Finding your personal Great Escape in Italy is simple.  Take a map, close your eyes, drop your finger.  Anywhere you land is a feast for your senses.  Italy’s diversity is legendary and its treasures easy to discover, with a little help along the way.  Escape with us and we'll be your guide.

Italy is delightfully complex.  Every region has layers of history, cultural differences, food specialties, wine to steal your heart, artisans beyond compare, and a glorious landscape to take your breath away.

Escape with us and experience a country with traditional Mediterranean values and a pace of life reminiscent of the past.  We’ll visit small wineries, ancient abbeys and cathedrals, charming hill towns, archeological sites, wild sandy beaches, markets, festivals….tours as diverse as Italy itself. 

Hosting small group tours in Italy for the past fifteen years, and living in Tuscany part-time, gives me a unique perspective, and a base of knowledge and experience that only comes with time and discovery.  I would like to share with you the places, the people, and the passion I feel for this country that has changed my life.  I believe its siren song will sing its way into your soul and you, too, will be forever changed.

Great Escapes 
 

Bellagio, Santa Margherita, Venice 2016

September 5 - 13 (sold out)
 

Positano 2016

​September 24 - October 1 (sold out)

October 1 - 8 (sold out)

Positano 2017

April 29 - May 6
May 6 - May 13
September 30 - October 7 (private villa tour, sold out)


 

Spring in Positano will take us to the heart of the beautiful Amalfi Coast.  We're shaking things up a bit in 2017.  For the past five years we've based in a charming villa and we've loved it, but it's time for a change!  In 2017 we’ll spend our week together in a four star hotel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and the cliffside town of Positano.  It's perfect position in this jewel of the spectacular coast will allow us to reach the “Grande Spiaggia”, the main beach, in only a few minutes. 

It may be difficult to leave our hotel with its breathtaking views of the sea from our personal balcony, the spa and gym, the restaurant and the peaceful infinity pool, but we'll do our best!  We'll visit the Isle of Capri, the ruins of Pompeii, the maritime town of Amalfi, the beautiful gardens of Villa Cimbrone in Ravello, and much more. No driving needed as transportation will be provided from Rome to Positano and return.  

Our tour will focus on the best this area has to offer in food, wine and history.  Your small group will decide the daily itinerary according to your preferences - there is much to discover. And there is magic here.....

Tuscany - 2017

September 9 - 16

Join us in Pienza, a model Renaissance town and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our home for the week will be a charming four star hotel with beautiful views of the Southern Tuscany countryside in the Val d'Orcia.  This is the part of Tuscany you see in all the magazines and calendars, so breathtakingly beautiful.  Our week will include a winery tour and tasting, visits to Cortona (Under the Tuscan Sun) for a cooking class, Siena for amazing history, an olive farm to witness and taste the first pressing of the olives, and a visit to an incredible abbey, born in a dream.  Great food, great wine, great times.  

 

The choice is yours.  A gift to yourself or someone you love.....to create memories to last a lifetime.  Unpack your suitcase once and relax for a week.  Our escapes are for people who don't want an "everyday-organized" tour.  

Our philosophy is different.  You will not be herded around like sheep, on and off a bus every day.  Your Escape, your activities, will be personalized to your interests.  At times, we will accompany you;  at times we will direct you and give you all the details.  The trip will be yours.

Everywhere you look is inspiration for creativity and relaxation. Rest assured, on a Great Escape you will be in a breathtaking setting, in a gentle, beautiful place of history, with kind people helping you discover and explore.

Escape with us!

Gail Hecko

Italian Great Escapes

gailhecko@att.net

In U.S.:  770-992-4429

In Italy:  011 39 333-106-7919