Live La Dolce Vita with Insight Vacations

Claire Haggarty, Trade Marketing Manager with Insight Vacations, recently embarked on a tour of Italy for the first time. It wasn’t Claire’s first trip to Italy, but it was the first time she travelled on an Insight Vacations tour. This is her story...

Travelling to Italy with Insight Vacations is an experience like no other. I was lucky enough to head to Italy on the 8 day Italian Intermezzo last month. Being a lover of art, history, food and of course wine, Italy is one of my favourite destinations.

Now admittedly, I had done Italy by myself prior to this trip. However once beginning my journey, I feel like I hadn’t even scratched the surface. Yes, I had seen some of the sights travelling by myself, but I had only visited the places that you could find on google. Our Travel Director Margaret had been with Insight Vacations for 20 years and being a resident of Rome, she was the best person to show us all the iconic sights and best kept secrets of Italy. Margaret was a true testament to how professional, passionate and knowledgeable Insight Vacations Travel Directors are.

Another thing to note is that we travelled in style throughout. Insight's 40 seat customized coaches with double the legroom, Wi-Fi to upload my Instagram photos and panoramic windows to take in the Tuscan countryside made getting form point A to B a breeze. But let’s be real, we don’t travel to talk about the hardware, we travel for the experiences.

With so many highlights on my trip below are just four of my favourites;

• Farm to Table in San Gimignano - Enjoying a Florentine meal with local wines saw me in my element. We had time to bond with our new found friends over rustic Italian share plates, so we could sample all the local delicacies. The food, wine and conversation were flowing, and the locations was so picturesque.

• Operetta experience in Rome - This Performance moved me and many of our group to tears good tears!). It was light and engaging and the food was delicious. Plus, we were in the heart of Rome which is magic within itself.

• Florence - Seeing Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia Gallery was a real highlight, doing it with VIP front of line access made things seamless and allowed extra time to enjoy an aperol spritz at the end! The local guides were knowledgeable and passionate.

• Gelato in San Gimignano - Our group had the pleasure of meeting Sergio Dondoli in San Gimignano and sampling the unique (and delicious) award winning gelato. Although meeting him is not usually an Insight inclusion this was a highlight for the group as he was so engaging and passionate about what he does.

I would recommend Italy with Insight Vacations to first-time travellers as well as those who have visited Italy before. The Italian Intermezzo has a great balance of Iconic sights and cities ie Rome, Milan as well as "Off the beaten track" such as San Gimignano and Florence.

For those who want to live “La Dolce Vita” in Italy, now is the time to book with Global Journeys and Insight Vacations. Book 2020 trips at 2019 prices PLUS save 10%* when you book and pay in full by 18 December 2019. Conditions apply,