Calling all focaccia, pesto, and pasta lovers: join us in Liguria September 17-23, 2023!

It's official: our spring tour to Liguria sold out with a wait list, so we've just added a brand new tour to this splendid region from September 17-23.

This is such a breathtaking area of Italy: We've had a home here since the 1970s, so we're intimately acquainted with its most beautiful corners and hidden gems, not to mention, its amazing cuisine. This is the home of fragrant basil pesto, dimpled, sea-salt-flecked focaccia, ethereally light fresh pasta, and some of the best pastries and gelato you'll ever taste.

Our week-long culinary tour in Liguria is based in Sestri Levante, a small fishing village that boasts idyllic beaches, bustling nightlife, and gorgeous sea views. We stay at a boutique 4-star hotel, where we spend mornings cooking in an outdoor kitchen by the pool and rose garden. Afternoons are spent exploring nearby towns like Portofino,  Cinque Terre, Camogli, and other quaint locations before indulging in traditional dinners at the region's best tables.

Don't wait too long to sign up for this tour: our Liguria tour is one of our most popular and sure to sell out! Call 347 566 2212 or email micol@rusticocooking.com to reserve!

Our Full Culinary Tour Portfolio

The incredible thing about Italy is its diversity: you can travel thirty minutes and find yourself in a totally different microclimate, with completely different culinary traditions and landscapes. That's what makes traveling in Italy an ever-exciting adventure. And it's the idea behind our culinary tours: each tour delves into the cuisine and beauty of a different region.

Here's a look at our full tour portfolio, so you can choose the region that's right for you.

Our Sicily & Calabria tour from October 4-12 offers the rare opportunity to experience two very different regions: Sicily, with its Baroque architecture and vibrant cuisine, and  Calabria, with its rugged mountains and peasant traditions. The two regions almost touch, yet they are quite distinct from one another. This is the ideal tour for anyone eager to explore a less-traveled part of Italy.

Our April 30-May 6 or September 24-29 Tuscany  tour takes us to the postcard landscapes of Tuscany: rolling hills, olive groves, cypress trees as far as the eye can see. We rent a sprawling villa near the border of Umbria and the Marches, so this tour allows us to discover three of central Italy's most beautiful regions and indulge in three very different cuisines.

Our Puglia & Beyond tour from October 15-21 is a deep dive into southern Italy's treasures, both culinary and cultural. We will bring you to UNESCO world heritage sites like Alberobello and Matera, to colorful seaside towns like Monopoli and Polignano a Mare, and every day brings us a taste of Italy's very best pastas, breads, and cheeses, the mainstays of the local diet.

Take a moment to watch our brief 3-minute videos of each region to see which tour is right or you:
Liguria Video
Tuscany Video
Sicily Video
Puglia Video

Culinary Tour Client Testimonials

Here's what Susan B., from Fort Worth, TX said about our Liguria Tour:

"We have talked and talked about our wonderful experiences throughout the Liguria region. Thank you Micol, for sharing with us such an exceptional experience of Italy - we couldn't have had a better time! The restaurants you picked, the towns we visited, our extra-ordinary time in the  kitchen - were more than we could have hoped for! Paula is convinced that it was the best vacation she's ever been on! Thank you, thank you!! You poured your heart into the week and it showed. "
 
And a note from Kristel S. C of Brooklyn, NY about our Tuscany & Beyond Tour: 
"Thank you for such a wonderful culinary tour of Tuscany and beyond. It was both educational and rewarding to meet fellow food aficionados, participate in the cooking lessons, tour the various towns, and learn about regional specialties through the local artisans who are using traditional methods to keep their culture alive. I loved that the featured restaurants showcased both traditional and modern twists on regional cooking and ingredients, and I appreciated the opportunity to try new things with an open mind. Thanks again for all of your hard work and effort in putting this together. I enjoyed it immensely. "