Why Do Travelers Drool Over Italy?

Italy vacation travel

When I first started out as a travel writer in the dark days before the internet, I would peruse the magazine rack at Barnes & Noble looking for magazines to pitch to, places where I could hopefully get an article published. More often than not, at least one of them had Italy on the cover. Nine years ago I was having lunch with an editor at Budget Travel, which at that time was still a print publication as well. “Italy is our Lindsay Lohan,” he said. What he meant was, just as a gossip magazine at the time could sell more copied by putting the unhinged movie star on the cover, Budget Travel knew it was sure to move more copies on the newsstand by featuring Italy.

A lot has changed since then. There are a lot fewer print magazines on that rack at Barnes & Noble and the ones that are there are a lot thinner. You’ll probably still find a travel story on Italy in at least one of them, however. When we run a story in the online magazine on this country it always gets plenty of traffic, even if it’s a lesser-visited spot like Stromboli. Twenty-some years on, it’s still the hit song people never get tired of hearing.

Positano at dusk in Italy

One of the reasons those articles are so popular is people want to do Italy right. They want this to be the trip of a lifetime, a transformational experience, something they’ll remember forever. So this is a destination where travelers don’t want to wing it. They’ll often hire a specialist to sort out the itinerary. Does it make a difference? To find out (and to get a clue about the magnetic draw of this country) I hit up a recent Italy traveler for her story and photos. Meet Lisa Tamburini.

Last summer I took my niece, Jordan, to Italy for her high school graduation present. We spent most of our time in Rome, Positano and the Amalfi Coast. It was my niece’s first time outside of the United States. My paternal great grandparents were came from Italy to the United States. It was important for me that she see Italy (and she was excited about it too).

We started our Italian adventure with a drive along the coast from Naples to Positano. Once arriving in Positano at Villa Rosa we proceeded to our room which was on the top floor overlooking the sea, with a beautiful view of Positano. Our first full day was a Capri Exclusive Cruise Tour in a private boat arranged by Select Italy. My niece was so excited that her face lit up when I told her what we were doing for the day. Our captain, Francesco, picked us up for a day on the sea; Jordan snorkeled while I took in the beauty of Capri.

Our second day was a private tour along the Amalfi Coast with our driver Alessandro.  We were able to stop along several small towns including Ravello, beautiful with is colorful flowers all through the town. We even witnessed a wedding celebration in the center with dancing and singing. We finished up our day in Sorrento with a little shopping, in a jewelry store that was owned by our Alessandro’s girlfriend. She had beautiful handmade jewelry which we purchased to take home to family members. We ended our day in Sorrento by doing a limoncello tasting.

OK, so as a travel writer who hears about “experiential travel” and “creating memories” all the time at industry talks, I tend to get a little skeptical. But here’s a prime example of how this works in practice when it works well.

Itally boat tour

Would any of this had happened if they had just set out on their own without any help? Some of it maybe, but not all. And it would have taken a lot longer to get to these quintessential Italian experiences.

Positano ItalyOn our third day, we took a cooking class at a hotel along the beach in Positano. We had a great time learning from the experts how to make traditional Italian food. I have even been able to recreate several of the recipes at home. We were sad to leave Positano…but we had to make our way to Rome.

There we went on Select Italy’s Power & Glory Imperial Tour. This was a private tour just for Jordan and me. Our tour guide was a former history teacher who was full of such interesting information about the city.

Select Italy’s tours are so special because you receive personalized service and are able to truly relax on vacation because they take care of everything to perfection. They helped me give my niece, Jordan, a trip of a lifetime! We shared so many experiences and memories together, making it a special trip for both of us.

Is there any doubt she came back remembering experiences that will live on for a lifetime? Better yet, it exceeded her expectations for what she wanted to share with her niece.

Italy with guide

I don’t have any Italian blood in me and I still get annoyed when I see travel mags fall back on putting Italy on the cover every month. You’ve got to admit when you look at the photos though, they kind of make you drool. Even if they don’t have any food photos…

All photographs courtesy of Lisa Tamburini.

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