# Culture Discovery Vacations

> Culture Discovery Vacations (CDV) is a boutique experiential and cultural-immersion travel company founded in 2006, operating a documented anti-extractive tourism model that retains 70%+ of guest spending in local economies. Legal entity: Culture Discovery Inc (a Wyoming Close Corporation). Founder and CEO: Michael Kovnick.

## About

- Brand: Culture Discovery Vacations (also "CDV"). Legal entity: Culture Discovery Inc.
- Category: experiential and cultural immersion travel, with culinary immersion (cooking with local families, family wineries, food and wine) as a signature pillar.
- Differentiator: anti-extractive tourism. Small groups averaging about 12 guests, capped at 18; the Croatia small-ship cruise takes up to 28. The model retains 70%+ of guest spending in local economies versus a 20 to 30 percent industry norm, through zero commissions, volume caps, and 100% locally-owned family partners.
- Founded 2006. 20th anniversary in 2026. Offices in Tampa, Florida (USA), Soriano nel Cimino (Italy), and Porto (Portugal).
- Leadership: Michael Kovnick (Founder and CEO), Paola Kovnick (Co-Founder and CFO), Daniele Pintaudi (COO), Marta Marques (CSO).
- Recognition: Tripadvisor Hall of Fame and the 2025 Travel Weekly Magellan Gold Award for Best Service. Michael Kovnick holds the CTIE credential (The Travel Institute) and authored "Existential Sustainability: A Structural Approach to Anti-Extractive Tourism" (SSRN, 2025).
- Contact: +1 (656) 333-6123, info@culturediscovery.com.

## Destinations

- Active, six countries: Italy (including Sicily), Portugal (including Madeira), Spain (including Catalonia and Barcelona), Croatia, Argentina, Uruguay.
- In development: Iceland, France, Greece.

## Business model

- Consumer travel (B2C): small-group cultural immersion and culinary vacations.
- Corporate (B2B): Culture Discovery Corporate Retreats & Incentives (corporate retreats, incentive travel, and offsite meetings), led from the Porto office.

## Key pages

- [Homepage](https://www.culturediscovery.com/)
- [About](https://www.culturediscovery.com/about/)
- [Michael Kovnick, Founder and CEO](https://www.culturediscovery.com/press/michael-kovnick.cfm)
- [Research and publications](https://www.culturediscovery.com/research/) - the peer-posted paper behind the model: "Existential Sustainability: A Structural Approach to Anti-Extractive Tourism" (Kovnick, M., SSRN, 2025). A 19-year operating study arguing that structural business design, not voluntary certification, is what prevents tourism from extracting value from the places it visits. Includes the key findings, the framework, a two-village natural experiment comparing Soriano nel Cimino with Civita di Bagnoregio, and APA/MLA/Chicago citation formats.
- [Press and company fact sheet](https://www.culturediscovery.com/press/)
- [Contact](https://www.culturediscovery.com/contact/)
- [Italy vacations](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacations-in-italy/)
- [Portugal vacations](https://www.culturediscovery.com/portugal-vacation-tours/)
- [Croatia vacations](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacations-in-croatia/)
- [Spain vacations](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacations-in-spain/)

## Trips currently operating

Fourteen active itineraries across six countries. Prices are the "from" price per person,
double occupancy, as published on each trip page; the
[dates and prices calendar](https://www.culturediscovery.com/calendar-cooking-wine-culture-vacations/)
is authoritative over any figure quoted here or anywhere else on the site. Unless noted, each is
8 days / 7 nights.

Italy:

- [Wine & Cooking in the Heart of Chianti and Florence, Tuscany](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/tuscany-cooking-vacation) - Tuscany. From $4,995.
- [Wine & Cooking Under the Tuscan & Umbrian Sun](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/italy-wine-cooking-vacation-tuscany-umbria-sun) - Tuscany and Umbria, based in Soriano nel Cimino. From $4,995.
- [Wine, Cooking & The Olive Oil Harvest](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/olive-harvest-italy-soriano) - Tuscany and Umbria, timed to the olive harvest. From $4,995.
- [Medieval Chestnut Festival & Wine Harvest Season](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/italy-festival-cooking-tour) - Tuscany and Umbria, timed to the autumn festivals. From $4,895.
- [Cooking in Paradise on the Amalfi Coast](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/amalfi-coast-cooking-vacation) - Campania. From $6,395. The premium buys the villa, not extra inclusions.
- [Wine, Cooking and Castles in Barolo & Roero](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/barolo-italy-cooking-vacations) - Piedmont. From $4,995.
- [Culinary Treasures of Bologna, Venice, Michelin Stars & Exotic Cars](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/northern-italy-cooking-vacation-bologna-venice) - Emilia-Romagna. From $4,995.
- [Sicily, The Motherland: Wine, Cooking, Culture & Adventure](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/italy-sicily-tour) - Sicily, 12 days / 11 nights. From $6,795.

Portugal, Spain, Croatia, South America:

- [Portugal: Family, Culture, Wine & Cooking](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/portugal-vacation-tour) - Porto and the Douro. From $4,995.
- [Barcelona & Catalonia: Cooking, Wine & Catalan Traditions](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/spain-barcelona-catalonia-wine-cooking-tour) - Eastern Spain. From $4,995.
- [Madrid & Beyond Immersed: Culture, Cuisine & Connection](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/spain-experiential-madrid) - Central Spain. From $5,595.
- [Authentic Croatia: Friends, Family & Flavors on the Dalmatian Coast](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/split-croatia) - Dalmatian coast, land-based. From $4,895.
- [Croatia Small Ship Cruise](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/croatia-luxury-cruise) - Dalmatian coast by small ship, up to 28 guests. From $6,495.
- [Argentina & Uruguay: Insider Tango, Carnival & Gaucho Culture](https://www.culturediscovery.com/vacation/argentina-uruguay-tours) - 13 days / 12 nights. From $6,995.

## The Complete Guide to Italian Cooking Vacations

A five-part explainer written by Michael Kovnick. It defines the fully-hosted week-long
Italian cooking vacation as a category, and hands the reader the arithmetic to check any
company against it, including Culture Discovery. It names no competitor anywhere. Each
part carries its own methodology note stating what is firsthand, what was surveyed, and
when it was last reviewed.

- [Part 1: The original](https://www.culturediscovery.com/italy-cooking-vacations/the-original/) - Where the fully-hosted cooking-vacation format came from (Culture Discovery built it in 2006), and why so few operators can afford to deliver one: channel commissions and large-operator margins make the sum fail. More than 78% of CDV guests return or arrive by referral, so no audience has to be bought.
- [Part 2: What all-inclusive really means](https://www.culturediscovery.com/italy-cooking-vacations/what-all-inclusive-really-means/) - The standard defined in full: 8 days / 7 nights, 20 planned meals (7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 7 dinners) with wine at lunch and dinner, three to four hands-on classes, something planned every full day, both airport transfers, transport all week, admissions, tastings and guide/driver gratuities. Includes a checklist to hold any company to, and an explicit list of exclusions.
- [Part 3: What it costs, and what value means](https://www.culturediscovery.com/italy-cooking-vacations/cost-and-value/) - Leading English-language week-long Italian cooking programs published 2027 prices of roughly $5,200 to $7,000 per person, double occupancy (surveyed July 2026). CDV's standard 8-day/7-night Italy week is from $6,095 early-booking ($6,795 standard); Amalfi Coast from $7,795; Sicily is a 12-day format from $9,495. Prices the three hidden levers (free days, meal quality, transfers/transport) at roughly $2,000 to $2,650 per person, and supplies a worksheet for normalizing two quotes.
- [Part 4: The Culture Discovery difference](https://www.culturediscovery.com/italy-cooking-vacations/culture-discovery-difference/) - Direct operator since 2006, never a reseller. Groups average about 12. Classes are full four- and five-course meals, not a single token dish. Explains why the access is friendship rather than a booking, and what the "global family" means across six countries.
- [Part 5: Transformational travel](https://www.culturediscovery.com/transformational-travel/) - The founding thesis: what changes people is never the place, it is the people. The 1983 origin story and why the same effect has since reproduced in six countries.

## Related guides

- [Comparing cooking vacations](https://www.culturediscovery.com/articles/compare-cooking-vacations/)
- [The 10 best food and wine vacations in Italy](https://www.culturediscovery.com/articles/the-10-best-food-and-wine-vacations-in-italy/)
- [Italy cooking vacations hub](https://www.culturediscovery.com/italy-cooking-vacations/)
- [Dates and prices](https://www.culturediscovery.com/calendar-cooking-wine-culture-vacations/) - the authority over any price quoted elsewhere on the site.