About My Bella Vita

Discover what inspired My Bella Vita Travel and why we love organizing private tours of Southern Italy that immerse you in its heart and soul.

Welcome to My Bella Vita Travel

My Bella Vita Travel, LLC was created by Cherrye Moore, a native Texan who has spent the last 20+ years traveling to and living in central Calabria. Her deep love for the region inspires every private tour, heritage journey, and culinary adventure we create.

The company’s heart and soul are in Calabria, Italy, where we create Bespoke Calabria Small Group Tours and Private Heritage Vacations in Calabria. My Bella Vita Travel began as the first English-language blog dedicated to Calabria and grew into the first tour company specializing in heritage tours in Calabria, helping travelers connect with their roots and experience the heart of the region.

Since 2007, we’ve welcomed hundreds of families and groups, helping them rediscover their Calabrian roots. We’ve also expanded to other southern Italian regions and now create Custom Tours of Italy, offering personalized experiences across the country.

Throughout the year, you can join Cherrye and the team for tours in Calabria and beyond, where you can taste the rich flavors of Calabrian cuisine, walk the streets of your ancestral village, or discover the beauty and culture of regions such as Puglia, Sicily, and Malta.

My Bella Vita Travel is registered as an LLC in the state of Texas, and all business, banking, and legal processing is conducted in the United States. Keep reading to learn more about our very own heritage, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

How It All Began

My Bella Vita started as a blog circa 2006 when Cherrye relocated from southeast Texas to central Calabria. In the days before Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and Instagram, it served as a way to keep connected to home while sharing the details of her new day-to-day life with her Calabrese husband, Peppe.

With few English-language websites accurately depicting modern-day Calabria, Cherrye soon found herself advising, consulting, and planning trips for readers. Meanwhile, the B&B she’d opened with her husband was busy assisting travelers with ancestral research, translations, and heritage tours.

The business quickly grew and expanded to cover all regions “south of Rome”, and it wasn’t long before the pair realized they needed more hands on deck. Their team grew, and Cherrye and Peppe were finally able to realize their dream of splitting their personal time between her native Texas and his Catanzaro. In 2015, they bought a home outside of Beaumont, Texas, and currently divide their time between the US and Italy.

What Makes My Bella Vita Travel Different?

We know you have an ever-growing number of choices when it comes to choosing a travel planner or tour provider. To help you decide,here are a few reasons travelers choose My Bella Vita Travel:

100% Local

All of the B&B owners, agriturismi chefs, cooks, drivers, and guides you encounter on our tours are Italians with small, family-owned businesses who love their region, or people who have lived in southern Italy for years.

Authentic Southern Italy

We want you to feel like a local while you are here, and that includes taking you to little-known places where the owners don’t speak English or, in some cases, even Italian – just their local dialect!

VARIETY

Eating meals every day at a hotel is sad – and boring! On our tours, we experience the local culture through the food, wine, and music that are available at a variety of restaurants, trattorias, farms, and private villas throughout the country.

WELL-PLANNED

Most travelers don’t enjoy rushing – or spending five or six hours a day in the car! Our tours are planned to maximize your experiences without keeping you on the road. We don’t wake you up at dawn or return at midnight. No checklists or flag-following here. We want you to enjoy the scenery, just like locals!

CUSTOMIZED

With our custom vacations and private tours, you choose what is important to you, and we plan the itinerary around that. You won’t have to go to vineyards, tour churches and museums, or visit medieval villages if those things aren’t interesting to you.

Who Uses My Bella Vita Travel?

  • Travelers who want more than a basic “highlights” tour that can be found anywhere
  • People who want to be immersed in local culture
  • Those who want to take in the energy of the villages we visit
  • Anyone who enjoys meeting locals
  • Travelers who enjoy practicing their Italian first-hand
  • Those who prefer boutique tour experiences over large group sightseeing tours
  • Travelers who don’t mind spontaneous tours given by proud villagers we meet on the street
  • People who realize that “a trip of a lifetime” is just that – and they aren’t willing to risk it with a run-of-the-mill company with offices in other countries.

Stay in Touch!

If you’re ready to start your journey, use the contact form below, and our team will be in touch to help you begin your adventure!