The essentials for this trip.
Everything you need to gauge fit before you read the day-by-day. Best months reflect our actual operating windows — these are the seasons we run, not theoretical year-round availability.
18 days, fully scoped.
Hotel category and meal plan listed for each day. "B" = breakfast, "L" = lunch, "D" = dinner. Optional add-ons noted where relevant. Itinerary occasionally adapts in real time to weather, local festivals, or guide recommendations.
Welcome to London. Group transfer from Heathrow to your Mayfair hotel. Welcome dinner in a classic British pub-restaurant — meet your tour leader and fellow travellers.
Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Tower of London with a Beefeater-led private tour. Free afternoon in Covent Garden or Borough Market. Optional West End theatre add-on.
Eurostar to Paris (St Pancras → Gare du Nord, 2h20). Afternoon Seine cruise past the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame. Evening Louvre after-hours — private access with an art-historian guide when galleries are closed to the public.
Versailles morning — Hall of Mirrors and the gardens with skip-line entry. Latin Quarter and Île de la Cité afternoon. Free evening in Saint-Germain or Montmartre.
TGV to Lucerne via Basel (~6 hours, scenic mid-section through the Jura mountains). Lakeside walk and Chapel Bridge afternoon. Welcome to Switzerland.
Schilthorn cable car — three-stage ascent to 2,970m for 360° views of the Bernese Alps and the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Coffee at the revolving Piz Gloria. Free time in car-free Mürren village. Fondue dinner.
Scenic rail through the Gotthard base tunnel into Italy (~7 hours, panoramic carriage). Florence late afternoon — Duomo, Ponte Vecchio walking introduction.
Day in Chianti — farmhouse cooking class with a local family. Fresh pasta from scratch, ragù, tiramisù. Vineyard tour and tasting. Long Tuscan lunch with the family.
Morning Uffizi (skip-line, expert guide) — Botticelli, Caravaggio, the Medici masterpieces. High-speed train to Rome (1h30). Free evening to wander the Trevi and Pantheon districts.
Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel morning with skip-line entry. Private Colosseum tour afternoon — including the underground gladiator chambers and upper tiers most visitors never see.
Train to Naples, transfer to clifftop Sorrento. Free afternoon for the Amalfi air — gelato on the piazza, lemon-grove views, the Bay of Naples at sunset.
Coastal drive with photographer-stops — Positano, Amalfi town, Ravello and the gardens of Villa Cimbrone. Sunset cruise to the waters off Capri.
Fly Naples → Barcelona (~2h30). Evening tapas crawl through El Born — four stops with a local-foodie host. Catalan vermouth, jamón ibérico, pintxos.
Sagrada Família (skip-line entry with tower access), Park Güell, Gothic Quarter walking tour. Free afternoon for La Rambla, the beach, or shopping.
Fly Barcelona → Lisbon (~2h15). Tram 28 ride through the Alfama district. Evening fado-and-dinner experience in a small Bairro Alto venue.
Day-trip through the Sintra hills — Pena Palace (Romantic-era jewel of Portugal) and Quinta da Regaleira (initiation wells, Templar gardens). Coastal Cascais for lunch.
Optional add-on: full day to Porto and the Douro Valley vineyards. Vintage port tasting at a family-owned quinta, terraced vineyards, lunch overlooking the river. Or free Lisbon day at leisure.
Farewell breakfast with the group. Group airport transfer to LIS for international departure home — or extend on your own.
The moments that make this trip.
The experiences our travellers remember years later — the things you book this tour for.
Louvre after-hours
Private evening access to the Louvre with an art-historian guide, when the galleries are closed to the public. The Mona Lisa room with no crowd.
Tuscan farmhouse cooking class
An afternoon in a working Chianti farmhouse — fresh pasta, ragù, tiramisù, and a long lunch with the family who run it.
Private Colosseum tour
Skip-the-line entry plus the underground gladiator chambers and upper tiers most visitors never see.
Schilthorn cable car
Three-stage cable car to 2,970m for 360° views of the Bernese Alps. Coffee at the revolving Piz Gloria — yes, the Bond villain's lair.
Amalfi sunset cruise
Small-group sail from Positano along the Amalfi Coast, sunset off Capri, returning by lantern-light.
Douro Valley vineyards
Lisbon-extension day: vintage port tasting at a family-owned quinta, terraced vineyards, lunch overlooking the river.
No hidden surprises.
A clear breakdown of what's covered in the tour price and what isn't. The Australian travel industry has a long history of opaque "from" pricing — Cooee doesn't do that. What you see is what's covered.
✓ Included in the tour price
- 17 nights 4-star centrally-located hotels (luxury 5-star upgrade option)
- All inter-city transport: Eurostar, TGV, Italian high-speed rail, Alpine scenic rail
- Naples → Barcelona and Barcelona → Lisbon flights
- Daily breakfast plus 6 lunches/dinners as itemised
- All entrance fees: Louvre after-hours, Versailles, Vatican, Colosseum, Uffizi, Sagrada Família, Schilthorn cable car
- Expert local guides at every destination (not a single tour leader)
- Tuscan cooking class with vineyard lunch
- Amalfi sunset cruise
- Group airport transfers London arrival, Lisbon departure
- 24/7 emergency support throughout
– Not included (typical extras)
- International flights from Australia (we book separately — typical from $2,200 economy / $7,500 business class via Singapore or Dubai)
- Travel insurance (mandatory — see our travel insurance guide)
- Lunches and dinners not specifically listed
- Optional Douro Valley extension (Day 17): $549 pp
- Drinks at meals (standard Cooee group budget: ~AU$30-40/day for wine, coffee, water)
- Tipping for local guides and drivers (standard ~AU$10/day at your discretion)
- UK ETA and EU ETIAS authorisations (when applicable — Cooee guides you through both)
2026 & 2027 departure dates.
Twin-share starting prices in AUD. Single supplement: from $1,495. Luxury upgrade (5-star hotels, business-class internal flights, premium guides): from $2,895 additional pp.
| Departure | Status | From (AUD pp) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2026 · 12 Apr | Available | $4,899 | Enquire → |
| May 2026 · 17 May | Few seats | $4,899 | Enquire → |
| Jun 2026 · 14 Jun | Few seats | $5,299 | Enquire → |
| Jul 2026 · 12 Jul | Sold out | $5,299 | Join waitlist → |
| Sep 2026 · 13 Sep | Available | $5,099 | Enquire → |
| Oct 2026 · 11 Oct | Available | $4,899 | Enquire → |
| Apr 2027 · 11 Apr | Open | $5,099 | Enquire → |
| May 2027 · 16 May | Open | $5,099 | Enquire → |
Reviews from this exact tour.
Eighteen days, eight countries, zero stress. The Louvre after-hours alone was worth it — we had whole rooms to ourselves. Tuscan cooking class became the trip story we still tell. Cooee got the pacing exactly right.
Solo at 62 — never felt alone for a moment. The group was warm, our local guides were exceptional, and the Schilthorn day in the Alps was breathtaking. Already booking Japan with Cooee for 2027.
Ready to secure your seat?
From $4,899 pp twin-share. Deposit of 20% confirms your booking. Flexible cancellation 90+ days from departure. Speak directly to a Brisbane-based world-travel specialist about this tour.
Specific to this tour.
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