Private & Custom Itineraries in Europe

1. Day 1RomePrivate transfer in from the airport. The Spanish Steps, a coin in the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, then across the river to Trastevere for cacio e pepe. Evening pizza and gelato cooking class with a local pizzaiolo.
2. Day 2RomeStart at the Palatine Hill, where the queues are shorter, and look down over the Roman Forum before the Colosseum. One ticket covers all three. The Pantheon in the afternoon, the Vatican if it appeals.
3. Day 3Rome to TuscanyCollect the car. Stop at Orvieto, perched on its volcanic cliff, for the cathedral and a long lunch of wild boar and dove. Then into Tuscany proper: vines, olive groves, medieval towers on the hilltops. 125 miles.
4. Day 4Val d’OrciaThe postcard hills, and they really do look like that. Montepulciano and its wine cellars, Pienza for pecorino, Montalcino if there’s time. Stop at a vineyard and let them pour you their best. 70 miles.
5. Day 5Siena and FlorenceSiena’s shell-shaped Piazza del Campo and a plate of pici. On to Florence, drop the car, and learn to make tagliatelle and ravioli by hand. Evening on the Ponte Vecchio as the light goes gold.
6. Day 6FlorenceBrunelleschi’s dome, the Uffizi for Botticelli, the Accademia for the David. Then out to Chianti for an afternoon of three boutique wineries, olive oil and a Tuscan lunch.
7. Day 7DepartureA last wander, an espresso standing at the bar, and a private transfer to Florence airport.

1. Day 1DublinSettle in. Temple Bar, the Guinness Storehouse, and the Book of Kells at Trinity College.
2. Day 2Dublin to BelfastCollect the car. Malahide Castle, then Newgrange, a UNESCO site older than the pyramids, and Monasterboice, before crossing into Northern Ireland. 121 miles.
3. Day 3BelfastTitanic Belfast, built where she was built. The Peace Walls murals, City Hall, and the Ulster Folk Museum.
4. Day 4The Antrim CoastThe Dark Hedges, the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge ninety-eight feet above the water, the Giant’s Causeway, Bushmills, and Dunluce Castle on its cliff. 160 miles.
5. Day 5Connemara to GalwayBen Bulben, Westport, Killary Harbour (Ireland’s only fjord), Kylemore Abbey, and the Sky Road at Clifden. 209 miles.
6. Day 6The Burren and the CliffsDunguaire Castle, the limestone pavements of the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher, and Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. 167 miles.
7. Day 7The Ring of KerryThe hundred-mile drive: tree ferns at Kells Bay, the stone forts at Caherdaniel and Staigue, Derrynane Bay and Torc Waterfall. A boat to the Skellig Islands if the sea allows. 123 miles.
8. Day 8Blarney to KilkennyBlarney Castle and the stone, Cork city, the Rock of Cashel, and a night in medieval Kilkenny. 150 miles.
9. Day 9The Wicklow MountainsGlendalough’s monastic valley, Powerscourt House and Ireland’s highest waterfall, then back into Dublin. Around 90 miles.
10. Day 10DepartureHome from Dublin.

1. Day 1ZurichArrive and walk it off. The Grossmünster and Fraumünster, Lindenhof Hill for the view over the rooftops, and the lake promenade.
2. Day 2Zurich to Lake GenevaA three-hour train through vineyards to Montreux on the Swiss Riviera. Château de Chillon juts into the lake; Freddie Mercury stands on the shoreline.
3. Day 3On to ZermattEast through the sun-drenched Rhône Valley to Zermatt, a car-free chalet village directly beneath the Matterhorn. Fondue, earned.
4. Day 4ZermattThe cogwheel railway up to Gornergrat at nearly ten thousand feet, or the gondola to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, where you can see fourteen glaciers across three countries.
5. Day 5The Glacier ExpressOne of the world’s great train rides. Over the Oberalp Pass at 6,669 feet, past the Rhine Gorge, the Swiss Grand Canyon, and along the Albula Line with its six viaducts, to St Moritz.
6. Day 6St MoritzThe lake, the sixteenth-century leaning tower, and the funicular up to Muottas Muragl, where the last train down runs late enough for the sunset.
7. Day 7The Bernina ExpressA UNESCO-listed railway south over a spiral viaduct into Italy at Tirano, then along the shores of Lake Como to Lugano, where Switzerland starts speaking Italian.
8. Day 8LuganoThe Via Nassa, the Piazza della Riforma, the lake. Or take the train back over the border to Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio for the day.
9. Day 9LucerneNorth on a scenic line to Lucerne. The Chapel Bridge, the Lion Monument, and Mount Pilatus by the world’s steepest cog railway.
10. Day 10DepartureBack to Zurich and home.

1. Day 1HelsinkiSenate Square and the Uspenski Cathedral, where you can read the influence of every neighbor Finland has. The nineteenth-century Old Market Hall for lunch.
2. Day 2Across the BalticA morning in a UNESCO City of Design: the Sibelius Monument, Finlandia Hall, the Parliament building. Then aboard the overnight cruise to Sweden, in a cabin with a window.
3. Day 3Into StockholmBreakfast on deck as the ship threads the Stockholm archipelago. Afternoon on foot: Drottninggatan for shopping, Östermalm for the architecture.
4. Day 4StockholmGamla Stan, the old town, with the Royal Palace and cobbled lanes. Then the short ferry to Djurgården for the ABBA Museum, the Skansen open-air museum and Gröna Lund.
5. Day 5Train to CopenhagenSouth by rail into Denmark. An evening walk around Nyhavn, the old harbor lined with colored houses, and a smørrebrød at one of them.
6. Day 6CopenhagenAmalienborg and Christiansborg palaces, the Little Mermaid on the waterfront, Strøget for shopping and Torvehallerne for lunch. Tivoli Gardens after dark.
7. Day 7North to NorwayThe Round Tower observatory, the Church of Our Saviour, Rosenborg Castle. Then the afternoon ferry up the Kattegat, with dinner and the sunset from the deck.
8. Day 8OsloDocking after breakfast. Karl Johans gate through the middle of the city, the Aker Brygge marina, and the Opera House you can walk up.
9. Day 9OsloVigeland Sculpture Park, the Akershus fortress, the Fram Museum with its polar exploration ship, and the Munch Museum.
10. Day 10DepartureHome from Oslo.

1. Day 1ZurichArrive. The Grossmünster and Fraumünster, Lindenhof Hill, and a walk along the lake.
2. Day 2InterlakenTwo and a half hours by train into the mountains. The Harder Kulm funicular to a platform facing the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.
3. Day 3InterlakenA boat across Lake Brienz to Giessbach Falls and Europe’s oldest funicular, or the St Beatus caves. Or spend the day going up to the Jungfraujoch.
4. Day 4The GoldenPass ExpressThree hours past Lake Thun and down the Simmen Valley to Montreux on Lake Geneva, and the Château de Chillon.
5. Day 5ZermattEast through the Rhône Valley’s vineyards. The Matterhorn appears on the approach.
6. Day 6ZermattGornergrat by cogwheel railway at nearly ten thousand feet, or the gondola to fourteen glaciers in three countries.
7. Day 7The Glacier ExpressOver the Oberalp Pass at 6,669 feet, past the Rhine Gorge and the Albula viaducts, to St Moritz.
8. Day 8St MoritzThe lake, and the funicular up to Muottas Muragl for the long view.
9. Day 9The Bernina ExpressUNESCO-listed, over a spiral viaduct into Italy, then past Lake Como to Lugano.
10. Day 10Lugano or Lake ComoThe town center and the lakeshore, or back across for Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio.
11. Day 11MilanSouth through mountain tunnels into Lombardy. The Duomo, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and Da Vinci’s Last Supper if you book ahead.
12. Day 12MilanSforzesco Castle, the Pinacoteca di Brera, La Scala and the Royal Palace.
13. Day 13InnsbruckSix hours through the Dolomites into Austria. The Golden Roof, and a cable car up the Nordkette.
14. Day 14SalzburgTwo hours through the Alps. The Altstadt on foot, and Mozart’s birthplace on Getreidegasse.
15. Day 15SalzburgThe Hohensalzburg fortress above the city, and the Mirabell Palace gardens where they filmed Do-Re-Mi.
16. Day 16ViennaTwo and a half hours to the capital. The State Opera, City Hall, and a schnitzel worth the trip.
17. Day 17ViennaThe Ringstrasse, St Stephen’s Cathedral, and Schönbrunn’s fourteen hundred rooms. The Hofburg and the Belvedere if you have the stamina.
18. Day 18PragueInto Czechia. The Old Town and its twelfth-century square, Wenceslas Square and the National Museum.
19. Day 19PragueThe largest castle complex in the world, Charles Bridge, the oldest working astronomical clock, and the Jewish Quarter.
20. Day 20BerlinFour hours north. The Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the East Side Gallery along the longest surviving stretch of the Wall, and Museum Island.
21. Day 21DepartureA last morning in Berlin, then home.

1. Day 1ReykjavíkAirport transfer straight into the city. Rainbow Street up to the Hallgrímskirkja church, the boutiques along Laugavegur, then the Sun Voyager sculpture and Harpa Concert Hall on the waterfront. No car yet, since Reykjavík walks easily.
2. Day 2The Golden Circle to VíkCollect the car and drive the Golden Circle: Þingvellir National Park, the Strokkur geyser and two-tiered Gullfoss. Then south to Seljalandsfoss and the 200-foot Skógafoss, ending at Vík and its hilltop church. About 200 miles.
3. Day 3Glaciers and iceberg lagoonsReynisfjara black sand beach and the Dyrhólaey rock arch, then into Vatnajökull National Park and the Skaftafell area. Fjallsárlón and Jökulsárlón glacier lagoons, and Diamond Beach, where ice sits on black sand. Night near Höfn. About 170 miles.
4. Day 4The EastfjordsNarrow fjords, steep mountainsides and small fishing villages. Egilsstaðir is the main town, beside the Lagarfljót river and its legendary monster, with Hallormsstaðaskógur forest nearby. About 160 miles.
5. Day 5North to Lake MývatnA detour to Stuðlagil canyon and its basalt walls, then Dettifoss, one of Europe’s most powerful waterfalls, the steaming Námaskarð pass, and Lake Mývatn with the Dimmuborgir lava field and the Skútustaðagígar pseudo-craters. About 170 miles.
6. Day 6Akureyri and the northMore of Mývatn in the morning, then Goðafoss, the Waterfall of the Gods. On to Akureyri, the capital of the north, and into Skagafjörður, known for its Icelandic horses. About 140 miles.
7. Day 7West IcelandA short hike to the rim of the Grábrók crater, the Deildartunguhver hot spring, and water running out of old lava at Hraunfossar and Barnafoss. The Settlement Centre at Borgarnes on the way back to Reykjavík. About 240 miles.
8. Day 8DepartureA last morning in the city, or a soak at the Sky Lagoon or Blue Lagoon if the flight is late. Shared transfer to Keflavík.

Worth being straight about this one. Winter driving in Iceland can mean snowstorms, ice, strong wind and only four or five hours of daylight around Christmas. A 4×4 is strongly recommended, and if you have never driven on snow I would point you to the guided or privately guided version of the same route instead. Northern lights are never guaranteed.