The wine cellar at Ciasa Salares Gourmet Hotel in the Italian Dolomites, home to 24,000 bottles from every corner of the world. Stay and dine at the hotel as part of our self-guided Walking the Dolomites of Alta Badia holiday.

A typically wine tasting session in Tuscany. Enjoy plentiful opportunities to sample local wines and delicacies on our self-guided Taste of Tuscany Walking and Taste of Tuscany Cycling holidays.

Gastronomic Holidays

As avid food-lovers ourselves, we know how important local culinary experiences are when discovering the heart of a destination, which is why each one of our Headwater holidays is perfect for food lovers and connoisseurs of fine cuisine.

Every trip itinerary is carefully curated to guide you towards street food delights, traditional fishing villages and fantastic restaurants whose menus epitomise the local cuisine. We’ve even created a selection of gastro-led cycling and walking holidays that offer you Michelin star restaurant experiences, intimate wine tastings with regional producers and cooking classes with local chefs so you can get a real taste of the region.

From delicious dining experiences prepared by artisan chefs and professional sommeliers at Villa D’Amelia, on our Gastronomic Barolo Cycling trip, to discovering fine dining in ancient cave dwellings on our Walking in Puglia and Matera trip, you’re sure to find spectacular eateries and mouth-watering dishes on our Headwater holidays.


What's included?

Breakfast is included at every hotel you stay at, although what's provided will vary greatly from country to country. As a minimum, you will be offered continental style drinks/ breads/ pastries, however in some of our hotels you can expect lavish hot and cold international buffets.

Lunches are usually left to you – although we do include these on selected guided walking holidays. Where lunch is included, it will either be a picnic or a light lunch in a local cafe/restaurant. On holidays where lunch is left to you, we give you recommendations of places to stop and eat en route, or on where you might like to go to make up a picnic. Most of our hoteliers are also happy to provide a packed lunch for you.

In the evenings, meals are usually included – unless you are staying somewhere with lots of local restaurants to choose from. Menus vary enormously from country to country, however you can expect a minimum of three courses – often four or five – with dishes reflecting the best of regional cuisine. If fine dining is particularly important to you, then perhaps consider one of our ‘gastronomic’ holidays where we include gourmet menus on every night of your stay.

Find out about our great selection of holidays for wine-lovers, or take a look at our foodie collection for walkers and our foodie collection for cyclists.

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Why choose Headwater?

Our favourite gastronomic journeys

What our customers say

"The hotel accommodation, staff and food were excellent. The food being some of the best food that we have ever been offered in a hotel."
Mrs Jones, Stoke-on-Trent

"A great taste of Tuscany - scenery, food and wine were all lovely!"
Mr Powell, Guildford

"The Cafe Colon where dinner is taken is a delight and food delicious, fresh and exciting, reflecting the owners' Parisian and Catalan origins."
Mr Riley, Macclesfield

"If you like good food and excellent wine look no further than the Gastronomic Barolo Walk - it ticks all the boxes and was absolutely fabulous."
Mr McDonagh, Esher

"It doesn't get much better than eating dinner in a Michelin Star establishment at a UNESCO world heritage site!"
Mrs Witnet, Oldham

"A welcoming hotel with excellent food and glorious wine!"Mrs Grobler, South Africa

"The food was excellent - both the provided dinners and in the restaurants we went to."Mr Stepleton, Canada