We strive to provide you with the most authentic and intimate travel experiences in Italy and beyond. We are proud and grateful to have many repeat customers who know their expectations will always be surpassed.
Many travelers ask why our tours feel different—this page explains the philosophy behind our approach.
Start by deciding what kind of experience you want—art and history, food and wine, or a mix of both. Then narrow down regions and must-see cities like Rome, Florence, and Venice. Consider whether you want to DIY or use a tour company.
Independent travel offers flexibility but requires heavy planning. For first-timers, a small group tour takes away the stress of organizing hotels, transportation, and tickets, so you can simply enjoy. Nada’s Italy’s itineraries are crafted for first-time visitors, with expert guides, authentic local experiences, and enough free time to explore on your own. You’ll see Italy’s highlights and hidden gems with comfort and ease from start to finish.
Ten to twelve days is ideal for seeing the highlights—Rome, Florence, and Venice—without feeling rushed. With a few extra days, you can add charming towns in Tuscany or the Amalfi Coast for a more complete experience.
If time is tight, we suggest focusing on one region only, such as Rome & Florence, or Rome & Amalfi Coast, for 7-8 days.
For first-time visitors, central Italy is a great starting point, as it includes Rome and Florence — two must-see cities. Rome offers iconic landmarks like the Colosseum and Vatican, Florence showcases Renaissance art and Tuscan culture. You may also want to add Venice with charming canals and historic architecture.
For a quieter, more authentic experience, consider adding the Tuscan countryside with charming villages, local cuisine, and scenic landscapes, or the Amalfi Coast with breathtaking views. Read more about best region for first trip to Italy.
Ultimately, the best region depends on your interests — whether it’s history, art, food, or scenery — but central Italy gives a perfect introduction to the country. Read more about planning your first trip to Italy.
Choose experiences that connect you with locals—cooking classes, family-run wineries, and boutique hotels. Have knowledgeable local guides who can share the history and culture behind sites as well as hidden local gems. Nada’s Italy tours focus on these authentic, off-the-beaten-path moments that reveal Italy’s real charm beyond the tourist crowds.
Absolutely — especially if you want a balance of authentic experiences and stress-free travel. With a small group, you don’t have to worry about logistics like transportation, reservations, or navigating language barriers. At the same time, you’ll still enjoy plenty of personal freedom to explore on your own. Many guests say it feels like traveling with local friends, not being herded around. Read a deeper dive on this topic in our blog.
Big bus tours often mean 40–50 travelers, tight schedules, and touristy stops. Nada’s Italy small group tours only have 6–12 guests, allowing access to charming towns, family-owned wineries, and hidden gems that larger tours can’t reach. The smaller size makes for a more intimate, flexible, and cultural experience. Read more about the benefit of small group tours.
While many so-called small group tours have 20+ travelers, Nada’s Italy tours are always limited to just 6–12 guests. This creates a relaxed, personal atmosphere where you can easily connect with fellow travelers and enjoy exclusive experiences that aren’t possible with large groups. Many of our travelers become friends and decide to travel again together!
This page further explains the philosophy behind our approach.
A luxury small group tour focuses on quality and authenticity, while budget tours emphasize keeping costs low. Luxury tours provide personal attention, access to hidden towns, and curated cultural experiences like private tastings or cooking classes. Accommodations are typically high-end boutique hotels or historic villas, and meals highlight regional cuisine at authentic local spots.
In contrast, budget tours often use larger groups, more basic hotels, and standardized itineraries. Luxury small group tours let you experience Italy in a more immersive, stress-free, and memorable way. Read how one traveler decided to switch from big bus tours to small group travel.
Italy is magical year-round, but the best times are spring (April–June) and fall (September–October) when the weather is mild, the landscapes are vibrant, and local festivals are in full swing. For fewer crowds and lower prices, winter can also be a great option — especially for food and cultural tours or city tours. Read more about weather in Italy.
For travelers seeking authentic, less touristy Italy, regions like Umbria, Le Marche, Puglia, Sicily, and parts of Tuscany are ideal. These areas feature charming villages, local markets, and family-run wineries, away from crowded cities. Cities like Bologna offer rich culinary traditions, while Sicily and Puglia showcase unique regional culture, coastal beauty, and historic towns. Exploring these destinations with a small group tour like Nada’s Italy gives insider access to cooking classes, local artisans, and hidden gems — creating an immersive, cultural experience that feels uniquely Italian. Discover our tours to these off-the-beaten-path destinations!
Yes, Nada’s Italy always keeps a balance between group activities and free time. While our tours include guided cultural and culinary experiences, you’ll always have free time built in for shopping, relaxing at a café, or wandering through local markets. Many travelers love the mix of planned activities and personal discovery.
Nada’s Italy focuses on authentic, non-touristy experiences. Unlike companies that rely on generic itineraries, these tours are designed by locals and led by expert guides who share insider knowledge. With small groups, boutique accommodations, and carefully curated activities, guests feel like they’re experiencing the “real Italy” — not just checking boxes on a sightseeing list.
We also keep our group size really small: all of our tours are capped at 12 travelers only. We have specialized in truly small group tours for over 20 years. Many return travelers have come back to us 3, 5, even 7 times. Read more about why travelers rave about Nada’s Italy.
All of our listed prices are in US dollars. Even though we pay Euros to our vendors, we absorb most currency fluctuations in order to give our clients a clear, stable price, so you always know how much you’re paying.
Any tour may have a mix of couples and single travelers. Nada’s Italy staff do their best to keep a balance within a group (i.e. not place a single woman traveler in a group of only couples, or vice-versa). You will be receiving an email from our office with important reminders for your trip about 60 days prior to your departure. All group members’ names will be listed, along with the city/state they are from.
Our typical traveler is one who enjoys an active lifestyle and appreciates wine, food, art, history, and culture. Most of our clients are between the ages of 50 and 70 years, but we also have a mix of younger as well as older travelers.
Although you must be in good physical health and be able to walk and stand for extended periods of time, Nada’s Italy tours are flexible enough so that you can skip some of the activities if you deem necessary. However, if this is a concern, you should contact Nada’s Italy directly. As a general rule, you should wear comfortable shoes as you will be walking and standing at various times throughout the day, especially when visiting museums and exploring historical sites.
Please notify Nada’s Italy if you have particular food allergies or dietary requirements as soon as you sign up for one of our tours so we can inform the Tour Leaders and restaurants. Even though Italian cuisine specialties include salami, prosciutto, dairy products (cheeses), rice, pasta, fish, and savory meat sauces, there are typically vegetarian options and other non-meat dishes. We’ll do our best to accommodate you, but Nada’s Italy won’t assume extra costs relative to special diets.
Yes, each room has its own en-suite bathroom. By American standards, Italian bathrooms and bedrooms are smaller. Beds are also smaller and finding a king-size mattress is extremely rare. Most bathrooms in Europe have a box-shower instead of a bathtub. Typically double beds are two twin-size beds pushed together. Read more in this blog post: What to expect from your hotels in Italy.
The hotels we select in major cities will be in the historical center, within a short distance of most major sites and museums. However, there are some tour packages that include lodging in rural areas, such as a villa in the Tuscan countryside or a traditional farmhouse in Sicily. Please contact us if you have questions about the accommodations included in your tour package. Hotel names and contact information will be emailed to you about 60 days prior to departure.
Whether you’re flying in a few days before the tour or extending your stay afterwards in the same city or other cities, we’ll be happy to assist you in making those arrangements. To ensure availability at the hotels, please get in touch with us as soon as possible with the number of nights and dates so we can provide you with a quote and take care of those reservations for you.
Please make sure Nada’s Italy has a valid email address as we’ll be sending out various reminders about your trip, including arrival instructions, hotel names & local contacts, pick up times and detailed information on your first scheduled activities by email about two months before your trip begins.
The average day trip starts anywhere between 9:00am and 11:00am, depending on what is planned that day. We keep a balance between full days and easy days so you always have some free time to relax or use at your leisure during your trip.
Yes all group tour prices listed are based on double occupancy. Yes absolutely, we welcome single travelers! Since you will be getting your own room, we do charge a single supplement to cover the room cost difference.
While we have the most experience and deepest connections in Italy, we have been offering custom packages across Europe for many years. Outside of Italy, we are particularly experienced in Spain, Portugal, France, and Greece.
Anything that you desire! The purpose of a custom trip is that we can cater any kind of experience to your needs and wants. We will work with you to create the travel experience that’s the best fit for you and your group. We always start by understanding your needs, so that our expert travel planner can recommend and develop proposals for your review.
It is totally up to you. Many of our travelers prefer to enjoy the experience at their own pace without a tour leader, while others prefer to have a local expert escort them. Please visit the custom tours page [insert link to page here] and fill out an inquiry form so that we can provide our recommendations best suited for your needs.
It all depends on what you want to include in your custom packages. While joining a small group tour allows travelers to share some cost, custom packages allow you to pick only the activities that most interest you. If you are not sure whether a custom package is right for you, we are always happy to talk you through it, just give us a call!
Yes, the trip package prices include everything listed in the “what’s included” section of the trip package proposal (accommodation, tours, entrance tickets, wine tasting, etc..).
Tipping is not included and it is not mandatory. However, it is greatly appreciated and it is an appropriate way to show your appreciation. How much you tip is entirely up to you, but we will be happy to provide some guidance, if needed.
Dress code is strictly enforced in the Vatican Museums and Saint Peter’s Basilica. You must have knees and shoulders covered. If you are wearing shorts or a skirt, make sure they reach your knees and if you are wearing anything sleeveless, bring a scarf or cardigan to cover your shoulders. Other churches are not as strict, but generally dressing appropriately is required.
It really depends. The typical “ideal window” for best airfare is between 5-3 months prior to departure. Nada’s Italy has industry partners that can assist you in making your flight arrangements. Please let us know if you’d like us to put you in touch with someone who can help. IMPORTANT: All flights from the U.S.A. to Europe are overnight flights, so you will arrive the day after your departure. When you return, you’ll arrive back in the USA on the same day you leave Europe. Also, keep in mind that some tours start in one city and end in another. Read more about how to plan your flights in this blog post: How to Plan Your Flights.
Yes you’ll need a valid passport! Make sure you get one if you don’t have it already, and make sure to check the expiration date. Current regulations require that your passport be valid for the entire duration of your trip and at least 6 months after your return date. Go to the U.S. Department of State’s website to stay up to date with travel information. If you’re not an US citizen, you may need a travel visa. Check with your country’s Italian embassy or your own country’s travel requirements. Read more in this blog post: Preparing for Travel to Italy.
No, you can leave it safe in your hotel room, and carry a copy of it with you.
It is best to order some euros from your local bank before your trip. Your first expenses may include a taxi ride, a snack, etc., so having some cash handy is a good thing. Then, ATMs are the best way to take cash out once you are in Italy, but notify your bank that you’ll be gone before you leave.
Most accommodations where the groups stay provide hair dryers. Some hotels also have irons that guests can use. If you bring any electrical appliances (hair dryer, flat iron, electric razor, electric toothbrush, etc), you will need an adapter (Italy has 2 pin plugs). The electricity supply is 220 volts, which means your appliance should have a switch that you can turn to the correct voltage. If it doesn’t, you’ll need a converter because an adapter alone will not be sufficient.
Laptop computers, camera chargers, cell phone chargers, iPads, and other electronics usually switch automatically to the right voltage.
Unfortunately, sometimes flights are delayed, and even when they are on time, your luggage may still be a few hours (or sometimes days) behind you. If your flight is cancelled or delayed, please get in touch with your tour leader (you will receive their name and contact information by email prior to departure) and the Nada’s Italy office staff. We will do our best to assist you, but it will be your responsibility to get to the hotel and pay for any associated expenses. You will be given the addresses, phone numbers and emergency contact numbers before you leave home, so make sure to keep those handy as you travel. Consider purchasing a travel insurance policy to cover any unexpected or emergency expenses.
Nada’s Italy tour packages typically include a lot of food. In general, we recommend budgeting about 20-30 euros per person for each meal that is not included, plus about 80-100 Euros for gratuities for the entire stay, including those for your Journey Director and driver.
Some wireless companies offer an international calling plan, which you have to request before you leave. Please check with your own provider to see if this is an option. Make sure to turn your data plan off and turn it to “airplane mode” when you are not using it to avoid a painfully expensive bill. You can also rent a local cell phone through a third-party company. Read more about internet in Italy in this blog: Internet in Italy.
Unless you’re going to other countries that require shots on your trip, Italy does not (at the time this was written). Some people may develop allergies to cypress trees, olive trees, and other local tree/plant pollens not common where they live. If you are susceptible to allergic reactions (if you get a runny nose in the Spring and Fall), it would be a good idea for you to bring some allergy medication. If you usually do not get allergies, be aware that you may develop some during your trip. If this is the case, you can purchase over-the-counter allergy medication in Italy, such as Claritin.
Italy is not considered to be a large country, especially compared to the USA: about the size of the states of Georgia and Florida combined. The weather doesn’t change dramatically from North to South, but there are differences still determined by the actual topography. Read more in this blog post: Weather in Italy.
Wear breathable, comfortable, light-weight, casual clothing, possibly in layers, in case you get chilly or hot. Many day trips start after breakfast and end after dinner, so you don’t really have the chance to change into evening clothes. That said, there may be a few dinners when we like to take our travelers to a special fine dining experience. You can also bring extra clothes and shoes to leave in the van, if you wish. Please note that you won’t be able to enter any of the main churches if you wear shorts or skirts above the knee, and/or sleeveless shirts. The same goes for men! Many people ask us what to wear so they can fit in and not stick out like a sore thumb. Just wear what is “you” and what makes you comfortable.
Absolutely yes! The water is very safe in Italy and you should not worry about this. You can drink tap water, but the taste may or may not be pleasant to you, just like some may or may not like drinking tap water at home. For this reason, bottled water and/or filtered water will be provided by Nada’s Italy during all meals throughout the group tour.
