FAQ

Our food and wine tasting adventures, cooking lessons, excursions and custom planned activities run all year long.

April through October are the busiest months, while December through March are great months to visit Rome as there are shorter museum queues and locations are less crowded.

August is a tricky month, during which locals leave for summer vacation. For this reason a number of venues, restaurants and businesses close for vacation. Casa Mia runs tours, classes and custom planned activities during the first half of August, but advises travelers that choice of tastings and places to visit may be limited.

Our tours run rain or shine. The majority of the places that we visit during our food and wine adventures can shelter small groups during a downpour. In the event of a rainy day, we suggest wearing waterproof shoes and bringing a fold-up umbrella or one provided by the hotel concierge.

Of course! Our experiences can accommodate eating restrictions. Italy is well-geared to welcome travelers with food aversions and intolerances. Please notify us upon booking.

Casa Mia makes experiences entertaining, educational and culturally stimulating. Every private tour offered is led by a local expert, and designed to spark meaningful conversation and understanding.

Casa Mia always provides a contact number where your guide/cook can be reached. Please make sure you inform your guide/cook that you are running late.
Delays beyond 15 minutes are not made up at the end of the tour/class.
No-shows are treated as last minute cancellations and are non-refundable.

The exact location of your meeting point is provided immediately upon confirmation of your booking. We hold all of our activities within easy reach of public transportation.

We encourage it! Our experienced food tour guides enjoy involving children in the tasting experience, focusing explanations and discussions directly for the younger travelers in your party.

As far as cooking lessons, we can customize the experience to allow hands-on for them as well, however children under the age of 10 years will not be allowed to use sharp objects, blades or hot kitchenware, nor will they be allowed to run around the kitchen unsupervised.

Tipping of guides, cooks and drivers is discretionary based on your satisfaction with the service. Guides and cooks usually receive a gratuity of 20% while drivers receive a gratuity of between 10% and 20%. 

We recommend leaving a 10% tip at restaurants. At the coffee bar counter, it is customary to leave 20 cents to thank the barista for your espresso. 

Absolutely! Our certified sommeliers will travel with a selection of wines and accoutrements to your vacation rental, provided that the vacation rental is within the city limits.

Yes! We offer vineyard visits in the regions of Lazio (the Roman countryside), Campania (Naples and the Amalfi Coast), Piemonte (Langhe, Monferrato and beyond), Sicily, Tuscany (Chianti, Bolgheri, and beyond) and Emilia-Romagna (the hills of Parma and beyond).

We do! We offer hands-on lessons in our cooks’ private homes, where you are welcomed like family. Classes culminate with a full Italian meal with wine, in the company of your host.

Yes, we certainly do! After a brief chat, we design a detailed and personalized itinerary for you, based on your travel preferences and the areas you’ll be visiting.

Our food and wine tasting adventures, cooking lessons, excursions and custom planned activities run all year long.

April through September are the busiest months, while December through March are great months to visit Rome as there are shorter museum queues and locations are less crowded.

August is a tricky month, during which locals leave for summer vacation. For this reason many venues, restaurants and businesses close for vacation. Casa Mia runs tours, classes and custom planned activities during the first half of August, but advises travelers that choice of tastings and places to visit may be limited.

Our tours run rain or shine. The majority of the places that we visit during our food and wine adventures can shelter small groups during a downpour. In the event of a rainy day, we suggest wearing waterproof shoes and bringing a fold-up umbrella or one provided by the hotel concierge.

Of course! Our experiences can accommodate eating restrictions. Italy is well-geared to welcome travelers with food aversions and intolerances. Please notify us upon booking.

Casa Mia makes experiences entertaining, educational and culturally stimulating. Every private tour offered is led by a local expert, and designed to spark meaningful conversation and understanding.

Casa Mia always provides a contact number where your guide/cook can be reached. Please make sure you inform your guide/cook that you are running late.
Delays beyond 15 minutes are not made up at the end of the tour/class.
No-shows are treated as last minute cancellations and are non-refundable.

The exact location of your meeting point is provided immediately upon booking. We hold all of our activities within easy reach of public transportation.

We encourage it! Our experienced guides enjoy involving children in the tasting experience, focusing explanations and discussions directly for the younger travelers in your party.

Tipping of guides and drivers is discretionary based on your satisfaction with the service. Guides usually receive a gratuity of 20% while drivers receive a gratuity of between 10% and 20%. 

We recommend leaving a 10% tip at restaurants. At the coffee bar counter, it is customary to leave 20 cents to thank the barista for your espresso. 

Absolutely! Our certified sommeliers will travel with a selection of wines and accoutrements to your vacation rental, provided that the vacation rental is within the city limits.

Yes! We offer vineyard visits in the regions of Lazio (the Roman countryside), Campania (Naples and the Amalfi Coast), Sicily, Tuscany (Chianti, Bolgheri, and beyond) and Emilia-Romagna (the hills of Parma and beyond).

We do! We offer hands-on lessons in our cooks’ private homes, where you are welcomed like family. Classes culminate with a full Italian meal with wine, in the company of your host.

Yes, we certainly do! After a brief chat, we design a detailed and personalized food itinerary for you, based on your food preferences and the areas you’ll be visiting.

When you confirm your booking and complete payment you will receive an order confirmation containing booking details, the meeting point, the name and contact of your guide/cook as well as directions for how to arrive with available public transportation means.

To confirm your Casa Mia Tours experience, we require payment in full upon booking.

In the event that you need to cancel an activity with Casa Mia Tours, please give us as much notice as possible. 

Should a cancellation become necessary, please inform Casa Mia Tours immediately in writing via email and request a written confirmation of your cancellation. Upon receipt or your request, Casa Mia Tours will make best efforts to rebook this experience for you based on availability. In the event this is not possible, the following cancellation schedule and fees will be followed as outlined below.
● 100% refund is issued for cancellations up to 45 days prior to tour date
● 30% refund is issued for cancellations up to 15 days prior to tour date
● Cancellations made 14 days or less of tour date are non refundable

Some private service providers (drivers, babysitters, etc.) we work with apply varying cancellation policies; customers will be informed of this prior to booking.

Note: We highly recommend purchasing travel insurance in order to safeguard your party from unwanted cancellations and fees that may incur.

Gift certificates are available for all our food and wine tasting adventures, cooking classes, and excursions, and make a tasty present for anyone who is visiting or is living in Italy.

Casa Mia Tours does not take any responsibility and we are not liable for any damage caused through the use of services purchased with Casa Mia Tours, be it indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages (including but not limited to loss, theft or damage to any personal belongings). We recommend that all of our customers take out necessary insurance with a specialist insurance provider.

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Our food and wine tasting adventures, cooking lessons, and excursions are intended for private parties. Our time and knowledge is for you and yours only, since we believe that private tours are the best way to see, taste and experience the cities we service, at your pace, to your taste.
Should you wish to join a group tour, we suggest checking out this trusted company we partner with.

We accept payments with credit cards, Zelle© or with a check mailed to our US office.

We owe it to our clients and readers to be transparent and unbiased, therefore, no sponsored posts appear on the Casa Mia Tours blog, sorry. Opinions are our own.

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Most meats and fresh produce are prohibited. Processed and packaged foods are allowed, with the exception of those that contain meat products. Some aged and hard cheeses are allowed. Please refer to this government page or call the FDA at 1-800-216-7331. If outside the US, call +1-301-575-0156.

This website lists regulations regarding personal food imports into the UK.