You will be picked up from your hotel or cruise ship in Sorrento in a private air-conditioned car for your Allied Landing Beaches Tour . A private guide in your preferred language (Italian, English, German, French or Russian) will accompany you throughout the tour.
There will be stops for refreshments (payable direct) and you will have time at leisure in the places you visit.
Your tour takes you to the key sites in the World War II (WW2) Allied push to invade the Italian mainland and wrest the country from the Axis Powers. ‘Operation Avalanche’, the main invasion at Salerno by the US Fifth Army, began on 9 September 1943.
You will take a 1 hour 30 minutes drive from Sorrento to Paestum, an ancient settlement with many fine Greek remains. It was here that the Allies realized they had failed to achieve tactical surprise. As the US 36th Infantry Division approached the shore a loudspeaker proclaimed, in English: "Come on in and give up. We have you covered."
Despite fierce opposition, the Allied troops attacked and you can visit the Paestum landing beaches that they stormed.
After about an hour in Paestum, you’ll be taken to Salerno, and will have 1 hour 30 minutes to spend in the city. Salerno is perched upon the sea and has spectacular views.
The city was the scene of bitter fighting during Operation Avalanche. To this day you can see buildings with the scars of shelling, as well as the landing beaches where the US Commandos came ashore, and some remnants of fascist architecture.
You can also visit the Allied Cemetery, which contains 1,846 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 107 of them unidentified.
Next you’ll take a 1 hour drive to visit the mountain pass of Valico di Chiunzi, which the Allies recaptured from the German defenders. Many artifacts from the War are still being uncovered to this day. You will spend 2 hours here before the 1 hour and 20mins drive back to Sorrento.
At the end of the day, you will be taken back to your hotel/cruise ship in Sorrento, where your tour ends.