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Cooking, Wine & Walking Holiday in Abruzzo

Highlights

  • Let your guide Fabrizio & his friends and family show their beloved Abruzzo
  • Learn to cook regional specialities using the best locally sourced ingredients
  • Two guided walks both mountains and coastline
From £1732 pp*
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6 Nights

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What you'll do

Overview

Roll up your sleeves as you learn to cook recipes passed through generations before walking it off through Abruzzo’s stunning natural scenery on this 6 night cooking and walking holiday; experience the region of Abruzzo, Italy’s best kept secret, in the company of cooks, farmers & local producers.

This fantastic 6 night cooking and walking holiday has been thoughtfully put together by local guide Fabrizio, together with his family & friends, to ensure you get the perfect Italian experience that combines passion, land and locals to bring you the best of Abruzzo.

Fabrizio, your host and guide for the week, uses his hometown, the history packed, medieval town of Vasto, as your base for the week. Each day will bring a new adventure as you head out to farmhouses, seaside trabocchi (exclusive to the region), markets, and wineries, and with each day comes another taste of the region and a new meal to master.

The cooks, farmers and producers you will meet are all native to the region of Abruzzo and part of Fabrizio’s family, there is simply no better way to get an insider’s view of Abruzzo daily life. They can’t wait to share their family secrets and tricks of the trade with you.

The hands-on cooking is simple, rustic and true to its roots, taught by people who have been living off the land, mastering family recipes passed down through generations, and using the best seasonal produce. If there is a dish you are missing during your stay, it simply isn’t the right season – there are perfect dishes that reflect different times of year. Trust us – no one knows better than the producers.

As well as meeting the locals and hands-on cooking lessons, you’ll be taking in some of the finest scenery Abruzzo has to offer at a slow easy pace during two guided walks.

The walks are well off the beaten track, and you are escorted by your local guide so you can learn about what you are seeing and take in some culture and history while you walk. You’ll discover mountains, the coast line, old, remote hermitages as well as the chance to take a dip in the Adriatic Sea.

2025 Dates
25 – 30 May
7 – 13 September

Arrival & welcome to Abruzzo dinner

You’ll be picked up from Rome Fiumicino airport pick up at 12:30 pm and transfer to the ancient Roman town of Vasto on the Adriatic Coast after crossing beautiful Abruzzo mountains looking at amazing landscapes, hilltop villages and castles

Check in at the charming and family run property in the historical downtown, get to know your guide and learn more about your 7 day Italian holiday.

This evening you will enjoy a traditional dinner in a local restaurant.

Accommodation: Hotel del 7

Meals: Dinner

Market visit, cook pasta with Mamma & explore Vasto

You will walk and visit Vasto’s colorful market to get seasonal products, here you’ll have the possibility to practice a little bit of Italian even if you don’t speak any of it.

Next you will be driven to the beautiful countryside of Vasto where we’ll meet Fabrizio’s family to have an exclusive cooking class with them and learn how easy it is to make fresh pasta and we’ll be introduced to Abruzzo sauces

An example menu based on Fabrizio’s family recipes includes bread with meat sauce, Pasta alla chitarra with meat sauce, polpette (meatballs) and Tarallucci (typical biscuits from Abruzzo).

You’ll enjoy the sumptuous lunch you prepared in a family atmosphere.

After a short break to relax, in the afternoon you will go on a guided visit of Vasto’s historic center. Exploring Loggia Amblingh, a promenade overlooking the fascinating crescent-shaped coastline, the old town with its medieval Castle, charming lanes, a tower, the Cathedral and Piazza Rossetti, dedicated to Gabriele Rossetti, a poet from the town and father of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

In the evening you may experience dinner on your own in one of the many restaurants of Vasto. After the big family lunch, based on our many years of experience, we know that nobody is looking for a rich dinner, so our travelers usually enjoy spending time like a local trying a simple aperitif, a gelato or a pizza. Obviously Fabrizio will suggest you his favorite places.

Accommodation: Hotel del 7

Meals: Breakfast and dinner

Walk in the amazing Abruzzo mountains & ancient hermitages

After breakfast you will be driven to the marvelous Abruzzo mountains and national parks. On the way to Scanno, you will visit the enchanting 11th C. Hermitage of San Domenico on the lake of San Domenico.

Next join the scenic walk* where you will view the heart shaped lake of Scanno from a particular observatory point.

Enjoy a traditional picnic with local products.

After lunch discover Scanno, one of the most beautiful Italian villages, with its fabulous alleys, churches, landscapes and artisans boutiques. Maybe break with a refreshing gelato and a visit to an artisanal jewellery shop where they make the “Presentosa”, a famous traditional jewel from Abruzzo, a very ancient piece of art which dates back to the 18th century.

This evening enjoy a group dinner in a traditional restaurant in the heart of Vasto.

*Easy-medium walk: 5,1 km, 3,2 miles – 150 m (492 feet) difference in height, 150 m (492 feet) altitude downhill, walking time 2,5-3,5 hours, including breaks and picnic. Walking surfaces are paths and generally flat but can present uneven footing at times. For anyone who doesn’t want to do the longer walk can relax by the lake at a bar or enjoy some other activities (payable locally) that can be booked onsite such as canoeing or biking or get to the beautiful historic town center with our driver. According to the weather conditions and other organizational needs, an alternative similar itinerary could be proposed.

Accommodation: Hotel del 7

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Walk along the Abruzzo coastline, visit trabocchi fishing houses & a free afternoon

After breakfast you will be driven to the fascinating Abruzzo coastline to have a light and picturesque walk* inside Punta Aderci Nature Reserve, one of the 12 most beautiful Italian beaches for hikers according to the National Geographic, from where you can also admire snow-capped mountains at certain times of the year, discover the landmark symbols of the area – the trabocchi – where you will have a special fish and seafood lunch. Rinaldo, our host, will show you how to fish from it and the secrets and history behind Abruzzo’s unique fishing platforms.

Enjoy some free time this afternoon for your own activities, which could be going to one of the many beaches, biking, taking part into some extra activities.

In the evening enjoy dinner at your leisure in one of the many restaurants in Vasto.

*Easy walk: 6 km, 4,1 miles – 30 m difference in height, 10 m altitude downhill, walking time 3-3,5 hours including a short break to swim in the Adriatic at the end of the walk. Normally swimming in the Adriatic Sea is pleasant from the second half of May to the first half of September, at other times it may be cold.

Accommodation: Hotel del 7

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Visit a local farm to learn to make cheese & Roccascalegna Castle

After breakfast you will make our way to a farmhouse where Pina and Berardino will reveal the secrets of farming letting you immerse in an authentic slow food experience.

You will learn how to make a special bread called “pizza scima – stupid pizza”, a pizza without yeast.

After collecting some organic wine from their winery, you’ll have an aperitif including a taste of their production, cheeses, salami and extra virgin olive oil, next you’ll learn how to prepare ricotta cheese and finally you’ll collect the fresh vegetables from their garden that will be used for our farm-to-table lunch.

Enjoy a delicious traditional farm-to-table lunch.

Almost everything you’ll eat is produced in the farm (wheat to produce the organic flour to make different kinds of breads, cookies and fresh pasta together with eggs from their hens, organic extra virgin olive oil, wines, liquors, juices, jams, cheeses, many varieties of salami, meats and vegetables).

This afternoon immersed in the nature of the amazing scenery, you will then be driven inland to explore the enchanting Abruzzo’s castle in the sky in the charming village of Roccascalegna, ranked by Condé Naste Traveler as one of the 9 Most Beautiful Hilltop Towns in Italy.

After the big lunch at the farm, in the evening you may enjoy a dinner or aperitif on your own in one of the many restaurants and wine bars of Vasto.

Accommodation: Hotel del 7

Meals: Breakfast and lunch

Olive Oil, Wine Tasting and make your own souvenir

After breakfast you will visit an Olive Grove that has been farmed by Giovanni’s family for three generations to produce DOP olive oils. He will unfold the secrets of what Homer described as “liquid gold” and we will finish with an olive oil tasting. Next you will visit an award winning winery that sits between a marine park and the mountains, enjoy wine tasting and lunch with pairings from local cheeses and salami and a tour of the vineyard and cellars organized by the winemakers Emanuele and Nicola.

After lunch in the winery and a short break, you will be driven to the little hilltop village of Lentella at Ettore’s “Fattoria d’Arte” (Art farm), surrounded by an enchanting landscape with breathtaking views of the sea, mountains, rolling hills, and charming villages, you can indulge in an easy walk and a unique artistic experience with Ettore. Your guide will help you create your own special Abruzzo souvenir—a postcard crafted with natural colors made from leaves and flowers that you can gather from Ettore’s property.

In the evening join your last dinner together as an Italian family with Ettore and his wife Barbara.

Accommodation: Hotel del 7

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Goodbye

After breakfast we will leave at around 9am for Rome Fiumicino Airport which is about 3.5 hours driving from Vasto so we will be in time for the afternoon flight.

Meals: Breakfast

What's included

Included

  • 6 nights accommodation with daily breakfast
  • Transfers to and from Rome Fiumicino airport
  • Transport throughout the trip
  • Prices are person and there are no single supplements for solo travellers
  • 8 meals (food, water and locally sourced wine) in selected restaurants, farmhouses, private homes, wineries based on traditional regional dishes
  • 2 guided walks along the Trabocchi Coast and the Abruzzo Mountains
  • Various hands-on cooking lessons, tastings and cultural excursions every day with an English speaking tour guide for the duration of the holiday
  • All entry fees for excursions, tours and wine, olive oil and cheese tastings
  • Art experience with a local artist
  • Personalized cooking booklet and apron

Accommodation

Hotel dei 7 (or similar)

The property is a family owned hotel with only 19 rooms located within the historic centre and near the beach.

There is a bar on site to relax in the evenings.

Your local host

Fabrizio and friends

Fabrizio is your tour guide and host extraordinaire on his Italian gastronomy holidays. Native to the region of Abruzzo in central Italy, he is immensely proud of its history and heritage. Fabrizio’s passion for keeping everything local also means that guests on his holidays will be joining his family for cooking lessons, meeting local producers and using only locally sourced products.

This is not your typical cooking school or indeed cookery holiday. All cooking activities and gastronomic experiences take place in the local’s homes, on local farms, or in the hills on the lands of local suppliers and families. There is no “professional chef” on this holiday – you are learning from housewives, mothers, fat... Read All

Fabrizio is your tour guide and host extraordinaire on his Italian gastronomy holidays. Native to the region of Abruzzo in central Italy, he is immensely proud of its history and heritage. Fabrizio’s passion for keeping everything local also means that guests on his holidays will be joining his family for cooking lessons, meeting local producers and using only locally sourced products.

This is not your typical cooking school or indeed cookery holiday. All cooking activities and gastronomic experiences take place in the local’s homes, on local farms, or in the hills on the lands of local suppliers and families. There is no “professional chef” on this holiday – you are learning from housewives, mothers, fathers, brothers, farmers and fisherman, as well as wine makers, olive producers. Pretty much everyone in the community and what you’ll learn, see and experience are not taught it in schools but refined and passed down through the generations.

Fabrizio and friends image

Location

Set in the central region of Aruzzo, which boasts the Adriatic sea to the east and a lush mountainous landscape to the west, this unique Italian cooking holiday will prove to be a culinary adventure through your host Fabrizio’s home region. Based in his hometown of Vasto, a charming seafront town, you are perfectly placed to experience the tastes, culture and people of the area, where you will learn to cook in local kitchens or farms during the day, and have the nights to explore the city.

Getting there

Please note that prices for the holidays do not include flights. We recommend using www.skyscanner.net to check flights.

Nearest airports:
Roma Fiumicino Airport (around 3.5 hours away)

Return airport transfers:
Free airport transfers to and from Roma Fiumicino are included in the price.

Full, detailed directions will be shown on your booking confirmation voucher.

FAQs

Who is it suitable for?

- Suitable for all levels and experience of cooking
- Minimum age 18 with no upper age limit (under 18s accepted accompanied by an adult)
- All classes are taught in both Italian and English
- Perfect for solo travellers and even families are welcome
- You must have a reasonable level of fitness for the walking (distance and durations are detailed in the itinerary)

What can I do in my free time?

- This lovely coastal town of Vasto is very walkable, with plenty of restaurants, shops, and medieval gems
- Don’t hesitate to ask the hotel staff for a bike rental for the day
- Beaches and a nature reserve are also nearby
- If there is anything you would like to see or do during your time in Abruzzo, please let your host know and he can help you plan

Is this your suitable for vegetarians?

Yes of course! You just need to let us know before you come so we can make the necessary arrangements.

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