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So, you're poking around the internet and you see a lot of options for trips that say they offer a "privately guided custom vacation trip to Italy" for you but then they have pre-made itineraries already made up for you to look at? How is that a custom trip? The reason you want your own custom private tour guide for your whole trip in Italy is that a professional private guide can just book the way you want to travel and book the things that interest you and your traveling party! What I do is communicate with you by text, email, Zoom, and cell phone often times Facetime on iPhones and actually ask you: when you'd like to go to Italy, where you'd like to go in Italy, what you'd like to do in those places and and how you'd like to do it! Right now I'm putting together a trip for May of 2026 for a couple to go to Abruzzo, Puglia and Sicily for 17 days in total, they've been to Italy before so now he wants to explore more Castles and she likes smaller more chill towns... you don't get this with any other Italian tour guide agency. I work alone and love to talk to perspective Italy travelers to try to craft them a custom tour of Italy for the best possible time there. Many other times my clients are first time travelers to Italy so sometimes it's obvious they want to hit the 4 most common places, Venice, Florence, Rome and the Amalfi Coast. BUT, within those 4 places, lets say Venice first, they tell me they don't really want to go on a Gondola ride while in Venice. Well, on one of those pre-packaged tours - they have you pre-paying this option within your trip already, so you have to go on it......maybe someone is afraid of the water? What I do is I find out EXACTLY what you want to do, for instance: you're really really really interested in paintings and wall art,..... well, if you are, then for sure you want to visit the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. If you're interested in Catholic churches and all that comes with that then we're for sure going into Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, (which is free by the way-just a security line outside). I have people that tell me they don't want to go into any Churches at all because they're Jewish but they want to visit the Jewish Quarter in Rome and Florence and visit the synagogues. There's a whole lot of Jewish history in both cities especailly in Rome and it's fascinating to visit these places. Do you want just a coastal culture Italy vacation on some of the most iconic beach resorts? well, that's the Cinque Terre 3 hours north of Florence - pronounced CHIN QWA TERRA.....the beaches aren't the best white sand beaches like the Caribbean but the 5 little Towns sure are great for Italian coastal culture. Seafood restaurants overlooking the water, boat trips and hiking in this area are the top hits. The Amalfi coast and Sorrento is another great location for coastal culture. You also visit the isle of Capri when in this area - pronounced COP PREE......These are the type of things I know as a long time experienced private Italian tour guide only working in Italy. I could go on and on but that's a conversation for us over the phone to get you started on your own very personal Custom privately guided vacation tour of Italy!

Sure, the internet is a great source of information when you think you can try book your own custom tour of Italy but what you don't get when you're reading those "top ten things to do while in Italy" Tripadvisor reviews is you don't get the experience of someone who goes to Italy 3 times a year for many years now. Why trust anyone else when thinking of going on a private Italy vacation then someone who knows the country and prides themselves on all the details which can make or break the success of your trip? In my opinion, Italy is one of the hardest countries to travel to because of a few of these reasons below: Knowing how to travel in Italy,......do we go by Trains or Cars or Buses? Well, I can tell you, you definitely DO NOT need a car near any of the big cities like Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, the Cinque Terre or the Sorrento coast....I drove in Florence once when I first started out and it was a nightmare even finding the rental car return - never again. We go by Train when going from city to city and I book all the Train reservations in advance.. you also have to know that Italy has Train strikes from time to time......I know how to find when those are happening in advance,......when going to the countryside of Tuscany and Umbria to explore, we rent a car because you really cannot get there any other way. Knowing where to stay in Italy?,....booking the right Hotel or Farm stay in the right location takes years of experience. When people show me where they've booked their stays themselves and then I look where they actually are located, I cringe because most of the time they're not located remotely close enough to the things you want to see and do. For example: want to see the Vatican Church and Museum in Rome so you book a hotel close to there?,....well did you know that ALL, and I mean ALL of the other major sights like the Colosseum, Pantheon, Piazza Navonna, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps are WAY across the Tiber river not even walking distance from the Vatican area. These are the things that I know. Knowing about the tourist activities......there's huge crowds at all the main sites in the main cities Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome and the Sorrento coast and all those people want to go there all at the same time....want to have all your tourist attractions booked well in advance for the right times? it literally takes weeks to book all these if you've never done it before, I'm an expert at it and will save you time and money by doing it all for you. Knowing about the great restaurants and where to eat,.....one of the joys of being in Italy is the food and wine there!........often times when I'm in Italy I see the main Piazza's full of tourists sitting down eating lunch and dinner in the most crowded restaurants thinking they're getting a great meal just because the places are "busy and full" so it must be good right?...... if you see a sign in English saying "no frozen food" on the most expensive square in Florence or Rome,.....RUN, don't walk away from it. Those places are low quality tourist food and high prices......I have so many relationships with so many great restaurants after all these years the owners are like family now. One of best Michelin star restaurants in Sorrento is owned by a man I met in 1997 when he was just the head waiter at the bar Fauno in the Main Piazza Tazzo, I went back in 1999 and he had opened an incredible restaurant that I still go to everytime I'm in Sorrento.....these are a few of the small things that make a big difference when you trust someone to book all of your custom tour of Italy. Let me put together your private Italy vacation so you can have one of the best guided tours to Italy ever. www.customtoursofitaly.com

When I started going to Italy with just my wife many years ago before I started Custom Tours of Italy, we would move around a lot by trains and try to see as many things as possible for the obvious reasons of being younger and the mindset we would miss things if we didn't "try to do it all" in 2 or 3 weeks there. Things change when you get experienced and you slow things down and try to soak in Italy the way they want you to experience it - slower and more appreciative. When I travel guide folks now I try to adhere to a minimum of 3 nights in one place, some places like Rome or Florence or a Farm Agriturismo can even warrant a longer stay for longer, on our travel days either by train or car I NEVER schedule a set tourist reservation later in the day just in case there are travel curve balls thrown at you by Italy (which is very common) and then you chance missing a reserved, paid for tourist activity. Italy simply is not as much fun if you're rushing through it - THEY CERTAINLY ARE NOT rushing through life, and you will see this! My philosophy is you're not going on a "sprint" on your vacation but a "marathon" at a slower pace. Most hotel or Farms will want you checking out by 11am or 12 noon latest and your next destination doesn't allow you to check in by 3 or 4:00pm - so the time in between should be your travel time to your next destination - this is traveling smartly. Sure, we may stop off in a town on the way in order to sight-see on the way to your next location, we'll have lunch there along the way and the aim to arrive in the later afternoon where we'll stay for 3 nights or more. There will be things to do in the new location that aren't scheduled that first night but are iconic to the town or city,.....free things that you don't need to be scheduled such as the stroll before dinner to get an Aperitivo drink during our walk called the "passegiatta" - this is where locals are all out walking and meeting each other, checking in with each other out for the latest news in town, the latest gossip,....then it's off to dinner. This is "slow Italy" at it's best, and also noted, when you go to eat dinner, that is not usually before 8pm at night and when you're there-there's no rushing through dinner, it can easily be 2 to 3 hours with all the courses followed by an after drink like Limoncello or Amaro....this is part of the beauty of why you picked to go Italy - their lifestyle and this is traveling smart to not rush through things while there!....often time we use the phrase "il dolce far niente",.... translated means "the sweetness of doing nothing"..... www.customtoursofitaly.com

I began my quest in 1997 to put together the best guided tour of Italy with my then girlfriend (who I was trying to impress) who became my fiance' after our first private tour of Italy - she later became my wife in 1998. She convinced me that I was a natural tour guide for Italy and to do this as a business! ....so I married her and we're still married and when I'm not guiding people in Italy, we go there and explore and our two grown children love it as well. Back then, I was determined to go to Italy and not do one of those bus tours with 25 other people I didn't know and I definintley didn't want to be another tacky American tourist. Being Italian American I decided to read and study every Italy guide book possible and also learn enough Italian to go to Italy on our own......it was the best decision ever and this was the inception of Custom Tours of Italy. I put together private Italy tours and love sharing this great country with people... www.customtoursofitaly.com

How to begin to plan for one of my best guided private vacation tours to Italy.... 2025 is a Jubilee year for Italy and things are going to get busy and booked up faster this year....January is almost over and you should now be thinking (about 4 months in advance) about a Spring or Summer custom tour of Italy. Prime tourist season in Italy is essentially May thru October but many will say "you're crazy if you go to Italy in July or August",....but I go,....sure it's hot in the summer in Italy but it usually cools down at night and thats when most of the daily influx of tourists get back on their tour bus or their Cruise ship. Evening is when the charm comes out and the night time fun begins. So, how to begin planning for your private tour to Italy? The best way to start is to start looking at guide books/ Youtube's or Italy travel by consulting the internet for some of the best things to do in italy. Then, you have to match up what you like to do and start making notes of this. If you're NOT into crowds and being inside Museums, then skip the lines and what you DON'T want to do,..and if I was guiding you, we surely wouldn't doing those things. This is the beauty of Custom Tours of Italy and what I do, by myself, when I guide you on your own private, guided vacation tour of Italy. The packaged bus tours don't give you a choice on these options. I do. Once you contact me, I begin with your airfare searches as I like to be able to fly with or at least meet my travelers on the way to Italy. Then we plan out what you want to see in Italy and I begin to book the hotels, the tourist activites, the train travel/car rental and also the restaurants in advance. I charge for all up front EXCEPT the lunches and dinners as we don't know what those costs will be. January and February are great months to get a jump on booking your Spring or Summer vacation to Italy. For Fall vacations, April and May are good months to begin booking things for your private vacation tour of Italy in September through the end of October. www.customtoursofitaly.com

When searching around on the internet for Italy vacation packages, a myriad of options come up, but how many are there where you can create your own, small group customized Italy tour with the owner/operator who escorts you on your whole trip? There's only one, Custom Tours of Italy. My passion to share this great country with people is the driving force behind what I do with my travelers. I love to see the smiles on my tourists faces when they finally get to see what they invisioned Italy to be. I only work alone and work with you to determine what you would like to do in Italy, then I create a day by day itinerary for you and your small group vacation to Italy. Most of the pre-packaged tours have you moving around too much and only staying 1 or 2 nights in various locations - I don't do that. We do a minimum of 3 nights everywhere and sometimes we stay in places more then that. For example, I often book your custom, private guided vacation to Italy around the availability of my favorite farm "Agriturismo" in Southern Tuscany near Montepulciano. I like to suggest you balance the big tourist cities with a stay in the country in Tuscany. Everyone one of my past travelers have said the farm stay was the best part of their trip. I've been going to this farm since the Fall of 2013 and now the owners are "family". When you book Custom Tours of Italy for your private guided vacation to Italy you get to "order" what you want to do. You're not a huge fan of museums with just paintings? Then we don't plan that for you,....you don't get that choice with a big tour company tour with 25 other people on a bus going to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence......You're a big Roman history buff? well, you're going to the right place then, but let's plan more than 3 nights in Rome....the other tour guide agencies do not have this flexibility....so, let's create your own customized, personalized Italy vacation soon. Grazie mille! www.customtoursofitaly.com

You get to experience Italy on the local level with someone who is a 3rd generation Italian American, who has dual citizenship with Italy who ONLY tour guides in Italy and is just as excited to be there as you are. You get to customize your tour of Italy with your tourist activity likes and dislikes, ....don't like to see too many Museums with paintings? we only visit the ones you really want to see. You love to visit Churches and Christian iconogrraphy? Italy has plenty of that, You want to do winery and food tours, Italy has plenty of that etc... You get to pick your Hotel preferences in advance instead of the pre-packaged tour company picking them for you. You get to meet and interface with your tour guide in advance when planning your vacation for one of the best guided tours of Italy. You get to pick your budget and the total amount of days you're actually in Italy as opposed to the pre-packaged tour company picking them for you. I really only like to do a minimum of 3 nights in each location...many lower budget tours have you staying 2 nights and even 1 night sometimes, they move you around too much, I don't make any commission money off of booking you into anything from 2nd party tour attractions, I only charge a per day fee and all my expenses! You get the possibility to stay on a farm called an Agriturismo in the countryside in Italy to experience the way real Italians live and work...I often book my tours around some of my favorite farm stays in Italy. You get to meet some of my long time friends that own restaurants and experience Italian food NOT in the "tourist" places in some of the iconic cities in Italy like Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome and Sorrento. You get to pick who you're traveling with instead of the pre-packaged tours putting you in a group of 20 other people you've NEVER met! You get an personal guide who speaks fluent Italian who can ease your apprehension of the language barrier. You get the security of a private tour guide who is with you insuring that you have a safe and incident free time while on your vacation in Italy. www.customtoursofitaly.com