Amalfi Coast & Ischia
Food & Wine Trip
Seven nights on the Amalfi Coast, inland Campania and Ischia, experienced through their food, wine, landscapes and people. Gerardo was born on Ischia, and the relationships behind this week are ones he has had all his life.
You’ll speak directly with Gerardo or Joanne, the same people who’ll be with you in Italy. It’s simply a chance to get to know each other, talk through the trip and answer any questions. There’s no sales pitch and no deposit to pay on the call.
See what travelling with us is really like
A proper look inside one of our trips - the places we stayed, the tables we sat around, the winemakers and producers we met, and the way the days actually unfolded.
It’s twenty minutes that will give you a very good idea of what it feels like to come to Italy with us.
How most people see Italy
- A coach, forty-two strangers, and a guide holding something above her head
- Three cities in five days, because it’s on the itinerary
- A generic cellar door running eleven groups a day
- The restaurant with photographs on the menu
- Lunch in fifty minutes, because the bus leaves at two
- Come home having seen a lot of Italy, but had little time to really get to know it
How this week goes
- Fourteen of you, in places that don’t take larger groups
- One region, properly: the coast, the hills behind it, and the island
- The winemaker pours it himself, then stays for lunch
- Pasta made that morning, and whatever came out of the garden
- Three hours at the table, because that’s how long lunch takes here
- Come home knowing the wines, dishes and producers that made the week memorable
There’s no such thing as an Italian restaurant in Italy
Italians don’t eat “Italian food”. They eat their own town’s food and drink their own town’s wine. This week moves through three places that sit close together on a map and share almost nothing on the plate.
Lemons, anchovies and wine from the cliff behind you
Everything on the table came from within sight of it. The fish landed that morning, and the wine is grown on terraces cut into the hillside above the restaurant, worked entirely by hand.
The great reds, two hours from the sea
Taurasi, Fiano and Greco, from a part of Campania that receives almost no visitors. Heavier cooking, a different landscape, and wines with nothing coastal about them.
A completely different dinner. Same week.
Volcanic soil, its own grapes and dishes that exist on this island and nowhere on the mainland. Fifty kilometres from where you started, and almost nothing carries over.
“On the coast, inland, and then on Ischia, what belongs on the table changes completely. We know what to look for - and where to find it.”
That’s why we travel with just fourteen guests. It means we can seek out the dishes, local ingredients and wines particular to each place, eat in restaurants that aren’t set up for large groups, and spend time with the people who grow, make and cook what we’re there to taste.
Italy as the Italians see it, rather than Italy packaged for visitors.
Doors that don’t open to visitors
Gerardo grew up with these families. We don’t book tasting slots, we sit in someone’s kitchen while they open a bottle they don’t sell. Wines that never leave the property, in rooms without a cellar door.
Long lunches, not schedules
Three hours at the table, because that is how long lunch takes in southern Italy. Pasta made that morning, vegetables from behind the house, and wine that keeps arriving without anyone asking.
The places we return to ourselves
These are the trattorias, beaches and cellars we come back to year after year, along with a few experiences that only happen because we know who to ask. One night, dinner is at Gerardo’s family’s place.
The full day-by-day and prices, in your inbox in a couple of minutes.
Gerardo & Joanne
We’re not tour guides. We’re taking you to the Italy we know.
Gerardo was born and raised on Ischia. The people whose cellars we sit in poured him his first glass, and one night this week dinner is at his family’s place, with his family. We created this week much as we would plan a trip for our own friends: the places we return to ourselves, the people we want you to meet, and a few things we can arrange simply because we know who to ask.
Between us, we run DiVino, import Italian wine and plan every part of the week. And when you come to Italy, we come with you.
No tour guide handed an itinerary. No local rep meeting you at the other end. Just the two people who planned the trip, there to experience it alongside you.
Come to Italy with us.
Seven nights on the coast, inland, and on the island
Day 1 · Sat 3 JulyCaserta & the Amalfi Coast+
We meet you in Naples in the morning and travel out to the Reggia di Caserta, the UNESCO-listed royal palace built to rival Versailles, and one most visitors to Italy never see.
Lunch is at Le Colonne, a Michelin-acclaimed restaurant in Caserta, built around buffalo mozzarella made that morning a few kilometres away.
In the afternoon, we continue to the Amalfi Coast and check into Hotel Villa Romana. That evening, we’ll come together for a welcome aperitivo and our first dinner as a group - a relaxed start to the week and our first night on the Amalfi Coast.
Day 2 · Sun 4 JulyVineyards & Ravello+
The morning is at Le Vigne di Raito, a small vineyard planted on terraces high above the sea and worked entirely by hand. We’ll walk through the vines with the winemaker before sitting down to lunch at her home, accompanied by the wines grown around us.
That evening, we head to Ravello for an apericena overlooking the Amalfi Coast, followed by a sunset concert in the gardens above the sea. Music, the coast below and the last light over the Mediterranean - one of those genuinely once-in-a-lifetime Italian evenings.
Day 3 · Mon 5 JulyThe Amalfi Coast by Private Boat+
Today is spent on the water, exploring the Amalfi Coast by private boat. We’ll cruise along the famous coastline, past its cliffs, villages and coves, with time to swim and stop for a long beachside lunch overlooking Positano.
That evening, dinner is at Michelin-acclaimed Ristorante Oltremare, with a menu rooted firmly in the Amalfi Coast - local seafood, regional ingredients and wines from the vineyards surrounding the coast. The kind of cooking that makes sense here, because it belongs here.
Day 4 · Tue 6 JulyCampania’s Great Wine Country+
Today we head inland into Campania’s wine country, beginning at Mastroberardino, one of the region’s oldest and most important wine estates. The family has been making wine here since the 1800s and played a major role in preserving Campania’s indigenous grapes, particularly Aglianico, Fiano and Greco.
From there, we continue to Feudi di San Gregorio, one of the leading names in modern Campanian wine. Its striking contemporary winery sits among the vineyards of Irpinia, where we’ll have a guided tasting followed by a long winery lunch.
We stay overnight at La Masseria Roseto, an eighteenth-century country residence outside Benevento, with a relaxed, family-style dinner together that evening.
Day 5 · Wed 7 JulyPasta & the Crossing to Ischia+
The morning is spent at a local family-run restaurant, where we’ll learn to make a regional pasta entirely by hand, alongside the family who make it. We’ll also taste locally produced olive oil before sitting down to eat what we’ve made for lunch.
In the afternoon, we cross to Ischia and check into Hotel Mare Blu. This is Gerardo’s island - the place he grew up, and somewhere we know very differently from the Amalfi Coast.
That evening, we head into the hills for dinner at the iconic Il Focolare, an Ischia institution known for traditional island cooking, local ingredients and recipes deeply rooted in the island’s interior.
Day 6 · Thu 8 JulyNegombo & Dinner with Gerardo’s Family+
The morning is yours at Negombo Thermal Gardens, set in the beautiful Bay of San Montano. Spend a few hours between the thermal pools, gardens and sea, followed by a casual lunch before heading back to the hotel.
That evening is one of the most personal of the trip. We’ll join Gerardo’s family and friends for a pizza party, making Neapolitan pizzas together and spending the night around the table. It’s a side of Ischia you simply don’t experience as a visitor.
Day 7 · Fri 9 JulyCasa d’Ambra & a Farewell on the Water+
The morning is at Casa d’Ambra, Ischia’s oldest winery, where vines grow in volcanic soils on steep terraces that have shaped winemaking on the island for generations. We’ll walk through the vineyards before tasting the island’s indigenous wines at the winery.
Later, we head out on a private sunset cruise, sailing around Castello Aragonese and along the coast before arriving by boat at Umberto a Mare for our farewell dinner.
One of Ischia’s landmark restaurants, Umberto a Mare is known for its Michelin-recognised cooking, with a menu built around the island and the sea. Its cellar is equally impressive, with an award-winning wine list recognised by Wine Spectator. It’s where we’ll come together for our final dinner and last night on Ischia.
Day 8 · Sat 10 JulyFarewell to Ischia+
After breakfast, we’ll say our goodbyes and arrange your transfer to the port, along with a ferry back to Naples at the time that best suits your onward plans.
Whether you’re heading home or continuing your travels in Italy, we’ll make sure you know exactly where you need to be and how to get there.
The whole week in one email, so you can read it properly later or forward it to whoever you’re travelling with.
Three bases, so you unpack and stay put
Our base for the coast, close enough to the water to swim before breakfast and well placed for Ravello, the boat days and the drive inland.
Where the week slows down. Thermal water, the sea a few steps away, and Gerardo’s island in every direction.
An eighteenth-century country residence in inland Campania, where we stay the night after the wineries and eat outside under the stars.
Once you’re there, you won’t reach for your wallet
- Seven nights’ accommodation, including 4 and 5-star hotels and a night at an eighteenth-century country residence
- Every breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Drinks at every winery visit, lunch and dinner
- Reggia di Caserta entry and tour
- Buffalo mozzarella tasting and Michelin-acclaimed lunch
- Le Vigne di Raito, Mastroberardino, Feudi di San Gregorio and Casa d’Ambra visits and tastings
- Ravello concert tickets
- Poseidon Thermal Gardens entry
- Hands-on pasta-making experience
- Coastal boat transfer and private sunset boat cruise
- Michelin-starred dining
- All private group transport, ferries and transfers
- Both of us with you, every day
- International and domestic flights
- Travel insurance, which is required
- Meals and drinks not specified in the itinerary
- Optional spa treatments
- Optional activities during free time
- Personal purchases
Travelling on your own? About half of every group does. You won’t be the odd one out.
To hold a place: a $5,000 deposit.
Non-refundable, but movable. If something comes up, shift it to another DiVino trip with 90 days’ notice. Another date, another year, or to a friend.
The balance is due 60 days before you fly, or spread across monthly instalments at no extra cost.
And if we don’t run the trip, you get every cent back.
Pay by bank transfer or card. We’ll invoice you after we’ve spoken.
They say it better than we can
These words are from guests who joined us on this same week in July, hosted by Gerardo and Joanne.
A few questions you might be thinking about
If your question isn’t here, ask us on the call. That’s what it’s for.
Who else will be there?
Australians, mostly between 45 and 75, and roughly half of them travelling on their own. The rest are couples. What they have in common is that they love food, wine and Italy, and they’d rather eat well than tick off sights.
Everyone arrives not knowing anyone. By the second lunch that has stopped being true.
I’m travelling on my own. Will I feel out of place?
About half of every group travels on their own, so you won’t be the odd one out. Nobody eats alone, and there’s no forced pairing-up. A room to yourself is $12,900 rather than $10,900.
Is it too hot in July?
It’s summer in southern Italy, so it’s warm. We plan around it rather than pretend otherwise: air-conditioned transport and rooms, mornings for the active things, afternoons near water, and dinner once it’s cooled down.
It’s also why we go then. Long evenings, everything open, and the sea warm enough to swim in every day.
How active do I need to be?
Not very. The focus of this week is food and wine, not walking. There are a few points where there’s an option to walk, and there is always an alternative if you’d rather not, or if you’re less mobile.
If you have something specific you’re concerned about, tell us on the call. We’ve worked around most things.
Do I need to know anything about wine?
Not a thing. Some of our favourite travellers have arrived knowing only that they like drinking it. Gerardo will explain as much or as little as you want, and nobody is tested on it.
What is the pizza party?
One evening on Ischia, dinner is at Gerardo’s family’s home, with his family and friends, making Neapolitan pizzas together. It isn’t a demonstration and it isn’t staged. It is simply dinner at their place, and it tends to be the night people talk about most afterwards.
How do I pay, and what if something comes up?
A $5,000 deposit holds your place and we invoice you after we’ve spoken, by bank transfer or card. The balance is due 60 days before departure, or by monthly instalments.
The deposit is non-refundable but movable: with 90 days’ notice you can shift it to another DiVino trip, another date, or hand it to a friend. And if we ever cancelled, you’d get every cent back.
Can I add days either side?
Most people do, and we’d encourage it. You’ve come a long way. Naples is the airport you want, and Rome is an easy addition. Tell us where you’re thinking and we’ll save you a lot of research.
The full details, sent to you
The complete day-by-day, the hotels, what’s included and the prices. Two quick questions so we send you the right thing.
Where should we send it?
We’ll never pass your details on, and you can unsubscribe in one click.
We just need your name, mobile and an email address that works - that’s where the itinerary goes.
It’ll be in your inbox in a few minutes. Once you’ve had a look, book fifteen minutes with Gerardo or Joanne to talk through the trip, ask your questions and see if it’s right for you. No sales pitch, and no deposit taken on the call.
Fourteen guests. Never more.
We keep every departure to fourteen so we can travel the way we want to - eating at smaller restaurants, spending time with winemakers and producers, and sharing the week as a group rather than moving through Italy like a tour.
Book a 15-minute conversation
You’ll speak directly with Gerardo or Joanne - the same people who plan the trip and will be there with you in Italy. Tell us what you love about Italy, how you like to travel and anything you’d like to know about the week. We’ll tell you whether we think it’s the right trip for you.
And if it isn’t, we’ll say so - and probably point you towards the Italy we think you’d enjoy instead. No sales pitch.