287 of the 1,286 reviews on this site were written by people travelling with friends rather than a partner or family. Groups run at about twelve guests, so four or six of you is a real share of the table without taking it over, and nobody in your group has to be the organiser. Big enough to fill a departure? That becomes a private buyout, which is a different and usually better conversation.
Nobody Has to Be the Organiser
You know how this normally goes. One person picks the restaurant everyone can live with, chases three others for a deposit, and then defends the itinerary when somebody decides on day four that they wanted to see something else.
None of that is your job here. The host runs the day, the meals are already decided, and your four or six simply join the trip everyone else is on.
Groups run at about twelve guests, and that number is worth sitting with. Four of you is a third of the table. Six is half. Enough that you are not two strangers at the edge of somebody else’s trip, and not so many that your group becomes the trip for everyone else who booked it.
Most trips are eight days and seven nights, which is twenty meals: seven dinners, six lunches and seven breakfasts, wine at lunch and dinner. Sicily runs twelve days and Argentina and Uruguay thirteen, so those come with more. It is one figure per person, so splitting the bill is not a job either.
If your group is big enough to fill a whole departure, that is a different and usually better conversation. Ask us about a private buyout and you get the same trip with only your people on it.
Where Groups of Friends Actually Go
Ranked by how many groups of friends have reviewed each trip. One genuinely stands out: Portugal, where friends wrote 44% of the reviews against a 22% average. The rest mostly track which trips are busiest.
Wine & Cooking Under the Tuscan & Umbrian Sun
Local Living Cooking Vacation with Wineries, Olive Mill, Cheese Making & Sightseeing in Tuscany, Umbria and Alto Lazio
115 friends reviews, out of 516 in total
8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
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Cooking in Paradise on the Amalfi Coast
Amalfi Coast Luxury Cooking Vacation w/ Private Villa, Cooking Classes, Cheese Making & Local Family Experiences
51 friends reviews, out of 192 in total
8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
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Portugal: Family, Culture, Wine & Cooking
A week of true cultural immersion & local traditions with the wonderful people of Portugal. Discover Port wines in Porto, explore the Douro Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site, breathtaking towns, & cook local dishes.
19 friends reviews, out of 42 in total
Especially popular with this group8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
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Wine & Cooking in the Heart of Chianti and Florence, Tuscany
Tuscany Cooking Vacation with Wineries, Florence, Siena, Museums, Cortona, Sightseeing & Private BBQ!
17 friends reviews, out of 66 in total
8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
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Sicily, The Motherland - Wine, Cooking, Culture & Adventure
NEW! - Small Group Sicily Coast to Coast Tour with Exclusive CDV Only experiences, Boutique Lodging, Cooking & More.
13 friends reviews, out of 57 in total
12 days, 11 nights, all 32 meals included
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Culinary Treasures of Bologna, Venice, Michelin Stars & Exotic Cars
Bologna, Venice, Cooking Classes, Winery, Parmesan Cheese, Prosciutto Factory. Ferrari Museum, Lamborghini Factory, Traditional Balsamic & More!
10 friends reviews, out of 87 in total
8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
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Wine, Cooking and Castles in Barolo & Roero
A week of cultural immersion and local experiences amidst the backdrop of one of the most pristine wine areas in all of Italy.
10 friends reviews, out of 35 in total
8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
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Medieval Chestnut Festival & Wine Harvest Season
Two Weeks Only In October - Experience the Magic of our Medieval Festival & Harvest Season!
7 friends reviews, out of 21 in total
8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
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Croatia Small Ship Cruise 2026 | Dalmatian Coast | Up to 28 Guests
Experience Croatia on an ultra-small ship, up to 28 guests. Truly local, authentic experiences along the Dalmatian Coast, a different kind of luxury.
6 friends reviews, out of 8 in total
8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
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Wine, Cooking, & The Olive Oil Harvest - Soriano
Harvest Olives & Make Your Own Olive Oil in Umbria, plus Cooking Classes, Tuscan Wineries, Sightseeing and More.
5 friends reviews, out of 25 in total
8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
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Authentic Croatia - Friends, Family & Flavors on the Dalmatian Coast!
Explore vibrant Split, Croatia and its surrounding area: a blend of history, warm hospitality, and rich flavors. Enjoy Old Town, market shopping, cooking classes, Hvar and Brac island trips, winery visits, countryside dinners with locals and much more.
2 friends reviews, out of 15 in total
8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
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Argentina & Uruguay: Insider Tango, Carnival & Gaucho Culture
CDV's Newest Adventure - Argentina & Uruguay cultural immersion. Tango with locals, behind-the-scenes Carnaval access, authentic gaucho ranch experiences.
1 friends review, out of 2 in total
13 days, 12 nights, all 35 meals included
See the tripAlso on the Calendar
Newer to the calendar, or simply smaller. These run exactly the same way as everything above.
Madrid & Beyond Immersed: Culture, Cuisine & Connection
Experience a side of Madrid you’ve never seen. Explore hidden treasures, savor authentic flavors, and immerse yourself in hands-on cooking, artisan workshops, and Spanish traditions. This is Madrid beyond the ordinary—a journey of culture, cuisine, and connection.
8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
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Barcelona & Catalonia: Cooking, Wine & Catalan Traditions
Step into the heart of Catalonia, where ancient vineyards meet medieval monasteries and family traditions span centuries. Harvest grapes and stomp Mistela with an 8th-generation winemaker, build human towers in their birthplace, and cook alongside local chefs in village kitchens. From Barcelona's hidden Gaudí gems to oyster farms in the Ebro Delta,
8 days, 7 nights, all 20 meals included
See the tripIn Their Own Words
Published as written, by guests who told us they travelled with friends.
From the moment we arrived until our final goodbye, every single detail was flawlessly executed. For anyone considering a group trip to Italy, look no further—we are already planning our next one!
My first Culture Discovery vacation will not be my last! I could not have asked for a better experience!
Great food and itinerary
With CDV you will see more, do more and experience more in a week than you could ever imagine, and certainly more than you could ever do traveling alone.
What a great week, our guide a now old friend Lorenzo was on top form ensuring our little band of travellers had a good time.
Beautiful Amalfi Coast making friends, enjoying good food and wine and making memories that will last a lifetime. We came to cook and celebrate my sister's 70th birthday and were not disappointed.
Every count on this page comes from the 1,410 reviews written on this site, not from a headcount of our guests. Most people who travel with us never write one, and plenty of those who do leave it on TripAdvisor, Google, Trustpilot, Yelp or Facebook instead. None of those is counted here.
Coming a different way? The same fourteen trips are covered for couples, solo travelers and families, or around the harvest season. Who you travel with compares all five.
Bring Your Group, Skip the Organising
287 people came with friends and let somebody else do the planning. See what is on the calendar, read what they wrote afterwards, or ask us about buying out a departure.
See 2027 Dates & Prices Read the Reviews Ask About a Private BuyoutAbout the numbers. Review counts are read live from our reservation database each time this page loads, so they move as guests publish new reviews. The badge below is calculated on that same live data against a sitewide baseline of about 22%, so no trip is singled out by hand. Group size of around twelve is an average, not a fixed number.