So, why should you choose Southern Italy with Long Travel?

Well, because we are aware that holidays are important and should not be taken for granted. You will be speaking to people who care about your holiday and who will enjoy chatting to you about it. We will be there for you before, during and after your trip. We know that you will love Southern Italy and, quite simply, you need to hear about it from people who know it and love it too.  

In true Southern Italian fashion, we are very much a family business. I, Annie Long and my husband Ray, started Long Travel twenty years ago. We are as passionate as ever about it. Ray is our photographer for the brochure and I write most of the copy. We both keep a beady eye (four beady eyes, in my case) on everything here.

Alex, Ray’s son, manages the business, assuming ever more responsibility. He loves it as much as we do and has a vital role in all aspects of Long Travel. His father even allows him the odd brochure photo or two!  Laura (Mrs. Long!) helps out with sales and contracting, as well as lending a hand with brochure writing and all sorts of other things. She speaks Italian and is our P.A.– we couldn’t do without her!!

Paul loves being on the phone and clients enjoy his enthusiasm. He is the office Mr. Charm and, a staunch family man with two young daughters, he is always happy to pass on his experience of the practicalities of travel with a young family in tow.

Helen is a lady after my own heart! If she thinks something is not for you, she'll tell you so, in no uncertain terms. She prides herself in guiding clients to make the right choices for them - and she's usually right!

 

Michael joined us just over a year ago and is involved in both sales and administration.  During the course of the last year he visited Southern Italy on three occasions: he too, has really caught the bug!   A car enthusiast, he is planning to drive the route of the legendary Targa Floria race in Sicily.

Alison looks after our administration. She is our rock and keeps us all on the straight and narrow and on our toes. Heaven help us if we make a mistake – yes, it has been heard of, but Alison soon sorts us out! She also bakes great cakes.

Laura M. oversees the daily running of the office and is Alex's right hand woman. She also helps out with sales and organises our accounts. However, her real love is chocolate. Our self-appointed entertainments’ officer, and with a bell in every tooth, her laugh is often background to many a phone conversation (sorry!) – life will never be the same again!!!

Susan is our new recruit. She has decided on a complete change of career and is excited about the fresh challanges that lie ahead. Already a lover of Italy, she is a bright and lively member of our team.

L ast, but certainly not least, Gucci & Alfonso, are two totally useless members of staff. They have been known to answer the phone occasionally, but they’re not great with computers! Nor are our three rescued cats – Tom Jones (found in Wales - now a sir of course!), Olive and Illy.

We pride ourselves on our ability to root out properties that some other companies may overlook. We were one of the very first companies to organise Trullo holidays.  We go for a variety of accommodation, from small, family-run hotels, to historic buildings and sometimes more modern, characterful hotels. We offer holidays for the discerning traveller, quality at a good price, something different in undiscovered corners, as well as famous resorts and cities. We can offer a variety of accommodation in all the regions of Southern Italy and also the islands of Sicily, Sardinia and Lipari, which is one of the Aeolian Islands off the North East coast of Sicily. 

The first holidays we arranged were holidays to Puglia, or Apulia as it is sometimes called and we offered our clients the possibility of staying in a trullo,  Puglia is a region we love and try to visit as much as possible.  Calabria and Sicily were the next regions to feature in our brochure followed by Campania, both South Campania and the more well known Amalfi Coast.  Basilicata, which is tucked away between Calabria, Campania and Puglia was our next addition, then Sardinia.  Sardinia is an island of contrasts, wonderful beaches and fantastic countryside.  Abruzzo, we thought was the final piece of the Southern Italian jigsaw but this year we started working in the region of Molise a tiny area between Abruzzo, Puglia and Campania.

As we only specialise in Southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia you can benefit from our knowledge and friendly working relationship with our property owners and managers.  This close partnership enables us to achieve some very good prices which we are delighted to pass onto you so that you can also enjoy this part of Italy which we are passionate about. 

Before departing on your holiday, you will need good knowledge of the areas you are visiting, descriptions of properties, recommendations of what to see, where to eat, good beaches etc. We give you all of this and also, we are always at the end of the phone to answer any other queries you may have before, during and after your holiday.

Our unusually flexible approach to booking holidays allows us to tailor-make everything for you. We do our best to listen to clients’ requirements and come up with a holiday that you want. Obviously there are some outside constraints to that flexibility, but, in fact, we often come up with ideas that others wouldn’t even guess at. Whether you are after an annual holiday or a short break, we will have lots of suggestions. Call us old romantics, if you like, but we love arranging honeymoons and special occasions.

Like many of you, we are real “foodies” and where is better than Southern Italy to sample the best Italian cuisine? Our waistlines bear witness to that fact! We will do our utmost to help you plan the holiday that suits you best. If we think you won’t like it, we’ll tell you not to go! Once you’ve booked, we will give you information, gleaned from years of experience and much valued feedback from our clients. We do not pretend to know everything, but, we are constantly expanding our knowledge base and we are always thrilled that our clients enjoy helping with this.