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I talk with a lot of perspective travelers and lots of people want to know up front, "hey, what's it's going to cost us for a Custom tour vacation of Italy, the custom part sounds expensive"? Well, since your CUSTOM vacation tour of Italy will be different than any of my other guided trips I CANNOT give you a complete answer up front until we start putting your trip together. What I can tell you is that generally the trips per person/per day are in a range of $400ish a day, per person, which many times INCLUDES the airfare and all the costs including me as well EXCEPT for meals and drinks. The only thing I cannot figure is the lunch/dinner and drinks costs. The "per day" is a general figure if we're not traveling staying in 5 Star hotels but 3 and 4 star hotels or farms. This will include all your tourist activities and travel costs of trains and or rental cars. Now, when you look around at some of the pre-packaged tours, airfare is RARELY included and sometimes there's a few meals but not all lunches and dinners are included. All tour attractions are in there and the guides are included as well - usually there is ground transfers too. Well, I do all the same things as a pre-packaged tour company does as far as the planning and booking of things but I do it all myself because I'm the Italy expert, only tour guiding in Italy and Sicily, by myself, WITH YOU! Whatever you do, I do! This one on one experience is very special because I'm just as invested in the trip as you are. I'm there with you all the time translating, escorting and guiding you so you'll have the time of your life on your own custom vacation trip in Italy. Often times you have a pre-set idea of how long you can go for and retired folks can generally travel longer, often time up to 3 weeks. The biggest problem with the initial talks about where to go and what to see is that most people want to do TOO much in too short a time frame. I've found that 3 nights minimum stays are the best way to do a custom tour in Italy because usually your arrival to a location is in the afternoon and you really cannot plan a tour attraction that first afternoon or night. So, technically you're staying for 2.5 days there and the next 2 days are when you can get the tourist activiities in. Any moving less then 3 nights just feels like a travel race, a travel competition, a travel marathon.....too exhausting packing up every 3rd night. For example, if you only have 7 days in Italy that's flat out too short unless we go to 2 locations and fan out day trips from those two locations. if you have 9 days, that's 3 locations, 12 days that's 4 locations, 15 days that's 5 locations, etc etc. If this sounds like it's for you, let's talk about crafting your custom tour of Italy anywhere from 4 to 6 months or longer in advance...... go back to the home page and fill in the contact me form or call the cell number I work alone - Custom Tours of Italy is only me......you won't get any more personal service then from a company of ONE! Chris T,......ciao.....

Some of my favorite trips are when I'm guiding the private small group tours to Tuscany and the countryside. If you're dreaming of being "Under the Tuscan Sun" just like the movie, then this is the trip for you. An Italy vacation in the countryside of Tuscany is one of the most beautiful and relaxing trips you can take. One thing you have to understand though is that the region of Tuscany is gigantic and goes from all way from north of Lucca and Pisa to an hour and a half south of Siena, about two and a half hours top to bottom. So when we discuss Tuscany we need talk more about where we're going in relation to the "towns" in Tuscany. So, let's start in Northern Tuscany near Lucca and Pisa, which by the way are only an hour to the west of Florence!..First off, we need to rent a car and I drive you around, I'm an expert at this and know how and where to bring you on your private, small group vacation to Tuscany. When thinking of a Tuscan countryside vacation we're going to be staying on a Farm Agriturismo - a farmhouse owned by a family who sell out rustic hotel rooms and and also cook for you, some are small places with four rooms and some are bigger converted places that used to be Monasteries that have 20 or more rooms. Basing yourself around Lucca and Pisa is great if you don't want to stay around Florence in the countryside, but you have to know that it limits some of the day trips you can do south of the Florence area. Day trips to the north of Lucca/Pisa are easy and can be the area of the Cinque Terre, the Five lands, but I usually go to this area and stay a few nights with my tourists to fully appreciate. You can also base yourself in the countryside outside of Florence on a farm "Agriturismo" which is a good way to have a central spring point to see the countryside of Northern Tuscany, lets say down to Siena. Towns to visit are in the Chianti region and this is where we go wine tasting and small restaurant eating....San Gimignano, although I don't go much these days as it's over touristed during the day, but at night it's gorgeous. I prefer Volterra for a less touristed town and a more authentic Tuscan experience, it has everything for your Tuscan experience. Speaking of Siena now, it makes a great "city" home base if you stay here and do day trips to the north of Siena and also to the south of Siena. One hour south of Siena is quite possibly what you're dreaming of because this area is called the Val D'Orcia, it's what most TV shows and movies show when we think of "Under the Tuscan Sun" or the movie "The Gladiator". I really discovered the Val D'Orcia area in the Fall of 2013 and I base a lot of my general Italy tours on the availability of my favorite farm near Pienza, we're going to this area and staying on a Farm Agriturismo for at least 3 nights. Towns to day trip to are Pienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino, San Quirico D'Orica, Bagno Vignoni....simply put, heavenly places with a slow pace. Iconic activities in all of Tuscany are the cooking classes, wine tasting, Castle hopping, and scenic drives. When in Tuscany, often times we have no hard scheduled agenda other than visiting one or two towns a day exploring and enjoying the laid back schedule. So if you're dreaming of a classic small private tour of Tuscany feel free to fill out the email form or just call me, I work alone and would love to fulfill your Tuscan vacation dreams. Chris T, Custom Tours of Italy

When you start to search for your dream trip to Italy you may be thinking it's an easy choice to zero in on a packaged tour company that offers your dream itinerary and time to go. Internet searches for Italy Trip packages will give you so many choices with so many levels of travel you'll be sitting in front of a computer for days, so maybe a more defined internet search of "affordable Italy trip packages" or "Venice, Florence and Rome Italy trips" will get you closer to that goal. Another example is a search of different levels of service trips like "Luxury Italy trip packages"....those will yield the 5 star, high end high cost trips if you so incline. So, the difference of what I do here at Custom Tours of Italy is that I work with you directly in designing your Italy vacation package and itinerary so you don't have to pick one of those pre-packaged trips that doesn't really have everything you're searching out there on the web for what you want to do and see. I WORK ALONE, and spend hours with you on your trip in advance so you'll have the most magical trip of your lifetime. Pre-packaged Italy trip companies simply cannot do this catering to the masses. I started my company because I would run into travelers in Italy while traveling with my own family all the time and I would ask them "so how do you like the tour company you're on now"? They would answer,...."Well, it's okay but we're not doing this, or, "there was too many on the tour to the Colosseum", or "we're not going to anywhere except the big cities". So, I then would ask them,..."if you had a private guide do you think you could do more of what you really like? and they all said "YES". So, here I am at Custom Tours of Italy, working by myself, privatizing trips for people, year after year, and right now, I'm finalizing a trip to Italy for this May 10th, 2026, for two couples , 17 days doing Abruzzo, Puglia and Sicily. I'm also planning a trip for 8 people to attend a concert in Bologna Italy in September 2026 and then afterwards we're going to a Farm Agriturismo for 6 nights, actually my favorite near Pienza in Southern Tuscany,...and then, I'm planning another trip for 2 couples who are doing 3 weeks in Italy, Milan down to Rome,....and everyday is a customized trip in Italy. So, now you're thinking,..."well, this HAS to be expensive".....it is NOT. I beat the pre-packaged tour prices because I source everything and go direct with all reservations. There's no big offices and staff, it's only me, because I love it! Yes, I charge a per day guiding fee and you pay all my expenses there, but, what's it worth to you to have a personal, private guide to Italy, who speaks Italian, and takes care of you everyday?. Whatever you do on your trip, I do on your trip so I'm invested in you having a great time. So, please contact me to start your planning to your very own private Italian vacation package today chris@customtoursofitaly.com 818-674-0313

Have you been bitten by the Ancestry bug to find out more about your Italian and Sicilian family Tree? I was many years ago when my kids had to explore their family tree in 4th grade and it became such a blast, I continued on to research my Italian and Sicilian roots to the point that I was able to fully get my Italian citizenship via my Great Grandfather from Sicily. If you've started some research on your Italian or Sicilian family tree and would like to visit your family town or towns then I can help you because I did just this to start to receive my family documents and records. Some of it can done through the internet and email to a certain extent before if you can communicate in Italian with the Town Hall or the "Commune" in the town where your ancestors came from. I'm an expert at this now and the best way to get all this started is to have exact names, birth dates of Parents, Grand Parents and Great Grandparents born in Italy or Sicily.... get the dialogue going but then also plan a visit to the hometown or towns. I've done this for myself and I've done it for some of my tourists and I can tell you, it pulls a thread through your family history and life to be able to go back to where your family began, there's nothing like it! Studying the history of the town with it's people, it's cultures, it's food, and the activities throughout the year are some of the most memorable trips, and we can visit your family origins in Italy and Sicily if you want to go. Some towns are very small and don't require a whole trip just for the town, usually there's other bigger cities in the itinerary and I can book all of that and guide you as well. I speak full Italian and can be with you when you have your appointment in the "City Hall" where your ancestors came from, do the translating and help with the research. All of the information is accessible in computer now by the person working in the "Commune" and they are mostly very helpful in locating your Ancestors.... If you want to explore your Italian or Sicilian family roots and want to plan a Ancestry trip to Italy, then fill out the email form or call me to get the process started. Ciao, Chris T

Part 2 on the number one question I get and and the hardest question to answer because I don't have pre-set, pre-packaged tours just sitting on my website so you can see the package and the price and decide for yourself. Here at Custom Tours of Italy I work with you through many conversations to determine how you'd like to travel and where you'd like to go an what you'd like to do before we can determine what a trip is going to cost. I work alone and pride myself on being able to taylor make your trip to exactly how you want to experience Italy. It could your first time there or you've been there before on a packaged tour or a Cruise ship "drive by" and now you want to get more into a more real Italian experience and want to hire a private guide. Italy is by far the hardest country to travel in but it's the most rewarding in my opinion. The combination of the cities, the sites, the food and the people won me over starting way back in 1997. If you've started looking into all the tour companies and all the possibilities and are turned off on some of the things that come with the tours then you've landed on the right place by googling "private Italian tour guides". If you've started to try to start planning your trip yourself and are realizing that it's a lot harder then you thought it would be, then you've landed on the right place. I'm an Italy tour expert and only do Italy and love to show people this great country year after year. Often times many of my trips come in around $400 a day per person and sometimes that includes your coach airfare as well. That means we're staying in decent 3 and 4 star places and NOT splurging on Business class airfare and 5 star hotels everywhere. BUT, if thats how you want to travel, 5 star hotels and Business class and you like that, then I book that, then we do that... If you have a set amount of days, say only 14 days for a vacation and you're not retired yet - I can work with that. That means for me, I can book us into 4 locations and 3 nights in each place, 12 days in Italy - I usually don't book less then 3 nights in any one spot, less is too much moving. If you're retired and you have 21 days to go to Italy then we obviously go to more places. The first step is that you're googling alternative ways to get yourself to Italy thats not on a pre-set pacakged tour or cruise ship. This is where I come into play. Use my email form or call the cell number on the site and let's get you started for your custom private tour vacation of Italy. Chris T,.....ciao!

Is it possible to go on a custom, privately guided tour of Italy and be on a budget? why YES, it is. I'm Chris, and I am the owner Custom Tours of Italy. I work alone, I don't have a staff or a team - I work with you and customize your Italy vacation to fit your budget needs. It's simple and easy,...we communicate throughout the whole process putting together your Italy vacation many months before..and....I go with you and guide in Italy. I have a daily guiding fee and you pay all my expenses which I think to be very affordable - and I love sharing this great country so much with people and it never gets old and there's always a new experience in every trip! It all starts with an email or call to me and then we set up Zoom calls or FaceTime's on iPhone to meet each other to see if we like each other styles. Then I ask you how you want to travel in Italy - obviously if you're on a budget you DO NOT stay in 5 Star hotels,.....3 Star hotels with good ratings have always been fine...... then we find out what you want to see in Italy and how you want to see it,....never been before? great, I can suggest the usual places most want to go but if you're not a typical, usual tourist, then we find out exactly what you like to do....the options are endless. The food culture in Italy is one of the biggest attractions and you can definitely have a great customized Italy vacation, on a budget, not spending a ton of money eating in Pizzeria's and Restaurants. I started going to Italy back in the late 90's when I didn't have a lot of money and learned how to split up Pizza's and plates of food and dishes. Get a few Antipasto's, a few Pastas and a few entree's and split those up among the table and call that the meal. I always generally drink the local wine and save a lot of money that way as well. The only thing I cannot project is how much we'll spend on lunch and dinner there. Hotel wise, Italian cities are obviously pricey but I've found many smaller Hotels in my travels that seem "local", that have 3 stars and they strive to make travelers very happy. You're not in the hotels that much anyway - sleep, eat breakfast and shower. The places are clean and have good reviews and feel "local". If we venture outside of the cities and want to go stay in the countryside, the Farm Agriturismo's are a great deal because the owners are not allowed to charge a lot for the rooms because they are primarily farmers and hoteliers second......they are way less in price then any major city, and these are heaven. Always very clean and well kept and often times they have a restaurant and cook for you at night for a price. Tourist attraction wise - some things just cost what they cost but we drill down on what you like - Don't like old Italian paintings so much?, well, then we don't go visit Art Galleries then,....you say you like great Churches which are generally free?,...... for sure we're going to visit some great Churches, but, keep in mind, there are some great Italian paintings inside some of those Churches though, oof!. When in Venice most want to go on a Gondola ride - well, they're very pricey and around $120 bucks but if you have more then one couple with you then that cost is split up. If you don't even want to spend that money, then you can take the Vaporetto's which are the floating city buses and see the city that way,......see how you can save money there? Train travel is a VERY affordable way to get around the country and you certainly do not need a car in any major city in Italy. Rental cars or Vans are about the same in Italy as they are here in the USA and you need a car to get to the countryside if you want to see Tuscany and Umbria, Puglia and Sicily. I can definitely guarantee you that I will work with you on every reservation, even your initial plane reservations and get these approved by you before you spend any money on your custom tour of Italy. I love the challenge and I love bringing people to Italy. Can you tell? Ciao, Chris T.

Happy New Year 2026. If this is the year you're finally going to "get to Italy or Sicily" either for the first time or a return trip, are you going to go on a pre-packaged tour with 25 other people you haven't met or are you going to attempt to plan your dream vacation all by yourself? If you have the budget and desire to just have someone plan your trip and then escort you while you're there, read on! So you're thinking after looking on the web, that with all it's resources, it cannot be that hard to book a trip with Trafalgar, Globus, Perrillo, Tauck and those other tour companies or maybe try to put together a trip to Italy or Sicily by yourself right? I research Italian travel everyday and see what's out there pre-packaged and a la carte - here's the difference - one itinerary doesn't fit all on these packaged tours and how in the heck are you going to book all your own tour when you've NEVER BEEN THERE or only been there once before? Why not trust an expert who's been there so many times that he has destinations and experiences with Italians that are so personal that you'll feel like "you're home" while in Italy or Sicily. I became really serious about my Italy travels in the Spring of 1997 with my then girlfriend who is now my wife since 1998. I wanted to learn enough Italian to impress her because I did not want to be that typical "American tourist" speaking English over there. I also knew there was no way I was booking a "cheesy" tour company either. We went with just a high end backpack each, a round trip plane reservation into and out of Rome 3 weeks later with only our beginning and ending Rome hotel and an Italian 3 week train rail pass. My guidebook wasn't even Rick Steve's yet but he ended up being my mentor after discovering his Italy guidebook years later - to the point where I asked him for a job before I started my own Custom Tours of Italy. Anyway, I found my passion - Italian travel. here's what you get with me,..if we go to Venice, I look for my favorite Gondolier I met in 1997 - Marco Mingardi - he was my Gondolier then and I search him out every time I'm there - his son is actually a Gondolier now, this is the personal touch you get with me, AND, I pull out my Trumpet on the Gondola and play tunes - so much fun for everyone. If we're going to Southern Tuscany south of Siena, then I take you to my favorite farm near Pienza and Monticchielo where I met the family in the fall of 2013 - I loosely base my tours when this farm stay is available - they don't put you to work but you'll see and experience their hard work treating you to the true Italian country life....the BEST! If we're going to Sorrento, I have a friend who has a Michelin Star restaurant called "il Bucco" - the owner Pepe Aversa, I met him on that first trip in 1997 - he was the Mait're D of the main bar in Piazza Tasso back then - 2 years later he opened this restaurant and I bring all my travelers there very time there - you don't have to like Michelin Star places because he treats me like family and will make anything we want and give us his "family deal",....he is like my brother now,...... These are the experiences you'll have when you travel with me as your private guide on your Custom Tour of Italy - ciao for now. Chris T

It's still not too late to plan a Italy vacation trip for the Spring of 2026. When I say Spring, I'm saying April and May up until when all the schools and colleges let out for the Summer. The crowds go up quite a bit after this so, so the weather is generally good in April through the end of May. I do have a trip planned May 10th returning the 27th but nothing before this. This deals are incredible next year for last minute reservations and why not take advantage of them to start booking your private Italy vacation April and May of next year. The next question is this: do you want to do all the planning yourself OR, can you afford a private, escorted tour guide to do it all for you and be with you and your group the whole time? The answer is yes because I'm the Italy travel expert and can save you a bunch of time by planning it all for you and then show you the greatest country in the world at a price point that works for you without you going on a pre-packaged tour that moves you every 2 days on a tour bus with 25 other people you do not know! Custom Tours of Italy is your source for the best budget friendly, fully escorted Italy vacation packages. I work alone and love the challenge to be able to provide the greatest experience for first time Italy travelers or return Italy travelers that want to go to different places and experience Italy on the local level. I listen to what you like and don't like and then I get busy. Turn me loose and within a few weeks I will have something for you to look at that even includes possible airfare for you as well. I work up an Excel spreadsheet and you approve all the costs before you spend a dime. Venice, Florence and Rome for the first time travelers? Easy enough and no need for a car whatsoever - we do all trains. Want to go to the countryside? then we rent a car and go stay on a Agriturismo Farm to see how the real Italians work and live. There is an email form on the home page and my cell is there as well. Dreaming of Italy in the Spring of 2026? Let's begin to plan your private Italy vacation package today! Ciao! Chris T, Custom Tours of Italy

When you think about it - Italy is definitely the most complete destination for Tourist activities, Art, Food, Wine, Music, Architecture and History…..and more..... I mean, I'm biased being a travel guide only during Italy and being Italian American but when you think about it, where can you see all the history about the Roman Empire and also get the most incredible plate of Spaghetti Carbonara?....where else can you see the history of Pompeii near Naples and then stay in Sorrento and experience a great relaxing stay in "lemon country". There are so many destinations in Italy, high up in the North - places like Milan, Verona, Venice and the Italian Alps. Further south you can go to the region of Emiglia-Romana and visit the city of Parma - the home of Prosciutto meat and original Parmesan cheese. Next we have Modena, the home of Balsamic Vinegar and then of course Bologna, home of the famous Bolognese meat sauce. Traveling further south you enter the region of Tuscany, which is very big and is about 2.5 hours from the north to the south of it. When people say "I looooove Tuscany",...well, which part of it do you love? its gigantic - Pisa and Lucca are in Tuscany, Florence is in Tuscany, San Gimignagno is there as well - Siena is in Tuscany, Montepulciano, etc - see where this is going? It's so big you cannot cover it all in one trip and for sure, not even in multiple trips. You can get around all of Italy by trains which we do if we're only doing major cities, but Tuscany surely requires a rental car. Traveling south of Tuscany you will enter the Naples area, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast. So many historic things to see down there and also the further south you go in Italy the more relaxed things become. Puglia is an easy shot across Italy to the East from the Sorrento area and in Puglia you get a less touristed taste of southern Italy with some of the greatest food and history on that coast. Main sites here is Matera, Alberobello, Bari, Castellana Grotte, Monopoli on the coast and Lecce. Many people do not go south into Calabria unless they're going to visit their family towns. My great grandparents on my mother's side come from Catanzaro Calabria. I plan to visit one day to do more reasearch on that side of the family. But, I was able to do all my family research on the Tedesco side of the family which were from a small town near Palermo Sicily called Montemaggiore Belsito and in 2024, I received dual citizenship with Italy. Speaking of the island Sicily, it's become quite the destination but it's still not over touristed like many places in Italy. Sicily is only about 4.5 hours by car coast to coast and there are many great places to stay and sights see, and talk about food? Some of the best food in all of Italy is in Sicily. PLUS, the prices in Sicily are way lower then anywhere in Italy and the pace is much slower, there's no reason to rush around when visiting Sicily. The island is where many other people from other countries took their turn ruling the island. The Greeks, Turks, Romans, Spainards, Moors, Carthaginians, Normans, etc - they all had a hand in the history of Sicily. Olive trees were brought to Sicily by the Middle Easterners as far back as 3700 BC,.....The food in Sicily also reflects these cultures..so much to see and do in Sicily,....I just completed a trip here in the Fall of 2025. Write me an email on page one if you want to get the process started to go to Italy or Sicily. Ciao, Chris T.

Well, I just got back from a 10 day trip to Sicily in October and I can tell you it's great, very affordable and a lot less tourists. So, what's it gonna cost you for a privately guided Sicilian vacation trip?,....that's a loaded question because it all depends on how you want to travel,.... Do you only want to stay in cities in 5 star hotels or are you willing to stay on Farm Agriturismo's to really get into the Sicilian culture?....these are the things I work with you on determining then we first decide how you want to spend your money on accommodations. From there we determine what you like and want to see and then I book as many things as possible ahead of time. I work alone and have been doing this for so many years now I know exactly how to go about these things. Generally speaking, with my daily guiding fee and all my expenses, a lot of my tours end up around $350 to $400 per day per person often times including your airfare as well, depends if you're flying business class or not?,....I can also be part of your air travel and find you a really great route and airfare,..I like to possibly meet my tourists en-route so we all arrive together. Ok, so in Sicily there's lots to see and do and a lot less travel time between the East Coast and West Coast and there is an airport in Palermo on the West Coast and an airport on the East coast in Catania. Mount Etna is the Volcano that is right next to Catania airport so sometimes flights are diverted or canceled to there so a round trip through Palermo is less risky but Catania in general has no problems. I just flew into there and out of there 10 days later with no problems at all. The northern East coast of the island has the beautiful and historic city of Taormina and the Godfather filming town of Savoca. Catania itself is gritty but has a rich history and some great things to see like the daily fish market, Piazza Duomo and Piazza Bellini, named after the Composer Vincenzo Bellini, originally from Catania. South of Catania you'll find Siracusa and the island of Ortigia and further south west of there are the small Baroque hill top towns of Noto, Modica and Ragusa. As we work our way over to the East coast of the island we stop off in the middle at Piazza Armerina and the Villa Romana di Casale to visit an ancient Roman Villa with floor Mosaics,...super fascinating! In the south West portion of Sicily we definitely go and see the famous Greek temples from 455 BC in Agrigento with a stop off in the seaside village of Sciacca. Continuing up to the Northern shore, no trip is complete without a few nights in Palermo - it's a very walkable city with great Churches and Palaces and the biggest opera Hall in all of Italy at Teatro Massimo. Sicily has some of the best food in all of Italy with some dishes that are only iconic to the island. Pasta ala Norma in Catania, Pasta ala Sarde in Palermo, Cannoli's and Arranicino - both of Arabic origin - to die for....and the price of everything in Sicily is less. If you have the desire to visit Sicily, don't hesitate,....it's safe, crime is way less than many years ago and the Mafia doesn't close down things for days anymore. If you have family roots from Sicily - even better - I can take you to their town and help you research your family tree. I just was in my Tedesco family hometown. This is a very good reason to travel to Sicily with me. Let's book your custom vacation to Sicily with a private guide today!

So, you're exploring a trip to Italy and it doesn't matter if you've been there before or this is the first time, all you do know is that you started to look at packaged tours riding on a bus with 20 other people you don't know and they're trip is moving too fast moving PLUS there's things in there you don't want to do. So what do you do next? Well, you next type in private escorted tour guided trips to Italy and you see all the big company possibilities and then finally you find my site....Custom Tours of Italy. I work alone, I am the owner, the founder and the professional private Italian tour guide who will personally escort you the whole trip - I even book the airfare for you and meet you en-route on the way there. I started Custom Tours of Italy to cater to people that don't want a pre-packaged Italy tour, that don't want to be rushed around while in Italy and most importantly, wanted to create their own unique Italy vacation tour that was made to order. I meet you on-line and then we do iPhone Facetime calls or Zoom calls to get to know each other - you have to like me and I have to like you and all parties traveling. I don't automatically accept all invitations because we must determine if we're a good fit to travel together. I go with you, so whatever you do, I do.....so you see my investment in this is as much yours as it is mine. I have great suggestions and past experiences from the North of Italy down to Sicily and back and guide you through your decision making planning your trip - usually about 6 months in advance. You cannot book airfare more than 10 months in advance. We can agree to travel together a year in advance but can't book things straight away. The process is of putting together your trip is fun because we find exactly what you want to do and then make reservations for all of it in advance so you have a nice relaxed stress free trip while in Italy or Sicily. I'm usually in Italy or Sicily a few times a year and when I'm not there I'm researching and studying. There's never a bad time to go to Italy but it is hot in the summer months of July and August so if you don't want to sweat, we don't don't go then.....like I mentioned before, it's Custom Tours of Italy and we plan your trip when you want, where you want and why you want. It's that simple........ciao!

Okay, so lets say you only have 9 days off - you'll have 2 days of travel (one there and one back) and you want to go to Italy so bad and you're wondering if 7 days there is even do-able?..well, yes it is. Now, the next thing to do is determine what you want and like to see the most and then make the decision to NOT move around too much while there - this is the classic first timer mistake I see the most. Assume you will go back and decide to only move once after being there, thats right, once,...... NOW, you will need an experienced private guide with you the whole way maximizng your time there so you don't have to worry about the details,....this is what I do,..... I craft your trip from your plane reservations, the hotels or farm stays and all the tourist activities and restaurants, etc....... So, the next question what does a week itinerary look like? well, that all depends.....are you a Foodie and Wine person and want to stay on 2 Farms?,...... are you a Roman history person?,.. are you an Art person and only wanting to stay in Florence for a week?….or do you want to only do Sicily?,....these are the things we determine together and then you set me loose to set up your trip for you,......this is the beauty of Custom Tours of Italy and your ability to have your very own private vacation trip to Italy or Sicily. With only 7 days there, that to me is basically staying at the max, 2 places - one place for 4 nights and one place for 3 nights. The beauty of this is that you stay and only unpack two times while there, many of the other cheaper pre-packaged tour companies have you staying 2 nights per location,....this is not a good pace for anyone at any age,....I have a minimum of 3 nights in locations and find this is the best way to travel,..especially for Italy. While you're at these locations you're seeing the things in that town but you're also available to do day trips around and away from the town, all very easy by trains. If we're staying on a Farm in the country then we'll have a car for day trips,...there's no need for a car in any big city in Italy,....ever! These are the things I know and I have tons of info for you,.......so let's plan your one week vacation trip in Italy now,......ciao!