PRIVATE TOURS
You can choose any of the Tours Types we described below.

Some sample prices and inclusions are listed in the Rates page. Yet, for a 4 days minimum private trip we are ready to customize hotels, activities and itinerary on request. If you wish to stayi in 4 and 5 stars or other top range hotels, and have chauffeur service, we plan Luxury , and Ultra Luxury tours for you. 

For any kind of private tour, in order to quickly provide a proposal, and quote a price we ask you to tell us:
1) what lodging you expect,
2) group size and travel days, 
3) destination,
4) dates. We would also appreciate knowing
5) your flight schedule and
6) ideal budget. 

Every negotiation will be quick and clear, if you tell us a top budget from the start, and then let us submit you our best offer.

OPEN MIXED GROUPS TOURS

The Scheduled Tours page describes our open, mixed groups itineraries. They include some Classic Wine Journeys and some Feasts and Festivals programs.  The main inclusions are 3 stars hotels, or alike, about half or the meals with wines, 1-2 winetasting per day, van or bus, an expert guide being your host for the whole day. See inclusions for more details.

GUIDE ONLY SERVICE

A Guide only service can also be offered, in case you have booked your hotel or villa. It includes a guide, and/or driver, and the winetastings.

DAYTRIPS
We do not offer daytrips, except than in the Chianti Classico, Etruscan Coast and and Montalcino zones, with departures from Florence , Pisa and Siena respectively, and only for late bookings.

TOUR TYPES
- “ The Classic Wine Journeys ”, take you to the more famous wine zones. They include Tuscany , Veneto , Friuli and Sudtyrol , Sicily and Puglia .

- “ Feasts & Festivals ”,  designed to join typical Italian celebrations.

- “ Opera F estivals ”, wineries at day time,  big Opera in the night,  see below. 

Every year we propose a Calendar of such tours in the Scheduled Tours page.
On request we also offer our special theme trips:

- “ ItalianWineTrails ”, walking across Vineyards and country towns. There will be 3-4 hours moderate walks every day or so, with van support and picnics .

- “ Good Wines, Better  Foods ”, wines of course, cooking classes, wine food combinations.

- “ Beach Side Vineyards ”, wines of Tuscany , Sicily , or Puglia , plus seaside holidays, between late June and September. Early booking is necessary. 

- “ High in the Dolomites ”, visit - or hike if you want - the spectacular Dolomites, tasting the best wines made all around them: from Veneto , Sudtyrol and Friuli .

- “ Grand Gourmet Adventures ”, a pilgrimage to the top restaurants, and more creative, famous chefs in Italy :  Northern and Central Italy , and Sicily . High prices.

- “ Gay Drinking ”,  dedicated to gay men and women with a taste for fine wines and the Italian world.

MORE in DETAIL
The Classic Wine Journeys
Classic Italian experiences which blend artistic cities, famous wines, history, great food, culture and sightseeing.   Florence and the Chianti Classico, for example, Siena and the Brunello di Montalcino, Venezia, Verona and the Valpolicella, Torino the Barolo and Barbaresco, Palermo, Taormina, the Nero d'Avola and the best Marsala, Taranto and the Primitivo, Lecce and the Negroamaro, and so on. 

“ Feasts & Festivals ”
Popular feasts, tournaments, colorful pageants, scenic religious celebrations and processions, are the specialty of these tours. They combine the wine world experience, with the more genuine Italian folklore. For the summer, we propose amazing open air Ope ra  festivals, which are the favorite of every  music lover. We want to propose something beyond predictable, carbon copy itineraries,  resulting from marketing and the search engines logic. These tours ar meant to enrich your holiday with the show of lively feasts or deeply respected rituals, of real street life, and music. In other words, with the essence of the Italian lifestyle and traditions. There are wine and truffle fairs in the fall, but the more unique events are Religious Feasts and Processions.

The most spectacular occurr in the Easter Week,   in Sicily   ( www.pasquainsicilia.it ) for example, and various Patron Saints Festivals, enlivening the summers, mainly in southern Italy, where the traditions are more lively and respected.  Then, historical pageants, in colorful medieval costumes, recalling battles and events in which people identify still today. 

In Tuscany for example: the Arezzo Giostra del Saracino ( www.lagiostradelsaracino.it ) (Saracen Joust), the Siena Palio   ( www.ilpalio.org/palioenglish.htm ), with hundreds of actors, flags and armors.

Opera Festivals
The quintessential Opera Lirica is Verdi, Bellini, Rossini, and later Puccini. It mirrors the birth of Italy in 1800-1900, and portrays our characters, passions and defects. So well that it fascinated the early, northern travelers, and that it has been defined the Italian ultimate alternative to the psychoanalyst. We can't miss these wonderful festivals, enjoying the classic  performances in the mild summer nights in the open air.  The operas you can listen to are listed in the July and August Scheduled Tours , or you can look directly at the main festivals and programs: Verona : ( www.arena.it ). Lucca: ( www.puccinifestival.it) . Siracusa ( www.indafondazione.org) .  Martina Franca, Puglia ( www.festivaldellavalleditria.it) .

ItalianWineTrails
The walks take us from towns to wineries, crossing the most picturesque landscapes, tidily, almost artistically cultivated hill slopes, where the vines find the best terroirs. We spend half of the time tasting wine and visiting, and half walking, covering 4- 6 miles on easy to moderate country roads, during 3-4 hours per day. The wine countries are  rarely flat, the walks, therefore, are often up and downhill, especially in Tuscany , our picnic and support van will always be close. The itineraries touch hamlets, castles or enchanting monastery, which are often the more historical and nicer wineries themselves. The rest of the day is open for tastings, poolside rest, or sightseeing as usual.

Good Wines, Better  Cuisine
In these tours the winetastings are completed by cooking classes, based on regional, seasonal cuisines. You may learn simple recipes as pesto and ribollita, orecchiette, and less simple ones, as pasta with swordfish and eggplants, spicy beef or wild boar stues, great “zuppa di pesce” with the freshest ingredients.  We organize these programs on request, for 8 people minimum, and our base are farmhouse resorts, selected for the skills and the hospitality of their owners, as well as for the nice settings.

Grand Gourmet Adventures
The Italian food is better known for the Mediterranean cuisine, essentially family style, regional dishes that the Italians had to export all over the world.   It is based on fresh, recognizable ingredients, and boasts the ideal balance of carbohydrates, vegetables and meat. At the other side of the cooking world, there are the finest, sometimes complicate dishes, served in the top, exclusive restaurants. Their chefs are either legendary gurus, or emerging “jeunes restaurateurs”, which enjoy an international reputation. Our Grand Gourmet Adventures offer you, after tasting the finer wines, the best possible choice of both: classic Italian regional restaurants, and “temples” of the high cuisine, with their creative chefs. Our picks are based on Italian authorities - Gambero Rosso and Veronelli - on the Jeunes Restaurateurs d'Europe, Les Grand Tables du Monde, and occasionally the Michelin.  More important, they track the choices of Italian gourmet clubs, and last but not least, our own preferences, after several fresh experiences “in the field”.to visit.