Venice, Verona & the Wonders of Lake Garda

Fly from the UK to Italy, meet your tour manager at the airport, board the coach and travel to Lake Garda and your chosen hotel. You can opt to stay in charming Torbole, a quintessential Trentino town, or Riva at the top of the lake. Settle in to your surroundings, and enjoy a first evening at your hotel.

After breakfast, today, board the coach to begin a Grand Lake Tour around Garda in the company of your tour manager. The fjord-like eastern shores and the northern, mountain-backed resorts of sun-blessed Torbole and pastel-painted Riva del Garda give way to a western shoreline of citrus and olive groves. On the southern shore, a promontory leads to the spa resort of Sirmione, with its healing waters and fairy-tale Rocca Scaligera castle. The tour will also visit the wine-growing town of Bardolino and the busy resort of Garda itself on the way back to your hotel.

Today you’ll visit the thoroughly charming city of Verona and join a local guide on a fascinating walking tour. Amongst its outstanding sights, you'll find the best-preserved Roman amphitheatre in Italy, famed across the world for its summertime opera festival. You'll also take in the sweeping Piazza Bra, with its popular pavement-side cafés, and the colourful market on ancient Piazza delle Erbe. Nearby, the maze of 13th-century streets is reminiscent of Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers and you'll have the chance to soak up their scenic beauty as you wander through.

After another marvellous day, you’ll return to Garda’s shores.

Today, you're free to rest and relax. Enjoy the facilities at your hotel, or perhaps venture into the centre of your chosen resort. All the resorts we use have been favourites with our customers for many years, and each has a lot to offer. Stroll the lakeside promenade, watch the world go by from a seat in a pavement café, shop, or perhaps even take to the water – Garda is a favourite of sailors and windsurfers who revel in the breezy conditions offshore.

Today is spent exploring the crags and passes of the majestic Dolomites, which lie to the north of Lake Garda, and provide some of Europe’s most dramatic mountain scenery.

Visit towering Marmolada and Canazei in the mountain's shadow, Val Rendena, the huge Adamello Glacier, the Brenta Dolomites and pretty Val di Genova. Soak up the atmosphere and stunning views as you stop at some of the traditional towns and villages of this delightful region, which sits between the sun-kissed Italian plain of Emiglia-Romagna and the Alps of the Austrian Tyrol, above the wine-growing valley of the Alto-Adige.

Today's visit to Venice, probably the world’s most romantic city, will etch itself into your memory like few others. Board the coach and travel through the Veneto to the city. On arrival, you'll take a walking tour of this simply breathtakingly beautiful place in the company of a local guide. The 100 or so islands that make up the city are linked by innumerable bridges, and gondolas and water taxis ply their trades on the beautiful Grand Canal, past the stunning Accademia museum and beneath the Rialto Bridge.

The vast expanse of St Mark's Square, with its sumptuous cathedral, clock tower and the Doge's Palace – the Palazzo Ducale – is one of the world’s great sights. Close by, joining the palace to the prisons, the famous Bridge of Sighs is said to have afforded condemned men a last view of the beauty of Venice en route to the gallows.

Away from St Marks and the Grand Canal, a labyrinth of narrow streets waits to be explored, each new corner revealing another memorable view of this wonderful city. After an unforgettable day you'll return to Lake Garda.

Spend your final day in Italy relaxing at your hotel and in the resort. Revisit your favourite cafés, relax at the water's edge or explore further afield.

Say "Arrivederci, Lago di Garda", today, as you board the coach and the transfer back to the airport to catch your flight home.