This is what happens when Italian Fix takes you on vacay. Meet the people, places and piazzas that make each experience extra special. Part 3 of a 3-week series.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve shared some of our tours’ behind-the-scenes. Today we’re back for more (because we like to keep the seaside aperitivi coming).
These are the spots made of sun-bleached loungers, pink and peach buildings, sparkling turquoise seas, and groovy Greece-meets-Italy vibes.
When we travel to these spots in intimate groups — the kind that love doing their own thing as much as laughing over limoncello together — we reveal sights, sounds and tastes in Italy that people trip over their feet to experience.
The kinds of things you just can’t do if you don’t have local connections.
Here’s why we love bringing people with us:
- You get to know — and feel like — the locals who call these spots HOME. Because of the longstanding relationships we’ve built from the cobblestones up, our guests are welcomed into the special spots not everyone gets to see.
- You get to travel with people who know exactly what it means to LIVE. Like, all the way up to 10001%. After years of guiding guests through these experiences, we see the drastic changes in both minds and bodies — and we know how to tease out and support that I-am-high-on-life-things-are-groovy state of being.
- You meet the humans that become your future best friends, travel partners and soul sisters/brothers (yes we have co-ed trips too). So many of our guests has shared that there’s a special magic to the people we bring together — and we believe it, too. We all become part of one wonderful extended family. Many clients have met some amazing new friends who become future travel buddies. We have past guests who have spent Christmases together, who lend out their spare bedroom to people in their homes around the world. This makes me SMILE. It’s a community!
And today, we’re going to share a couple more behind-the-scenes experiences in Southern Italy and Sicily — the ones that we know our guests come back for, year after year.
Clink vino with a countess — in a fortress. Sicily Tours 2020.
Between our nights in Syracuse and Taormina, we surprise our guests with an invite to a special home: a real, honest-to-goodness Italian countess in Palermo. We’re welcomed with open arms (and aperitivi) into her home, which just happens to be built in one of the original fortress towers that protected Palermo from invaders.
This experience rocks our Italian socks because:
It’s like you’re in a castle — but a family actually lives there! And you get to privately dine in! With nobility! C’mon. It isn’t exactly bookable on TripAdvisor, so we know this experience is one of a kind. Plus, hanging out in pretty Palermo — a city steeped in serious history — is honestly the parmigiano reggiano on this cake.
The Italian Fix Factor:
Um, do you know an Italian countess? Or a fortress where you can casually enjoy lunch with one? (If so, we need to hire you.) If not, that’s exactly why we believe our overnight tours skip the line on the cookie-cutter experiences and take you straight to the OMG-this-is-special moments. The tour of her home = belissima.
Time travel in Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Southern Italy Tours 2020.
Matera is one of the most otherworldly places you’ll ever see — this clay-colored city serves up rock-hewn cave dwellings that make you feel like you’ve been transported back to biblical times. Or another planet. Matera is one of the longest continuously inhabited human settlements in the world — first occupied in the Paleolithic Era, it’s said to have been founded by the Romans in the 3rd century BC. Among the many things we do here, a super fun way to see this city is by taking a tuk tuk tour designed exclusively for our clients.
Buzzing around town like this rocks our socks because:
We hire these adorable “tuk tuks” — iconic little Italian vehicles that look like someone sandwiched a motorbike inside the body of a teeny-tiny car. Meandering through a historical city like Matera is a LOT — and to make the most of your time here, it’s best to putter around in something super flexible with local guides who are, of course, super knowledgeable. Bring your sunnies and your cute neck scarves, because that’s the vibe!
The Italian Fix Factor:
There are plenty of Ape Calessino tours in Matera. In fact, you could probably pre-book one right now. But this one? It’s customized for our Italian Fix clients. It’s an extended ride through the city and we do some special stops along the way. We’re not going to give all our secrets away, but trust us, it’s a blast.
Make like Amal on the Amalfi coastline. Southern Italy Tours 2020.
We can’t take you to the Amalfi Coast and *not* put you on a private boat, along with the other celebrities docked in this bay. Also on this Southern Italy tour, we float to the island of Capri, where stylish boutiques and chic cafés compete for your attention with the stunning natural beauty of the island.
Private boats to Capri rock our Italian socks because:
It makes you feel glitz ‘n’ glam, even in a bikini you may have not worn since the Kennedys were in office. This area of Italy is not just reserved for the Clooneys and Madonnas of the world — you’ll have your own private boats taking you along the coast too! We give you permission to indulge. Plus, you don’t have to organize *anything.*
The Italian Fix Factor:
This route and experience on Capri itself is designed just for our clients (sensing a theme here?), to help you experience the best of this spot. And in true Italian Fix fashion, we won’t leave Anacapri without a lil’ boutique shopping and a chairlift ride to grab some classic Capri photos! This exclusive day trip is designed to maximize your precious time on the island so that you can truly experience the magic that makes this destination so famous in the first place.
Phew — that’s a wrap on our Italian Fix Tour Tasting Room series!
If you’ve been devouring these posts like hot focaccia fresh outta the wood-fired oven…
Check out the dates and prices for the tours we mentioned here:
Got questions, wanderlust or Italian-themed wish lists to share? We wanna hear all of it — pop ‘em in the comments below.
If you’re on the fence about Sicily… retire your doubt. It’s gorgeous… I’m returning on my 2nd Sicily IF tour bec I loved it so much. The Sicilian blossoms in spring are rich in color and fill the heart with joy. The landscape is lush which was a big surprise and the Sicilians are their own country — friendliest in Italy! I was delighted by how inexpensive everything was in Sicily compared to the north so you can buy to your hearts content if you like to shop 😉 I’m not sure why there isn’t a waiting list to visit Sicily bec it’s a stunning jewel and who knew there were any to rival Florence and Venice…. well Sicily is the lottery win. Can’t wait to return and have more semi freddo – a desert I discovered in Sicily on my previous Italian Fix tour. Thank you Bianca and your team for the magic your tours create! ???