Since 2006

You'll come for the food.
You'll stay for the people.

Imagine sitting at a long table in Tuscany, laughing with people you met three days ago but already feel like family. That's not our brochure. That's Tuesday.

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1,248+
Five-Star Reviews
20
Years Operating
Hall of Fame
TripAdvisor
38%
Return Rate
6
Countries
What Happens Here

You'll arrive as a guest.
You'll leave as family.

There's a kitchen in Tuscany where a woman named Maria rolls pasta the same way her grandmother taught her. She doesn't do this for tourists. She does it for the people Michael brings to her table — the way she'd feed anyone who came through her door.

That's the feeling. Not a performance. Not a show. Just someone opening their home because that's what you do for family. By your second day, you'll stop feeling like a visitor. By your last night, you won't want to leave.

“I've traveled to 40 countries. This was the first time I felt like I belonged somewhere.”

— Sarah M., Tuscany & Amalfi Coast, 2025
[ Hands making pasta together at a family table ]
Our Journeys

Twelve Ways to Come Home Different

Every trip is built around the people you'll meet — not the sights you'll see.

[ Maria's kitchen, flour-dusted hands ]
Most Popular

Tuscany & Amalfi Coast

10 Days12 MaxFrom $5,495

Maria will teach you her grandmother's pasta. Marco will pour wine from vines his family has tended for four generations. By day three, they'll greet you by name.

Family KitchensVineyard DinnersAmalfi by Boat
See the Full Story
[ Francisco's quinta, Douro terraces ]
New for 2027

Portugal: Lisbon to the Douro

8 Days10 MaxFrom $4,895

Francisco will open a bottle he's been saving and tell you the story behind it. The fishermen in Nazaré will show you how they've pulled from the Atlantic for generations. You'll leave with friends, not souvenirs.

Pastry with AnaPort at Francisco'sAtlantic Fishing
See the Full Story
[ San Sebastián, pintxos, warm light ]
Limited Dates

Spain: Basque Country & Barcelona

9 Days10 MaxFrom $5,195

The woman at La Boquería who saves the best tomatoes for CDV groups. The family in San Sebastián whose pintxos recipe hasn't changed in 80 years. You'll meet them all.

Pintxos with LocalsMarket MorningsRooftop Paella
See the Full Story
[ Dalmatian coast, konoba, warm evening ]
Yacht Option

Croatia: Coast & Islands

8 Days12 MaxFrom $5,795

The konoba owner whose grandfather built the stone walls. The captain who knows every hidden cove. The truffle hunter who brings his dog and his daughter. Croatia connects through the sea and the shore.

Island KonobasTruffle HuntingCrew Dinners
See the Full Story
The Real Question

You're investing the same
either way. What does it buy you?

At this price point, you're not choosing between luxury and budget. You're choosing a philosophy.

01

Their "small group" is 24 people

Our maximum is 18 — and everyone fits at one table

02

A professional chef demonstrates while you watch

You're in a family kitchen, cooking side by side with the people who've made this dish for generations

03

A scheduled winery visit, a tasting menu, move along

Dinner at the owner's table — as their guest, not a booking

04

Marble lobbies, white-glove room service

A farmhouse where the owner pours your wine and asks about your kids

05

Excluded meals, upsold excursions, shop-steered tourist traps

If your family hosted you abroad, would they sell you add-ons? Hand you a bill at dinner? Take you somewhere you'd get ripped off? Neither would we.

06

You come home with photos of what you saw

You come home different — with people who remember your name

Other tours show you a country.We connect you with its peopleand somewhere between the first shared mealand the last glass of wine, something shifts.

You stop being a tourist. You stop being a guest.You become part of something.

Our guests don't come home saying ‘the hotel was nice.’They come home saying ‘I need to tell you about Maria.’

Most tour companies don't even track whether guests come back. We do. On any given trip, 4 out of 10 people around the table have been here before. They didn't come back for a new destination. They came back for the people. And every year, the number grows.

38%
return guests, 2026
In Their Words

1,248 Reviews. Every One Real.

★★★★★
This wasn't luxury. It was real. The families, the kitchens, the conversations — I haven't stopped thinking about it since I came home.
JR
James R.
Tuscany & Amalfi · Oct 2025
★★★★★
We've traveled to 40+ countries. CDV is the only operator we've repeated — four times. When Maria hugged us and said 'you're home,' I knew why.
DK
David K.
Return Guest · Since 2019
★★★★★
I went alone. I came home with a family in Portugal. Francisco still sends me wine for my birthday. That doesn't happen on other tours.
LP
Laura P.
Portugal · May 2025
★★★★★
On the last night, the whole village came out. We danced until midnight with people we'd known for five days but felt like we'd known forever.
RS
Rachel S.
Sicily · Sep 2025
★★★★★
My husband is not a group-tour person. By day two he was helping Marco prune vines and learning Italian curse words. He's already asked when we can go back.
KM
Karen M.
Tuscany · Jun 2025
★★★★★
The gaucho didn't perform for us. He invited us into his day. We herded cattle, we grilled together, we sat under the stars. My son still talks about him.
PH
Paul H.
Argentina · Mar 2025
5.0
Average Rating
Top 0.004%
TripAdvisor Global
38%
Repeat Guests
Six Countries, One Family

The People Who'll Welcome You Home

Maria in Tuscany. Francisco in the Douro. The fisherman in Sicily who catches your dinner that morning. They're not vendors — they're the reason people come back.

Featured

Italy

Tuscany · Amalfi Coast · Sicily · Venice
4 journeys

Portugal

Lisbon · Douro Valley · Algarve
3 journeys

Spain

Barcelona · Basque Country · Andalusia
2 journeys

Croatia

Dubrovnik · Split · Istria
2 journeys

Argentina

Buenos Aires · Mendoza
1 journey

Uruguay

Montevideo · Colonia
1 journey
The CDV Difference

Not a tour company.
A different way to travel.

Nine things we do that no one else does — not because they can't, but because it takes twenty years of relationships to earn the right.

Truly Exclusive Experiences

Moments you can't book anywhere else — because they only happen when someone trusts you enough to open their door.

Truly All-Inclusive

Every meal, every glass of wine, every experience. The price we quote is the price you pay. No surprises.

Boutique & Family-Run Stays

Places where the owner knows your name by morning. No chains. No lobbies. Just homes with character and warmth.

Truly Unique Locations

Beyond the guidebook, into living rooms. Places only twenty-year relationships can unlock.

Small Groups, Always

12–18 guests, never more. Small enough that everyone fits at one table. That's not a limitation — it's the whole point.

No Shop-Steering

Zero kickbacks. Zero commissions. When we recommend something, it's because we genuinely love it — not because we get a cut.

Live the Local Life

Become part of traditions, not a spectator. You don't watch someone make cheese in Parma — you make it with them.

Farm to Table, Every Meal

Every ingredient from families we know by name. Not a farm-to-table concept — just the way they've always cooked.

No Surprise Costs

Accommodation, every meal with wine, all experiences, transfers, gratuities. What we quote is what you pay.

Close your eyes.
Now imagine being there.

Two minutes of what it actually feels like when the table is set, the wine is poured, and someone you just met tells you to sit — because you're home now.

2:47
Stories From the Table

In Their Own Words

Our guests write about what happened to them — not what they saw, but what they felt. These are their stories.

[ Diane at a Tuscan table ]
Diane K. · Tuscany · Return Guest Since 2019

Why I Came Back Four Times

The first time, I thought I was booking a cooking tour. By the second day, I realized I'd found something I didn't know I was looking for...

Read Diane's Story
[ Tom with winemaker ]
Tom R. · Portugal · 2025

The Bottle Francisco Saved

He pulled it from the back of the cellar and said he'd been waiting for the right group. Then he told us the story of his grandfather planting those vines...

Read Tom's Story
[ Laura on the Adriatic ]
Laura P. · Croatia · 2025

The Captain Who Became My Friend

On the last night, the captain anchored in a cove he said he only shows people he trusts. We swam, and he told us about growing up on this coast...

Read Laura's Story
[ Mark in a Basque kitchen ]
Mark & Julie S. · Spain · 2024

The Night We Almost Didn't Leave

The dinner was supposed to end at 10. At midnight, we were still at the table, and the family had brought out guitars. Julie looked at me and said...

Read Mark's Story
[ Elena gathering olives ]
Elena G. · Tuscany & Sicily · 2025

What My Hands Remember

I can still feel the dough. Two months later, I made Maria's pici for my daughter's birthday. It wasn't the same, but my hands remembered...

Read Elena's Story
[ Flour-dusted hands, fresh pasta, rustic table ]
From Their Kitchens to Yours

Bring the feeling home.

Recipes taught to us by someone you'll meet on your trip — passed from grandmother to granddaughter, now shared with you.

ItalianPortugueseSpanishCroatianPastaSeafoodDesserts
Browse Recipes
Where in the World

Six Countries. Twelve Journeys.

Click a destination to meet the people who'll welcome you.

[ Interactive animated map — destination pins with hover previews ]
Italy
Portugal
Spain
Croatia
Argentina
Uruguay

Your seat at the table is waiting.

Somewhere right now, Maria is rolling pasta. Francisco is opening a bottle. A fisherman in Sicily is pulling in the morning catch. They don't know your name yet — but they will.