Our guide Sergio is passionate about food. (And anyone who’s traveled with him as a guide on our Amalfi Coast or Sicily tours will chuckle at that understatement.) So when we set out to plan a special itinerary that combines beautiful walks with an emphasis on the cooking and culinary traditions of the Amalfi peninsula, whom did we ask? Imagine it: There you are, in Capri’s most luxurious hotel or settled in for three days in pastel Positano. You take walks that reveal Positano, Ravello, and even Pompeii with an archaeologist friend of ours. And oh the seafood, the lemons that grow on trees lining the streets, the cheeses. With Sergio we’ve arranged informal cooking sessions in the home of one of his favorite cooks as well as some hands-on tutoring with professional chefs and a kitchen session in a family-run restaurant. Like a great Italian meal, this week is a long, happy, satisfying event that you’ll wish would never end.

DAY 1 - NAPLES
From our top-rated hotel overlooking the Bay of Naples (1 night), we’ll make the short journey to the top of Mt. Vesuvius. The views down to Pompeii and Herculaneum are staggering, and you’ll spot Capri on the horizon. Back in the city, our guide, who is a native Neapolitan, takes us to one of his favorite restaurants for dinner.

DAYS 2-3 - CAPRI
In the morning, we’ll hop the hydrofoil and skim out to Capri. Most visitors buzz in and out in one day, but we check in for two nights at the glamorous Quisisana hotel in the heart of the village. After a scenic walk, we relax in a family-run restaurant where we’re welcomed into the kitchen for a tasty lesson in preparing lunch. A chairlift ride up Monte Solaro takes us to the perfect starting point for a stroll high above the sea. Join us for lunch at a private beach club, shop the village’s fine stores, or stretch out at the hotel’s movie-star-worthy pool.

DAYS 4-7 - POSITANO / NAPLES
After a boat ride back to the mainland, we make the world-famous drive to Sorrento, then on to Positano (3 nights). From this scenic base, we’ll head off to the village of Praiano where a 5-star hotel chef invites us into his home. We’ll put on aprons to whip up a specialty like totani e patate, the local stew of seafood and potatoes.

On a stroll through the little streets of Amalfi, we’ll stop by a medieval paper mill and cap our visit with a limoncello tasting. Later, we’ve arranged a cooking instruction in our friend Antonella’s cliffside home. (You’ll envy the wonderful terrace just outside her kitchen.) We’ll also take the trail to a dramatic cliffside monastery and explore Ravello with its panoramic views of the Bay of Salerno. And when it seems like it couldn’t get any better, we bake pizza (with the local fior di latte cheese, of course) in a friend’s wood-fired oven while we enjoy a barrel tasting of the family’s wine. On our final day, we wander the streets of Pompeii on a privately guided tour before returning to Naples.