Southern Italy Tours
Travel through Southern Italy steeped in historic and scenic splendour. Where colourful buildings spill down the Amalfi Coast’s sheer cliffs and the ancient towns of Puglia beckon. Wander among the moving ruins of Pompeii and the charming trulli houses of Alberobello and marvel at dazzling Mediterranean shores on a leisurely guided tour or active adventure through the South of Italy.
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Discover Top experiences and highlights of Southern Italy
Take a Walk Back in Time at Pompeii
Once buried under ash, this historic site now showcases some of the best-preserved and fascinating examples of Roman civilisation.
Discover the Trulli of Alberobello
The intriguing limestone dwellings, known as Trulli, date back as early as the mid-14th century and have lost none of their alluring charm.
Marvel at Mountainside Matera
The ‘sassi’ of Matera give this city an otherworldly feel, with dwellings moulded from natural grottoes and stone houses carved into the mountainside.
A Taste of the South
Boasting culinary prowess, Southern Italy is the perfect place to indulge your tastebuds. Enjoy unrivalled wood-fired pizza in Naples, learn to prepare traditional recipes, and visit a lemon grove to see how Limoncello is made.
Explore the Amalfi Coast
Discover a treasure trove of enchanting seaside villages and spellbinding scenery. From the main square and terraced gardens of Ravello to the Blue Grotto and trendy streets of Carpi, the Amalfi Coast will steal your heart.
Recent Reviews What our clients are saying about their journeys through Southern Italy
We had a group of 40, with most being Australian, with a few English and Americans. The region is covered in olive groves and vineyards, although we did drive through some pretty farming country on our way back to Naples. There were many lovely old town centres to explore, and I particularly loved seeing the Truli houses in Alberobello. Be prepared ...read more for quite a bit of walking on cobbled streets (often quite steep), in the old towns on this tour. On a couple of occasions we were given time for lunch and to explore on our own after our guided walking tour, but many felt these breaks were too long. Be warned that in Italy there are very few public toilets, and even if an actual tourist attraction has onsite toilets, they often don't work. When you do manage to find a public one, there's often a huge queue and you have to pay (anything from 50c -1.20 Euro). The recommendation from the tour guide was to sit down to eat or have coffee at a cafe, as they always have a free toilet.
Optional tour - "Apulian Delights" Farm Fresh Dinner & Pizzzica Show - I had expected that going to a farm we would be shown around the farm itself, but we were just given a short tour of the farm buildings and a brief history, followed by a dinner made from farm fresh ingredients, with about 3/4 hour of music & local dances - guests were encouraged to join in the dancing. Although I enjoyed the evening, I felt it was a bit pricey for what it was.
Optional tour - Caves of Matera with Altamura - took 2 hours to drive there, but the countryside was pretty on the way there. I enjoyed the walking tour of Matera to see the ancient cave houses, (we even saw a movie being made there), but felt that the walking tour of Altamura was a bit of a let down. I very much enjoyed the day, and felt this tour was worth the money.
The accommodation on the tour was fairly good, except for the location of the Holiday Inn in Naples - it's in the central business district, which isn't in a very pleasant area, with empty and derelict buildings surrounding it, and no food shops anywhere near. If you're a solo traveller I wouldn't recommend walking to the railway station on your own. Naples is very dirty, with garbage and graffiti absolutely everywhere, so except for using Naples as a base for visiting Pompeii, I personally wouldn't recommend spending much time there.
Cosmos no longer pay for portage, so you have to take your own suitcase to and from the bus each day, so I recommend you don't have a big or heavy one. Our coach driver was very good and I felt safe in his hands, as he maneuvered the huge bus through tiny streets and tight corners in the old towns. Our tour guide hasn't being doing it for very long, and to me it showed, (other tour members agreed with me). Unfortunately she wasn't as flexible as she should have been with passengers who requested a bathroom stop, or those who were struggling doing all the walking.
All in all an interesting and enjoyable tour, but not the best Cosmos tour I've been on. Thanks to Tracey for helping me organise the trip. I look forward to booking my next tour through Global Journeys again.
Optional tour - "Apulian Delights" Farm Fresh Dinner & Pizzzica Show - I had expected that going to a farm we would be shown around the farm itself, but we were just given a short tour of the farm buildings and a brief history, followed by a dinner made from farm fresh ingredients, with about 3/4 hour of music & local dances - guests were encouraged to join in the dancing. Although I enjoyed the evening, I felt it was a bit pricey for what it was.
Optional tour - Caves of Matera with Altamura - took 2 hours to drive there, but the countryside was pretty on the way there. I enjoyed the walking tour of Matera to see the ancient cave houses, (we even saw a movie being made there), but felt that the walking tour of Altamura was a bit of a let down. I very much enjoyed the day, and felt this tour was worth the money.
The accommodation on the tour was fairly good, except for the location of the Holiday Inn in Naples - it's in the central business district, which isn't in a very pleasant area, with empty and derelict buildings surrounding it, and no food shops anywhere near. If you're a solo traveller I wouldn't recommend walking to the railway station on your own. Naples is very dirty, with garbage and graffiti absolutely everywhere, so except for using Naples as a base for visiting Pompeii, I personally wouldn't recommend spending much time there.
Cosmos no longer pay for portage, so you have to take your own suitcase to and from the bus each day, so I recommend you don't have a big or heavy one. Our coach driver was very good and I felt safe in his hands, as he maneuvered the huge bus through tiny streets and tight corners in the old towns. Our tour guide hasn't being doing it for very long, and to me it showed, (other tour members agreed with me). Unfortunately she wasn't as flexible as she should have been with passengers who requested a bathroom stop, or those who were struggling doing all the walking.
All in all an interesting and enjoyable tour, but not the best Cosmos tour I've been on. Thanks to Tracey for helping me organise the trip. I look forward to booking my next tour through Global Journeys again.
G Adventures covered all needs and the tour guide provided a friendly disposition and tried to satisfy everyone's whims. The group was very engaging and inclusive of everyone and looked out for those who may have needed assistance. The Amalfi Coast did not disappoint.
Thanks to Hannah from Global Journeys for organising the tour for us. You made it easy for us. This is the third trip with Insight and everything was well organised and comfortable with a good Tour Director and Driver in a new spacious coach. This tour showed other parts of Italy/Sicily we have not seen on other Italy tours. Highlights were getting ...read more to see the history going back to Greece invasion in BC times and Arib influences. Mt Etna is amazing. Would recommend this tour with Insight and Global Journeys for all their help.
The Globus passengers were wonderful. Co-operative & so considerate. Our tour director Ciro was fabulous too. At times we were exhausted so I'm glad I didn't book all the optional extras. Very glad I chose the Mt Etna option though as it was unique. I've travelled with more expensive tour operators & consider Globus to be better value for money. Southern ...read more Italy is quite different to Northern Italy & it's the generosity of the southern locals that make it an authentic experience. I would never travel during Italy's summer seasons as it would be far too hot & busy. May was perfect with clear skies & comfortable temperatures in the 20's.
