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Cultural, Culinary & E-Cycling Experience

Highlights

  • Enjoy several leisurely cycles through the Italian countryside
  • Learn to make some signature Italian dishes
  • Discover the history and culture of this Italian region
From £1829 pp
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What you'll do

Overview

Join us on a 7 day Italian cultural and culinary vacation in the stunning area of Abruzzo. You will get the chance to learn about and make some Italian specialities as well as getting to explore the area on an e-bike.

2023 dates

Sold out

For anyone eager to live an immersive adventure in the Italian culture and traditions, where you really get to know the food, region and people this is the tour for you. Your host and local guide Fabrizio, together with his family & friends, have put together amazing experiences that combine beautiful places and local culture and tradition to show you the best of the region’s off-the-beaten-track secrets. This is a fully escorted tour that will give you the insights to daily life, food & wine and culture in Abruzzo and will let you discover the authentic Italy.

 

Pick up and Welcome Dinner

You will be picked up at Rome Fiumicino airport and transfer to the ancient Roman town of Vasto on the Adriatic Coast. On this drive, you will cross the beautiful Abruzzo mountains with views of amazing landscapes, hilltop villages and castles.

You will then check in at your charming and family run hotel in the historical downtown where you will get to know your local guide and learn more about what to expect from your tour.

Following this, you can walk to a traditional restaurant to enjoy a welcome dinner in the heart of Vasto.

Accommodation throughout: 

Hotel dei 7

 

Market and Pasta Making

After breakfast, we’ll walk and visit Vasto’s colourful market to get seasonal products. Here you’ll have the possibility to practice a little bit of Italian and interact with the locals.

Next we’ll drive to the beautiful countryside of Vasto where we’ll meet Fabrizio’s family to have an exclusive cooking class with them and we’ll learn how easy it is to make fresh pasta and we’ll be introduced to some of Abruzzo’s signature sauces. Make sure not to mess up because its going to be your lunch!

After a short break to relax, in the afternoon we’ll explore Vasto historic centre, Loggia Amblingh. It is a promenade overlooking the fascinating crescent-shaped coastline, the old town with its medieval Castle the Cathedral and Piazza Rossetti, dedicated to Gabriele Rossetti a famous poet from the town.

Before free time, we’ll meet some local artisans or artists following this, in the evening you will go get dinner on your own in one of the many restaurants of Vasto. 

E-cycling, Mountains and Lakes

After breakfast we’ll drive to the stunning Abruzzo mountains and national parks. On the way to Scanno, we’ll visit the enchanting 11th Hermitage of San Domenico on the lake of San Domenico

Next we’ll have an easy and scenic electric bike tour of the beautiful Italian countryside. You can admire amazing landscape and stop for breathtaking views of  the fascinating heart shaped lake of Scanno. For lunch, we’ll enjoy a traditional picnic with local products.

Next we’ll discover Scanno, one of the most beautiful Italian villages, with its fabulous alleys, churches, landscapes and artisans boutiques. We  have a break for a refreshing gelato and a visit to an artisanal jewellery shop, which has some beautiful traditionally made jewellery.

Finally, you will have the chance to enjoy a Group dinner in a traditional restaurant in the heart of Vasto Marina, by the beach or in the heart of Vasto.

E-cycle to the Coast and Fishing Houses

After breakfast we’ll drive to the breathtaking Abruzzo coastline to have a picturesque electric bike ride inside Punta Aderci Nature Reserve, which is home to one of the 10 most beautiful Italian beaches. We’ll enjoy the amazing cycle path just built on the old railway along the famous trabocchi coast and dont worry we will stop for pictures along the way!

Rinaldo, our host for the day, will show us how to fish from a traditional Italian fishing dock and the secrets and history behind Abruzzo’s unique fishing platforms.

You will have the afternoon to yourself, you can go to the beach and relax in the sun or arrange some more activities to do, it’s completely up to you.

In the evening you can venture into the busy city of Vasto and dinner at one of the many amazing local and traditional restaurants. 

Farms and Medieval Castle

After breakfast we’ll make our way to a farmhouse where Pina and Berardino will reveal the secrets of farming letting you immerse in an authentic food experience. You could relax in the beautiful Abruzzo countryside or take part in some traditional Italian farming. This will include collecting some organic wine from their winery for an an aperitif including a taste of their production: cheeses, salami and extra virgin olive oil.

Next we’ll learn how to prepare ricotta cheese and finally we’ll collect the fresh vegetables from their garden that will be used for our farm-to-table lunch.

In the afternoon, we will be surrounded by amazing sceneries, while we drive inland to explore  Abruzzo’s castle in the sky in the charming village of Roccascalegna.

After the big lunch at the farm, in the evening you may enjoy a dinner or aperitif on your own in one of the many restaurants and wine bars of Vasto or even just go get a gelato and an espresso. Its up to you!

Olive Oil and Wine Tasting, Family Party and Farewell Dinner

After breakfast we’ll visit an olive grove that has been farmed by a local family for three generations to produce olive oil. He will unfurl the secrets of what locals describe as “liquid gold” and we will finish with an olive oil tasting.

Next we’ll visit an award winning winery that sits between a marine park and the mountains. We’ll have a wine tasting and lunch with pairings from local cheeses and salami followed by a tour of the vineyard and cellars led by the winemakers Emanuele and Nicola

After lunch and some free time to relax and pack or do a last minute shopping, we’ll have a farewell party with Fabrizio’s family. You can enjoy the Abruzzo wines and food for one last time. And even help to make some pizza if you want to.

In the evening we’ll have the last dinner together as an Italian family immersed in the Abruzzo’s countryside.

Departure

After breakfast we will leave (usually at 09:00 am) for Rome Fiumicino airport or your next destination (Rome Fiumicino is about 3,5 hours driving from Vasto) so make sure to get an afternoon flight

What's included

Included

  • Accommodation throughout
  • Breakfast buffet daily
  • 2 cooking classes
  • 2 half day electric bike trips
  • Transport
  • Pick up and drop off at Rome airport
  • Expert English speaking guide
  • 8 meals
Your local host

Fabrizio and friends

Fabrizio is your tour guide and host extraordinaire on his Italian gastronomy holidays. Native to the region of Abruzzo in central Italy, he is immensely proud of its history and heritage. Fabrizio’s passion for keeping everything local also means that guests on his holidays will be joining his family for cooking lessons, meeting local producers and using only locally sourced products.

This is not your typical cooking school or indeed cookery holiday. All cooking activities and gastronomic experiences take place in the local’s homes, on local farms, or in the hills on the lands of local suppliers and families. There is no “professional chef” on this holiday – you are learning from housewives, mothers, fat... Read All

Fabrizio is your tour guide and host extraordinaire on his Italian gastronomy holidays. Native to the region of Abruzzo in central Italy, he is immensely proud of its history and heritage. Fabrizio’s passion for keeping everything local also means that guests on his holidays will be joining his family for cooking lessons, meeting local producers and using only locally sourced products.

This is not your typical cooking school or indeed cookery holiday. All cooking activities and gastronomic experiences take place in the local’s homes, on local farms, or in the hills on the lands of local suppliers and families. There is no “professional chef” on this holiday – you are learning from housewives, mothers, fathers, brothers, farmers and fisherman, as well as wine makers, olive producers. Pretty much everyone in the community and what you’ll learn, see and experience are not taught it in schools but refined and passed down through the generations.

Fabrizio and friends image
Sustainability Efforts

What Sustainability Efforts are we Taking?

At Not in the Guidebooks we’re committed to empowering the local communities in Costa Rica. We work closely with the local people and their businesses to make sure that they receive a fair percentage of the money you spend on your holiday there. By partnering with local guides and suppliers, we’re able to create meaningful, authentic experiences that directly benefit the people who call this incredible country home.

Learn More

Location

Set in the central region of Abruzzo, which boasts the Adriatic sea to the east and a lush mountainous landscape to the west, this unique Italian cooking holiday will prove to be a culinary adventure through your host Fabrizio’s home region. Based in his hometown of Vasto, a charming seafront town, you are perfectly placed to experience the tastes, culture and people of the area, where you will learn to cook in local kitchens or farms during the day, and have the nights to explore the city.

Nearest airports:
Roma Fiumicino Airport (around 3.5 hours away)

Return airport transfers:
Free airport transfers to and from Roma Fiumicino are included in the price, and is planned at 2:30 pm on your arrival day.

For the drop-off to Rome, you’ll leave the hotel in Vasto after breakfast, at around 09:00 am so that you arrive at Rome Fiumicino airport at maximum 01:30 pm (if there is traffic, but it normally takes 3-3,5 hours). If your flight is earlier, we can set off earlier. If you need help going to another destination on departure day, just let us know and we can help.

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