Rick Steves' Tour News: Celebrating Italy + Early Discounts
 |
| The truffle-hunt from my Tuscany TV show is now part of our Village Italy tours. |
Dear Traveler,
Filming my "Tuscany's Dolce Vita" show a few years ago was one of my favorite TV production experiences. We enjoyed the hospitality of a working-farm Agriturismo, explored "back door" hill towns, tramped through a forest with a local farmer and his pair of truffle-hunting dogs, and were treated to hearty meals of classically-Tuscan "slow food" — including the truffles we'd helped to liberate. (In this month's Tour News, you'll find a video clip that reveals the delicious details.)
The magical hill towns, down-to-earth Agriturismos, mouth-watering food and wines — even the truffle-hunting — of "Tuscany's Dolce Vita" have since worked their way into our Italy tour program, helping to make these our most popular tours.
With this in mind, October's Tour News is a celebration of Italy — and a handy way to help you discover which of our seven Italy tours might best fit your time, budget, and must-see list. You'll also find a fun interview with Italy Guide Karin Kibby, and a remarkable "Tour Tale" of how snapshots from one couple's 2007 Village Italy tour are being transformed by a Chicago artist into a series of 14 paintings.
If you have an ideal "travel window" for 2011, it pays to book early to hold the departure that works best for you. To give you a friendly nudge, we'll give you a $100 early-booking discount — and your deposit will be 100% refundable through the end of 2010 if you should change your mind for any reason.
Interested in a destination outside of Italy? This early-booking discount is available for all 35 of our 2011 tour destinations (and if you've traveled with us before, you can take your Tour Alum discount on top of it).
Where am I hoping to travel in 2011? It's got to be Italy. I can't wait to film some more TV shows there, and to re-experience that dolce vita.
Happy travels,
Rick Steves