LocalWonders Travel Recensioni 14

Had an amazing experience on a tour of Sicily with Andrea. We don't normally do tours, but with Covid and how hard it is to drive in Sicily, we thought it was better to have a trusted guide with us.

We saw and did so much, the food was out of this world, and we supported local, sustainable and ethical businesses along the way. Andrea was on top of all the regulations and requirements for Covid travel, and we felt at ease and had a wonderful experience.

Can't recommend it highly enough.

Local Wonders Travel honoured their promise of guaranteed departure of “The Grand Tour of Italy” April 11, 2019 for two people, responded to inquiries quickly and offered helpful suggestions.The itinerary is well researched, had well situated unique hotels, exploring Italy to see maximum sights, discovering hidden gems, taking “Local Walks” at each destination and stopping at scenic points of interest. Andrea Gambino, our tour guide and co-owner of Local Wonders Travel has a great sense of humour, keeping our adventure full of laughter and joy and has a vast knowledge of Italy.

Provided an authentic culinary experience of the regions with an excellent selection of restaurants, local dishes and wines, translated menus proficiently in English.

Transportation was well planned, tickets were ready and choose the quickest route to the next destination. In Capri he noted the bus lineup and realized we wouldn’t be able to get on the first 2 buses up to the lift he hailed a cab.

Andrea was always quick to help us off and on trains and buses, lifting our luggage onto overhead storage. He never once mentioned how heavy our bags became as the trip continued.

Andrea was flexible in assuring all of our needs were met making suggestions of the best place to find specific souvenirs and some of the foods we wanted to try. We even took a quick side trip to Naples to enjoy their famous pizza.

With the quality this adventure provided I see Local Wonders Travel growing, as they continue to share their expertise to visitors wanting a genuine experience of this fascinating country, rich with cultural learning opportunities. Andrea’s passion of sharing the life and history of his country is very evident ensuring we had a quality experience with memories to last a lifetime.

I went on “Grand Tour of Italy”, with Andrea as our tour director.

This was my fourth trip to Italy, so I had toured most of the first part of the tour “Wonders of Northern Italy” already . It was a pleasant surprise to me that with Andrea, I saw new sites at each location and learned many new things. Much of this was through the “like a local” walks, and Andrea always had good suggestions for what we could do in our free time. If we had specific things we wanted to see or specific souvenirs to look for, he was able to help us plan and complete our searches. The second half of our tour, “Treasures of the Amalfi Coast & Puglia” held many surprises and wonderful new experiences each day.

Hotels have been carefully selected for location and ambience. All were clean and comfortable, with great breakfasts.

Activities and transportation were varied, and I feel like I have experienced a great balance between the real Italy as well as seeing the important tourist spots.

Throughout both parts of this tour, one of the biggest highlights for me was the food. We were eager to explore both Italian cuisine and wine in general, as well as local specialties, and we were not disappointed. Whether it was street food or fine dining, our food experiences were very different from all of my previous trips. Andrea always had suggestions for lunch and supper choices, and most of our outstanding meals were at small, local, out of the way restaurants that we would not have found on our own.

The thread that wove all the above parts together was Andrea. He has all the qualities of a good director - organized, knowledgeable, good time management, flexible, and passionate about his country and culture. He looked after every detail, large and small, always ensuring we had choices and we were happy along the way. We enjoyed his wonderful sense of humour and we truly enjoyed travelling with him over the 19 days. I highly recommend Andrea and Localwonders Travel.

Our trip was truly grand! Andrea and Jacopo were the best tour leaders we could imagine. The communication skills, interpersonal skills, detailed knowledge, and time spent with us even on our “free time” hours made the trip extraordinary. The LocalWonders Travel name completely expresses how the tour is with a deep immersion in the local culture, foods, beverages (and personal language lessons). The tour setup allowed us to really relax and enjoy without the common travel worries. We enjoyed it all, with specific highlights including the Chianti Classico region visit, Cinque Terra, and Amalfi coast & the Capri boat trip. The boat captain on the Capri trip was extraordinary and deserves high compliments. Also, the last night in Rome with Andrea and the visit to the nightclub area was an unexpected real pleasure. Venice, Firenze, Pisa, Pompeii & Roma were of course great as expected with added feature of their personal knowledge of the “local wonders”. The visits to Portovenere, Matera, Alberobello, Lecce, and Bari added completely unexpected interest and fun. Local Wonders provides in depth experiences not available elsewhere.

My husband, 21 year old daughter, & I enjoyed the most amazing vacation in Italy, our first visit to the country. It was everything I wanted it to be and more, thanks to Andrea and LocalWonders Travel. I didn’t think we could do this trip on our own, but I didn’t want to be on a tour with 25-40 people, and was especially concerned that our daughter might feel out of place in a large group of older tourists. The Local Wonders tour turned out to be the perfect choice, with a total of only 5 in the group. Andrea was patient in answering all of our questions before booking the tour & even suggested a Skype call, which sealed the deal for me. His answers to our questions and his enthusiasm & friendliness came across in that call & set our minds at ease.

I resisted the traditional 1st visit to Italy, namely a whirlwind tour of Rome, Florence & Venice, mainly because my interests are more towards architecture and vistas than paintings & sculpture, and I prefer to visit less traveled areas to avoid crowds during high season. The tour of the Amalfi coast and the Puglia region hit the spot. We added an extra day on our own to the start of the tour so we could more thoroughly visit the Colosseum & Roman Forum, and Andrea helped with that by booking an extra night in the hotel for us.

The Local Wonders tour was amazing – Pompei, 3 nights in Amalfi including a day in Capri and the Path of Gods hike, overnight in Matera which was really cool, 2 nights in Lecce with a stop in Alberabello, and finally a night in Bari. Our hotels were lovely and very different in character, from beautiful high ceilinged rooms in Rome & Lecce, to a Matera hotel built into a cave, and a very modern hotel in Bari. Our rooms accommodated all 3 of us with an extra twin bed – in a separate but attached room in Rome, a completely separate room in Pompei, & a second floor loft in Lecce. All were small hotels with friendly & helpful staff & within walking distance of everything.

I had assumed prior to the tour that our leader, Andrea, would only be there to help us plan our days, which is what he could have done had we been more experienced & independent, but in fact, Andrea was happy to accompany us everywhere & dine with us as often as we liked, and we took advantage of that because he was able to act as our interpreter as well as being fun & delightful company.

We would go on another Local Wonders tour in a heartbeat because I don’t think I’d find a better group than this. One word of advice: unless you are extremely physically fit, don’t opt for the 1700-step descent to Positano after the Path of Gods hike – take the bus! The hike was beautiful & not particularly strenuous but the steps were a killer.

From our first contact with "Local Wonders" through the farewells at trip's end, Guide Andrea's competence, friendliness, and good humor were ever-present. Our group included 8 travelers for the first half of the trip, then just 6 for the second half. All travelers were compatible and fun, and helped make the trip memorable.

Of course Andrea had to keep on a tight schedule to fit in all the planned stops and to allow time to cover the travel distances. Yet we never felt rushed even as he was attentively keeping to his overall plan... and even when we got stuck behind a hay wagon and our ferry from Lipari was delayed 3 hours due to a storm in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

By trip's end Andrea had become an integral part of the tour, and a new friend.

We had a wonderful fun vacation in Sicily with our group led by Andrea. It was a great opportunity to meet new people that love travel as much as we do and discover historic sights in Italy.
Andrea is caring and attentive travel guide. He was thinking through every detail in advance. Our group members had diverse interests and Andrea managed to make our tour interesting for all. Key highlights- Valley of the Temples, Mount Etna hiking, biking around Favignana island, stay at agriculture tourism place delicious dinner and breathtaking view from the top of the mountain on the farm, historic Erice with castle and restaurants serving delicious local food. It was perfect balance between guided group tours and time on your leisure to make your own choice discoveries in Sicily. Upon completion of our tour we traveled to Rome. Andrea helped us to obtain tickets to Vatican museum and provided comprehensive list of restaurants in the area we stayed. His professional knowledge and willingness to help people made this trip unforgettable. If you want to travel as local travel with Andreas tours.

We had the best time travelling with Andrea on “Treasures of the Amalfi Coast and Puglia” tour. Everything was well organised and we never had to worry about where to stay, what to do or eat or how to get anywhere. You do need to be able to walk pretty well to take proper advantage of all the activities but you don’t need to be super fit and Andrea will be able to suggest/arrange alternatives if you're not able to manage a particular activity. Amalfi, the Walk of the Gods, Pompei, and swimming in the Mediterranean. We had some great laughs with our travelling companions as well. Tutto bene!!

Two friends and I travelled with Andrea, Local Wonders, on the "Wonders of the Amalfi Coast" and beyond tour, May 2019. It was absolutely wonderful - no low-lights, all highlights. In particular, Andrea organised fantastic accommodation throughout (particularly in the town of Amalfi itself and Matera) and it was very clear he had done his research very well, as evidenced by the very warm greeting he was extended by hoteliers and organised day-trip / day-tour operators. Another highlight was the variety of restaurants we attended - again, Andrea had done his research and it was fantastic to learn about and understand the local cuisine - pasta is not just any old pasta in each town / region of Italy. A highly organised, yet flexible schedule each day - able to participate or not (if tired) in each activity / learning / scenic walk. Andrea is a warm, organised, highly knowledgable and hilarious Tour Leader and really, he was the highlight! A beautiful and unforgettable way to learn about and travel through regions of Italy.

This was my second trip with Andrea as tour leader and it was every bit as good as the first. He has an amazing ability to make everything run smoothly, taking care of all the transport and accomodation details so that we could just relax and enjoy the experience. His suggestions for restaurants were always fabulous which allowed us to try all the specialities of the regions we visited. If I had to choose a favourite place we visited it would be really difficult because everywhere was so very different, from the famous beauty of the Amalfi Coast to the stark majesty of Matera. Andrea’s passion for his country has made me fall in love with Italy and I’m looking forward to the day I can come back to explore more of this wonderful country with him.

On the high recommendations of a friend, we joined Andrea on this wonderful 10 day tour in May 2019. It was my first ever small group organized tour and I never felt disenchanted, was thoroughly thrilled with the experience and absolutely enthralled with each of the tour destinations. Andrea is a joy to travel with, not only as he was so knowledgeable, helpful and organized throughout the tour, but he is a warm, funny and very personable tour leader. We all had such a fun and easy time throughout the tour. He took us on a fabulous trip to the most wonderful locations, full of history, excellent accommodation choices, as well as offering the group several choices of superb, but affordable, dining experiences at each destination. Nothing was a problem for Andrea and he could also readily provide other tour options and choices to the group, should we decide to avail ourselves of free time to explore or dine away from the group, at any of the tour destinations. In the administrative/booking process, you are given very clear expectations of the tour coverage and all relevant information to assist you with understanding the nature of each day's activities. I would do another tour with Andrea in a heartbeat and now I too can highly recommend him and his company for the small group tours, such as this one.

I seldom write reviews, but our trip with Local Wonders Travel inspired me to share our experience, which was great from start to end.
We signed up for trip to South Italy with a small group, and did not know what to expect. It happened to be an active vacation, well thought-through, with interesting itinerary and balanced blend of activities, such as guided tour to ruins of Pompeii, full day private boat trip to the island of Capri, hike along the Amalfi coast on breathtaking Walk of the Gods, and many more exciting stops in places we did not know about.
Our knowledgeable, thoughtful, considerate tour director Andrea was there for us through the entire trip, advising on food options and activity alternatives, making sure we all enjoyed the trip. Hotels were carefully picked to provide comfort and easy access to center of wherever we stopped. Connections between points by either train, taxi, or private cars were timed well and comfortable.
Where do I start about the food? To say that we ate well would be an understatement. Andrea had recommendations for every meal, including gelato shops. We stayed away from touristy places, and had incredible meals with wonderful local wines and desserts, all at reasonable prices.
Joyful experiences brought our small group closer together, there was sense of comradery, and in most cases we chose to dine together, shared laughs and exchanged stories.Traveling with a small group and local guide allowed us to get closer to life in Italy, get a better sense of visited places.
Local Wonders Travel is a young company, and we wish them to succeed and grow. We received outstanding service and hope to travel with them again in the future.
Grazie mille!

We used LocalWonders in Sicily. It was a great trip with a fun group, our guide was amazing, thanks to him we had the best time. Would totally recommend this company!

We had a fantastic experience with Andrea. Thank you so much!