Feast Travel

20/05/2024

A few weeks ago, you may remember from my Instagram stories videos from La Lamparata - an experience of fishing for anchovies at night. I wrote about it for my newsletter on Substack called Tante Belle Cose. Click the link in the bio to read it. Also, how gorgeous are these photos by ? ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
📷 ❤️ 🇮🇹

20/05/2024

I've been visiting and writing about some pretty spectacular places in Cilento, just south of the Amalfi Coast, but with a fraction of the tourism. You can read about them here and if you want to visit, let me know. :)

Part 1 concerns Palinuro, the most beautiful white sand beaches and turquoise sea. This was the site of the very first Club Med and was THE place to be from the 1950s to the 80s: https://www.danielleoteri.com/p/part-1-paradise-lost-in-palinuro?r=1mn2w

Part 2 is about La Lamparata, a night of fishing for anchovies followed by a midnight feast on a beach that can only be reached by boat. https://www.danielleoteri.com/p/part-2-la-lamparata-a-night-to-remember?r=1mn2w

Thanks to Jessica Scranton for the beautiful photographs.

08/05/2024

I spend much time thinking about over-tourism and find it fascinating how places touted as the best or most beautiful in Italy are reliably the ones filled with commissionable hotels and activities and services available in English. Meanwhile, the most beautiful place in Italy is inexpensive, uncrowded, has delicious food, and is the very definition of authentic. And nobody is there. I wrote about Palinuro for my newsletter on Substack.

Exploring Timeless Wonders Along the Southern Coast of Cilento

26/04/2024

Exploring the southern edge of Cilento. Photos by ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
🇮🇹 ❤️

20/03/2024

The most common question we hear is what to pack for a 10 day trip to Italy. Here's our guide with links to specific clothing items for your Italy capsule wardrobe.

Once you’ve chosen your destinations in Italy and booked your hotels and tours, you will no doubt begin to stress about what to pack. A quick internet search will send you down a rabbit hole with advice on the necessary Italian travel essentials, from the best shoes to buy or pickpocket-safe bags ...

02/03/2024

Are you planning an Italy trip for 2024 or 2025? Rome hotels are already booked solid for June and July, and the Amalfi Coast, even in October, is heavily booked!

You must plan far ahead if the classic destinations are on your list. If you're interested in getting off the beaten path, there's much more room for adventure and spontaneity, but you'll need advice for selecting the right places.

To help, I'm hosting a series of free Zoom classes in March called Essential Insights. This is an opportunity to skip the confusing parts of trip planning and avoid common mistakes so that you can plan the most amazing Italy trip possible.
Are you planning an Italy trip for 2024 or 2025? Rome hotels are already booked solid for June and July, and the Amalfi Coast, even in October, is heavily booked!

You must plan far ahead if the classic destinations are on your list. If you're interested in getting off the beaten path, there's much more room for adventure and spontaneity, but you'll need advice for selecting the right places.

To help, I'm hosting a series of free Zoom classes in March called Essential Insights. This is an opportunity to skip the confusing parts of trip planning and avoid common mistakes so that you can plan the most amazing Italy trip possible.

Join us March 4, 5, and 6th on Zoom.

To register: https://www.feasttravel.com/italy-destinations

21/02/2024

Last October Jenny Kroik hosted a magical artists’ retreat at

Several guests were working professional artists while others keep art as their passion or hobby. A few were absolutely beginners.

With fabulous food and wine to accompany a new adventure every day, plus lots of time to draw and paint, each guest told us what a special experience it was for them.

So we’re doing it again this May with some adjustments to the itinerary to surprise and delight our returning guests.

If you’re thinking about joining us and would like to learn more, join us on Leap Day, February 29 at 8 PM EST on Zoom. Hosted by Jenny and Danielle .oteri from Feast Travel, you’ll have a chance to ask questions and see if this is the right experience for you. Rumor has it there may be a discount code, offered to those attending the Zoom.

See the link to register in our bio.
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20/02/2024

Have you ever been to Herculaneum? These scrolls, carbonized by the same eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii nearly two millennia ago may soon be read!

How AI may cause a renaissance of the written word

01/02/2024

Deadline to register for our Spring Food & Wine Workshop is February 5th! 🌿🇮🇹 ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
❤️ 🇮🇹

17/01/2024

Embark on a culinary journey in Southern Italy! 🍇🍷 Register now for our Spring Food and Wine Workshop. Limited spots are available; secure yours by February 5th! 🌞🇮🇹

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Food and wine are the best ways to fully immerse yourself in Italian culture without knowing the language. They connect us to both nature and traditions. Cooks, farmers, foragers, and winemakers are the people who can give you the most meaningful experience of Italy which is what inspired me to crea...

10/01/2024

Many people are asking if they can use AI to plan their Italy trip. Here's a detailed breakdown of the mental breakdown I almost had while reading some of the worst travel advice possible.

I keep hearing about people trying to use Chat GPT and other AI tools to plan their trip to Italy effortlessly. I decided to try it and discovered advice that made me laugh, groan, and scream at my screen a few times. The scary thing is first-time visitors couldn’t possibly know just how bad the a...

29/12/2023

Every year, I pick a few places in Italy to visit or revisit, either for research or simply for fun. This is where I plan to go in 2024.

In addition to time spent every year in Cilento and Naples, I also select a handful of places every year to visit for the first time or revisit. The list always includes places I want to learn more about on behalf of my Trip Consultation clients and also places where I can relax or learn something n...

25/12/2023

Merry Christmas! It has been an amazing year for Feast Travel and we are grateful for every one of you. 🎁🎄✨

14/12/2023

Have you been following the advent calendar in our Stories? Every day I post a favorite memory from 2023. It’s all available to view in our Highlights as well. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
❤️ 🇮🇹

20/11/2023

I was sorting through photos this evening for a highlights of 2023 reel and came across this 🔥 🔥 leopard from Pompeii. 🐾

17/11/2023

For Tante Belle Cose I wrote about the unlikely places, like the Brutalist strip mall, where you’ll find the most authentic Italian cooking. Link in Stories.

11/11/2023

Calling all fans of My Brilliant Friend! Here’s something very cool for you to discover in Naples.

There’s a beautiful old galleria across the street from the archeological museum which has been long neglected called the Galleria Principe. Built during the 1870s of glass and steel, it was an elegant covered shopping area similar to the Galeria Umberto, but over the decades it fell into disrepair and disuse. Several attempts to revitalize it went nowhere until now, and the filming of season 2 played big part in it!

Remember the scene where the friends leave the neighborhood for a walk through a wealthy neighborhood in Naples and a terrible fight breaks out? Well in the book, that happens in the Piazza dei Martiri, but the scene was instead shot in the Galleria Principe. If you visit there today you’ll find several shops, and an absolutely gorgeous literary cafe. (Seriously, if you want to know what my rich inner world looks like, it’s this place. And at night there’s a very hip new restaurant called Sustanza. But notice the vintage signage throughout the galleria, especially the Banco di Napoli — they’re all artifacts of the filming of that scene!

22/10/2023

If you want to have a beautiful life, surround yourself with art and artists. This past week has been one of noticing, appreciating, and having conversations like “oh did you see the light this morning after the clouds broke?” Thank you to all the lovely guests who participated in the first week of “Jenny Kroik’s Grand Tour. “

04/10/2023

Two volcanoes, four castles, 600 churches, and countless murals and shrines to their working class hero. Naples has always been and will always be my kind of town.

02/07/2023

There are no famous monuments in this photo, but it symbolizes everything I love about the trips we plan for our clients. This group of friends, who all now have young kids, are traveling together. One family started out in Rome and visited the Colosseum while another did a few days on the Amalfi Coast. Then they met in Salerno, where our driver picked them up and took them to a Borgo La Pietraia. We planned out five days for them, which included a beach club, a hike up a medieval castle, a boat tour of the Cilento National Park, a sunset tour of the temples at Paestum, and lots of excellent meals. Chef Mario made a birthday cake on the request of a 7 year old for her mom. And on their way back to the airport they’ll visit Pompeii with one of our best guides while the driver keeps their bags safe in the car. Everything is planned, yet it’s all laid back with plenty of time to enjoy the pool, the sunsets, and time with each other. They are seeing cultural treasures and also enjoying a real vacation. We still have some space in July and August at Borgo La Pietraia, if you would like to experience something similar. Send us a DM or an email and will show you a sample itinerary that can be modified for you.

29/06/2023

If the experience of Italy you’re seeking includes both rocky and sandy beaches, photogenic Mediterranean villages, and long bike rides through olive groves, you must visit Puglia.

26/06/2023

Sometimes life feels like a movie. Yesterday I had Sunday lunch at Antico Trattoria di Pietro, open since 1934. The original was in the village of Melito Irpino , now abandoned following a devastating earthquake in the 1960s. The “new” trattoria is in a Brutalist strip mall. A vintage car festival happening that day filled in the parking lot like props in the neorealist film forming around me. In the kitchen, Anita and Teresa were busy preparing the classic dishes of which they are faithful custodians. A gattò of potatoes and cheese, and the ragù cooked slowly over a low, thin flame. I told him how I make this myself as often as possible so important. It is to Italian Americans. Then something about that sauce and the way Anita reinforced that it must be cooked this way, just as it always has been cooked, just got to me, and I was suddenly choked up and tried to keep tears from spilling over my cheeks. Then I started laughing and crying by how deeply food made with love can touch your heart. Our wonderful friend Sarah Pompei organizes cooking classes here. If you too are the kind of person who could cry over good food, you must come here as well.

23/06/2023

On the night before the Feast of Saint John the Baptist, you collect herbs and wildflowers and put them in a pot of water and leave it outside. Saints and Spirits visit the water overnight and in the morning you wash your face with their miracles.

14/06/2023

It’s time for a little reintroduction!

We're travel designers devoted solely to Italy. Our signature is helping you discover the uncrowded, unspoiled Italy of your dreams. We plan trips for every region of Italy, but our best resources are in those places less well advertised in English-language media. 

Founder Danielle Oteri offers one-on-one trip consultation services via Zoom for self-planners who want expert advice on the best guides, sites, and restaurants. Our Bespoke Travel Planning service is a collaboration between Danielle and Arianna Scariati and our top-notch network of guides throughout Italy. 

While most of our services are conducted virtually, you can stay with us at The Borgo, a gated property overlooking the Amalfi and Cilento Coasts. We have 12 suites, a swimming pool, and an excellent restaurant making it the perfect getaway for a proper vacation paired with proximity to many of Italy's most iconic sites like Pompeii, Paestum, and Positano.

Thinking about a trip to Italy later this year or in 2024? We'd love to help.

01/06/2023

We still have 3 rooms available for Jenny Kroik’s Grand Tour, October 15-22nd. It’s a retreat for artists at any level who want to draw, paint, and be inspired in South Italy.

https://www.feasttravel.com/jenny-kroik-artist-retreat-italy

06/05/2023

We suddenly have an opening on the long sold-out in Cilento Wellness Retreat. Hosted by Dr. Jessica Drummond, this is an opportunity to rest and regenerate. Mornings begin with yoga sessions outside in the fresh mountain air, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. Guests will eat healthy food, hike in the herb-strewn mountains, and swim in the pristine waters of the Cilento National Park. The lush and peaceful environment of Borgo La Pietraia ensures deep sleep. If you’d like to join us get in touch right away! All details can be found here: https://www.feasttravel.com/cilento-wellness-retreat

04/05/2023

“We had a fabulous time on our "off the beaten path" tour of the Amalfi and Cilento coasts with Danielle Oteri. Eschewing the overcrowded tourist locations most American travelers frequent, we experienced the region's rich history and culture through expert guides at every location. Staying at the Borgo La Pietraia was a sublime experience. The views of the Tyrrhenian Sea are breathtaking. Hotel manager Ariana and talented chef Mario of the "Food" restaurant at the Borgo were warm and welcoming. Dinners there were astounding in their authenticity and artistry. Visits to the ancient ruins at Paestum and Pompeii provided a glimpse into the ancient world. When we departed the Borgo, there were hugs and kisses all around and we promised to return to this little piece of heaven in the future.”

26/04/2023

Mario is back at the Borgo and what’s best about his cooking is that he gives equal love to fancy restaurant food as he does home cooking. Case in point: Genovese, a traditional Neapolitan dish of slow cooked beef and onions served over pasta. (Our guest had requested it today for our cooking class.) Mario’s secret is to bake the onions in their skins ahead of time to enhance their sweetness and make them more digestible. Heaven over pasta.

16/04/2023

A new discovery was made at Paestum that changes our understanding of history. A new, far older temple was discovered along with a horde of its treasures. This is once in a lifetime stuff…if you’re lucky! Our first group tour of 2023 (based at ) is visiting Paestum next week!

31/03/2023

On Monday I will be one of three experts geeking out about Pompeii on a FREE livestream with Join us! ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣