Live la dolce vita, the good life, a bit like an Italian in the small village of Radda in the Chianti region for a week as you are taken around Tuscany with delightful experiences. Leave right from Champaign, flights, transportation, a tour director, 17 meals, wine and cheese tastings,  a cooking class, a boat ride, local experiences, and treats.

NOTE: While the tour is sold out, we may be able to confirm more space if you go on the waitlist. You can do that without obligation by clicking the green Select button at the upper right.

7-Night Stay at One Hotel in Chianti

Truffle Hunt Experience & Tasting at a Tuscan Estate

Florence Walking Tour

Academy Gallery & the Statue of David

Pasta Master Cooking Class - Castello di Vicciomaggio

Volpaia’s Castle & Winery with Vin Santo Tasting

& Cantucci Tasting

Pecorino Cheese Tasting in Pienza

Music & Wine Experience with a local Sommelier

at a Farmhouse in Montalcino

Siena Walking Tour

Tuscan Farmhouse & Winery with Dinner & Wine

San Gimignano

Volterra

Gelato Tasting by Gelato Master

Lunch at a local Farmhouse Specializing in

Saffron Production

Lake Trasimeno Boat Excursion

Village of Touro

Island Maggiore with Lunch & Wine

Full Day at Leisure to Relax or Explore on Your Own

*Price is per person based on room occupancy chosen. Tour is operated by Premier World Discovery as a disclosed principal. Click here for a Printable Flier. The deposit is $575 per person Tour balance is due July 24 with a discount of $100 per person if paid by paper check or an e-check via WeTravel (call if you want to pay via e-check).  

The document required for US Citizens is Passport valid through May 1, 2024; no visa at this time. Other citizens should consult their consulate. • Click for more information about this Premier World Discovery leaving from Champaign. Insurance coverage available is Premier’s TPP; for coverage details, see premierworlddiscovery.com/tpp.html covering cancellation charges; other terms at steviejaytravel.com/terms are incorporated by reference. • Price and details are subject to change.Acct#231024

EASY  1  2   (3)  4  ACTIVE on a scale of 1 to 4, the tour is a 3, more active than average.

Level 1: The tour operates at a very leisurely pace and involves some minimal physical activity such as climbing stairs, boarding a motorcoach, walking into a museum or other venue and walking from the hotel reception area to hotel rooms and dining areas.

Level 2: This tour requires average physical activity. You should be in good health, able to walk some stairs and walk reasonable distances, possibly over uneven ground and cobblestoned streets.

Level 3: This tour includes moderate physical activity. The itinerary blends some longer days with shorter days. You should be in good health, able to walk a flight of stairs or more and participate in walking tours or nature walks possibly over uneven ground and cobblestoned streets with periods of standing.  There could be some early and late activities, and temperature and altitude changes.

Level 4: This tour is active, requiring participants to be good physical shape to fully enjoy the experiences. This itinerary has more activities which may include such things as longer walking tours over uneven ground, transfers over uneven and dusty terrain, high altitudes or very early morning departures. All conditions do not apply to all days, so please read the itinerary carefully and speak to one of our Reservations Coordinators to determine if this tour is right for you. Unfortunately, this tour is not appropriate for individuals who use wheelchairs, scooters, walkers or similar equipment.

The Premier Compass Club rewards our valued guests with special recognition and a Compass Club Loyalty Credit on future tours and cruises. Guests who have completed a trip will automatically be enrolled and will receive an additional $100 per person or $200 per couple Compass Club Loyalty Credit applied to their next Premier World Discovery tour or River Cruise. Loyalty Credit is valid for 24 months from your last tour.

FULL REFUND if sick and unable to travel*, or if canceling for any reason, get a 75% credit towards a future Premier World Discovery tour later in the year (the latter applies up to 48 hours before scheduled departure). The optional Travel Protection Plan costs $375 per person and is not refundable.

The Travel Protection Plan also includes Post-Departure coverages for Trip Interruption and Delay, Baggage & Personal Effects and Delay, Emergency Accident/Sickness Medical Expense, Emergency Evacuation/Repatriation of Remains, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Non-Insurance and Emergency Travel Assistance Services 24/7. 

premierworlddiscovery.com/tpp.html 

*You are also covered if there is a death in the immediate family.

CDH Hotel Radda, Chianti, Borgo San Luigi, Monteriggioni or Borgo Di Coretefreda, Tavarnelle Di Pesa. On some dates, alternative hotels may be used.

Depart from Champaign to Chicago. Board your overnight flight to Europe.

On arrival in Florence, you are met by your Tour Director and are taken to your hotel in Chianti for a seven-night stay. The Chianti Region is filled with wonderful vineyards and charming hilltop towns. This evening we enjoy a Welcome Dinner of Tuscan favorites and locally produced wine with your fellow travelers. (D)

Radda in Chianti

After breakfast, travel through the surrounding hilly landscape, dotted with olive groves, cypresses, vineyards, and palaces. Arrive at a lovely Tuscan Estate, where you will be greeted with a welcome drink. Next, enjoy a truffle hunt with access to a protected area on the property. Following this Truffle Hunt, enjoy delicious tastings of oil and truffle butter bruschetta, salami, pecorino, and wines from the estate. Later this afternoon, we travel to Florence, where a local expert guide awaits you for a walking tour of Florence. Visit the Accademia Gallery & Museum to see Michelangelo’s magnificent Statue of David, an awesome sight. See the Cathedral to see Giotto’s Belltower and Baptistry with its impressive ‘Gates of Paradise’. These buildings demonstrate the traditions of Florentine art and architecture from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Also, see the open-air museum of Piazza Della Signoria & Santa Croce, which houses the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo. The insightful walking tour includes a stroll across the famous Ponte Vecchio Bridge. Dinner is included tonight at a local restaurant in Florence. Return to your hotel in Chianti. (B,D)

Today enjoy an Organic Cooking & Pasta Making Class and lunch at Castello di Vicchiomaggi, located at the top of a hill overlooking the valley of Greve in Chianti. You will be greeted with a welcome drink to enjoy while the chef discusses the class and food to be made, and his recipes. The restaurant staff will assist you with putting on your aprons and chef hats and let the cooking fun begin! At the end of the cooking class, you will get to eat and enjoy what you have prepared for lunch. Later this afternoon, continue to Volpaia Castle for a Wine Tour & Tasting. The winery is organically farmed for producing extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, and Chianti Classico Wine. Enjoy tastings of Vin Santo (holy wine) and Cantucci (Biscotti). Dinner is included this evening. (B,L,D)

Travel to the incredibly picturesque Val d’Orcia Region filled with ancient villages, gorgeous farmhouses, isolated homesteads, roads lined with cypress trees, fabulous vineyards, and olive groves. Stop in Pienza, a lovely medieval town overlooking the Tuscan hills, to visit a local cheese producer for a delicious typical Pecorino Cheese tasting. Continue to a traditional farmhouse in Montalcino, where you will enjoy a multi-sensory experience of music and wine! Four wines will be matched with music tracks selected by a local Sommelier. You will have time for lunch on your own in Montalcino before continuing on to beautiful Siena, where a local guide awaits you for a walking tour of the Old Town. The highlight is the Piazza del Campo, the seashell-shaped square on which the famous horse race, the Palio, takes place each year. Later, just outside Siena, we will visit a local Tuscan farmhouse with an opportunity to meet the owner and enjoy dinner featuring typical Tuscany dishes paired with their local wines. (B,D)

Today we travel to San Gimignano, the epitome of a Tuscan hill town, where nobles built more splendid towers to outdo one another and indulge in their need for status. The medieval structures of this city have largely remained intact, and San Gimignano, with its large number of art treasures, is truly considered an open-air museum. Next, enjoy a delicious gelato ice cream in one of the oldest gelaterias in Italy. Taste the saffron & pine nuts flavored gelato, a registered trademark. Continue to Volterra, another ancient and beautiful hilltop Italian city. Enjoy free time in Volterra and lunch at a family-run farmhouse specializing in saffron production. Dinner is included at the hotel this evening. (B,L,D)

Today is at your leisure to relax at the hotel or explore on your own. An optional tour will be available today. Dinner is included at a local restaurant this evening. (B,D)

Begin your morning with a hearty breakfast and journey to Lake Trasimeno, located in the Umbria Region of Tuscany. The heart-shaped Lake Trasimeno is surrounded by rolling hills, olive groves, woods of oak and cypress trees, vineyards, and sunflower fields that frame castle-topped medieval towns and villages. Free time to explore and walk around the medieval town of Tuoro, considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Next, enjoy a boat cruise to the Island Maggiore, where we will have lunch at a traditional restaurant located on the lake. Tonight a special Farewell Dinner is planned. (B,L,D)

Isola Maggiore (Greater Island) of Lake Trasimeno with a small village waterfront and the medieval St Micheal Archangel church

Today transfer to Florence for your same-day flight connection home with wonderful memories of your Culinary Journey Through Tuscany. On arrival in Chicago, board your motorcoach to Champaign. (B)