Hi Joanne, the tine spent in the bus really depends on the day. The biggest is Wednesday, because we make a 2 hour drive to the furthest point of the day, then slowly make our way back to home base. The Assisi day is roughly an hour each way. All of the bus tie is broken up with places and people we are visiting.

Depends on which tour you are on. The Bologna one you can figure 1-2 hours in the morning and the same for the return trip to the hotel

I too have only done the Soriano trip and it was wonderful. I am planning on going back next year and am considering the Amalfi vaca. I agree with Lauren that any one would be great. CDV really makes it a wonderful experience.

Hi, to add what many of our guests have said, it is very much the soul of who we are to avoid places with other groups whenever possible. We don't pick any of our destinations out of the "tour company catalogs". Instead, we build relationships with small producers and artisans. Some of the wineries are dear personal friends of ours. The cheesemakers are usually local farmers that we have "convinced" to allow us to share their life experiences with, so instead of looking at cheese, we make it. But in some of the more famous places that is not always possible. One person mentioned the ceramics factory in Deruta. There are only a few, and we have to deal with that. But even there, we have created a relationship by not accepting percentages of their sales as other tours do, and instead of having a simple "demonstration", we make ceramics with them.

Hey there, I'd be happy to help you make a decision. One big difference between those two vacations, is the intensity of the cultural immersion, so it really depends on your interest in that. Have you taken a look at the detailed itineraries we have on our website, that will help give you a better idea of how each trip is structured. let me know what you think, I look forward to hearing your thoughts, until then Ciao =)

A day trip would be possible to both, but I would probably get a driver for the day, rather than public transport, as you will not get to see much of Florence or Sienna,. The train journey to Florence to Orte is 90 mins but will eat into your time if u have to return to Sorianno.

Hi Michele, We very commonly get couples, in which one person is all about the cooking, and the other has no interest. It is never an an issue. There is so much going on, that even the non-cooks have an amazing time. More often than not, the person that dislikes the cooking winds up curious, then tries a little, then gets really into it before they know it. Still, if he doesn't keep in mind the cooking classes are not strict academic classes. They are dynamic events with so much else going on in amazing locations.