Sorrento and Rome

This nine-day Italian journey divides its time between two cities that could hardly feel more different from each other — Sorrento, perched above the Bay of Naples with its narrow lanes and lemon groves, and Rome, where two thousand years of history press up against contemporary street life at every turn. That contrast is the engine of the tour: students spend several days settling into southern Italian coastal culture before the motorcoach carries them north to the capital, where the scale and density of monuments shifts the whole frame of reference. It is a structure that rewards patience, and it is one reason this itinerary carries an adult-recommended designation.