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Small Group Private Tour Specialist

Plan your Italy adventure with the small group private tour specialist. Escape overtourism and discover the back roads and authentic small towns with us. Kathy and Vernon create your perfect trip, with off-the-beaten path destinations, activities from walks and bike rides to city tours and shopping, and expert-led culinary adventures.

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Food and Wine

Any tour of Italy is incomplete without indulging in the amazing food and wine. But to truly appreciate It requires an understanding of the regional history, culture and geography. All become part of your adventure with Kathy, chef, food blogger, and Certified Italian Wine Professional, and Vernon, mountain guide, MS in European Literature and avid history enthusiast.

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Your Unique Adventure

Not all private trips are custom. Most tour companies don't have the flexibility to deviate from their set itineraries, so there are always compromises. With Kathy and Vernon, your adventure will be as unique as you are, and your itinerary will be personally designed us to meet the desires and varied interests of your group.

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The ItaliaOutdoors Difference


Truly Personalized Service and a Custom Plan for Every Trip

Kathy and Vernon

NO MIDDLEMEN

You communicate directly with Vernon and Kathy. We know your dreams for an Italy adventure, we’ll have it ready for you when you arrive.

No Group Too Small

SMALL FOOTPRINT

Our small footprint allows us to travel like locals and enjoy spontaneous adventures as we explore the path less traveled.

 

Custom Plan

UNIQUE ITINERARY

Each tour itinerary is unique and serves as a framework for an exceptional journey, where a thoughtful plan adjusts to your pace.

 

Authenticity

KNOWLEDGE

We focus on just a few select tours to provide an exceptional level of regional knowledge and an unforgettable authentic experience.

Travel after COVID-19: How do you wish to travel in Italy when we are able to return? In a small private group of your family and friends? Plenty of outdoor explorations? Off the beaten track destinations far from tourist crowds? Private cooking classes, wine tours, small intimate hotels? That's how we've been traveling for ten years. Plan your adventure in Italy with Italiaoutdoors Food and Wine, the custom tour specialist.

Customize Your Adventure - Food - Wine - Walk - Hike - Bike

With Italy's "Best Local Guide 2013"

Read about our tours in Adventure Cyclist August 2015

Our passion is creating intimate, personalized active food and wine adventures that explore an authentic Italy
- its outdoor beauty, its hidden back roads, its small family producers, its traditional wines, at your preferred pace.
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ski val gardena italy tours
Ski slopes at Val Gardena

 

One of the many ski resorts located in the majestic Dolomite mountains, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, Val Gardena, Italy is a must-visit during any ski holiday in the region.

Val Gardena is best known in ski racing circles as home to the Saslong Classic, a men’s World Cup downhill race, and long considered one of the five “classic” men’s downhill courses. Skiers can attempt a downhill run, or take a day to traverse the Sella Ronda, the ski circuit around the Sella mountain group. This circuit is a series of ski lifts and downhill runs, all linked together, by which you can circumnavigate the Sella group. You will visit the four Ladin valleys, and set foot in four villages along the route - Val Gardena, Corvara, Canazel, and Arabba. Your traverse will take most of the day, as the length of the circuit is about 65km, but it is accessible to most skiers, as the downhill runs are groomed trails.

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Piazza Walthur, Bolzano

 

Val Gardena is a short drive from Bolzano and Bressanone, two larger towns in Alto Adige that offer a wide variety of apres ski activities and easy access to many ski resorts in the Dolomites, as well as north into Austria. Depending on the group, we may recommend staying in Bolzano or Bressanone, rather than slope-side. The larger cities offer an abundance of choices in hotels and restaurants, as well as plenty of activities for non-skiers in the group, such as museums and numerous shops featuring everything from local handmade specialties to designer fashion. We take care of the daily transfers to the ski areas.

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Val Gardena, Italy

 

For those that prefer to stay at or near the resort itself, a wide range of accommodations are available. At the top end is the Alpenroyal Grand Hotel. Luxurious guest rooms offer a splendid view of the nearby mountains. For those looking for relaxation after a long day on the slopes, the wellness facility includes an outdoors heated pool and whirlpool with yet another beautiful view of the Dolomites, a Finnish sauna in an outdoor hut in the park, a vapor bath, a biosauna and hay baths. Treatments are available as well, including a variety of massages, mud baths and ayurveda. Many other accommodations are available in town, to meet all ranges of budgets and preferences.

The Stube dining rooms at the Alpenroyal offer elegant, gourmet meals nightly; their cuisine has been noted in guides such as Michelin and Gambero Rosso. Complemented by an excellent wine cellar, they also feature tastings of locally produced cheeses and a wide selection of grappas. Plenty of other options are in town for the gourmet, including restaurants Anna Stuben, Concordia, and Mauriz Keller.

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Garlider Klausner Laitacher

 

For those oenophiles interested in exploring the local wines, the nearby Valle Isarco DOC. With terraced vineyards along the banks of the Isarco River, between Bolzano and Bressanone, this region produces both whites such as Sylvaner, Veltiner, and Muller Thurgau and reds such as varietals Schiava and Lagrein, as well as blends such as Klausner Laitacher and Santa Maddalena. Producers to look out for include Abbazia di Novacella, Garlider, Hoandlhof, and Kuenhof - Peter Pliger. A nice rest day excursion would be a visit a few of these wineries along the Isarco River, with us to do the driving for you!