A BVT Client Perspective: The French & Italian Rivieras

Our clients, two fun couples from the states, had both visited France and Italy but not the Rivieras. Gorgeous vistas and experiencing some great food and wine as well as getting to know the culture of the region were the main goals. Here is what they had to say about their 10-night Riviera Adventure!

What was your favorite destination and why?

Santa Margherita was exceptional!  Lovely town, wonderful atmosphere, less hectic than Nice and many nice restaurants. Lovely water taxi tour of the coastline and lunch in Portofino.

Favorite accommodation and why? 

Hotel Imperiale Palace was fabulous. Beautiful terrace for morning breakfast and wonderful ground level patio for cocktails. The views were amazing. And the pool/restaurant down below were a very nice locale to spend some down time. Great service.

What tours/activities did you enjoy the most?

The market tour and cooking class/lunch in Nice was a HIGHLIGHT. A wonderful way to spend the day. Our host and chef was so creative, enthusiastic and fun!  We also loved our time in Saint-Paul de Vence. We really enjoyed our days with our driver/guide in Nice!  He was so energetic, knowledgeable and resourceful. And never late! And the driver and guide in Santa M were terrific too!

What did you think of the food (and wine, of course)?

The food and wine were as great as we anticipated. Restaurant Jan was really special and worth the expense.

Would you have done anything differently?

We should have planned our departure city better so we didn’t have to spend our last night at an airport hotel. Our fault, not yours!

TIP FROM BVT: Often clients book their departure flight out of a larger airport even though they are ending somewhere somewhat distant from that airport. We personally prefer to soak in every possible moment of our trip, even if it means spending a little more money (and not always the case!) flying out of a smaller, closer airport. The truth is by the time you make your way to the big airport and have to stay over night near there for the flight the next day, you have actually wasted some of your precious vacation time doing so, and just re-allocated funds that could have gone toward departing out of a closer airport.

How was your experience working with Bella Vita Travels?

An EXCELLENT experience!!! Every detail was attended to… our driver in Nice was waiting for us at the airport after a 3 hour delay. Bella Vita was so responsive replying to any inquiry and tweaking our plan when we asked. Because you all are so competent and professional, it makes your clients feel “covered” and very well cared for. Another special highlight was enjoying lunch in Cinque Terre with Kate and Christine from BVT. A fun personal touch!

All in all, the entire experience was even more special than we expected. You guys do an amazing job, and we hope to plan another adventure with Bella Vita soon!

Thank you to our wonderful client, Jill V.,  for your first hand experience with BVT!