New tours: Puglia + Sicily Spring 2025
March 9-15, 2025: The Culture of Food in Puglia & Matera
March 23-29, 2025: The Culture of Food in Western Sicily
April 13-19, 2025: The Culture of Food in Salento & Central Puglia
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Keep scrolling for summaries of each itinerary, and click the buttons below each summary to receive full itineraries for all three tours, including pricing details.
The Culture of Food in Puglia & Matera with Sophie Minchilli
March 9-15 2025
Puglia is on everyone’s wish list, but this tour is a bit different from the rest. This 6-night tour begins in Bari, the vibrant seaside capital of Puglia, which many people overlook. We love it! It’s where the Italian half of our family lives, and we love to share its hidden corners with guests. After spending the first 4 nights in Bari, exploring the city but also using it as a base to explore the rest of central Puglia, we move on to the nearby region of Basilicata for the final 2 nights. We will be staying in Matera, which is a World Heritage Site and a completely unique town based on a series of caves dating back thousands of years. In Matera, we stay at the famous Sextantio, where each of you will have your own luxurious cave to yourself. Imagine waking up in a stone cave that has been designed with luxurious modern amenities while maintaining the aesthetic of a bygone way of life.
A few of the things you’ll be doing:
Welcome drinks and seafood dinner in Bari
Guided tour and street food in Bari Vecchia and visits to the famous ‘Pasta Ladies’
Aperitivo and spaghetti all’Assasina lesson (Where Sophie took Stanley Tucci!)
A morning learning all about olive oil
Visit to Martina Franca and lunch at a butcher’s shop
Cheese-making class and lunch at a farm
Visit the UNESCO-recognized, Trulli-filled town of Alberobello
Ancient bakery and cheese making in Altamura
Pastries of the ancient monastery of Santa Chiara
Guided tours of Locorotondo, Altamura and Matera
Farewell feast in a cave
Details:
When: March 9-15, 2025
Where: You will be based in Bari and in Matera, staying in your own private rooms
Who: The tour is limited to 12 guests
What: The tour is six nights and five very full days, with trips in our private 20-seat bus. But don’t worry, you will also have some downtime in Bari and Matera to explore on your own.
How: If you’d like more information, including the pricing and the full itinerary, just click the button below to download the brochure.
If this button doesn’t automatically download the brochure, please contact us at minchillitours@gmail.com
The Culture of Food in Western Sicily with Sophie Minchilli
March 23-29, 2025
Have you been dying to get to Sicily since you saw it on White Lotus? Or maybe it’s just been on your bucket list for a while. I hope you will consider joining Sophie on a six-day feast through Western Sicily. You’ll be based in Palermo (one of our favorite cities in Italy), and you’ll discover the city as well as visit some of our favorite farms and food producers in the countryside. With Sophie and our friend Salvatore, you will feast while exploring this part of the island's food, wine, and history.
Even if you’ve visited Sicily in the past, chances are you may have missed Palermo. In the last 15 years, Palermo has become one of the most vibrant cities in Italy. Whenever I am there (as often as possible) I always think: I could live here. It is the perfect size to manage on foot and is full of churches, markets, museums, artisans' studios, and shops to visit. Another thing I appreciate these days: the ratio of locals to tourists still favors locals. In other words Palermo is still a ‘real’ city where you can get a sense of Italian daily life.
Like most of our tours, you will be based in one place (Palermo). This will give you a chance to really explore the city both on your own, but also during the two full days we will spend there. The other three days we will be exploring the countryside in different directions: south and west. We will be meeting people who still maintain the strong traditions of the food culture in this part of the world: farmers, cheese makers, salt harvesters, bakers, and chefs.
A few of the things you'll be doing:
Dinner in a private palazzo
Cheese-making at a farm
Market walk, cooking lesson, and lunch in Palermo
Private performance in an antique puppet theater
Visit the salt pans of Marsala
Couscous lesson and lunch in a private home in Erice
Pastry-making lesson in a bakery
Lunch at a private olive oil estate
Guided visit to the archeological site of Segesta
Guided visit to a private ceramic museum
Guided visit to Palermo’s most beautiful churches
and more
Details:
When: March 23-29, 2025
Where: You’ll be based in Palermo, Sicily, in your own private Deluxe room at the
Who: The tour is limited to 12 guests
What: The tour is 6 nights and 5 very full days, with trips in our private 20-seat bus. But don’t worry; you’ll also have some downtime in Palermo to explore on your own.
How: If you’d like more information, including the pricing and the full itinerary, just click the button below to download the brochure.
If this button doesn’t automatically download the brochure, please contact us at minchillitours@gmail.com
The Culture of Food in Salento and Central Puglia with Sophie Minchilli
April 13-19, 2025
Spring is a gorgeous time of year in Puglia: warm enough to eat outside during the day but none of the torrid summer heat. Wildflowers blanket the landscape, and the fields of wheat are brilliant green. For this week, Sophie is joined by her friend and colleague Angelo for this food-focused six-day feast through Puglia. You will be based in two gorgeous places: the Baroque town of Lecce and the seaside village of Monopoli. You’ll also be visiting some of our favorite out-of-the-way towns, including Martina Franca, Gallipoli, Galatina, and Bari, to explore the food, wine, and history of southern and central Puglia.
A few of the things you’ll be doing:
Welcome drinks and dinner in Lecce
Market tour, cooking class, and lunch
Visits to off-the-beaten-track villages
A day learning all about olive oil
Lunch in a Butcher's Shop
Cheese-making class at a farm
Visit to Unesco town Alberobello
Seafood feasts in Monopoli and Gallipoli
Visit the pasta ladies in Bari
and more
Details
When: April 13-19, 2025
Where: You’ll be based in Lecce and Monopoli, staying in your private room
Who: The tour is limited to 12 guests
What: The tour is 6 nights and 5 very full days,
with trips in our private 20-seat bus. But don’t worry, you’ll also have some downtime in Lecce and Monopoli to explore on your own.
How: If you’d like more information, including the pricing and the full itinerary, just click the button below to download the brochure.
If this button doesn’t automatically download the brochure, please contact us at minchillitours@gmail.com
If you can’t wait until next year to visit Italy, we’d love to have you join us in the Fall of 2024. For our full list of available tours, visit this page.