Audley Travel adds Lake Garda and the Dolomites to its Italy programme

Tailor-made specialist tour operator Audley Travel has further expanded its Italy programme with the addition of Lake Garda and the Dolomites. As with all its trips, Audley’s specialists will design an itinerary for clients based on their tastes, wish-list and budget.

Lake Garda

Audley recommends clients stay in Sirmione, a fortified 4th and 5th century Roman city and often described as Lake Garda’s prettiest town. It is found on a thin peninsula on the southern shore, with the churches and Roman amphitheatre of Verona only an hour away. Visitors to Sirmione explore the medieval Scaliger Castle, Grotte di Catullo (the crumbling ruins of a Roman villa abandoned in the 4th century) and soak in the town’s thermal springs.

Audley also recommends a local wine tasting tour at a small-scale winery, with a tasting of the five wines produced by the family as well as a guided tour of hillside estate Vittoriale degli Italiani — home of Italian poet, playwright, politician, and national war hero Gabriele D’Annunzio.

The Dolomites

Visitors to Madonna di Campiglio in the Dolomites with Audley can hike past glacier-clad mountains and turquoise lakes, enjoy fine food in stylish bars and restaurants, be pampered with spa treatments and take a visit to historical Merano. The town showcases sophisticated 19th-century buildings as well as chalet-style hotels, with traditional Tyrolean wooden shutters and bright flower boxes.

UNESCO World Heritage Site Madonna di Campiglio is on the edge of the Adamello-Brenta Nature Park, with around 450 km of mountain paths to explore. Audley can arrange for a guide to accompany clients along some of the best lesser-trodden routes, sharing details on the area’s history, culture, geology, and wildlife, which includes Alpine ibex.

A 10-day tailor-made trip to the Lakes and mountains of Italy with Audley costs from £3,675 per person (based on two sharing) for travel in September 2022. The price includes flights, accommodation on a B&B basis (one night in Verona, three nights in Madonna di Campiglio and four nights in Sirmione) and excursions. 01993 838960 / www.audleytravel.com/italy.