Gladiators From Austria to Rome

Arrive by air to Vienna, where the first leg of your gladiator tour begins. Check into your hotel and have an early dinner to get your mind and body ready for the adventure in travel of a lifetime. 

After eating breakfast at one Vienna’s fine eateries, your tour will depart on your way to Carnuntum Gladiator School. It is less than an hour drive, where you will spend this adventure walking the same path the gladiators walked. 

Archaeologists have been studying the city of Carnuntum for over a century. They knew it was a city of importance because of the roads going into the city. They also were able to recognize the training center of the gladiators. Believe it or not, it was the features they were able to locate underground in Carnuntum that gave them the most information about the gladiators. There was an amphitheater with a capacity of 13,000 people. Even with its massive size it would have been the 4th largest of the time. It gives you a clue as to how important gladiators were to the daily lives of Romans. 

Now, scientists have been able to recreate a 3D model of the city for you and your group to see. Imagine what life would have been like for people living then. Would you have been a fearless gladiator? Would you have been a gladiator trainer? 

Hop on the plane and fly off to Naples, Italy, with your group for a walking tour and a quiet night. Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day.  Get together with your group to decide where to have lunch. 

After lunch, put on those walking shoes, and get ready to learn all about Naples in your walking tour. After your walking tour, enjoy some shopping. The rest of the evening is free as tomorrow will be an early day for you and your group. Have a nice dinner either as part of your group or in your room. 

Tomorrow your group will be leaving early. 

Your tour guide will share information with the group regarding transportation to Pompeii. You can get there by rail or car. Have your morning breakfast and get ready for a 30 to 40-minute ride to Pompeii.  Explore the city that housed the gladiators. Walk the streets that led to the theater where up to 5,000 people could watch the action-packed battles from above. Have lunch with your group while in Pompeii. 

Enjoy the rest of your day walking sidewalks with stepping stones while enjoying reading the signs marked with chariot names. Imagine what it was like, it’s frozen in time in from before the Mt. Vesuvius eruption in 79 A.D. 

When you get back, have dinner as a group. Also, see if anyone is up to going out for some late-night snacks or a nightcap. Your guide can suggest pubs or all night restaurants within walking distance. 

Have breakfast upon waking and pack getting ready to leave for Rome, Italy. Depart for your last stop — Rome, Italy. The train to Rome will take 2.5 to 3.5 hours. When you arrive check into your hotel and have a quick snack to hold you over until lunch. 

Your tour guide will take you on the ancient Rome walking tour.  On this tour, you will see the Forum, Palatine Hill, the Colosseum, and other places frozen in time. Many of these buildings have been so well-preserved that it is not difficult to imagine yourself living there. 

While on the Ancient Rome walking tour, your group will have lunch.  

After your Ancient Rome walking tour, you will board the bus for a tour of city center so you can see the famous fountain and the stairs. You may feel like you have been to the fountain or the stairs before as they are famous settings for several movies. 

The bus will drop the group off in the marketplace for dinner before its back to the hotel for some relaxation and swimming in the pool. 

After breakfast, your guide will take you to the Rome Gladiator School for your biggest adventure in travel with the gladiators. Here you will get the opportunity to show off your gladiator fighting skills and tour the school,  gaining an insight into the lives of these brave men who were considered the best of the best to fight for their leader.

Enjoy a lunch served picnic-style on the grounds. Then head over to the Colosseum to see where the fighting took place in ancient times. You and your group can then take on the rest of Rome for the day.  

Split into smaller groups, visit the marketplaces and have dinner or head back to the hotel. 

Depart from Rome, Italy, and head home to plan your next adventure in travel!