Italy Food & Wine Tours

Our Zicasso travel specialist did a fantastic job planning our family vacation for five adults.

Each hotel was top-notch. At the villa in Taormina, the rooms were luxurious, with unbelievable views of the bay and Mount Etna from private verandas. The staff were gracious and the restaurant's breakfast buffet delicious. Lunch and dinner were top-notch. The hotel in Agrigento was modern and the grounds were exceptional. It was close to the Valley of the Temples, with amazing views of the ruins from each room and the beautiful infinity pool. The hotel in Palermo was old-fashioned luxury with up-to-date facilities and close to the old town.

Our tour guides and drivers were excellent.

My only regret is that we only had 10 days to explore Sicily as there was so much more to see!

Our agent did a yeoman's job helping us plan this trip.

We had a fantastic experience for a first-time trip to Italy. I wasn't sure how this would be, considering I learned about Zicasso while trying to plan the trip myself. Zicasso put me in touch with a travel specialist and the whole team was incredibly responsive to my many, many questions. If they were ever annoyed, it didn’t show.

I really wanted a smooth experience for my family of five, including three teens, one of whom has Celiac. Our agent was great in helping plan out the experience we wanted. As you may know, it is challenging to find rooms for five in Europe, but the travel company found apartments (usually two bedrooms with a pull-out couch) in the heart of town. You can really customize what you do, but we elected to plan our own meals and handle some of our own transport. We did have one issue where the van driver taking us to the train failed to show. I got one with Uber and the travel company quickly (I mean before we got home quickly!) refunded that amount.

Our contact in Italy was amazing and patient. I can’t give her enough credit. Any time I was unsure of something, she was there. The tours were great, especially Florence and Rome. You may be able to find the companies online, but ours seems to have the connections to get the best guides.

As for meals, we didn’t have any issues. We used an app and got a few recommendations from the travel company and local guides. Even our wine-tasting tour out in Tuscany was accommodating.

I would use our travel company and Zicasso again. I think the only downside is we tried to cram a lot in and it was hot. I probably should have asked for one to two fewer or shorter walking tours, especially on days we switched cities. Otherwise, it was excellent.

The drivers were timely, professional, and very prompt. The guides were very knowledgeable and generally designed the tours to match our requests. The hotels were exceptional and our only comment is that there was an odd odor in our room in one of the hotels.

Our only true complaint would be about the wine tasting on May 22. The location was not aware of our reservation. The couple running the vineyard seemed confused by our arrival. After a bit, they offered to accommodate us, but we felt like we were imposing on them. Then, at our lunch at a restaurant on Capri, they did not have a record of a reservation and placed us at a table without a view, near the entrance. We made the best of the meal, but for the price we paid, we would have expected confirmed reservations and a table with a view.

We loved everything about our trip to Tuscany. We had great, comfortable hotels as bases to explore the beautiful countryside and towns. Our hotels had kind, welcoming staff. Zicasso's travel company provided helpful suggestions and reserved non-touristy restaurants and enjoyable, interesting activities: eating in Florence, wine tasting in Montalcino, and cheese making in Pienza.

We loved Sicily! Zicasso's travel operator provided us with an amazing trip! Every guide and activity surpassed our expectations. From the archaeological parks to the cooking class at the palace, the art class, the Jeep tour of Mount Etna, the olive oil and lemon farm, but especially the guides she selected for us, it was pure joy! The history of that country is mind-boggling and fascinating to learn about.