Access Culinary Trips, a tour company with food-centric itineraries across the globe, has expanded its portfolio to include its first ever European trips.
Travel advisors can now book their clients on small-group culinary tours in Italy and Croatia that are aimed at providing travelers with a mixture of authentic culinary and cultural experiences, along with opportunities to interact with the locals.
“This marks an exciting milestone for our company and for the industry as we bring our experiential style of culinary travel to Europe,” said Tamar Lowell, CEO of Access Culinary Trips, in press materials. “As classic destinations for great food and culture, Italy and Croatia represent the ‘comfort food of travel’ and are the perfect first European destinations for our guests to explore through the lens of food.”
In Italy, the Tuscan village of Cortona will serve as home base as guests of Access Culinary Trips embark on a 5-day vacation exploring the region through the cuisine and wines of Siena, Pienza, and Montepulciano. Highlights will include wine, cheese and olive oil tastings, al fresco farm-to-table lunch, dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant, and cooking classes, where guests will learn to prepare a full Tuscan meal, as well as partake in a happy hour ice cream and sorbet cocktail class. Travelers will also have the opportunity to participate in the traditional truffle hunt and visit local farms and food producers. At the end of the trip, guests can also opt for the 3-day extension in Florence to continue with their adventures in Tuscany.
Meanwhile in Croatia, guests will explore the cuisine, culture and history of three UNESCO Heritage sites: Dubrovnik, Split, and Plitvice Lakes National Park. Culinary experiences include visiting a food market alongside a local chef to pick out ingredients for a cooking class later that day, plus a trip to Istria for a traditional truffle hunt followed by a truffle cooking class. There will also be time for a visit to a private island for fresh oysters and a food walking tour in Dubrovnik’s Old Town. Historical and architectural excursions on this itinerary include side trips to some of Croatia’s most iconic cities and Roman ruins as well as a trip to the turquoise lakes and waterfalls of Plitvice National Park.
Rates for the Italy itinerary start at $3,490 pp, while the Croatia itinerary starts at $4,490 pp. For more information, visit accesstrips.com. If you have lovers of spicy food on your client list, check out The Sriracha Tour: A Culinary Journey to Thailand and Vietnam.
