Southern Italy Camp for Teenagers: Rome and Naples

The stay is a cultural touring programme, not a course: there are no lessons and no classroom. Rome is discovered on foot — the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus, the forums, the Trevi Fountain and the Palatine Hill, where the city began — with a guided visit to the Vatican, the smallest state in the world, and its Basilica of St Peter. A city game built on riddles and quizzes runs alongside the sightseeing. The group then travels south to Naples: the alleys and markets of the old town, the Certosa di San Martino on the hill above the bay, the excavation site of Pompeii, buried by the eruption of Vesuvius and listed by UNESCO, and a climb on the slopes of the volcano itself.

The price covers accommodation, meals, the activities and excursions of the published programme, and insurance. Zigo Tours takes out cover for every participant — assistance and repatriation, individual accident, third-party liability, legal costs and baggage — and advances medical expenses during the stay. Travel is by direct international flight with a drop-off: out of Paris to Rome, back from Naples to Paris. Pre-travel from regional cities can be arranged; it is quoted case by case and is not part of the published price.

Accommodation changes with the itinerary. In Rome the group stays in bungalows sleeping three to four, each bungalow with its own shower and toilet. In Naples the group moves to a youth hostel, in single-sex dormitories of four to ten beds, where showers and toilets are shared and sit outside the rooms.

Meals are taken in small local restaurants, so the food follows the two cities — including Neapolitan pizza eaten where the pizza was born.

Sightseeing is the core of the programme and most of Rome is covered on foot. The team runs a city game of riddles and quizzes across several of the visits, so the monuments come with something to solve. Beyond the classic sites there is the fashion and design side of Rome and its most fashionable quarters. In Naples the walking continues through the old town and up to the monastery of San Martino, with an excursion to Pompeii and a climb on Vesuvius. Evenings are organised by the team, with games and veillées.

The bungalows used in Rome each have a private shower and toilet. The youth hostel in Naples has dormitory rooms with shared shower and toilet facilities on the corridor. The group is small — the stay is capped at twelve participants — and is led by a qualified director and activity leaders, one adult for every eight participants.

A small group — twelve participants at most — travelling between two Italian cities with a qualified director and activity leaders, one adult for every eight young people. The perfect balance between guided culture and the ordinary life of a holiday camp.