Taste of Emilia Romagna
SMALL GROUP TOURS
Duration: 8 days / 7 nights • Dates: Oct 10 - 17, 2026 • Destination: Italy • Duration: 8 days / 7 nights • Dates: Oct 10 - 17, 2026 • Destination: Italy • Duration: 8 days / 7 nights • Dates: Oct 10 - 17, 2026 • Destination: Italy
Destination: Italy
Dates: Oct 10 - 17, 2026
Duration: 8 days / 7 nights
DAY 1
SATURDAY, OCT 10, 2026
Arrive Bologna
Upon arrival to Bologna airport, meet your driver and transfer to our hotel in the city center. Take some time to rest and recuperate from your flights. In the afternoon hours, meet your host and fellow travelers for a welcome drink. Later, head to one of the best local restaurants for an amazing welcome dinner, with 3-courses of delicious local dishes and drinks included.
DAY 2
SUNDAY, OCT 11, 2026
Bologna
Today, we explore Bologna, often called “The red City” for it’s red-brick architecture. Bologna is also the capital city of Emilia Romagna, which is thought to be the foodiest region of Italy! Of course, we will begin our exploration with an amazing tour. We’ll meet a licensed local guide and enjoy a tour of the historical center. This tour will be a blend of history, life and food tasting. We will taste all the amazing local food, from Mortadella di Bologna, to Prosciutto di Parma, Parmiggiano Reggiano, tortellini, lasagne and the internationally famous Ragu. This tour will also take us through the most significant historical areas of beautiful Bologna. We will end the tour in the city, and you’ll have plenty of time to have fun and explore on your own. If you feel adventurous, join your host, and head to climb one of the famous Bologna towers! The afternoon and evening are free for you to explore Bologna at your own pace.
DAY 3
MONDAY, OCT 12, 2026
Explore Ferrara
In the later morning hours, after breakfast, we’ll meet our driver and board our mini coach. Today we visit Ferrara, often reffered to as the “Capital of the Renaissance”. Ferrara is famous for its architecture and UNESCO protected sights, it has a magical atmosphere that comes through the carefully preserved monuments of its glorious past, The Este dynasty, who ruled the area over the course of three centuries, transformed a rural centre into a masterpiece. Ferrara is one of those hidden gems of Italy, one of those cities that holds so much treasure, yet, is still off the beaten path. Today, we will meet a local guide and enjoy visiting the amazing city areas, admiering the palaces, strolling through the streets and squares. But Ferrara is not only famous for the history and architecture, Ferrara is also famous for its gastronomy, so after our walking tour, we’ll sit down and enjoy a tasting lunch of local specialties, matched with some very special wines. After lunch, there will be free time to explore some more and just enjoy Ferrara. We will meet up again in the afternoon hours and return to our hotel in Bologna. Your evening is free.
DAY 4
Today we’ll have an early morning! Our driver and local foodie guide will come pick us up early in the morning so we can have a very unique experience! This morining we’ll drive straight to a Parmigiano Reggiano factory. We must go early, to catch the production! We will see how this superp cheese is made, and then we’ll sit down and enjoy tasting these amazing cheses. Parmigiano Reggiano can age for years, and the taste changes as it matures. Today, we’ll learn all about the difference between the younger and older cheses as we taste them all! One by one!. The next destination will be a winery in the hills of Bologna. This is an awarded winery, where we’ll enjoy a food and wine tasting in a beautiful atmosphere. Then, we’ll head to Modena, another amazing city full of treasures. We’ll enjoy a leaseruly walk through the city center, and enjoy some time to grab a coffee, before heading to our next visit, a family-owned Acetaia here in Modena. We will learn about the Aceto Balsamico production, how much time and patience it takes to get to the final product. Of course, we’ll aslo try their amazing Aceto Balsamico combined with different snacks, from cheses to home made cookies, their Aceto is the magic ingeditent to so many recipies! The return to Bologna will be in the late afternoon hours, and the evenig is at leisure.
TUESDAY, OCT 13, 2026
Parmigiano Reggiano & Aceto Balsamico
DAY 5
WEDNESDAY, OCT 14, 2026
Brisighella & Ravenna
Today we bid farewell to Bologna and head toward the Adriatic coast and the Romagna area of the region. The first stop today is to visit Brisighella, one of the most picturesque Italian Medieval towns. First, we’ll meet a licensed local guide and enjoy a short walk through the narrow streets of Brisighella. At the end of the tour we will enjoy an aperitivo with our host, and then, we’ll sit down in a local restaurant to enjoy a lunch of local specialties and local wines. Right after lunch, we will head to Ravenna, and get settled in our hotel. Enjoy a couple of hours to relax and freshen up, meet your host later for a leasurely walk in Ravenna and maybe grab dinner together, or enjoy the time to yourself, relax, or explore on own.
DAY 6
THURSDAY, OCT 15, 2026
Explore San Marino & Rimini
It’s time to visit another country, while still in Emilia Romagna. Our driver will pick us up in the later morning hours and take us to San Marino, the fifth-smallest and arguably the most intriguing of the world’s independent countries. This ancient republic sits high in Italy’s Central Apennines Mountains, and offers mesmerizing views of the Adriatic Sea and sorroundings. Upon arrival, we will meet our licensed local guide and enjoy a stroll around the cobbled stone, beautiful town center, with its Piazza della Libertà square, the Basilica of St. Marino, and other amazing sights. We will allso climb to the rocktop First Tower for amazing views. After the tour we’ll have some free time to explore on own or to grab lunch before we head to our next destination of the day, Rimini, the heart of Riviera di Romagna, one of the most famous Italian beach towns. In Rimini, we will have free time to walk around and explore on own. Then, we’ll meet a foodie guide who will take us to a few local spots to try amazing aperitivo drinks and small bites, then, we’ll sit down to try a local Piadina. Finally, our driver will take us back to Ravenna and our hotel in the early afternoon.
DAY 7
FRIDAY, OCT 16 2026
Ravenna
Today is our last day in Emilia Romagna, and we still have some important places to see! We’ll meet our licensed guide after breakfast and enjoy a walking tour of this amazing city. Ravenna has 8 UNESCO monuments, and we have to see them! As part of this tour we will aslo visit the Basilica Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, a stunning 6th-century basilica famous for its impressive Byzantine mosaics, which depict scenes from the Bible and the life of Jesus Christ. Sant'Apollinare Nuovo is considered one of the most important examples of early Christian art in Italy and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This tour will take approximately 2 and a half hours in the morning, and you’ll have the rest of the day to yourself, to enjoy Ravenna. We’ll meet one last time in the late afternoon hours and head to an amazing local restaruant where we’ll enjoy our farewell dinner, a delicious 3-course meal with drinks, then it will be time to say goodbye as we walk back to our hotel.
DAY 8
Your driver will pick you up from our hotel and take you to the Bologna airport for your homebound flight.
SATURDAY, OCT 17, 2026
Departure Italy
What's Included
Accommodation at listed hotels or similar, with breakfast daily, based on double occupancy rooms, with the option for single use at a supplement
Customized arrival and departure transfers, according to your individual arrival and departure flight timing
All land transfers as per program with comfortable, A/C mini coaches
Welcome drink at the hotel
Welcome dinner at a local restaurant: 3 course meal with drinks
Walking tour of Bologna with a local licensed guide, with all food tastings included
Full day tour to San Marino and Rimini, with a historic walking tour of San Marino, and a food tasting tour of Rimini
Walking tour of Ravenna, with an expert local guide
Entrance fee to Basilica Sant'Apollinare Nuovo
Farewell dinner at a local restaurant: 3 course meal with drinks
The tour is hosted by a professional Vagabonda tour director
Full day to Ferrara, walking tour of Ferrara with a licensed local guide
Tasting lunch in Ferrara with drinks
Full day into the Emilia Romagna food region, visiting a Parmigiano Reggiano factory with tasting, a local winery with food and wine tasing, and Aceto Balsamico di Modena visit and tasting
A day from Emilia to Romagna with a walking tour with an expert guide in Brisighella
Lunch in Brisighella, a 3-course meal with drinks
Not Included
Visas, visa waivers, passport, and/or departure taxes
Airfare: international and local
Meals, drinks and other items not listed above
Expenses of personal nature, including tips to guides and drivers, telephone calls, table drinks, internet, laundry, etc.
Travel insurance – highly recommended! Check out World Nomads.
Single room supplement
Pricing
Price Per Person In
Double Occupancy Rooms
$1395
Single Room Supplement
$4880
Happy Clients
- The Coscia-Mancuso Family, White Plains, NY
We cannot thank Vagabonda Travel enough for custom-designing our family trip to Italy. Memories to last a lifetime. Every detail of our trip was perfectly curated and exceptional. We would have never been able to plan this adventure on our own. Communication with the staff is excellent and we felt secure knowing we had contact number while we were traveling. Cannot wait to book our next trip with you soon!
Trip of a lifetime.
Happy Clients
- Megan and Jerry, Los Angeles, California
We have never used a travel service before, and Vagabonda absolutely blew us away! From their hotel bookings, to the day-by-day itinerary, to hidden gems we definitely would have never found on our own, we can't thank their team enough! Highly recommend for anyone who wants an authentic experience in Europe!
BEST TRIP EVER! We'll remember this for the rest of our lives!
Happy Clients
- Pete and Paula, Lindenhurst, New York
When my husband and I started planning our 30th Anniversary trip to Italy we had no idea where to even begin. That’s when I stumbled across Alida’s TikTok videos. I absolutely LOVED her content. To be honest, at first I was skeptical about planning a trip like this off of someone I saw in a TikTok video, but after meeting with her we knew we picked the right travel agency. Our 17-day trip was absolutely incredible. Alida and Vagabonda Travel made our lifetime dream of touring Italy one we will never forget!
Happy 30th Anniversary to Us! A TRIP OF A LIFETIME!
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Vagabonda's European small group tours are led by our professional hosts. We're dedicated to making sure that every moment of your trip counts. We believe in taking it slow and connecting with locals as we uncover amazing experiences in unforgettable destinations. Travel should be more than just a vacation - it should be an experience that touches your heart and deepens your relationship with the world.
