Umbria & Southern Tuscany with Chef Taylor Mason
Perugia & Sorano
November 3-12, 2025
Price: $5,900/person
This new tour takes you to the heart of Italy, exploring Umbria and the off-the-beaten path side of Southern Tuscany with James Beard-nominated Chef Taylor Mason of Lancaster PA’s LUCA and Pizzeria LUCA!
On your tour, you’ll travel alongside Chef Taylor to experience the amazing culinary specialities of these regions, visiting various food artisans, wineries, producers, and of course - enjoying some delicious meals! Enjoy touring medieval streets, ancient fortresses, and picturesque countryside, all while learning about the rich history and traditions that shape the local cuisine.
Unlike some of Italy’s more tourist-heavy regions, Umbria and the Maremma area of southern Tuscany offer an authentic and unspoiled travel experience. Enjoy a slower pace of life, where you can truly immerse yourself in the local culture and traditions without the crowds! They are also culinary havens for food enthusiasts (our favorite kind of people!). Savor local delicacies such as truffles, wild boar, and artisanal cheeses alongside world-class wines.
Keep scrolling to see Trip Highlights and specifics on pricing, how to book, and what's included! Contact us with any questions.
About Chef Taylor Mason
Chef Taylor is the chef and owner of Lancaster, PA restaurants, LUCA and Pizzeria LUCA. LUCA focuses on the traditions of Italy while being rooted in the heritage of Lancaster, as a farm-driven kitchen with locally sourced vegetables and meats, as well as handmade pasta. They are committed to acquiring fresh local ingredients and establishing relationships with farmers and artisans.
Join us and see for yourself why Chef Taylor was named as a semifinalists for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chefs in America Award in 2020!
Itinerary
These 10 days will take you directly into the heart of Italy:
PERUGIA (5 nights) – vibrant Perugia is in the heart of Umbria, and its 14th-century historic center will enchant you! The city's central location is ideal for exploring all of the area's highlights during our time in Umbria!
SORANO (3 nights) – this picturesque medieval hill town in the Maremma area of southern Tuscany is known for its ancient stone buildings, narrow winding streets, and stunning views of the surrounding countryside;
ROME Fiumicino (1 nights) – we'll spend our final night near the Rome FCO airport for ease of departure on the last day. But this also makes a great jumping off point for staying in Rome a few extra days!
Tour Highlights
Experience a truffle hunt with an experienced guide and his faithful dogs as they lead us through their carefully cultivated truffle beds (as seen on CNN's "Finding Italy" with Stanley Tucci!).
Visit the medieval town of Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis. You'll love visiting the basilica and exploring this charming town.
Relax in the replenishing and rejuvenating hot waters of the natural thermal springs popular in the Maremma area.
Be among the first Americans to enjoy the wines made in the small town of San Giovanni delle Contee, a hilltop town with less than 200 residents!
Enjoy the unique opportunity to travel alongside a professional chef and take advantage of his culinary knowledge and love of Italian cuisine.
Double occupancy: $5,900/ person
Single supplement: $750
Deposit of $2,000/person is due upon booking to reserve your spot, along with a signed & completed registration form. Booking is not considered confirmed until deposit has been received.
Payments can be made by check (made out to Curata Travel) and mailed to: Curata Travel, 245 N. Main Street, Spring Grove, PA 17362.
Credit cards are accepted with a 3.6% fee.
Final payment is due 60 days prior to departure.
Pricing includes:
- Nine nights of hotel accommodations (5 nights in Perugia, 3 nights in Sorano, 1 night near the Rome airport)
- All planned excursions & classes, including visits to artisanal producers and a hands-on cooking class.
- Meals included: daily breakfasts at our accommodations and most lunches & dinners. We curate each menu to focus on traditional regional specialties, accompanied by local wines.
- Experienced tour leaders and local guides
- Private motorcoach transportation throughout the tour
- Airport transfers on specified arrival/departure days/times. We include one group transfer for your arrival and departure at specified times. Any additional transfer will be at your own cost.
Not included:
- Airfare
- Gratuity for driver and your Curata Travel tour leaders, at your discretion
- Any spending during free time, personal purchases, extraneous hotel charges (minibar, laundry service, etc.) and any alcoholic beverages not included with meals.
Each member of the tour will be responsible for booking their own flights, which are not included in the tour cost.
You will be picked up at the Rome Fiumicino (FCO) airport on November 3 by 12:00p.m., then dropped off at the same airport on November 12 by 9:00a.m.
One group transfer will be provided, any additional private transfers would be at your own cost.
*We strongly recommend looking into flight costs (try Google Flights) and trip insurance before booking your spot or see our tips for booking flights! These are important factors to consider as you budget for the trip.
A few items of note for some of the destinations and the trip as a whole to help set expectations and better prepare you for the trip. Some of the expectations are outlined in our Traveler Guidebook and the Terms & Conditions form that you will use to register (see specifically the Traveler Code and Traveler Expectations sections), but to reiterate some as they specifically relate to this tour's itinerary.
Cusine - As hopefully most of you know, our tours focus heavily on the culinary specialities of each region and town we visit. So when we arrange a lunch/dinner or culinary experience, we are working with those restaurants to plan menus in advance that highlight the seasonal produce, dishes that reflect the region we’re in. We will be collecting some of this information at a later date from you, but if there are food allergies we need to be aware of, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them. If there are entire categories of food that you just don’t eat (and are not willing to try), this might not be the tour for you!
Terrain: The towns we will be visiting and staying in are all beautiful medieval towns and these areas in particular are known for their hilltop villages. So you can expect cobblestone streets, some uneven surfaces, and steps or hills in many places. You should be comfortable traversing this type of terrain.
Excursions: With all of our excursions, you are not forced to participate if something like this is not your ’thing.’ You always have the option to stay behind and enjoy some free time on your own (please note, as mentioned in the Terms & Conditions, there is no compensation or refund for any portion of the tour or excursion you do not participate in).