Even though the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce conducted a trip to Italy four years ago, the country seems worth exploring again.
In 2012, chamber members and local residents explored northern Italy's wine producing state of Tuscany just north of Rome, but the Chamber Discoveries travel and touring agency of Fresno, Calif., recommended a second trip to southern Italy.
This year's trip, Oct. 20-27, will focus on southern Italy's Pompeii ruins and Amalfi coast. The trip is open to any Texarkana resident and will cost just under $2,600 if residents apply before May 31. After May 31 it will go up to about $2,800. The price for this eight-day visit includes airfare, hotel accommodations, meals and an optional visit to Capri Island and Naples.
The group will leave Oct. 20 for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport by shuttle bus. From there, they leave on an overnight flight to Italy.
The trip's highlights include a daily breakfast at the hotel, deluxe motor-coach rides, full-day tour-guided sightseeing excursions to the historic cities of Positano, the hillside town of Ravello and its elaborate gardens, Sorrento, Amalfi and Pompeii. These cities are just south of Naples and west of Salerno. There will also be a visit to a ceramics factory.
Six of the eight days will feature the Amalfi coastline running all along the southern side of the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the north side of the Salerno Gulf.
The day after arriving in Italy will feature a visit to Ravello, followed on the fourth day by a tour of Pompeii-known to be Italy's most famous archeological site. Its notoriety grew from the fact that city had remained frozen in time when volcanic ash covered it during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Following the city's excavation centuries later, Pompeii became designated as a World Heritage Site, providing a gold mine of ancient Roman Empire artifacts, according to Chamber Discoveries research.
The fifth day will offer tourists the option of sailing to Capri Island on the Gulf of Naples' south side, while the sixth day will be devoted to touring luxurious Sorrento, which is loaded with attractive, world-renowned hotels, restaurants and artisan shops that sell local products. The tour will finish in Positano, where the chamber's group will be able to look at the brightly colored dome atop the Santa Maria Assunta church.
On the last day before departure, the group will have the option of visiting Naples, a city known for its wealth of art and history such as the San Carlo Theatre and assorted ancient castles.
For more information, call Alyssa Howard, Texarkana Chamber of Commerce Events and Marketing coordinator, at 903-792-7191.