Gastronomy Tour of Northern Italy

The cities we visited were wonderful. We really enjoyed the tours, especially the cooking class with our chef! I will be making homemade ravioli over the holidays.

The hotels were located close to the city centers. But the hotel in Bologna was very close to the university, with lots of graffiti and live music late into the night. The hotel, however, was quaint and very nice. The hotel staff was very friendly and accommodating.

The hotel in Florence was just weird. Our travel companions' room had no windows and was small. Ours was oddly laid out but much bigger. The desk person told us both rooms were the same when we first checked in. If we came back after 9 p.m., there was no hotel staff, and we had to use a code to walk through an apartment lobby.

The hotel in Venice was situated right in the middle of lots of restaurants and gelato! The hotel was by far the best one, with much nicer amenities and rooms. It had a bar and restaurant on-site. It was a good way to end our trip.

Zicasso's travel specialist organized an amazing 12-day series of private tours, taking us from Milan to the lake regions (Como, Maggiore, and Garda) and down to Bologna. Our days were filled with visiting churches, museums (including the Ferrari and Enzo Ferrari museums), a winery, parmigiano, prosciutto, and traditional balsamic manufacturing, a cooking class, boat tours, and food tours.

Along the way, we saw testing at the Ferrari track and a small portion of the women’s Giro d’Italia. With all that, we still had sufficient downtime to search the streets to find our own gems.

Our trip coordinator checked in with us daily to confirm the daily itinerary and transportation. When we had questions or needed to make a change due to the weather, she was thorough, attentive, and responsive in a way that was reassuring and comforting. She was simply amazing.

I would highly recommend using this travel specialist and team for any of your Italian travel needs.

We had a beautiful trip. All the drivers arrived on schedule and were courteous and professional. The guides for our tours were wonderful, especially one guide, who we were lucky to have on three occasions.

The Parmesan and balsamic experiences were great! The cooking class in Bologna, conducted by a local chef, was entertaining and educational. Our accommodations, particularly in Modena, were lovely.

The only change to the itinerary I would suggest is separating the food tour in Bologna and the cooking class by a day. It was too much food!!

This was our first of many big trips to come, and Italy was at the top of our list. From being picked up at the airport in Rome by our private driver to start our trip to the end in Venice, everything was first class.

The hotels we stayed in were right in the middle of the best areas, the excursions were all incredible, including the Roma vs. Inter Milan game at the stadium, and the food and wine were everything we hoped for.

`Zicasso's tour company set up an awesome first-timer trip for us and we can’t thank them enough!

We've taken many family vacations over the years, but we all agreed this was the best one yet!

The team at Zicasso’s travel company did an exceptional job tailoring the perfect trip for our family. Every detail was thoughtfully planned, making the entire experience seamless and truly enjoyable from start to finish.

We had wonderful drives and knowledgeable, engaging tour guides who made each destination come to life. Some of our favorite highlights include a hands-on cooking class in Florence, exploring the beautiful Tuscan countryside, and having effortless access to iconic sites like the Vatican and the Colosseum.

The experiences were unforgettable, from the best food tour in Rome to a fun and unique golf-cart tour through the city. We also loved visiting a Parmigiano-Reggiano factory and a Parma ham producer, along with an extra-special stop at the Ferrari Museum that was such a memorable surprise.

Every moment felt thoughtfully curated and we came home with incredible memories that we will cherish for years to come. We highly recommend the travel company to anyone looking for a truly personalized and exceptional travel experience.

This was our first time visiting Italy, and we were very excited to experience the country through a thoughtfully planned luxury itinerary. Overall, we had some wonderful experiences, but there were also several disappointments that affected our trip and that we feel are important to share.

Highlights

Venice was a highlight of our trip. We loved the atmosphere, scenery, and overall experience of being there.

The wine tasting experience in Tuscany was another major highlight. Our trip to Chianti from Florence was beautiful, and the Tuscan countryside was exactly the type of experience we had hoped for. Our cooking class with our instructor in Florence was also exceptional. Making fresh pasta and tiramisu while enjoying wine, music, and great conversation made it feel authentic and personal. These are experiences we will truly remember.

Areas That Fell Short

We would have appreciated much more advance guidance about how incredibly hot and crowded Italy would be during peak season in September. We experienced a significant heat wave and extremely limited air conditioning throughout the trip, including in hotels and fine dining restaurants. This made traveling much less comfortable than anticipated, particularly as first-time visitors to Italy.

We also visited four cities in just eight days, which in hindsight felt far too rushed. As first-time visitors, we were relying on the agency’s expertise to help us create a realistic itinerary. We would have appreciated being advised that this pace was too ambitious and that fewer destinations with more time in each would have made for a more relaxing experience.

We also did not particularly enjoy Milan and felt there was not much there that appealed to us. In hindsight, we would have preferred to spend more of our limited vacation time in destinations that were a better fit for us.

The Lake Como boat tour was canceled at the last minute because we were given the wrong pickup location. This was especially disappointing because it was an experience we had been looking forward to and had planned our day around. Having it canceled at the last minute due to incorrect pickup information was frustrating and felt avoidable. For a luxury travel itinerary, we expected a higher level of coordination and attention to detail.

Transportation was another area that fell short. The three-hour private drive from Venice to Milan was exhausting, particularly because the driver was blasting music throughout the journey. We also had a four-hour drive from Lake Como to Florence in cramped transportation with limited air conditioning, which was extremely uncomfortable given the heat. For a luxury itinerary, we expected transportation to be spacious, comfortable, and properly climate-controlled, especially for longer transfers.

The hotel in Florence was particularly disappointing. We found the atmosphere to be creepy and uncomfortable and did not feel that the property matched our preference for modern, understated luxury. The shower would not drain properly, and although maintenance told us they had fixed it, the problem continued. The hotel did have an excellent location, a balcony, and warm, attentive staff, which we appreciated, but the overall property was not a good fit for us.

Communication

One area where the agency excelled was communication. The team was consistently prompt and responsive through WhatsApp, which truly became our lifeline throughout the trip. Whenever we had questions or needed assistance, we were able to reach someone quickly, and we very much appreciated that level of accessibility and support while traveling.

Overall

Italy was beautiful, and we are grateful for the opportunity to experience it. However, the trip did not consistently feel like the luxury experience we had envisioned. For future clients, we would strongly recommend providing more candid guidance around itinerary pacing, September peak-season crowds, heat, limited air conditioning, hotel style, and destination selection, as well as ensuring greater attention to detail with transportation and excursions.