Sipping a bottle of wine you brought back from Provence doesn’t quite taste as enticing as it did when you were basking on a boat cruising the coast in the South of France. And, while we love going to Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens to admire wildlife like lions and hippos, seeing them in their natural environment, on safari in the African bush, escalates the experience to a once-in-a-lifetime level.
Travel is less about bragging rights these days—it’s become a way to strengthen passions like cooking and painting, using landscape as inspiration and local experts as insight into a different culture.
And right here in Southwest Florida, insiders who are already stars in their field—whether that be culinary or conservation—are organizing immersive trips around the globe, so you’ll not only come back with a phone full of photos, you’ll have experiences you can add to your skill set, too.
Voyage Through France Like (and with) a Local
Lisa and Philippe Boët, the duo behind Downtown Naples French bistro Chez Boët, began hosting trips to France in 2008, starting with Bordeaux. Exploring regions where they had friends and family (Philippe is from the village of Saint-Saturnin, in Northwest France), they started curating a Rolodex of restaurants and artisans that tourists wouldn’t necessarily come across if they were visiting on their own. Each year, they spend six or seven weeks traveling around France, in addition to hosting a trip or two for groups of 12 to 14 people in locales like Champagne and Alsace, the Loire Valley, Paris and Provence, and the French Basque Country. Staying in small towns or villages, guests spend days eating their way through fine-dining establishments and tiny, family-run restaurants. In between, travelers have the chance to walk and explore. “It’s important they get a sense of this rhythm of French life, since that is, for me, one of the beauties of being in the provinces,” Lisa says.
In Reims in Champagne, you’ll sleep in one of the region’s most iconic hotels, Domaine Les Crayères, a Relais & Châteaux property, while in Alsace, guests stay in the center of Colmar at La Maison des Têtes, a Renaissance-style, 17th-century home with a traditional French brasserie lined in stained-glass windows. Authenticity is at the heart of the experience. Guests in the Loire Valley have visited Philippe’s family’s farms near Le Mans and explore stretches of Gascony, in Southwest France, that are so off the beaten path and challenging to reach (read: no train connections) that most tourists haven’t ventured there yet.
Trips range from eight to nine days for groups of 12 to 14 people; prices start at $7,600 and include all meals, hotel and ground transportation. The next trip to Pays de la Loire, in Western France, is set for September 12-22, 2024. chezboetnaples.com
Safari Through Tanzania with Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens
Tim L. Tetzlaff follows in his family’s footsteps. His parents, Larry and Nancy Jane Tetzlaff (aka Jungle Larry and Safari Jane), introduced rare animals to Caribbean Gardens and shaped the beginnings of Naples Zoo. Now, Tim continues the tradition of environmentalism and exploration as director of conservation at the zoo and by hosting African safari trips for local patrons. Along with biologist Dr. Luke Dollar (who is recognized as a National Geographic Explorer—a group of naturalists who receive funding from the Nat Geo society to support their mission), the duo act as insiders and guides on 12-day safaris in Tanzania. Anglebert Pantaleo, founder of Africa Nature Photography & Safaris, also joins for the first half to capture wildlife images for travelers to admire back home.
Trips are limited to 12 people, and surprises are sprinkled throughout as you meet with some of the zoo’s on-the-ground colleagues and take front-row seats for one of the best shows in the Serengeti: the melodic chant of the Maasai warriors, one of the local tribe’s signature ceremonies. While staying at the rustic-yet-refined Ngorongoro Crater Lodge perched on the rim of an ancient caldera, you’ll enjoy breakfast from 7,500 feet above sea level, watching hippos soaking in freshwater lakes in the distance.
The safari then heads to a remote spot on the banks of the Mara River, a scene often captured in nature documentaries. You’ll settle into one of the six tents along the river at Singita’s Mara River Tented Camp, which sits on 98,000 pristine acres in northern Tanzania, making for some of the best private game-viewing—plus lavish bush dinners beneath the stars. Since Tim has long-term relationships with park staff, guests get to interact with conservation experts and go off-road with rangers he’s known for years in Ngorongoro Crater. “Plus, the conversations in the Land Cruisers [on safari] and around drinks in the evening are profoundly rich,” Tim says. Each trip helps give back to the animals, with all Naples Zoo’s proceeds benefitting the zoo’s conservation fund to save species in the wild.
The Magnificence of Africa tour runs October 7-18, 2024 and is available for six adult couples; $33,995 per person. napleszoo.org
Dine & Cook on Chef-Led Tours through Cuba
“The beauty of my trips is that there isn’t an itinerary—no two trips are the same,” says Havana-born Gloria Jordan-Cabral, chef and owner of La Trattoria Cafe Napoli in Fort Myers. When her cousin launched a travel company in New York in 2016, Gloria tweaked the concept and started her self-operated tours to bring Southwest Floridians to her home country while supporting Cuban entrepreneurs. Working entirely with privately owned restaurants, bars and art galleries, Gloria tailors the tours based on friendships she has developed over her 80-plus visits to the island. “Cubans are living in a recycling society—almost everything is from the 1950s or older,” Gloria says. “The cars, the homes, the museums, traditional guayabera shirts—that is what you see all over, and that is what makes Cuba a unique place to travel.”
Trips of eight to 10 guests (or private groups of friends and families) stay in upscale homes run by Cuban families and visit farmers and tobacco plantations while venturing through the countryside in places like Viñales, an agricultural region in Western Cuba. Each morning over breakfast, the group discusses the day’s plans, which could include cycling to lunch at a beach like Varadero or Cayo Santa María; cooking classes and wine dinners at Gloria’s favorite restaurant in Havana, Ivan Chef Gusto; a bike tour along Old Havana’s narrow alleys; or a meal at a restaurant like Vista Al Mar along the Malecón, the coastal promenade that stretches 5 miles from the harbor in Old Havana. “Everyone wants to go to Cuba to try black beans and rice, but they discover Cuban cuisine is finer than they expected,” says Gloria, adding that she loves to see how creative her fellow Cuban chefs can get with ingredients sourced from farms since they don’t have access to affordable suppliers.
Culinary-themed trips take place two or three times a month, and this month, Napa Valley-based winemaker Hunter Boon joins the group for a wine dinner in Havana (Gloria is also in the process of creating a wine label in Napa with Hunter’s help).
Trips take place a couple times a month and include charter airfare from Fort Myers (possibility to leave from Tampa or Miami airports), visas and transport within Cuba; $1,350 for three-night trips (Saturday-Tuesday), $1,450 for four-night trips (Tuesday- Saturday), or $1,650 for week-long trips. latrattoriacafenapoli.com
Unleash Your Inner Artist in Lucca
Encased by Renaissance-era walls, the Tuscan town of Lucca is a mélange of Roman remains, Byzantine basilicas and churches, and aristocratic palaces dating back to the 15th century. During Naples-based fine artist Carmelo Blandino’s nine-day painting workshops, the cobblestoned city’s sights and sensations serve as inspiration for what’s going on your canvas. A balance of medieval and modern, Lucca is as rich in culture as in cuisine—it’s the birthplace of Puccini, and the La Bohème opera composer is honored there during an annual summer festival. For Carmelo, who was raised between Montreal in Canada and Sicily, Lucca is a recent discovery, but the Italian painter considers the city a treasure—especially for artists’ imaginations. “I take travelers into my world and want them to understand what formed me as an artist: Italy’s Baroque architecture, scents wafting through the street, flowers hanging overhead—that’s why I paint what I paint,” Carmelo says.
An immersive take on the acrylic floral painting workshops he hosts at Bonita Springs’ Center for Performing Arts, the trip takes seven participants through six days of art and culture exploration, with a home base in an intimate studio at the 17th-century villa Casa Berti. Mornings start with coffee and watching the sunrise over the rolling hills before heading to the easels for demonstrations on basic techniques and individual coaching.
Time in the studio is broken up with visits to wine cellars like Enoteca Vanni and dinners at Michelin-starred spots like Buca di Sant’Antonio, where you’ll sample some of Lucca’s traditional Lucchese cuisine, like minestrone-style farro soup and homemade, yellow tortelli topped with meat ragu. Back at the villa, local chef Fabrizio Magnani will prepare nightly aperitivi and host pasta- and pizza-making classes with ingredients the group shopped for at the market.
No art experience is required, and students work at their pace while Carmelo offers tools and guidance for everyone to evolve as artists. Guests work on several canvases throughout the trip. “I want people to leave knowing that they are an artist—they just have to work at it,” Carmelo says.
Trips take place around late April and early September and include three meals a day, roundtrip transportation from the Lucca train station and a guided tour of Lucca; $6,100 for participants, $3,100 for companions. blandinomasterworkshops.com
