La Vera Italia

What Makes These Tours Different

The difference isn’t about avoiding famous places — some of Italy’s most significant destinations are also its best. The difference is in approach. The Real Italy tours are built around genuine regional engagement rather than landmark accumulation. You might spend four or five nights in a single Sicilian town rather than moving every other day. You’ll eat where locals eat, visit producers who don’t have a tour bus out front, and cover ground that most visitors simply don’t reach on a standard Italy itinerary.

Regions These Tours Focus On

Our Real Italy program draws on Italy’s most rewarding but less-visited regions: the Puglia coast and its trulli-dotted interior, Sicily’s volcanic landscapes and Arab-Norman architecture, the mountain villages of Calabria and Basilicata, the Umbrian hill towns beyond Assisi, the farmland of the Veneto behind Venice, and Sardinia’s ancient archaeology and extraordinary coastline. These are places where Italian culture is vivid, the food is exceptional, and the character hasn’t yet been smoothed out by mass tourism.

Who These Tours Suit

You’ve been to Italy at least once, probably more. You liked it — a lot — and you want to go back to a different version of it. You’re not looking for the Colosseum or the Uffizi this time. You’re looking for a market in Lecce, a winery in Etna’s foothills, a farmhouse dinner in the Marche. You want a guide who knows the specific region you’re in. If this describes your next Italy trip, these tours are for you.

Planning Your Trip

Many of our Real Italy itineraries begin in regional cities — Bari, Palermo, Bologna, Catania — rather than Rome or Milan, which may mean an additional connection in your routing from Australia. We can advise on the best flight routing for your specific tour start. Spring and autumn are the best seasons for most regions these tours cover; some Sardinian and southern Italy tours are timed for early summer when conditions in the north are already too hot.