Derek S.
Like having a Backstage Pass to Amazing Travel Destinations!
Imagine traveling in a foreign country with a close friend who always seems to know the best hidden spots. They know the best restaurants (the ones the locals go to), the under-the-radar vineyard (or palenque) where the 3rd generation wine producer (or mescalero) is doing things old school, the micro-farm (growing vegetables for that restaurant) or producing sheep-to-table cheeses, the small village where a woman who quit her job at a bank now serves amazing gelato out of a small cafe her dad started 40 years ago, an artist digging up local clay to make one-of-a-kind surreal ceramics, the edgy city neighborhood where an artisan is making chef-grade knives by hand. And not only does this friend know these extraordinary places, somehow they seem to be best friends with everyone behind them. You go shopping for fish or foraging for truffles with them, they invite you into their homes, you meet their families and share amazing home-cooked meals or backyard barbecue with them. They give you a taste of the pecorino or the soppressata they made last fall. During the lively tableside conversations their Nonna shares her recipe for caponata or you finish the meal with small pour from a dusty bottle their Abeulo keeps under the sink for special occasions. Well you don’t have to imagine it. This fantastic friend exists, and their name is Roads & Kingdoms. They craft one-of-kind, carefully curated adventures to Spain, Italy, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and beyond. You visit hidden spots and meet special people you might never find on your own. And every journey is hosted by deeply embedded food and travel experts who don't just know the local culture—they are practically family to the people who shape it...a family shared with you. If you haven’t been to the Louvre or visited the Vatican or just walked the streets of Barcelona, by all means, you should do that first….a Roads & Kingdoms trip is typically not about seeing tourist hot spots (although there can be some of that). If you want a trip that feels less like an ChatGPT itinerary and more like a collection of unforgettable, door-opening encounters, Roads & Kingdoms are in a league of their own! PS - I am speaking from personal experience, having taken 6 trips with R&K, starting in 2022.