to Pisa (optional).
Day 4: Florence > Bologna > Padova > Venice
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
Depart for Bologna after breakfast in Florence. Wander through some of the city’s many, elegant arcades (or porticos), for which Bologna is famous. In the afternoon, continue toward Padova, with its original Sant’Antonio Basilica. In the early evening, we will arrive in Venice. Check-in to your hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 5: Venice
Meals: Breakfast
After breakfast, enjoy your private water-taxi transfer to Piazza San Marco, with “Skip the Line” tickets to visit the splendid St. Mark’s Basilica and, after this, check out the most iconic places of the “Floating City”. Spend the afternoon roaming along Venice’s canals at your leisure and then return to the hotel and overnight.
Day 6: Venice > Montepulciano (Tuscany) > Rome
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
After breakfast, depart for Tuscany, known for its romantic churches, castles and beloved wines. Proceed to Val di Chiana with a stop in Montepulciano, a Medieval town rich with history and art. That evening we will arrive in Rome.
Day 7: Rome
Meals: Breakfast
After breakfast depart from the hotel for the included tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St.Peter’s Basilica with our exclusive “Skip the Line” access. The tour ends in St. Peter’s Square. Afternoon and evening at leisure. Meals: B
Day 8: Rome
Meals: Breakfast
Final breakfast followed by check-out. Arrivederci!
Day 1 Yangon
Yangon
On arrival into Yangon, your private guide and driver will transfer you to your hotel. After a chance to refresh, head out to explore the glistening stupa of the Shwedagon Pagoda and enjoy a drink on 19th Street, with its lively atmosphere.
Day 2 Yangon
Yangon
Enjoy a walking tour of Yangon today with your private guide. You will visit some of the city's historical points of interest, including the Secretariat; a fascinating building with many stories to tell. The remainder of the evening will be at leisure.
Day 3 Loikaw
Yangon , Loikaw
You will have an early start this morning for the drive back to the airport. Your guide will assist you at the airport, and you will take the short domestic flight to Loikaw. On arrival, you will be met by your local Loikaw guide and will transfer to your hotel to relax for a short while. Later this morning enjoy an introduction to the local area, before the scenic forty-five minute journey to the local animist village of Hta Nee La Leh with your private guide and driver. Enjoy a traditional Kayah barbeque lunch, before exploring the tribal culture of Kayah state this afternoon. Return to your hotel via Seven Lakes, where you have the evening at leisure.
Day 4 Loikaw
Loikaw
This morning your guide will meet you at your hotel, and you will drive around thirty minutes to either Demawsoe market or Kandarawaddy Haw Nan monastery, depending on your day of travel. From here, you will transfer around an hour to the beautiful village of Pan Pet. Here you will have an introduction to the Kayan Lahwi culture, and take a short forty-five minute trek through the countryside, arriving at a pretty hilltop pagoda in time for lunch. Enjoy a traditional jungle picnic, before reconvening with your private driver and returning to Loikaw. This evening, enjoy a picturesque sunset cruise along the Pilu River, into the scenic countryside beyond. The cruise will last for around an hour, and you will return to your hotel in time for dinner.
Day 5 Inle Lake
Loikaw , Inle Lake
Transfer from Loikaw to Inle Lake this morning via boat and car. The total journey time will take around five hours, but during your time on the lake you can take in many of the sights along the way. Arrive at your hotel in time for lunch, and you have the afternoon at leisure.
Day 6 Inle Lake
Inle Lake
This morning, transfer around twenty-five minutes to a small village, just outside the town of Nyaung Shwe. Here you will be met by your hosts for the morning; you will not be accompanied by a guide today, in order to make the experience as authentic as possible. You will be given a list of Myanmar phrases and will be tasked to visit local houses around the village to acquire the ingredients you need. Once complete, take a tuk-tuk to the local market, where you will barter for more fresh produce, before returning to the cooking school. Pick your final ingredients from the lodge's organic gardens, before taking up your cooking station and learning some traditional Myanmar recipes under the watchful eyes of the chef. Enjoy the fruits of your labour for lunch, before returning to your hotel where you have the rest of the day at leisure.
Day 7 Kalaw
Inle Lake , Kalaw
Leave Nyaung Shwe and Inle Lake behind this morning as you head to its small station for the mountainside train journey through to the hill station of Kalaw. This typically takes around three hours. Explore the famous hill station with your guide in the afternoon.
Day 8 Kalaw
Kalaw
Travel a short distance outside Kalaw to visit the excellent Green Hill Valley Elephant camp for the day. The camp is exemplary in its conservation of the elephant, and programmes can be adjusted to also include some light trekking and tree planting.
Day 9 Salay
Kalaw , Heho , Bagan , Salay
Transfer around an hour from Kalaw to Heho airport this morning, where your guide will assist you in checking-in for your short flight to Nyaung U, the airport in Bagan. From here, you will transfer around ninety minutes, through the surrounding countryside to the small colonial riverside town of Salay. You will have time to enjoy lunch at your hotel, before heading out to explore the town this afternoon with your private guide. There are several points of interest nearby, including a beautiful teak monastery and a traditional tea shop. If you would like to explore further afield, you can cycle around four miles to Shin Bin Sar Gyo Hla, where you’ll see long pillared pavilions used for walking meditations.
Day 10 Bagan
Salay , Bagan
From your hotel, you will take a scenic thirty minute boat trip across the Ayeyarwady river this morning, to visit the beautiful Paday Thar Kyan village with your private guide. Take a short walking tour around the surrounding fields before enjoying a refreshing cup of tea and a chat with the locals. Return to your hotel late this morning, where you will have time for lunch before transferring the 90 minutes back to Bagan. This evening, you will explore the beautiful Ananda and Shwezigon temples by night; illuminated gold with the lights and with much fewer visitors than during the day, this has the dual benefit of both providing a much better experience, and avoiding overcrowding at these sacred monuments.
Day 11 Bagan
Bagan
This morning, you will explore Bagan by bicycle with your private guide. As well providing a more eco-friendly form of travel, cycling allows you to get under the skin of Bagan and its some 2000 temples. The roads are quiet and flat, and the cycling is taken at an easy pace. After a chance for lunch in town, you will then be transferred the short distance to a local lacquerware workshop. Here you will learn more about this traditional craft, including the process from bamboo strips to finished, lacquered products, and you can see the talented artisans at work. You will also get chance to try your hand at making your own lacquerware souvenir. This experience lasts around two hours; you will then be transferred back to your hotel, where you have the rest of the afternoon at leisure.
Day 12 Mandalay
Bagan , Mandalay
Today you will take the scenic journey from Bagan to Mandalay with your private guide and driver. The journey will take between four and five hours, with stops available on route at various points of interest along the way. On arrival into Mandalay, you will check-in to your hotel, where you have the afternoon at leisure.
Day 13 Mandalay
Mandalay
The journey from Mandalay to Hsithe fishing village takes around two and a half hours in total. The drive to the riverside town of Singu takes two hours, and from here you will take a thirty minute boat journey along the Ayeyarwady, to the village. You will be warmly welcomed by your hosts and will have chance to relax and explore on arrival. All of your food is included during your stay here, and will be local dishes cooked by the villagers. After a delicious lunch, you will have the chance to learn how to cast a fishing net, with the help of the fishermen and women from Hsithe village, along with your private guide. Return to the lodge for dinner, enjoying the sunset from the river bank.
Day 14 Mandalay
MandalayAfter a simple breakfast, your guide will accompany you on a short tour of Hsithe village. This is your chance to see many of the local industries which supplement fishing, such as the making of cheroots and traditional handicrafts. After a last delicious lunch, you take the 30 minute boat trip back to Singu; reconvene with your driver and make the two hour journey back to Mandalay, where you have the remainder of the day at leisure.
Day 15 Return home
Mandalay
Your guide will collect you today and transfer you to the airport in time for your international flight home.
