About Us
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“Wanting to create a business that includes all of my favorite things – traveling, walking/hiking, enjoying good food and wine, and meeting new friends from around the world, I founded my company, Ciao Darcy.”
ABOUT CIAO DARCY | FAQ | TESTIMONIALS |
Ciao Darcy is a boutique tour company focused on sharing the Italian experience with you. We carefully select distinctive and charming accommodations, authentic restaurants, and the best local guides and activities. By traveling to Italy regularly, we have developed strong relationships with people we now consider family.
Itineraries are carefully planned and well thought out, but touring Italy can sometimes offer wonderful surprises. The magic of travelling in such a small group allows us to cater for this spontaneity and it is sometimes these unplanned occurrences that can be the most memorable.
Taking on average 8-10 people, our tours are a nice mix of fun, adventure and relaxation, giving you a taste of life so sweet, you’ll never want to leave. 
Because of our intimate group size, we are able to take you off the beaten path, providing a more personal experience to sites and activities. We have found that this interaction is an essential ingredient to your journey.
We at Ciao Darcy believe that the best way to fall in love with Italy is to experience it through the careful and expert craftsmanship of the people who know it best. We take care of every detail so you don’t have to do a thing but live “la dolce vita”! By focusing only on Italy and guiding each tour personally, we are able to share the special places we have discovered and come to love.
We also offer both full itinerary planning and travel consultation services for those who would like to explore Italy on their own.
DARCY HEMSTREET | Founder and Group Leader
Good food, good wine, and good friends. To me, these are three essential parts of a fulfilled life. The fourth? Finding a way to make a career out of what you love. I developed a passion for travel and exploration early, loving the exhilaration I felt as I explored a new city and discovered the area’s hidden treasures.
Upon traveling to Italy the first time, I fell in love with the culture, the cuisine, the people, everything. After each subsequent tour with friends and family, I knew I had to find a way to return to Italy as often as possible. As I relived my travels with friends, I realized that I didn’t just want to talk about my experiences, I wanted to share them. I wanted to give others the opportunity to fall in love with Italy, discover it just like I did. And so, in 2004, Ciao Darcy was born!
I wish I could say I come from an Italian family or that I grew up in Italy, but the truth is I must have been Italian in a past life! I have always had a great appreciation for good food and travel, even as a child growing up in both Southern California and Seattle, WA, and since that time I have traveled extensively with family and friends, as well as my many solo travels, discovering so many incredible places. But none have rivaled my love of Italy, from the first time I stepped on its soil, I just felt like it was “home” to me in some way I still can’t explain. And that’s why it is still my passion today, to share the many wonders of Italy with you!
Come join us!
xo,
Darcy
