Private Custom Italy Tours & Vacations
Why Visit Abruzzo And Other Hidden Destinations Of Italy With Us?
Perhaps you wish to immerse yourself in the local culture, or maybe your ancestors were from the Abruzzo region or another lesser-known region of Italy. Maybe you heard of Abruzzi from a friend. In small southern Italian destinations like ours, you’ll find quaint villages, beautiful views, warm and welcoming people. And that’s before we even mention Italian food!
We understand people are visiting Italy for different reasons, and we get excited about helping guests plan the Italian tour of their dreams! We have a particular passion for sharing the rich culinary culture and traditions and we pride ourselves in pairing the best Abruzzo vacation with amazing food and wine.
When it comes to planning tours to less touristy regions in southern Italy, it can be a challenge to navigate booking online, to find reliable reviews, up-to-date information, authentic activities or restaurants, and to plan everything from scratch.
As a small local tour operator based in Abruzzo, we’ll help you take care of all the nitty gritty details and show you the best, most authentic culinary and cultural experiences Abruzzo and Italy have to offer.
Some Of Our Custom Tour Pictures
The 5-Star Approach
Obsession with Quality: Restaurants and other food providers often change their own suppliers & workers. Main ingredients and services might vary, but it’s important for us that we find the best spots with the highest quality services and products on every trip.
Active Research: We devote time to discovering new eating venues, festivals and suppliers, but also make sure to re-visit the established businesses we know and love.
Vetted Collaborators: During our scouting process, we always pretend to be tourists. If the host, whether it be at a bed & breakfast, restaurant or farm is able to transmit to us their emotion, passion and enthusiasm for what they do, then it's a match!
“Con Amore” is always better: At Experience BellaVita, we chose to make our passion our job, and we also live here! Beyond our search for the highest quality products and experiences, we often form personal relationships with our partners and consider them friends.
Sustainability & Long Term Relationship : We pride ourselves on building mutually-beneficial, long-lasting relationships with our partners. We also personally support the tourism industry in Abruzzo with our time, expertise and membership to local associations and initiatives.
How it Works
Get in Touch
Contact us and we will set up a complimentary consultation call. We want to hear about you, your interests and goals so we can create a completely personalized tour just for you!
We Do the Organization & Planning
Sit back and relax while we conduct the necessary research and arrange your itinerary*. We’ll take care of the details and handle all of your travel arrangements.
Buon Viaggio!
Enjoy your adventure! Whether you’re on a tour with us, one of our partners or doing a self-guided tour of Abruzzo, we will always be by your side to assist you.
*After our consultation call, you will receive a complimentary personalized itinerary. We’ll address pricing during your first consultation call.
Itinerary Portfolio
Abruzzo
Han is a wine expert who has traveled throughout Italy, but had not visited Abruzzo. Inspired by a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo tasted at an event, his dream was to discover the best little-known wines of the region with his family and friends.
Thanks to our strong connections in the Abruzzo wine industry, we managed to secure Han and the group more than just their requested rare bottles of wine. With a professional sommelier we organized a tasting of 10 of the best wines from Abruzzo, each paired with a traditional dish. We also organized a private dinner at a friend’s house who ages wines under the snow of the Gran Sasso. It was a fun night!
We enjoyed lunch in a cantina, or wine cellar, which opened exclusively for us and we had a tasting session of some of Abruzzo’s oldest sweet wine, ‘Vino Cotto’. We enjoyed sampling a range of deli selections at one of the best salumeria in Italy and we took a trip to some caverns which are unknown even to locals.
We also had the opportunity to try some of the best ‘arrosticini’, a skewered meat specialty of Abruzzo. We had a luxury seafood lunch with wine pairings at the Trabocchi, the abruzzese fishing constructions that have been converted to restaurants on the coast, in celebration of the last night of the trip.
Han had considerably more experience in the wine industry than we had, but we felt strong in our connections. We knew we could connect Han with local wine experts and discover some rare wines together for the first time. The group did not want to visit wineries, but taste multiple great wines at one location, paired with food. Han requested some rare bottles from historic wineries for tasting and to take back home.
An amazing itinerary focused on the gastronomy of the Abruzzo region, where we also got to taste some special wines we thought wouldn’t be possible to taste. The group was even supposed to come back in June 2021, but it was postponed due to covid until a further date.
Matera (Basilicata Region)
Ellen and her friends had their flights to Greece canceled and contacted us to arrange a tailored tour to Matera in the Basilicata Region, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Their main wishes involved authentic experiences with outstanding food and wine, a flexible itinerary and space for half a day of hiking and at least one cooking experience with a local.
The group was picked up from their accommodations and driven to Matera. We first experienced the bread-making of Matera in a historic bakery, then made the iconic Caciocavallo cheese at the home of locals, before hiking to the Unesco site with a guide and geologist who became our friend! We also went to a local Nonna’s home to make orecchiette near the border of Puglia, visited a historic winery that cultivates native grapes, and had fabulous meals & wine throughout the trip!
Matera is becoming a popular destination and it was hard to find authentic experiences to do in and around the town with the short time we were given (2 weeks). For an outsider It was hard to connect with locals and experience the local culture.
“This was the best trip of my life. Marino took I and two friends to visit the ancient city of Matera. He designed the entire trip according to our interests. Each experience included a personal rather than tourist oriented approach. We visited with cheese makers in their small business, a young wine producer who discovered and renovated a century old wine production facility, a bread making company that told us the ancient history of the place and its relationship to bread. A tour of the national park opposite the city with a geologist who explained the evolution of the terrain and the reasons it has been one of the oldest continuously populated places on earth. An evening in the mountains making and eating our own pasta with people who love people. I could go on… Furthermore, Marino himself is an incredibly good sport. He is all of 27 years old with the wisdom of an ancient. He spent 5 days with 3 women in their late 50’s’ and 60’s and we all had a great time. He arranged everything perfectly and adjusted seamlessly if needed. He is special and if you want the best vacation of your life, contact Marino.”
Ellen S.
USA
Frequently Asked Questions
We devote a great deal of time and care into preparing each of my customers’ vacations, and that time is valuable. This is why we charge a fee.
Yes indeed, with our vast knowledge and connections we will help you to plan your lifetime trip to Abruzzo and beyond from scratch.
Driving in Abruzzo by yourself is pretty straight forward. The only thing you should take into account is that roads in Abruzzo will probably have big turns and go up and down hills.
We will connect you with english speaking partners and provide an assistant when needed . If you prefer a mix or Italian, not a problem, just let us know.
We can advise where you can rent one based on where you will be staying. If you need a driver we will provide one.
