HISTORY & CITY LIFE
Rome
Ancient sites, Vatican art and neighborhood food.
Explore Rome vacations Now booking 2027! - Get a Head-Start on Travel Planning and Save $$$
Small Group Italy Tours & Custom Vacations
Complete vacations of seven days or more, with accommodations, sightseeing and ground transportation.
Personal travel planning since 1995
Top Destinations
Featured Tours
12-Day Sicily & Aeolian Islands Group Tour
8-Day Small Group Sicily Food Tour
8-Day Small Group Highlights of Sicily
12-Day Sicily and Malta: A Best of Sicily and Malta Group Tour
10-Day Small Group Sicily Tour: Catania, Taormina, Mount Etna, Syracuse, Agrigento, Palermo & Cefalù
11-Day Private Sicily Tour: History, Food & Scenic Coastlines
LET’S PLAN YOUR ITALY VACATION
Not sure where to begin?
Start here.
Tell us a little about the trip you have in mind. Our team will help you take the next step.
- Complete vacation packages of seven days or more
- Accommodations, sightseeing and ground transportation
- Personal planning since 1995
Contact us at least two months before departure. Six to eight months ahead is ideal.
Read how trip planning worksTell us about your trip
Share your contact details and ideas below.
WHERE WILL ITALY TAKE YOU?
Popular Italy destinations
Find inspiration for your Italy vacation, from art-filled cities to coastal villages and wine country.
ART & CULTURE
Florence
Renaissance art, artisan workshops and Tuscan day trips.
Explore Florence vacations
CANALS & ISLANDS
Venice
Canals, historic palaces and lagoon islands.
Explore Venice vacations
FOOD & WINE
Tuscany
Hill towns, vineyards and countryside stays.
Explore Tuscany vacations
COAST & RELAXATION
Amalfi Coast
Coastal villages, sea views and time on the water.
Explore Amalfi Coast vacations
FOOD & HISTORY
Sicily
Greek temples, regional cooking and Mount Etna.
Explore Sicily vacationsHave another part of Italy in mind?
Explore all 20 regions on the map belowEXPLORE ITALY BY REGION
Where would you like to go in Italy?
Click a region to explore its towns, food and wine, and practical planning tips. Start with a favorite or find a new place to include in your Italy vacation.
YOUR ITALY, ONE REGION AT A TIME
Tuscany
Florence’s art, hill towns, countryside hotels and regional wine.
Places to consider
Florence · Siena · Lucca · Val d’Orcia
Food & wine
Tuscan olive oil, ribollita, regional pasta and Sangiovese wines.
Planning tips
Allow 5–7 nights for Florence and the countryside. Split city and rural stays if you want both; arrange a driver for wine outings and town visits.
Suggested nights are planning ideas within a complete vacation of 7 days or longer, including accommodations, sightseeing and ground transportation.
Start planning at least two months before departure, ideally 6–8 months ahead. Read our planning FAQ. Regional background: Italy’s official tourism guide.
Find your Italy vacation style
Christmas
City Breaks
Coastal Trips
Cooking Vacations
Cycling & Bike Tours Italy
Family Trips in Italy
Golf Vacations & Breaks In Italy
Honeymoons
Italy Adventure & Active Tours
Italy Food Tours
Luxury Tours
Romantic Escapes
Solo Tours & Trips To Italy
Walking, Hiking & Trekking Tours Of Italy
Wine Tours
PERSONAL TRAVEL PLANNING SINCE 1995
Why travel with Italy4Real?
Your trip starts with people who listen, bring firsthand knowledge and help you make practical choices for your time in Italy.
A travel expert who listens
Tell us your interests, pace and budget. We help shape your itinerary and talk through the details with you.
Accommodations we know
Our team personally inspects accommodations, helping us recommend places that fit your route and travel preferences.
Clear choices for your trip
Choose a custom vacation or a small group tour. Your proposal explains the arrangements, including private and shared sightseeing.
Support while you travel
Local support helps with questions and changes along the way, backed by the team that helped plan your trip.
THE FAMILY BEHIND YOUR TRIP
A mother, a son and a love of Italy.
In 1995, Deborah de Maio and her son, Rem Malloy, founded Italy4Real to share the country they loved. Their Italian roots and belief in personal hospitality shaped the business they built together.
For Deborah and Rem, caring about a trip meant caring about the people taking it. That spirit continues today in the time our team spends listening, planning and looking after the details of your vacation.
Meet the founders, read our family story and get to know the people who help bring your trip together.
Read our story Meet your travel teamFROM OUR TRAVELERS
What our travelers say
Personal stories from Italy vacations we helped plan.
“I wanted to thank you for an amazing vacation!”
The Wilson Family
Read full testimonial
I wanted to thank you for an amazing vacation! We truly had the perfect vacation that was worry free. Alfredo went above and beyond to ensure everything went smoothly. He helped us at every turn. I will recommend you and your company to everyone and anyone who is traveling to Italy. Your company's tours are truly top notch. Also the tour guide in Cinque Terre was so incredibly sweet to my daughters, it warmed my heart.
“I recently had the best vacation of my life using Italy4 Real.”
Carol Bohan
Read full testimonial
I recently had the best vacation of my life using Italy4 Real. Carole Assisted every step of the way, including with transfers, hotels, itinerary items, and surprise suggestions that became highlights of our trip. I would highly recommend this company to help you plan and customize your get-away!
“I cannot say enough nice things about this company and this experience.”
The Schaffers
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I cannot say enough nice things about this company and this experience. Italy4Real offers an above and beyond experience that you could never get if you attempted to plan a tour on your own because they know people everywhere you go. They are good people running an honest business who really do everything they can to give you the experience of a lifetime!!
“I love this travel company and the manner that travellers are royally treated.”
Guadalupe R
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I love this travel company and the manner that travellers are royally treated. They often become lifelong friends!
“A perfect customized trip.”
D Rubino
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A perfect customized trip. They laid everything out perfectly for us…For that, I am so thankful. I cannot wait to go back. Venice was our favorite. All of the tours fit our needs perfectly….Thank you again.
“This was the best vacation that both my husband and I have been on and we have traveled both locally and abroad.”
L Mazzella
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This was the best vacation that both my husband and I have been on and we have traveled both locally and abroad. The individual attention to detail and experience that Rem and his team have developed was what make the trip and wonderful as it was.
“We had a group of 8, and everything was already worked out.”
Sandy L
Read full testimonial
We had a group of 8, and everything was already worked out. From transfers into cities like Venice and Rome to tickets to attractions, hotel reservations and restaurant reservations. All we had to do was show up and enjoy ourselves!
“Italy4Real created my dream vacation.”
Joel & Lorilee
Read full testimonial
Italy4Real created my dream vacation. They planned the right amount of tours and personal time that matched our wants. I have recommended Italy4Real to several people and I’m hoping to work with them again to go back and vacation there again.
Read our Google reviews
David Siegel
3 weeks ago
With Mount Etna erupting, there was a great deal of uncertainty about flights leaving Catania. Mattia and Carole did a great job of navigating a challenging situation and getting us to the airport. Great job!
Yvonne Hoffman
3 weeks ago
I have taken 7 trips with Rem and both were awesome. He is very easy to work with and goes out of his way to make the trip perfect. All the hotel's were in perfect locations and very comfortable. He is my go to guy for travel.
Jet Taylor
4 weeks ago
What a fantastic planer and guide.
REM is the best. I thought I had a good travel person, I know I do now.
Happy travels. That’s what you will get with Italy4 Real.
Cynthia Dixon
4 weeks ago
Italy4Real is the BEST travel company! Rem is a dynamic personality, taking his groups to the coolest places, searching out the most awesome restaurants, our meals are always terrific. He makes all the arrangements and you will be really pleased to be traveling with him.
Do not procrastinate, connect with him soon!
Paula Taylor
4 weeks ago
We went to England Scotland and Ireland with Italy4Real and it truly was a trip of a lifetime. We were cared for and all excursions were AMAZING. I have used other travel agencies but this one is OVER AND BEYOND excellent. I can’t wait for my next trip with them to Germany Austria and Switzerland. Book your now you will not regret it!
Mary Ann Blackall
4 weeks ago
Italy "had me at hello" .... from the "First Breathtaking View" to the very last minute, our trip was outstanding! Without a moments hesitation, I highly recommend "Italy4Real" for your travel plans.
Rem took care of every detail and led us on a journey I will never forget. We didn't have to worry about a single thing the entire time, which allowed us to soak in every sight, sound and pleasure the trip had to offer.
Grazie Rem, for helping make a dream of mine come true!
Mary Ann B
Steve Bruss
3 months ago
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
We just returned from an unforgettable trip to Italy, and we couldn't be happier with the experience Carole planned for us.
Every detail was thoughtfully arranged, from the perfectly located hotels to the outstanding private tours and transportation. Hotel Lunetta in Rome was within easy walking distance of Campo de' Fiori, Piazza Navona, and so many other attractions. In fact, we loved the nearby restaurant, Elle Effe, so much that we ate there three times! Hotel Minerva in Sorrento was equally well located and made exploring the area effortless.
Our guides were exceptional—enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and passionate about sharing the history and culture of Italy. The private and small-group tours, along with skip-the-line access, made an enormous difference and allowed us to maximize our time. The Trastevere Food Tour was a particular highlight and remains one of our favorite experiences from the entire trip.
Every driver was punctual, professional, and courteous. Our stop in Pompeii was another unforgettable experience that we're so glad Carole included in our itinerary.
If there's one small suggestion, it would be to skip the hop-on/hop-off bus tour in Rome. We found the pickup and drop-off locations difficult to locate and less convenient than expected.
Overall, this was truly the trip of a lifetime. Carole's attention to detail, recommendations, and planning made everything feel seamless, allowing us to simply enjoy the experience. We highly recommend Carole to anyone planning a trip to Italy and look forward to working with her again.
Lindsay Crow
4 months ago
We are so incredibly happy with our experience with Italy4Real. Carole and her team helped plan a very special trip for my college son and I to travel around Italy for 2 weeks. Every detail was taken care of from finding the best hotels with the best locations, arranging transportation and tours and suggestions on restaurants and more. We would highly recommend them to anyone traveling in Italy and will definitely use them again when we return! Thank you Carole to you and your team!
Dawn Wilson
4 months ago
Italy4Real is an absolute must when planning your next vacation. We have traveled with them twice now. Both vacations were amazing with top-notch service. Our most recent trip with Italy4Real was to Sicily this month (June 2026) and by far is now on the very top of the best vacations of all time for me and my family (9 of us went.) We had an amazing stress-free time. Italy4Real accommodated us every step of the way. We could not have been more pleased. We loved everything! The highlights were the cooking class, volcano jeep tour, sunset cruise, and the hotel in Palermo.
The drivers and tour guides were extremely accommodating and knowledgeable everywhere we went.
I really appreciated the daily texts and the app explaining the upcoming events for the next day.
I highly recommend Italy4Real and Rem to everyone!
Ciao!
John Dean
4 months ago
Can't thank Italy4real enough for setting up such an incredible trip for my family and I. We hit 4 cities in 12 days and everyday was filled with epic sites, tours and experiences. All of the hotels, transportation and tours were amazing! I realize it takes an experienced person who knows what to see and do to coordinate such an epic trip. It can't be easy to do what they did, but after communicating our needs, wants and vision of the perfect adventure, Rem and friends made it easy for us. Can't wait to figure out where to go next and reach out and leverage their incredible travel plan skills and abilities! Thanks again Italy4real for helping me make stress free, priceless memories and experiences for my family!
Peter Martino
4 months ago
Carole {Italy4Real} organized a wonderful 6 day stay in Bologna with private driver for us- each day brought new adventures including a really great private pasta making course and food based day trips to Ravenna, Modena and Parma. The hotel -The Corona D'Oro in bologna was excellent and the service was exceptional- especially Leo and the front desk staff. Thank you to Elisabetta our guide- she was terrific!
Susan S
4 months ago
Just back from a wonderful week long tour in Sicily. We did not want to drive ... so we chose Italy4Real's private tour with driver option. Everything was perfect! Loved the itinerary, hotels, guides and our driver Donatella was super. Thanks Rem.
Sharon White
6 months ago
Italy4Real took care of every step of our trip. It was taylor made to our wishes! Detailed instructions every step of the way made for a completely stress-free travel experience! From the Amalfi Coast to Tuscany our trip was sheer pleasure! Thank you so much to Carole Lang for all her hard work! The Your Trip app ensure that we had every detail and document at our fingertips! Can't wait to go back to Italy!
Carlos V
10 months ago
What an amazing experience from beginning to end. Carole and the team at Italy4Real designed the perfect Italian Christmas vacation for my family and everything was perfect.
I appreciated working with Carole to plan the trip and she was a joy to work with. She took the time to really listen to what we wanted out of this trip and even made some great itinerary suggestions that we hadn’t thought about. It all led to a fun, enlightening and memorable experience.
Specifically, the hotels were all wonderful, pick up and transfers were all on-time and efficient and the tours/classes were well planned and executed, and memorable. I also appreciate that the price we paid was comparable to what we would have paid had we planned the trip ourselves. And…and this is a big item, the Trip Plans app was excellent. Every detail was listed by day so you knew exactly what you were doing next and what to expect. And all our vouchers were conveniently in the App as well.
So we can’t see why you wouldn’t want the experts at Italy4Real to plan your next trip. And if you are lucky, you will get the opportunity to work with Carole.
Joseph Rushton
11 months ago
We have been traveling to Europe for twenty years, using different agencies. The most enjoyable trips we have taken were the ones organized by Italy4Real. Deborah planned our trip to Naples and Sicily, and her son Rem planned our recent trip to northern Italy. We appreciated their attention to detail, the quality of the itinerary, the fantastic guides, and the website that provided helpful travel tips. We highly recommend Italy4Real.
Eileen Schneider
12 months ago
Carole Lang planned a fabulous 5 day trip for our group of 7 to Florence. We finished a group tour of the Amalfi Coast and she picked us up from there and took care of all of our transportation and tour needs in Florence. Hotel was perfect. Guides were fabulous. I would use her again in a second.
Gina Gitter
12 months ago
What an absolutely amazing trip we had! The itinerary and the planning made everything so easy to navigate while we were there and the weather was PERFECT to top it all off. Carole was responsive and helpful while there too - and everything worked out. Thank goodness the drivers were all set up because navigating those cities would be hard on our own, especially being there for the first time.
Thank you for planning our trip of a lifetime!
michelle Wagler
1 year ago
Without hesitation or reservation I strongly recommend Italy 4 Real and Carol for your travel needs! This recommendation comes after communication with many other tour companies and working to plan our trip on our own.
There are so many positives to speak about in regards to Italy 4 Real! Number one for me and my daughter was communication. I felt like I gained a friend in Carol through the planning process. No question was considered silly and there was zero pressure. I appreciated Carol’s diligence in working with our budget and honest communication on adding and deleting items to our itinerary.
Carol provided us with the perfect amount of door to door transportation while allowing us to feel independent at the same time using her plans to allow us to successfully navigate to train stations and hotels on our own.
Our accommodations in all four cities exceeded our expectations and breakfast was included! Her suggestions for dining and activities in our “free time” were much appreciated and fun! The excursions she planned for us all locations were so informative and allowed us to meet so many wonderful people from all over the world!
Finally pricing ~ we essentially created our own tour and did EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED WHERE WE WANTED ! You would expect experiences like that to be high budget - NOT with Italy 4 Real!
Thank you Carol from the bottom of my heart for all the work you did to create a lifetime of memories I will always treasure ! You and Italy 4 Real are second to none and I appreciate you beyond measure!! ❤️🤍💚🇮🇹
Mercy Behrens
1 year ago
We just returned from the most amazing trip to Italy on the Big Three semi-custom package. From the first inquiry call through the entire trip planning process, Italy4Real was responsive to every question and need we had. But they exceeded our expectations with the final trip itinerary package providing an impressive level of detail at our fingertips, updated real time throughout the trip. They made the transfers between cities seamless, and set us up in hotels with the best locations. They provided great recommendations on places to eat and sites to not miss. If that weren’t enough, any question or issue that arose on-site was immediately resolved by our local rep during the trip who was readily available. Thank you Italy4Real for the incredible memories. We will definitely be back when we are ready to book again!
Keith McCloy
2 years ago
This was our first time using Italy4Real and they did not disappoint!! When we arrived in each of the cities, we had our driver waiting for us and took a cool boat ride in Venice, taxi in Rome,Florence, and Naples to our nice hotel. All of the accommodations were very nice. Two of the hotels had queen beds and that was tight for us..but staff was great. We went to many of the restaurants that were suggested to us and loved all of them! Not fond of the table charge per person to sit and eat in some of the cities. But the food was tasty with great service.
The tours were wonderful and we took so many pictures! We understood all of them..the guide in Venice was the best! But the gondola ride was a joke. Don’t waste your money..they lined us up (50 people) and each boat was right behind each other with men yelling at each other.
We took a bus ride in Florence to a winery. The wine was very expensive to ship home. Lunch was nice..but we didn’t care for the bolognese. Rome was awesome! We loved the guided tours and took a double decker bus around the city..simply beautiful! Loved Naples..so much history and beauty!
We truly enjoyed this trip! REM was great to work with and wonderful communications throughout the months before the trip. We will definitely take another trip with REM in the future.
MEMORIES FROM OUR TRAVELERS
Italy through our travelers’ eyes
A few moments shared by the people behind our trips.
A local business. Personal service.
Awards & recognition
The Seattle Times · 2026
Silver Best Travel Agency
Recognized in Best in the PNW, The People's Choice.
Read about the award →
Puget Sound Business Journal
7th-place growth ranking
Ranked 7th among Washington's fastest-growing companies.
PayPal recognition
Featured by PayPal
PayPal shares the story of Italy4Real, our family business, and the growth of our custom travel services.
Read our story on PayPal (opens in a new tab) →You might have seen us here
Latest From Our Blog
The Italian Way of Traveling: How to Experience Italy Like a Local
Italy4Real — Silver Best Travel Agency, Best in the PNW 2026!
The 15 Most Beautiful Coastal Towns and Seaside Villages in Italy
10 Best Food Markets in Italy: What to Eat and Buy Like a Local
12 Easy Scenic Walks in Italy With Beautiful Views
Best Food Festivals in Italy: A Month-by-Month Guide
ITALY, THE WAY YOU WANT IT
Custom Italy vacations, planned around you
Tell us what you love, how you like to travel and what you want to spend. We bring your accommodations, sightseeing and ground transportation together in a complete Italy vacation package of seven days or more.
Places you’ll love staying
Choose your pace and the places you want to explore. We plan accommodations around your route, interests and budget.
Experiences that feel like you
Make room for regional food, wine, art, history or time outdoors. Your proposal explains which experiences are private and which are shared.
A route that works together
We connect your stays and sightseeing with ground transportation, so each stop fits the time you have and the way you want to travel.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE. PERSONAL PLANNING.
Bring us your wish list.
We’ll help shape the details.
Planning Italy vacations since 1995, Italy4Real helps you turn ideas into a complete itinerary.
Start planning your Italy vacation Get to know Italy4RealA few things to know before you plan
How far ahead should I plan an Italy vacation?
Contact us at least two months before departure. Ideally, start six to eight months ahead to give us more time to work through your preferences and available options.
Can I combine several regions in one trip?
Yes. Tell us your priorities and we’ll help build a practical route. The right combination depends on your trip length, travel pace and the time needed between stops.
Can I book just a hotel, tour or rental?
Italy4Real plans complete vacation packages of seven days or more, including accommodations, sightseeing and ground transportation. We do not offer standalone bookings or vacation rentals.
Your next Italy trip starts with a little inspiration.
