It’s research week at Trufflepig, with so many of our Pigs arriving home or departing soon for their specialty destinations. Rudston has just returned from an unlikely combination of Italian cities you may not have paired on your own. Before we talk nitty gritty on our latest Italian conquests, however, a few words to properly […]

Few places can match the swagger and flash of the Amalfi Coast; the stretch of the Costiera between Positano, Amalfi and Ravello boasts some of the finest hotels and most spectacular hiking and boating in Italy. Folks around here are a proud bunch. It goes way back (as these things often do in Italy), to […]

Sometimes the best meal of all is the one you’re having right at that second. In my top 10 list of travel eats, I don’t give much credit to the expensive or elaborate—instead I choose the bowl that introduced me to Vietnam. We roll into Hoi An around 5 am, dazed and just a little […]

The School of Life is an alternative space that gives life to off-the-wall ideas, serious life-enhancing thought and ways in which to improve your life, but without the dogma that can drown ideas and wisdom. According to its own ethos it is a place to learn how to live wisely and well. The founder and […]

We have nothing but love for the Ritzes and Four Seasons, Amans and Oberois of the world. You can’t argue with plush décor and impeccable service. But luxury suites don’t exist everywhere, and sometimes the destination is all the better for its lack of 5-star accommodations. I discovered Cape San Blas on a last minute […]

Venice is many things—carnival theatre, great art city, water wonderland, wannabe independent republic, gastronome haven, romantic getaway. But what distinguishes La Serenissima is something far more magical and strange: it makes people disappear. So much travel these days is overly scripted, boring, predictable—especially in crowded destinations like Venice. Which is why Venice is my favourite […]

First time visitors to Rio de Janeiro undoubtedly head to the famed Sugarloaf Mountain at the end of Copacabana. While the easy way to reach the summit is by cable car, there’s a more adventurous and exciting way to do it: by climbing the mountain with a specialized instructor. Generally you will be taken to […]

It is often said that Istanbul is a city where east meets west, or Asia meets Europe. It is also a place where eats meet feets, in some fabulous culinary walks around the city. A city of myriad faces, Istanbul has its Ottoman edges and its Asian coast, its modern European cosmopolitanism and its architectural […]

As if being perhaps the most photogenic valley in Tuscany were not enough, for good measure the Val d’Orcia packs a knockout foodie punch: Vino Nobile wine and pecorino di Pienza cheese. The Val d’Orcia is the quintessential Tuscan landscape: wide open skies, rolling hills lined with immaculate cypress trees, swaying fields of grain elegantly […]

A large part of what we do is help clients decide when to go where. Dream trips quickly morph into cautionary tales when you end up sweating through your entire travel wardrobe, or knee-deep in the flood waters of your hotel. Lucky we know a few places that shine in the off season. Istanbul (Turkey) […]

The English tradition of tea has had a bit of a make over. Raised pinkies, cucumber sandwiches and polite chit chat are being replaced with fashion inspired biscuits, beef and horseradish rolls, and tri-flavoured drinkable potions. No longer a meal reserved for aristocrats, tea is making an appearance in some of London’s most desirable and […]

My friend ignored my first nine emails suggesting we visit the Norwegian wilderness in December. But then she remembered who she was dealing with, and I—like a dog with a bone—was unlikely to give up on northern lights, dog sledding and sleeping in a heated tent. She had reason to be concerned. The weather website […]

But you should. Jack Dancy is one of Trufflepig’s founders and the man knows France like no one’s business. Conde Nast Traveler recently named him as one of their Top Travel Specialists and they’ve only picked 133 worldwide, so it’s pretty cool that he’s been cited as the Gallic go to. While it’s true you […]

Somerset House is a capricious space within London. It changes its flavour as the seasons change, sheds its layers like a snake to reveal something equally enveloping in each incarnation. It being winter in our northern hemisphere, Somerset House has turned itself into a skating rink, as is its wont in these chilly months. What could be […]

Sleep doesn’t come easily when you’re mulling over newly gained and sensitive information. This might be your situation for the first few nights you spend in Panama’s semi-secret Santa Catalina. I say ‘semi-secret’ because although the word is out on its opulent surf, the little village can be accessed only by the long, bumpy, dead-end […]

Paying to volunteer abroad may seem like a backwards notion, but the experience outweighs the cost when it’s an opportunity to meet the love of your life. At Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, I fell for a pachyderm. Elephant Nature Park is a small elephant sanctuary that specializes in the rehabilitation of abused elephants. These giants […]