It’s April in Rome and the streets are already chockablock. The tourist season started early and by all accounts it’s already a blockbuster, with the continued release of post-pandemic travel lust and the reopening of Asian markets.

The Eternal City is a perennial draw, and first-time visitors usually have a checklist of no-brainer must-sees – the Colosseum and Forum, Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona, Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel.

Those returning to Rome for a second or third time might seek something a little different. After all, the glories of Rome extend far beyond its most iconic attractions. And the city also makes a great base for day trips to other Italian highlights.

In partnership with Air Canada Vacations, Italian destination marketing company Meet and Greet Italy has curated a dozen packages that cover both the first-time and returning visitor. Five of them are new to the ACV Italy program this year.

The choices include six guided tour packages, five ‘fly and rail’ vacations, including a 5-star luxury option titled ‘Italian Indulgence,’ and a City Break package in Rome. All of the packages can easily be combined with a Mediterranean cruise for a multi-country, land and sea experience.

During last week’s Air Canada Vacations Seminar at Sea aboard Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas roundtrip Barcelona, TravelPulse Canada spent a day in Rome on a small group tour hosted by Meet and Greet Italy.

We were met at the Civitavecchia cruise terminal by the sharply dressed and engaging driver Daniele, who explained the challenges of his job as follows:

“Driving in Rome is organized chaos. There are at least some rules. In Naples, it’s just chaos.” Daniele then lamented having been booked to drive to Naples in a couple of days’ time, when that city would be celebrating a long-sought football championship. “It will probably be my last day of living,” he said theatrically.

Met in Rome by expert guide Annalisa Mancusa, we began at the St. Clement Basilica, a five-minute walk from the hordes storming the Colosseum, yet uncrowded during our visit. It’s a hugely important part of Rome’s history, with the present church – from the 12th-century – sitting atop a 4th-century church, which was built over a 1st-century temple. From street level you can descend two millennia into Roman history.

We then slowly walked past the Colosseum and the many nearby monuments, getting insights from Mancusa along the way. We climbed to the Capitoline Museums, home to art and archeological treasures. Opened to the public in 1734, the Capitoline Museums were one of the first places in the world where art could be enjoyed by all.

Our guide’s deep knowledge of Rome let her lead us on a crazy-quilt path through the fascinating alleys of the city – once again evading the crowds -- ending up at a wonderful trattoria, est Artigiani del Gusto. There we were greeted by Meet and Greet’s owner Edmundo Boscoscuro, who shared what he wants to achieve with the company’s tours.

“We’re trying to evolve from mass tourism. Tourism shows you our beautiful world but it can also destroy it. Everyone wants to do the Colosseum and the Vatican, but the Capitol Museum is completely empty. On all our tours we try to include things that aren’t so mass tourism because there is a way to do things better.

“This restaurant is a typical example,” Boscoscuro said, as the group from Air Canada Vacations and Air Canada made audible moans over the Roman specialties, the scent of truffles filling the air. “We believe in this kind of experience.”

Boscoscuro says the company is striving towards sustainability, using only low-impact trains rather than coaches for inter-city travel. The company also purchases carbon offsets in the form of trees – it planted 75 trees as part of an ‘Air Canada Vacations Forest” near Rome, and another 75 near Mount Vesuvius.

“Many of our ACV customers are first-time visitors to Italy, but there’s also a significant group that are returning and want to go a little more behind the scenes,” said Air Canada Vacations General Manager Erminia Gallina. “Our ready-to-book packages have something for both segments.”

One example of a great tour for returning travellers is Train and Trattoria. Travellers are booked into a quality Rome hotel for seven nights, with daily breakfast. As well as plenty of time to soak up the city, the package includes three day trips by train – to Florence, Orvieto and Sperlonga. Each includes lunch in a typical local restaurant – three-course meals in Florence and Orvieto, and lunch by the sea at a beach club in Sperlonga. Guests unpack just once, while exploring multiple destinations.

From Rome to Sorrento is another ACV option enabling visits to several life-list destinations, including Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and the island of Capri, as well as extensive touring in Rome. Accommodations are split between Rome and the seaside town of Sorrento. Five dinners and a lunch are included, as well as first-class rail tickets between Rome and Naples, several tours and excursions and much more.

Many travellers crossing the pond seek even more return on their Europe travel investment by staying for at least two weeks. With ACV, that makes it easy to combine a Roman holiday with a week at sea, visiting iconic ports on the Mediterranean. For the Seminar at Sea, we travelled aboard the massively magnificent Symphony of the Seas, along with a full ship of 5,500 passengers, a very diverse group of North and South Americans, Europeans and Middle Easterners.The cruise itinerary was busy and thrilling, and a week on land post-cruise would have been an excellent complement.

As well as Royal Caribbean, which hosted the ACV event, the tour operator offers many choices for Mediterranean cruises out of Rome and other ports, including from RCI sister brands Celebrity Cruises and luxury option Silversea Cruises.

With Italian and overall European travel in a peak moment, Air Canada has stepped up by focusing its resources there. 2023 summer Europe capacity is just 1% below 2019 figures, and Rome is well-served in summer with 10 weekly flights from Toronto and eight from Montreal. Off-season travel is an increasingly attractive option, and AC will still offer four weekly flights from Toronto and three from Montreal – on alternating days – throughout the winter.

ACV has extended its season for Italy touring as well. It normally runs April through October but soaring demand will see it run through December this year.