CILENTO : Into the blu

June Enrollment Closed but Lisa lives here and is available to provide personal language, interpreting and logistics services while you travel to this ancient blue zone. 

 WHAT'S INCLUDED: 

• Insider Experience. Your own personal interpreter, language coach and guide.
• Limit of 10 guests allows for personal attention, special access to      homes and artist studios, relaxing travel, great conversation, and the opportunity to forge new friendships.
• Opportunities to mix and practice italiano with “real live Italians”- Lisa's      friends.
• Discovery of hidden cultural gems that even some of the locals don't know about! 
• A vibrant cast of Cilentani:  guest teachers, artists, guides, archeologists, chefs, farmers.
• 3 nights Paestum in an elegant 4-star, historic palazzo found just a 5-minute walk to the 2500 year-old Greek Temples. The pool and spa are set in a rose garden with lemon trees and a stunning view of the Alburni Mountains.
• 4 nights seaside in a Luxury Wellness Resort: Junior suite balcony looks out onto the quaint fishing port. Saltwater Pool, Private Beach +4 days of complimentary access to the renowned Spa Complex. 
• Relax in a prescribed series of therapeutic hot and cold baths, salt scrubs, saunas and vapors.
• Benvenuti al Sud! Welcome Dinner. 
• Breakfast each morning: local, slow foods of Cilento, the birthplace of the famous Mediterranean Diet.
• Four lunches with wine, Three Dinners with wine, two Italian aperitivi receptions, two culinary tastings + a hands-on bread and pizza-baking experience, all in a variety of stunning locations: ristoranti, trattorie, farms, private homes and wineries. 
• Guided Visit to Paestum: experience the late afternoon sunlight on the golden Greek Temples. Tour starts with visit to the world-class Museum to give you a great context to life amongst the jaw-dropping temples.. 
• Food Tours. A visit to Italy's premiere organic buffalo farm where pampered buffalo get daily massages and listen to Mozart, samplings of sweetest mozzarella, gelato and yogurt + Farm-to-Table Lunch with wine. 
• Tour + Tasting: Witness the crafting of the rare White Fig of Cilento ("Sacred Honey"). Elegant and polisensorial. Followed by elegant tasting.
• Tour + Lunch at a sassy Family-Owned Organic Winery. Three pairings with homemade traditional dishes and world-class Cilento olive oil. 
• Farm visit and baking experience. Work with three generations of mountain women: building the fire, working the ancient grain into loaves and pizzas. 
• FREE TIME to explore the centro storico of Santa Maria, named to National Geographic's 2022 List of Most Beautiful Beaches in Italy.
• Insider Access: Authentic with a capital "A", a visit to an Antiquarium/      Fisherman's Association will leave you spellbound by a fascinating 3,000-year-old tale of fishing, mythology, international trade routes of ancient Greece and Rome- all illustrated by a collections of ancient amphorae the      fishermen found in the waters just outside.
• Hike through History with our archeologist. Discover what is hiding in plain site: signs of Pre-history, from Paleo- to Neolithic to the Middle Ages. Hike followed by lunch on a beautiful beach in Lisa's favorite trattoria (Add-on excursion for additional fee. 4-person minimum required.)
• Boat Excursion + Fresh, Local Lunch: An exhilarating day out to Palinuro. Southward we go, to swim, snorkel and sun on beaches reachable only by boat. This is the absolute best way to experience this incredible coastline. Followed by a fresh seaside lunch.
• Experience the utter magic of a mesmerizing blue grotto accessorized with bio-luminescent sea creatures...Capri's blue grotto pales in comparison. 
• Free time to visit Acciaroli, the gorgeous seaside village and blue zone      where Ancel Keyes connected the dots between longevity and the Mediterranean Diet. Ernest Hemingway  came to visit and ended up staying, drinking whiskey and playing cards with the white-haired fisherman named "U Vecchio", who inspired the author's classsic "Old Man and the Sea."
• Arrivederci Dinner + Cooking Lesson  with Chef Carmela, Culinary Historian and Expert in the Mediterranean Diet. Slow, organic foods and wines while dining in a characteristic and unique mountain setting. Dance, sing and play tamburro with a boisterous group of mountain folk musicians.
• All transport and drivers for itinerary activities
• All local, All Italian. Certified Tour Guides for all scheduled visits and hikes (Tours in English; Lisa will interpret on three occasions.) 
• All fees for guided activities (tour guides, scheduled special events, fees      for guest artists, musicians, chefs and teachers, entrance fees, drivers).   
• All tips for itinerary-related transport, drivers, guides, musicians and restaurant personnel.  
• All Italian Language Lessons with Lisa and/or a special guest teacher.
• Transfers. R/T from Salerno Train Station to Accommodations in Cilento.
• Custom-made Memory Book that includes your activities, awareness exercises, + cultural information relevant to our tailor-made itinerary.
• Referrals of additional local, official guides. 
• Recommendations for tours, restaurants, activities for your free time. 
• So much more! 

8 authentic days. 10-guest limit. 

Based on double booking. Airfare not included. 

Single guests welcome; supplement fee apply.