I bet it’s on your mind too - as it’s one of our most asked questions: “What on earth does Kalitumba stand for?”
It’s a Swahili name that Roberta Ferrero and Jean Devos chose 15 years ago to brand their very first safari travel agency in Turin and of which they haven't been able to part from since. Roberta met Jean in Zanzibar when they were both working in management of a resort. She spent four years in Tanzania, but this short time was truly a profound and unique experience to her. Jean spent two decades in East-Africa, mostly working as a hotel manager in Mombasa (Kenya) and Zanzibar (Tanzania).
When their daughter was born, they decided to move back to Roberta’s home country Italy. Even though they moved, and it was time to go, they weren’t fully ready yet to completely immerse themselves in Europe. And so, ‘Kalitumba’ was their remaining tie to their beautiful life they had lived in Africa.
After Jean had explored ‘La Bella Italia’ for the first time, the great idea came to mind to organize Vespa Tours in the scenic hills around their home base in Piedmont. Because after all, who wouldn’t enjoy cruising around on an authentic Piaggio Vespa in the beautiful landscapes of this magnificent country?
We take pride in saying that since our humble beginning we have worked tirelessly to build and cultivate a strong and healthy company. We are a vibrant, small family-owned company working on big challenges, remembering what it took to get here. Built on mostly Italian-Belgian roots, we are an international company with lots of different tongues in our midst.
Through our extensive travel experiences, we have seen and felt many foreign (work)cultures. These experiences translate in our passion, industry knowledge and high standards. Our Kalitumba team is a close family of driven people that strive to deliver qualitative, memorable and honest experiences to all our clients, in the way we would like to see it ourselves and maybe even better.
'La Bella Italia in Vespa’ has been around since 2004 and it has been an epic ride ever since. We are a recognised and experienced tour operator with thousands of satisfied customers, many of whom have already done our renown ‘Vespa Tours’ several times in different regions.
We literally go the extra mile for our clients and partners. We deliver well-paced, genuine Italian tours in every region to let you experience Italy’s treasures at its finest. We carefully plan and oversee what we create and adapt if necessary. Furthermore our Vespa’s, Fiats and eBikes are in perfection condition to ensure you have a safe and pleasant journey throughout your holiday.
Our concept is very simple: from the moment you touch Italian soil, we make sure every next step becomes memorable. From the Vespa to the restaurant, from the Fiat to the winery, everything we offer and suggest is as we would like it to be. We want you to do nothing but fully relax … just keep your attention on the road!
It’s not just about what we do, but it’s also about the who we are and the why we do that our clients remain happy and return, and our partners continue to work with us.
At the core of Kalitumba, we are a culture of thinkers and do-ers. We aren’t just a tour operator whose end deliverable is merely a hotel with a rental service. It’s not our day job, it’s our mission.
For us, success is measured by your positive experience, not by the size of our wallets. Long-lasting relationships are golden to us, which is typical in the Italian culture. We strive to surround ourselves with smart and passionate team members, partners and clients who inspire us and get the best out of us every single day. We nurture these relationships by working in an honest and professional way.
We want our clients to see Italy through the eyes of a local and to experience the authentic renown Italian lifestyle during their brief, but unforgettable journey.
We owe a huge ‘grazie mille’ to our regular customers for joining us on our fantastic journey since the very beginning, for repeatedly doing our tours in the different regions, and to keep believing in what we do. We hope you will continue to be part of the Kalitumba story.
Thank you!
Tour operator specialist and DMC in Italy with focus on Vespa, E-bike and Fiat 500 Cabrio tours, ope
