Why Wanderlust Tours?

 

Historical, Cultural and Culinary Travel in Europe & the U.S.

Wanderlust Tours™ specializes in historical, cultural, and culinary travel throughout France, Italy, Great Britain, and parts of the United States. Each year, we design a handful of signature trips to timeless destinations. Our intimate boutique tours – capped at 10 guests- allows you to be a traveler, and not just a tourist. The travel experience is in-depth, conversational, and hands-on. Just sit back and enjoy the camaraderie of friends and let us to weave you into a rich tapestry of local history, cuisine, and cultural treasures.

 
Planning a vacation is daunting. and time consuming, especially given the overwhelming options that exist. Wanderlust Tours’ docents have spent years living, working, traveling, and intimately researching our destinations, gaining hands-on expertise. We have done all of the legwork of crafting specialized itineraries with hotels, restaurants, and suggestions you can trust. We’ve eaten there. We’ve slept there. We’ve walked the narrow, winding streets and taken the trains.  Each expertly guided Wanderlust Tour immerses our guests in a region’s heritage and cuisine while exploring the local, less touristy side of a destination. Throw in a few five-star touches and voila! You’ll have an unforgettable, one-of-a-kind experience.
Foodie, art hound, or outdoor enthusiast… each of our Wanderlust Tours combine a bit of culture, a bit of activity and a whole lot of good food and drink. The cultural component of our itineraries nods heavily toward history, architecture, and art. Our small group size allows us to travel privately both on and off the beaten path; through town and country; often down the roads less traveled to visit architectural masterpieces, ancient heritage sites, museum collections, and to snag that perfect picture of jaw-dropping scenery.
With tours capped at 6 to 10 guests, our small size allows our boutique tours to venture into places that larger groups might not be able to access. Our itineraries are developed with the desire to provide a more conversational, hands-on travel experience. Think of our tours as a weeklong series of in-depth seminars where story-telling docents, local exerts, and specialized itineraries allow even the most erudite traveler to dig deep into our destinations. We also tread lightly during our responsible travels by respecting the environment and local traditions and striving to maintain the ‘integrity of place.’
Great food and wine is essential to our trips. Dig into the local food scene with our guided market tours; tastings; and festivals and go behind-the-scenes to meet artisan food producers and craftsmen. Some of our more food-forward itineraries include cooking classes at Michelin-rated kitchens or with cookbook authors in a Provencal farmhouse; specialized regional food and vineyard tours; or hands-on, field-to-fork experiences.
Adventurous types appreciate our sojourns through beautiful scenery and back roads. Our tours include activities that allow you to to function at your own active or leisurely pace. Whether casually cycling between Provençal villages in the south of France, hiking along the sole-kissed Amalfi coast or village hopping the Cinque Terra, or rigorously trekking to a Cathar castle, our guests are fortified with both exercise and real food.  “Play hard, Eat well”, is a motto we live up to.
Wanderlust Tours travels with only 6 to 10 guests, which lends itself to comfortably making new friends in a small group setting, but also allows for certain flexibility on the fly. Our boutique tours are the perfect size for multiple friends and couples, but also appropriate for individual travelers who might not feel comfortable going solo. Our guests often find the most memorable aspect of our tours is the camaraderie developed while eating; so we slow down and savor the journey together during some meals and strike off on our own for others. It’s a fine balance of group touring and private time.
Our owners are completely hands on. Wanderlust Tours takes pride in building close, long term relationships with the people and places we do business, from our guests with whom we have multiple pre-travel consultations to the chefs and artists we frequent. We personally design and conduct each tour to control quality  and to deliver a seamless, multi-faceted experience to our travelers. We try, when possible, to stay in privately owned hotels, eat local and seasonal real food, and travel responsibly. In an effort to stay connected with and support our home community, we volunteer time and goods to events that we believe in and also donate a portion of each Wanderlust Tour to varying charitable organizations. It is important for us to give back to the communities where we live and do business.

 

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Wanderlust Tours Philosophy

 

We Design and Operate Our Own Tours

Controlling quality and ensuring unforgettable experiences by being hands on owners and docents.

We Are Conscientious, Responsible Travelers

We believe in sustainable travel, striving to maintain the ‘integrity of place, tangible heritage, and respect other cultures.

We Seek Out Chefs Serving Local, Seasonal, Real Food

Real food connects us with local culture and one another so we search for those serving local, seasonal, sustainable food.

We Believe Culture and Cuisine Makes for A Rich Travel Experience

Our well-rounded itineraries offer a cross-cultural understanding through history, food, and people.

We Support Independently-Owned Businesses

We value and build relationships with the people with whom we do business, as well as our guests.

We Believe in Giving Back To Our Community

A portion of each tour is donated to a charitable organization or cause.

 

Boutique Travel

Each tour explores a city or region’s heritage and cuisine in-depth. Our tours visit castles, cathedrals, villages, and historic sites. A culinary component is integrated into each itinerary, including: market tours, cooking classes in culinary school kitchens or Provencal farmhouses; behind-the-scene visits to artisan workshops and other purveyors of handcrafted, locally-made products.

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Small Groups with Expert Guides

Our international tours host only 10 guests, allowing for attentive personal service with flexible dynamics. We often enlist additional docents for the European trips to lend different voices and more personalization to the tour. We develop relationships with the people and places we do business, which equates to one-of-a-kind experiences for our guests.

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Authentic & 5-Star Touches

We seek out “local” experiences then add lux touches.  The luggage might be sent ahead allowing for hands-free, hop-on-hop-off train adventures between destinations. We travel the back roads with local drivers who know the area, allowing guests to savor the journey. We mix up traditional street food and Michelin-rated dining for an authentic, yet varied, taste of travel.

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Wanderlust for Women

Wanderlust for Women has our feminine wiles in mind. Sisters, mothers, and friends set off for female fun in France, gallivanting through Great Britain; or idyllic Italian walking tours. We seek out woman-owned businesses and restaurants; stay in female-owned lodging when possible; and visit places with a femme-focused history or special allure for the ladies.