CLUB CREW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS |
Dragon Boat Tour of Ravenna, Italy
SEPTEMBER 2024 |
p. 802-862-2200 • [email protected]
Explore Italy’s Adriatic coast with your fellow paddlers!
At American Expeditions, we have a network that spans the globe. When you plan a trip with us, we treat your group like family – making full use of our connections to ensure you have the trip of a lifetime. Picture your team exploring hills spotted with vineyards and olive trees, the Adriatic Riviera’s long sandy beaches, UNESCO’s World Heritage sites and most importantly dragon boating. Join American Expeditions for the 2024 Club Crew World Championships in Ravenna, Italy!
Ravenna, located in northern Italy on the Adriatic coast, is rich in history, renowned for its extensive mosaics, art and architecture preserved from the Roman and Byzantine empires. This iconic setting will be the perfect backdrop for an unforgettable Italian holiday as your team competes against dragon boat teams from all around the world.
Have your option to stay in the city center in historic Ravenna or beach side on the coast. Both options offer you the mix of adventure and relaxation while your team competes. Take is the impressive sightseeing and excursion opportunities all arranged to complement your race schedule.
Your journey will whisk you into a world of immense beauty, culture, history and most importantly, dragon boating.
While you focus on your crew, your stroke, and your path to the podium, allow American Expeditions to coordinate your travel details. Let us do what we do best, so you can do the same.
Friday, August 30
DEPART NORTH AMERICA FOR ITALY!
Depart your home airport on an overnight flight bound for Italy. Buon Viaggio!
Refer to your American Expeditions tour handbook for tips on making the journey smooth and comfortable.
DAY 1 | Saturday, August 31
WELCOME TO RAVENNA, ITALY!
Benvenuto in Italia! Your American Expeditions tour manager will be waiting to greet you at the Venice airport. Together, board your private motor coach, and transfer to Milano Marittima located on the Adriatic coast and only 12 kilometers from the race venue. This seaside resort town will be your team’s home base for the 2024 Club Crew World Championships! Hotel options in the city center in Ravenna are also available.
Arrive and check into your hotel. Settle in and refresh before joining your tour manager on an Orientation Walk to get a feel for the local ambiance.
Tonight, enjoy an evening at leisure to recoup from your travels and rest up for your busy days ahead.
DAY 2 | Sunday, September 1
PRACTICE | SIGHTSEEING IN RAVENNA | WELCOME DINNER
Wake up to your first day in Italy with a fresh breakfast in the hotel dining room. Transfer by private motor coach to Ravenna’s Standiana Basin, the venue for the 2024 Club Crew World Championships. Team practices will be held this morning.
Today, discover the mosaics of Ravenna. With your expert guide, explore Ravenna’s early Christian monuments, considered an UNESCO world heritage site for their colorful tile artwork dating back to the 5 & 6th centuries. Start your tour at Piazza del Popolo, the city’s main square, then makes stops at the Basilica di San Vitale, Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Dante's tomb and the the Baptistery of Neon, each adorned with unique and exquisite mosaics.
There will be time in Ravenna to explore on your own. Enjoy a lovely lunch at an open-air café in Piazza del Popolo. Notice the two columns standing tall at the edge of the square and their striking resemblance to those in San Marco square in Venice.
This evening, your team’s participation in the CCWC kicks off with a welcome dinner of Italian fare. Later, settle in for a good night’s rest. What better way to celebrate the start of your dragon boat team’s trip to Italy.
DAY 3 | Monday, September 2
PRACTICE | OPTIONAL EXCURSION
After breakfast at your hotel, team practices take place at Ravenna’s race basin.
To compliment your training schedule, a guided excursion to nearby San Marino can be arranged. This ancient republic sits high in Italy’s Central Apennines Mountains and is home to only 30,000 people. Your walking tour of the San Marino historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, begins at the Porta San Francesco, a 12th century guard post that acts as the gateway of the ancient site. Continue through the cobbled stone streets as your guide tells the story of San Marino’s history and cultural heritage. Climb the three peaks of Monte Titano, in which the historic center sits and visit the famous three towers: Guaita, Cesta & Montale. Enjoy panoramic birds-eye views of the mountains and Adriatic sea. After an adventurous day, return to your hotel. Your American Expeditions tour manager will be happy to provide dinner recommendations.
(Additional supplement applies for optional excursions)
DAY 4 | Tuesday, September 3
PRACTICE | OPTIONAL EXCURSION
After breakfast at your hotel, team practices take place at Ravenna’s race basin.
For those not racing today, it would be a perfect day to discover Venice!
Travel by private motorcoach north along the coastline to Venice and by motorboat to Venice Island. Meet your local guide and embark on a guided walking tour through this unique city considered by many to be the most beautiful in the world! Situated on an archipelago on the water, more than 180 canals and 450 bridges connect 118 Venetian islands. The buildings of Venice were constructed with a creative technique using impermeable stone supported by larchwood rafts and timber piles. The method proved effective, as most structures you'll see in Venice today are at least 400 years old! With the help of your guide, admire highlights including those around Piazza San Marco: Fabulous St. Mark's Basilica, the Palazzo Ducale, campanile and clock tower, and the infamous Bridge of Sighs. Walk along the Grand Canal and over the Rialto Bridge lined with kiosks selling crafts, souvenirs and food.
Enjoy the rest of the afternoon to explore Venice on your own or with your American Expeditions tour manager. Sit back and take in Venice as it was meant to be seen – from the water with a gondola ride through the maze of canals. Enjoy time for shopping and cool off with a drink at one of the outdoor cafés along Piazza San Marco, a perfect spot for people watching. (Additional supplement applies for optional excursions)
DAY 5 | Wednesday, September 4
RACES | OPTIONAL EXCURSION | OPENING CEREMONY
Consider an excursion to a working local vineyard for a wine tasting. Relish in the beautiful setting as you enjoy delicious Italian wine with your teammates.
Return to Ravenna this evening to join other teams from around the world for the 2024 Club Crew World Championship Opening ceremony and parade.
Following the ceremony, return to your hotel by motorcoach.
(Additional supplement applies for optional excursions)
DAY 6 | Thursday, September 5
RACES OR OPTIONAL EXCURSION
Following breakfast at the hotel, join fellow paddlers on the water and compete in races today — paddles up!
Excursions can optionally be arranged to compliment your team schedule. Consider a group Italian cooking class. Learn about local culinary traditions as a chef shows you the art of making homemade pasta. Afterwards, sample your tasty creations!
DAY 7 | Friday, September 6
RACES OR OPTIONAL EXCURSION
Refuel with breakfast at the hotel this morning.
Your team may compete in races today. For those who are not racing, enjoy a relaxing day at the beach. Milano Marittima, known for its laid-back sandy beaches and pristine blue waters, is a perfect way to relax on your day off. Alternatively, you may wish to visit the Butterfly House, a greenhouse of over 500 square meters, which contains hundreds of flying butterflies and different species of insects.
A team dinner can be arranged to complement your race schedule.
DAY 8 | Saturday, September 7
RACES OR OPTIONAL EXCURSION
Your morning begins with breakfast at your hotel.
Today, teams from around the world compete in races. Good luck paddlers.
Excursions can optionally be arranged to compliment your team schedule.
DAY 9 | Sunday, September 8
FINAL DAY OF RACES | CLOSING CEREMONY | FAREWELL DINNER
Enjoy a full breakfast buffet in the hotel before transferring by motor coach to Ravenna for the final day of races. Well done paddles!
Tonight, it’s time to recount the many highlights of your tour! Toast to your team’s success, new friends, and great sightseeing in gorgeous places over a delicious team farewell dinner. Wrap up the night with cheers and memories to last a lifetime! (Arranged upon request for an additional supplement)
DAY 10 | Monday, September 9
FLY HOME OR EXTEND YOUR STAY
Your time in Italy ends with a flight from Venice back to your home airport. Heartfelt goodbyes are exchanged at the airport, and your group is sent off with a fond, "Arrivederci!”
Ask us about additional touring in Italy. Don’t go home without experiencing Milan, Rome and Florence!
Italy awaits...
Discover the "city of mosaics"
Your Tour INCLUDES:
FLIGHTS - professionally managed with group airfare
Our flight team handles custom flight requests and upgrades.
ACCOMMODATIONS - thoughtfully selected to match group needs
- 9 nights in a 4* hotel
MEALS - varied, flavorful, and highlighting local cuisine
- Breakfast daily at your hotel
- Team welcome dinner of Italian fare
- Additional meals can be arranged upon request.
- Breakfast daily at your hotel
ACTIVITIES + TOURS + ENTRANCES - handpicked for your travelers
Experience fabulous sightseeing with our entertaining and informative guides:
- A guided walking tour of Ravenna's mosaics
- Optional excursions arranged to compliment your team's race schedule (additional supplement applies)
- Excursion to San Marino and walking tour of UNESCO site with local guide
- Day excursion to Venice island with guided walking tour
- Group Italian cooking demonstration
- Vineyard tour with wine tasting & lunch
TOUR MANAGER to handle on-the-road logistics
A full-time tour manager to accompany your group every step of the way from arrival through departure. Our beloved tour managers assist with:
- Greeting and gathering the group upon arrival
- Expediting hotel check-ins and check-outs
- Liaising with reception desks, coach drivers, and guides
- Facilitating concerts and rehearsals
- Directing on-site entrances and activities, handling tickets and vouchers
- Keeping each day well-paced
- Sharing cultural content and interpreting local customs
- Sending everyone home with fond memories & hopes to travel together again soon!
TRANSPORTATION in a private, modern, climate-controlled motor coach with a professional driver for all services specified in your itinerary, as follows:
- Airport transfer to/from Venice airport to your hotel, transfers to the race venue for practice, opening ceremony and three race day
- Additional transfer can be added based on your team's schedule
- Airport transfer to/from Venice airport to your hotel, transfers to the race venue for practice, opening ceremony and three race day
INSURANCE that covers our commitment to you
American Expeditions & Music Contact International, Inc. holds $5,000,000.00 of Travel Agent and Tour operators Professional Liability Insurance.
TOUR ENHANCEMENT MATERIALS to help plan, promote, and prepare for your tour
- A custom Traveler’s Resource (TR) website: We build this site specifically for your tour as a resource for travelers to engage in from the start. The TR Site is where travelers view the itinerary and watch it develop. There are maps, pictures, packing lists, recommendations for destination-based books and movies, collections of FAQs, and helpful travel links. We’ll build your site when your group is registered for this tour!
- A customized Tour Handbook with hourly itinerary, packing tips and lists, practical “Things to Know”, destination background, and other fun content. This printed booklet is provided for each traveler about a month before departure.
- A luggage tag, passport/document holder, and outlet adaptor for each traveler is also included.
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONS SERVICE goes beyond logistics
- A unique opportunity to make lifelong friends through travel and pilgrimage! When we bring groups together, friendships develop that frequently extend to years of heartfelt reunions on tours we plan around the world.
- You are in good hands! We’ve got 30+ years’ experience arranging custom cultural and special interest tours, performance tours, and festivals for choirs, bands, and orchestras.
- Our American Expeditions team is the best in the business! We are paddlers, musicians, teachers, event planners, parents, performers, volunteers, travelers, linguists, athletes, and more, from many countries, sharing our expertise at producing great tour experiences.
- We are right there with you! Often, a person who works on your tour, escorts it. This means your tour manager’s expectations for a great program and activities are as high as yours!
- Details are our specialty! Group leaders appreciate our well-organized, user-friendly systems and tools for handling group logistics, payments, and diverse traveler needs.
- You’ll love our flexibility! Do some of your travelers need individual flights? Adjoining rooms? Gluten-free meals? We are always glad to help.
- No matter where you live, consider us local! We will travel to meet your group, present the tour, and help you promote and plan for it. We also Zoom, Skype, and video chat.
CONVENIENT ONLINE PAYMENT SYSTEM - tour accounting has never been easier!
American Expeditions has a secure, password-protected, online payment site where tour members register and pay for their tour in increments. Reminders and statements are sent electronically.
Your designated leader is emailed a weekly report on group finances and has access to a portal to view payments at any time. We have a system for handling scholarships and monies from fundraisers as well. If for any reason you prefer to collect payments from your travelers and send us a group payment, that’s fine too!
Contact us for package pricing