untold italy small group tours

Umbria Summer Tour Overview

Does your heart skip a little beat when you see photos of hilltop towns surrounded by fields of flowers in full bloom? This is the sight you’ll see when you join us on a tour of beautiful Umbria in summer. Nestled between Rome and Tuscany, Umbria is an ancient region where traditions and rituals have endured for centuries thanks to its proud and passionate people who ensure their continuity.

Our early Summer Umbria itinerary is a fun and immersive trip of discovery that will open your eyes to the region some are calling the “new Tuscany”. Starting in charming Orvieto, we continue to the heart of the region to discover its famous hill towns and Medieval cities.

Visit family vineyards, some of the prettiest towns in Italy, Assisi, Perugia (the home of Italian chocolate), and enjoy gastronomic experiences including making pasta, cheese tasting, long lunches under the Umbrian sun and a gorgeous floral festival. All in the company of fellow food and wine loving travelers with a passion for Italian culture.

tour umbria spello infiorata flower festival

Umbria bursts in to color in early Summer when huge fields of flowers sway in the breeze. The hills and countryside are bursting with new life and blooms and it’s the perfect time to relax outdoors and enjoy aperitivo accompanied by the region’s tastiest cured meats and olives.

Umbrian olive oil and wine are celebrated throughout Italy and of course their famous dishes include mouthwatering porchetta and local truffles. We’ll try them all on our Umbria summer tour, and toast our new discoveries with a glass or two of local wine.

So come and join us as we taste our way through hidden Umbria, bite by bite.

Upcoming Umbria in Spring Tours

 

Umbria Summer Tour Highlights

Delicious Umbrian food and wine • Picturesque hilltop towns • Medieval cities • Truffle hunt and cooking class • Local wine and olive oil tasting • Artisan ceramics • Annual flower festival

perugia piazza summer tour of umbria
spello infiorata preparations umbria summer tour
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What Our Guests Say About Untold Italy Tours

Magical! Beautiful! I’m a bit of a dreamer and I just got lost there last night. Lost in this beauty.. Magnificent! I just loved it – view video

Vicki / Australia

We have been to Italy several times, but never like this. It has been a wonderful experience – view video

Pati / USA

Aside from every little surprise around every corner, I’ll remember Cosimo and the genuine excitement and pride that come out of him and his storytellingview video

Steve / USA

Umbria Summer Tour Itinerary

orvieto cathedral

Day One

Arrive in ORVIETO

Welcome to charming Orvieto! This beautiful hilltop town is famous for its majestic cathedral and just over an hour on the train from Rome. We meet this morning in beautiful Orvieto and have a chance to get to know the rest of our group and your host Olivia over a delicious lunch at a local trattoria. Get a full debriefing on what’s in-store during our week together as we savour local wines with tasty cured meats and local Umbra (Umbrian) pasta together.

Later we meet our local guide for a guided walking tour through this fascinating hill-top town. Discover Orvieto’s Etruscan past and magnificent cathedral plus many other curiosities. After taking in the sights, enjoy some free time to wander, snap some photos or do a little shopping, before we whisk you away to our charming countryside relais.

Our very special accommodation is nestled in the Umbrian hills, surrounded by silvery olive groves not far from Todi. Our home base is a converted castle that dates back to at least the 13th century and is now an elegant countryside manor. Enjoy some time to freshen up before we relax over aperitivo together at the hotel with a refreshing spritz or one of Orvieto’s famed white wines.

  • Hotel: Charming 4 star relais (luxury country house)
  • Meals: Lunch with wine, Welcome aperitivo
  • Activities: Guided sightseeing tour of Orvieto
umbria ceramics

Day Two

CERAMICS & OLIVE OIL

As you sip your morning caffè (coffee), do you ever wonder who made the cup that you’re drinking from? This morning, we’ll find out as we head to the home of Umbrian ceramics – Deruta.

Here we visit an artisan’s workshop and discover the stories and techniques needed to make their beautiful ceramics. Afterwards, you have free time to explore some of the beautiful boutiques and do some shopping. Laden with beautifully crafted souvenirs and gifts, we enjoy a drive through the countryside towards our special lunch stop at an organic family-run winery and olive oil grove.

We tour the groves and learn how they make extra virgin olive oil and their delicious wine using indigenous Umbrian varieties before experiencing a tasting and delicious light lunch. Enjoy local goat cheeses, and pork and wild boar salumi from the winery’s favorite artisanal producer just over the hill.

This afternoon, you have some time to relax at our relais swimming, reading a book, or unwinding in your room breathing in that fresh countryside air.

In the evening we visit a beautiful hilltop town – Todi. Enjoy some free time soaking in the scenes, snap some photos, or why not do some shopping. There’s a wonderful shop that sells handmade linens in the main square. Later on, we meet for a delicious feast at a local restaurant – bring your appetite because it’s sure to impress!

  • Hotel: Charming 4 star relais (luxury country house)
  • Meals: Breakfast, Light lunch at winery, Dinner with matching wines
  • Activities: Deruta visit, Winery visit with tastings, Todi town visit
umbria cheese

Day Three

a perfect pair: wine & Cheese

There’s cheese and then there’s tasting minutes old cheese. Prepare for a morning of mind-blowing deliciousness as we taste perhaps the freshest cheese of our lives! This morning begins with a visit to a nearby family-run dairy farm that make truly artisanal raw milk goat cheese. We learn about the production and how the taste of each cheese changes depending on the seasons over a degustation of soft, semi-soft and hard cheeses.

Sit back and relax over a light lunch with freshly house-made bread, local wine, cheeses and seasonal fruits. We return to our relais during the warmest part of the day so you have time to enjoy the pool, or why not book in at the Wellness Center for a rejuvenating massage.

This afternoon, we head off to visit another local wine maker in the heart of Umbria’s wine producing region. Today’s winery is at a small family run winery that follow biodynamic principles just outside of Montefalco. Enjoy a taste of indigenous Umbrian wines including, of course, a Montefalco Sagrantino, all enjoyed against the backdrop of the stunning green hills and vineyards.

Then it’s onwards to nearby Montefalco – home to some of Umbria’s best wines. You have a chance to explore, shop for wine, or bunker down at one of the town’s many excellent enotecce for an aperitivo. This evening, we meet for a delicious traditional dinner in Montefalco. One thing is for sure- pasta and Sagrantino wine are on the menu!

  • Meals: Breakfast, Light lunch at cheese farm, Dinner with matching wines
  • Activities: Cheese farm visit with tastings, Winery visit with tastings, Montefalco visit
  • Accommodation: Charming 4 star relais (luxury country house)
trevi olive trees

Day Four

TRUFFLES AND MEDIEVAL TOWNS

Today we are off to one of Italy’s prettiest villages – Trevi. This ancient town is known as the city of oil and is also famed for its celery. We arrive for a unique truffle hunting experience in the forest with trained dogs and our private expert local truffle hunter in search of black truffles.

After spending some time outdoors and hopefully finding a truffle or two, you’ve surely built up an appetite! Truffle is definitely on the special menu our hosts have prepared, so you can savor these decadent fruits of the earth. Unwind after a long lunch with some free time to stroll around beautiful Trevi and snap some pictures – the view is amazing.

On our way back to our Relais, we stop at another of Umbria’s stunning towns – Bevagna. This medieval village is truly lovely and different to the others we have so far visited as its completely flat! You’ll have a chance to wander its pretty laneways before heading back to our cosy relais for a relaxing evening. Have some time to rest before we enjoy a delicious dinner at the hotel restaurant.

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch with wine, Dinner with wine
  • Activities: Truffle hunt, Trevi town visit, Bevagna town visit
  • Accommodation: Charming 4 star relais (luxury country house)
assisi umbria

Day Five

A COOKING CLASS & ASSISI

We bid farewell to our countryside relais and pack our bags for the final part of our stay in beautiful Umbria. Today we head towards UNESCO heritage listed Assisi. But before exploring, we roll up our sleeves and learn how to cook some of the fantastic Umbrian dishes we have already enjoyed.

Our cooking class is held at a local’s restored home dating back to the 1600s. Our host is a local woman born and bred just outside Assisi and she can’t wait to share Umbria’s Cucina Rustica with us. We enjoy a class of wine and a walk through our host’s beautiful herb garden before donning an apron to learn how to make ravioli, stringozzi, or perhaps lasagne along with some other traditional dishes. We’ll relax afterwards taking in the views and enjoying our well deserved three course meal.

Afterwards, we check-in at our beautiful agriturismo immersed in the green countryside of Umbria. Have some time to freshen up and relax before we head out on this afternoon’s special adventure.

A trip to Umbria would not be complete without exploring UNESCO heritage listed Assisi. This is the birthplace of St Francis, the patron saint of Italy, and it is celebrated for its Medieval architecture and resplendent Basilica.

We meet our private guide for a walking tour through town including, of course, a visit to the St Francis Basilica comprised of two equally beautiful churches. Afterwards, we continue onto a local trattoria for a delicious meal together with local wine.

 

  • Hotel: Charming 4 star agriturismo
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch with wine, Dinner with wine
  • Activities: Cooking class and Assisi guided tour
perugia

Day Six

Perugia & enchanting Spello

Today we get to know the capital of Umbria, Perugia, with a delightful food and history walking tour. We meet our local guide who shows us around the best culinary spots in town and recounts the stories, legends and tales of Perugia. Bring your appetites – we hear porchetta is on the menu!

After a few hours of eating our way around town and discovering some of the most famous sights in the city, you have some free time to explore this pretty city on your own.

In the afternoon, we have some time torelax back at the agriturismo and enjoy a swim or massage at the wellness center before our evening in magical Spello.

A true jewel of the region, we have the opportunity to explore the town on the eve of the Infiorata festival. After a short orientation tour with our local guide, you have some free time to explore the town.

We meet again for a wonderful dinner at one of Spello’s best restaurants and enjoy local mouthwatering pasta dishes and meat courses paired with the region’s best wine. As we wander through town after dinner, we pass by locals who begin creating their incredible flower tapestries. Starting from 9pm, they work all through the night. Get a glimpse of how much work there is to do as the locals band together – all will be revealed in the morning!

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (included in food tour), Dinner with wine
  • Activities: Perugia walking food tour, Spello guided tour
  • Hotel: Charming 4 star agriturismo
spello infiorata

Day Seven

A FESTIVAL OF FLOWERS

You will never forget our final day in Umbria. It’s an early start so we don’t miss the region’s most famous festival – Spello’s Infiorata.

The Infiorata is a celebration of flower carpets created by the town’s people over two days to celebrate the Catholic feast of Corpus Domini. Around 15 million flowers are used by some 60 groups of Spellani to create astoundingly beautiful floral carpets laid out in the street. The work starts the day before and the teams work all through the night as the carpets need to be ready in the morning for judging and before the petals wilt.

To see the carpets in all their glory we arrive in Spello before the crowds arrive and the flower carpets are trampled on. If an early start is not on your vacation agenda, not to worry, we’ll all meet up back at the agriturismo.

You can never see too many hilltop towns in Umbria, so in the afternoon we journey to ancient Gubbio. Here we meet up with our private guide to learn about the pre-Roman Umbri and Etruscan civilizations as we admire the town and its winding Medieval streets.

After our walking through town, we relax for a delicious farewell lunch together to celebrate the beauty of Umbria and our time together. Satisfied after a long, relaxing lunch we return back to Perugia where you will be dropped at the city center railway station to continue your onward journey in Italy. Ciao, for now!

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch with wine
  • Activities: Spello Infiorata visit and Gubbio guided tour
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Umbria in Summer Tour Inclusions

We have strived to make our Umbria tour as all inclusive as possible with no hidden surprises. Included in your tour are:

  • 6 nights in charming 4 star accommodation 
  • 4 guided walking tours with expert local guides
  • Unique experiences: Cooking class, 2 winery visits, truffle hunt, olive grove visit and tasting, and gourmet walking tour in Perugia, Spello Infiorata flower festival
  • Meals: 6 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 1 aperitivo and 2 dinners as specified in the itinerary, wine and bottled water is included with meals other than breakfast
  • Luxury air-conditioned mini-bus
  • Tips and gratuities for drivers and guides
  • Group departure transfers

Umbria in Summer Tour FAQ

Accommodation on Tour

We have two wonderful accommodation stops our Umbria summer tour. Close to Todi we stay in a luxury relais, a former castle in the countryside with buckets of charm. Our home base near Spello is a gorgeous 4 star agriturismo. Both properties have swimming pools and wellness centers for you to enjoy.

Meet Your Host

Olivia is an Australian woman living in Rome, with a passion for the land of la dolce vita, cooking and wine. Her super powers include finding the most charming villages and delectable cheeses.

Olivia is your local host that ensures your trip is memorable for all the right reasons.

Arrivals and Departures

Our tour begins at Orvieto train station at 11am where we will collect your luggage. Our activities conclude in the afternoon of our final day in Perugia at around 3pm. Inquire if you would like to add additional nights to your stay or need assistance planning transfers.

Upcoming Tour Dates

  • 2024 – May 27 – June 2 – book now
  • Exclusive tours available on request for groups of 6-10 – inquire

Booking information

  • Price from $US 4,790 per person based on twin share accommodation
  • A supplement applies for solo travelers wanting a private room
  • 30% deposit required to reserve your spot
  • Cancel for a full refund up to 120 days before departure
  • Read complete terms and conditions
GENERAL TOUR FAQ

Discover Umbria

Hidden in plain sight to the north of Rome and south of Florence, Umbria is sometimes referred to as the “new Tuscany” but this region has plenty of charm in its own right and a proud and unique culture, largely untouched by waves of conquests and immigration that influenced other Italian regions.

Umbria Travel Guide

Uncover the highlights of the region

READ THE GUIDE

Dishes from Umbria

Tastes of Umbria to try on tour

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