Kensington Unveils New Culinary and Cultural Journeys

As demand for food and culture-led travel has surged, private-guided luxury specialist Kensington has responded by creating more itineraries designed to take food-focused travellers off the beaten path and into the kitchens, vineyards, and markets that define a destination. 

Built around firsthand experience from the company’s global network of Destination Experts, the journeys span Greece, Croatia, Portugal, Morocco, Peru, Italy, and Japan. 

“Food is one of the most authentic ways to understand a place because it reflects history, geography, traditions, and community all at once,” notes Kensington president Helen Giontsis. 

“The experiences travellers remember most are often the ones they didn’t know to look for and often revolve around food and culture; a neighbourhood cafe where locals gather, or a family-owned winery. It helps travellers move beyond simply seeing a place and begin to truly understand its history, culture and people,” Giontsis adds.

The sample journeys below from Kensington’s Food & Wine Collection offer a taste of what is possible:

Greece: A Taste of Island Life – Sifnos & Paros 

While Santorini dominates the Instagram feed, Sifnos and Paros offer something harder to photograph but more lasting: a genuine sense of Greek island life. This itinerary opens in Athens with a private Acropolis visit and stops at neighborhood markets and family-run tavernas. Then it’s on to Sifnos, widely considered Greece’s culinary capital, where travellers cook traditional recipes in a local home. Paros follows, with the harbour village of Naoussa, a multi-generational family winery, and a traditional kaiki cruise. 

Croatia: Croatia Island Hopping Adventure 

While Croatia’s coastline draws visitors from around the world, its vineyards, farms, and island communities offer an equally compelling window into local life. This itinerary takes travellers from Dubrovnik through Korcula, Hvar, Solta Island, and Split, featuring traditional farm-to-table dining experiences, visits to family-run vineyards, tastings of rare indigenous wines, and encounters with local producers preserving generations-old traditions. Private island-hopping excursions reveal secluded coves and authentic island communities, while olive oil, honey, and wine tastings provide a deeper understanding of the region’s agricultural roots. 

Portugal & Morocco: Lisbon, Marrakech and Atlas Mountains 

Two countries, centuries of shared history, one itinerary. Travelers explore Lisbon’s iconic bairros and Fado traditions before crossing to Morocco for spice-market wandering, mint tea ceremonies, and dinners in Berber villages high in the Atlas Mountains. 

Peru: Taste of Peru – Icons & Culinary Immersion 

Machu Picchu might be its most famous attraction, but Peru’s culinary culture — its markets, kitchens and ancient food traditions — is just as extraordinary. This itinerary moves from Lima’s celebrated food scene to colonial Arequipa and the Sacred Valley, with stops to learn regional cooking over wood stoves, mix pisco sours, and share a traditional Pachamanca feast before a private guided visit to Machu Picchu itself. 

Italy: La Dolce Sardinia – Unwind in Style 

Italy’s lesser-known Sardinia has a culinary identity entirely its own, shaped by seafaring history, pastoral life, and island isolation. Kensington travellers here make traditional Sardinian ravioli with local hosts at a family-run winery, explore ancient nuraghi ruins and sail the La Maddalena Archipelago. 

Japan: Flavours of Northern Japan – Tokyo to Hokkaido 

Kensington says most first-time Japan itineraries follow the same southern arc. This one goes north, from Tokyo’s back-alley food culture to the coastal flavours of Sendai and Matsushima Bay. Then it’s on to Hokkaido, with sake tastings, fresh fish markets, and a visit to a family winery in Yoichi along the way.