Peter Sommer Travels Offers Rich Culinary Adventures in the Mediterranean

Cultural tour specialist Peter Sommer Travels will combine superb food and wine with fascinating history and culture this year during a series of dedicated culinary expeditions in the Mediterranean.

Three upcoming departures will focus on the superb local produce, fresh seafood and proud culinary traditions of Turkey and Sicily, while at the same time offering an insight into the rich history of these ancient lands.

Each tour offers a chance to taste traditional foods and fresh local ingredients in a hands-on style, from foraging for wild herbs to cooking at a family home.

Catering to small groups of 6-14 people, the tours are hosted by expert guides with academic backgrounds in history and archaeology, not to mention a passion for the local cuisine.

Two different itineraries are available with a choice of three departures:

A Gastronomic Gulet Cruise - an eight-day sailing journey along Turkey’s Carian coast, traveling aboard a magnificent wooden gulet to ancient sites including the magnificent ruins at Knidos and Kaunos.  Rated one of ‘the world’s tastiest cruises’ by London’s Sunday Times and ‘One of the Top 10 food and drink holidays in Turkey for 2015’ by the London Telegraph, it offers a chance to get involved in the culinary traditions of this flavourful destination. Guests will see demonstrations in small traditional restaurants, cook with local people, prepare regional delicacies and conjure up some of the excellent Turkish dishes to eat. Operates from May 23 to 30, 2015, and again from September 26 to October 3, 2015. Priced from £2175* per person twin share (approx NZ$4240).           

A Gastronomic Tour of Sicily - an eight-day tour focusing on Sicily’s east, home to a vibrant culinary tradition that draws from the island’s many foreign rulers – from the Byzantines and Arabs, to the Normans and Spanish. Guests will spend the week feasting on Sicilian produce including cheeses, chocolate, olives and honey, taking part in cooking classes and sampling wines from the vineyards of Mount Etna’s slopes and beyond. This tour provides a chance to dine in several superb local restaurants, as well as exploring the island’s magnificent scenery, baroque towns and ancient ruins.  Operates from September 26 to October 3, 2015.  Priced from £2895* per person twin share (approx NZ$5640).   

Peter Sommer Travels’ culinary tours are among dozens of different cultural and historical tours offered in Turkey, Italy and Greece, many conducted as sailing journeys aboard traditional gulets.

For full details and bookings contact Peter Sommer Travels in the UK on 00 44 1600 888 220, email info@petersommer.com or visit www.petersommer.com. 

*Tour prices include transport, accommodation, most meals, crew and guide services, and all entrance fees and tips on excursions. Excludes airfares.