The Designer Travel Experience
Who We Are
VaPiano Designer travel takes the elements of custom travel planning and raises them to a level of luxury and seamless-ness that is above and beyond anything you will experience elsewhere. We then combine our elite service, world class properties, Signature status, native expert guides, professional chauffeurs, brilliant escorts and completely personal one point of contact interaction - with singular culinary experiences designed by our own Italian chef to create an overall experience custom to each individual traveler. This additional facet opens the door to local culture in a delicious and authentic way that separates your experience from that of any other traveler.
Our clients receive special perks such as luggage services, around the clock travel assistance, expert guidance and recommendations, and a personalized travel itinerary to bring with you on your trip.
“VaPiano artfully blends luxury travel with authentic local experiences ”
Robert Gandini
Award Winning Europe Expert, Italian Citizen, France/UK/Spain and Italy Guide, and Owner
I am the owner of VaPiano Travel and an Italian and US dual citizen who has spent my life guiding and living throughout Europe and much of the world. As a published writer, Ivy-League educated classical scholar, volunteer, travel expert, tour guide and resident - I have amassed an in-depth and intimate knowledge of our focus destinations and I offer this knowledge along with my special local access, my own guides and drivers, and all the personal relationships developed over decades with the best luxury properties and providers in the world - to you during the planning process and throughout your time in country.
To ensure the highest possible level of service and quality we work with a limited and select number of clientele. This allows me to personally manage every request myself and to provide unfiltered expert guidance throughout the process. The traveler deals only with me throughout the planning process, and every trip I create is constructed from a blank page with no predetermined components or package deals involved. I do not use chain hotels except when a landmark property or special request is required - instead I provide customized, expert-designed trips that match the specifications of each individual traveler.
Meghan Gandini
Italian Chef & Culinary Director
As a professional chef of Italian heritage I focus on the culinary aspect of each travel itinerary we create. Food is a doorway into culture and by using this doorway we open another level of experience and enjoyment in each destination we provide. My role is to discover and share, coordinate and create local experiences based around the great food and wine, traditions and cuisines of the world. This can mean tastings at the true local markets and time with native chefs who know the recipes of generations past; or it can mean visits to the workshops of local producers who understand not only how to make traditional foods but why they came about in the first place. This extra level of local authenticity is a large part of what separates VaPiano Designer Travel from a glut of generic and mass tourism operators and why I am proud to call it my family company.
AS SEEN IN…
