One thing I am sure of after over a decade of life here in Italy is that people will always want to visit, and most of the time they have no idea how to do in a way that actually makes sense as a meaningful vacation. I get countless emails from those wanting to “see the real Italy” but yet who pack way too much in their itinerary and often skip out on the immense joy that is to simply allow yourself discover places not mentioned in popular guidebooks or bucket-list articles.

In my personal opinion, it pays to hire a local expert or experts to help tailor-make your first foray into a country as wonderfully complex as Italy in order to experience those memories of a lifetime that you’ll cherish forever. This could be an olive harvest in Puglia or Tuscany, working with pottery with a family-owned business based in Lake Garda or taking part of a historical festival in the middle of a hill-top Umbrian town; these are just some of the amazing activities one can do while in Italy.